The Gift of Anti Social Skills

Image via Wikipedia

I’m taking a break today from the “List” to talk about something that is near and dear to me. My family calls it my “anti-social skills”. I discovered a blog today, “Unearthly Musings”, where the author revealed her longing for privacy. This struck a note with me. I’ve always been uncomfortable in crowds. Whether it is small settings where ten people fill a room or thousands of people filling city streets.

My lack of comfort also spills over to include any interaction with strangers and people I barely know or knew a long time ago. My wife, who is a social butterfly and moves through a crowd with ease, can’t understand my discomfort. I’ve been like this for most of my adult life. So what’s the big deal? It’s not like I’ve changed overnight. Or is it?

Four years ago I had two strokes in a two month period. I’m lucky in that the only physical evidence left is diminished feeling on my left side and balance issues along with neuropathy in both legs. It could have been much worse. On the other hand I now sometimes feel what the doctors call sensory overload. This is when everything around me seems to be converging in my head at the same time. This wonderful (read sarcasm) repeating experience combined with my already existing “anti-social” skills makes me an extremely (again, read sarcasm) fun party guest.

So, whether it’s avoiding crowds or the talkative neighbor, I continue to practice and develop my”anti-social” skills. Believe me, it’s not all bad. I’m a whiz at dealing with Jehovah’s Witnesses and Door to Door Salesman.

Until I belly up to the laptop again, aloha.

Advertisement