Some of you may remember that I am inflicted with SR.
Social Retardation can come in many forms. Common symptoms include: inability to RSVP, fear of the telephone, diarrhea of the mouth or sudden loss of speech, telling horrible jokes, other speech impediments, fear of crowds and much, much more.
Mine is not the most severe, but it does cause problems in my daily life. I don't hang out with friends very often - sometimes I even wonder if I really have friends (you know, "I.R.L."). When I DO actually push myself to set up 'dates,' it takes every ounce of my being to make me follow through. Or sometimes I just cancel at the last minute. If my phone rings and we don't know who's calling, there is often a quick Paper, Rock, Scissor game between The Man and I to see who has to answer it. If someone comes to our door, (after our initial shock wears off) we downright argue about who has to answer it and then chant on our way to the door, "Be for the kids, be for the kids, be for the kids..."
It's not that I don't like people. I just don't like interacting with them. And about half the time I do push myself to "interact," I'm reminded of why I don't. The other half of the time, I go home with a smile on my face. Not only because I had a good time, but because I'm proud that I pushed myself to do something that scares me and it turned out well.
This weekend can all be chalked up in the Good Half. Since The Man had to work Saturday morning, we spent Friday night at home eating pizza and wishing we were Jason Bourne. Saturday, I played Grinch and walked through my house tearing down my Christmas decorations. Sunshine was at a party down the street from us so after the party, she came home for a bit before we dropped her off at her mom's again. Then we headed to my old stompin' ground, where we went out for dinner and then met friends.....AT A BAR. And even though The Man felt out of place, we hung out there for over an hour. Add an impromptu visit at another friends' house and I have THREE HOURS to check off on my "GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!" list.
Sunday, Kristina and I battled CROWDS (another SR trigger) - Crowds of BRIDES (something anyone should be scared of) - to visit vendors at a wedding fair.
So despite the fact that I'm really tired today (when your idea of a night out is going to Chili's for dinner, actually going out really wears you down!), I'm proud of myself for getting out there "making" myself have a good time. Because I needed it more than I knew.
Social Retardation: [roughly] 700
Amy: 1
(Hmm, well, it's a start.)
15 comments:
I've been taking a new medication for my SR. You should try it.
It's called alcohol.
Beware, though- it has some side affects to watch out for. The worst ones I've experienced are verbal diarrhea, overconfidence in dancing skills, and sudden sharp bursts of inappropriate giggling.
Ask your doctor about it sometime.
Oh my gosh, I seriously thought I was the only one. I thought maybe it was mild depression or social anxiety disorder or something... But as it turns out, I'm just suffering from SR. Hooray! I thought all the blogging and hermit-style behavior were mine and mine alone...
People are just so annoying sometimes! The problem is all of my friends are exactly the opposite of me and get seriously offended when I only want to see them once or twice a week. I don't know. I had this idea of balancing out my SR with non-SR friends. But it's only working so-so. I like the alcohol idea. Hmmmmmmm...
I suffer from social retardation as well. My last episode happened at school. I am currently finishing off my course work to complete my Masters in Counseling Psychology.
I made a suicide joke in class.
Need I say more?
wtg..how goes the wedding plans???
I totally have SR. totally. And so does Chad. We are one happening couple, as you can imagine! Good for you for getting out there!!!!!
Go on w/your bad self, A. I'm so glad you got out. I know it was much needed and you deserve a fun night out!
BTW,I think even the most "social" of us have SR. I'd consider myself an extrovert and for the most part love getting together with friends...but that doesn't stop me from the foot in mouth, talk too much, laughing at inappropriate times kind of moments.
I know what you mean about social contact being exhausting. Even at work I struggle to be nice to people and maintain a level of professionalism when all I want to do is scream profanities at them.
Glad to hear you got out, though! It's always fun to hit a bar or two (from what I remember...)
OMG... I didn't realize you were on MySpace, too! I just friended you.
My problem is that I have SR but don't think I have SR so my sassy-ass-self uses that big fat mouth of hers waaaay too often. Poor me.
I have become more and more this way in my old age. In high school and college I was exactly the opposite--the life of every party, the girl who couldn't manage to stay home for more than 30 seconds at a time, etc. But now, I feel like leaving the house and talking to actual PEOPLE is a huge chore. hahaha.
It's funny, though, because you're so very articulate and friendly here on your blog, I wouldn't have ever believed that you felt that you battled "SR."
Congrats on going out--and for having FUN while you were at it!
you not not alone with SR amy.
i too pat myself on the back when i face the world.
happy new year to you!
will write more next time.
Personally I think you did a great job and so did your man. I have been meaning to tell you that. Both of them were felt extremely out of place.
I always get butterflys in my stomach when ever I go out.
So your are definitely not alone.
And we still all love ya :)
Good for you! Maybe we should start a bloggers SR club. We can all make plans to meet and not show up!
That's actually quite interesting because I think you're quite a "social butrfly" in the blogging world.
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