1/ I recently wrote a paper on social anxiety disorder, and let me tell you, it is no fucking surprise #ActuallyAutistic folx deal with this at ridiculously high rates.

Risk factors for onset:
Traumatic/embarrassing social situations
High anxiety sensitivity
Prone to rumination

2/ (rumination = obsessive/cyclical thoughts)
Emotional dysregulation

Factors for maintaining/worsening SAD:
Anticipatory processing (pre-planning what to say, excessive worry about the social situation in advance)
High self-focus (high levels of awareness of internal symptoms)

3/ post-event rumination (excessive evaluation of social interaction afterwards)
Misinterpretation of social cues (neutral misinterpreted as negative)

4/ Autistic folx tend to get stuck in thought patterns (rumination), struggle with emotional regulation, have difficulty interpreting social cues, and fuck up social interactions more frequently (and are often chastised for it).

To “fix this” we are taught how to “properly”...

5/ interact, meaning we have to rehearse these things and then over-focus on our own behaviors and reactions during social situations.

NT folx are priming us for social anxiety with the expectations we learn to socialize “normally” and then wonder why we all have anxiety

6/ AND because we are autistic, we are already at higher risk of developing SAD because of how our brains are wired.

If people could just let us be ourselves in social situations without punishment, they could help prevent us from developing social anxiety disorder.

END RANT