SHY AWAY
Your Stop being reserved article (June/ July) caught my interest. As a child who would hide under the table when visitors came, I was labelled ‘painfully shy’ and ‘sensitive’. When I left school, I became expert at ‘masking,’ both in my work and social life, but there was a part of me deep inside that didn’t feel right. After a lot of research and appointments with my GP, I’m now awaiting a probable diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Your article is sound advice, but for someone like me, it can be impossible. I’d suggest anyone who inds socialising stressful and draining does a bit of research. If nothing else, knowing what I am has made me realise I’m not just unsociable – and when you know your enemy, you’re better equipped to ight it.