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Right. I didn't want to over do my original post as it was already pretty lengthy. I just needed information. I'm not very educated when it comes to Aspergers so I had no way of knowing what was deemed as common or what to do in these kinds of situations. I got a lot of insight from this post and it's helped me relax and think things through more clearly. I still don't know what I'm going to do, but at least I have more information and can decide from a different perspective.

I would take what he's saying as truth, even if he only says it when he's upset. Aspies usually don't sugar coat things and can be bluntly honest. When he says he feels empty inside, that may well mean he feels nothing for you as far as a romantic interest.

I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around why you would want to be with someone let alone be around someone that says you are unattractive.....

Sometimes we have to take the blinders off, even if its going to hurt......
 
ive loved with my boyfriend for 7 months. We met online 12 years ago, when we were 13-14. Two years ago is when we got into an online relationship and after those two years we took the plunge and I moved to New Jersey to be with him.

I didn't know until I moved in that he has Aspergers. I'm bipolar, so I didn't judge. I just figured it was something new I had to learn to adapt too.

Every couple of months he would have this short meltdowns. He would stop being affectionate and would tell me he felt empty and felt nothing for me. I visited him once last spring, and we broke up briefly because of a situation like this. He told me he wasn't attracted to me, we broke up, I went back home and we didn't talk for a month. After that month, he started texting me videos of the apartment that I had found for us. He had rented it and was telling me how he wanted me there. I ignored him because I was too hurt. For a week he nonstop texted, sent videos, and even emailed me. I eventually caved and called him. I let him have it and told him it was not okay the things he did. He explained he was wrong and was extremely remorseful. So two weeks later he drove 15 hours to come pick me up. Everything was really good.

Then I noticed these meltdowns every couple of months. They were hard at first, but then when they happened I would just go in another room and entertain myself. Until the meltdown we're on now.

For the past almost two weeks, he has been angry and shut down. We were having a really good day, playing WoW, and out of no where he told me he felt empty. I left him alone for a couple of days, I figured it was onset from work stress because his contract with work is about to be up and he doesn't know where we'all be relocated next and he really hates his job. The weekend comes around and he's acting better. He's holding my hand, cuddling wth me, asking me to play games with him or persisting I watch movies with him.

We get to yesterday, his mood was declining throughout the week but he didn't acknowledge it. So it's Wednesday and he is leaving for work. He was throwing a huge fit about something and being completely belligerent about something so I told him not to come home until he adjusted his attitude. Well e didn't come home until midnight, and when he did he refused to tell me where he was.

Eventually he told me he was at his friends, and he continued saying "I did something mean and I regretted saying it after I said it but I don't regret it now." So I inquired what he meant. And he told me that he told his friends that he didn't think I was attractive. He wouldn't say anything more than that. I tried to reason with him and tell him this is just his Aspergers, because we go through this every couple of months and it's a pattern. I also tried to convince him therapy might be beneficial and he said "there is nothing that will make this emptiness go away".

We eventually went to bed, I slept on the couch. He woke up in the morning and acted normalish, laying on the couch with me watching tv until he left for work.

I know you can't speak for him, but is this normal behavior for some with Aspergers? I'm trying so hard to understand but no one can give me any answers. I would appreciate any response.

I'm sorry to say this guy has more going on than asbergers.His behaviour is cruel and he needs to grow up.I have autism and have been happily married for 35 years.I have meltdowns and have had difficulty with other people and work all my life.My wife understands that sometimes I overload and need to be let alone and it has never caused relationship problems.My wife is epileptic.She is my only friend,solemate and lover.i don't need other people but I do need her.His behaviour is not autism it's a personality disorder of some sort.Get out of there and find someone who will love you for what YOU are.I think you are an amazing person to have put up with all this and deserve better than him.
 
Feeling empty is a symptom of autistic burnout. You can google it. We all go through it from time to time.

As far as finding you attractive… I suppose it means he usually does and notices its absence when it is not that in particular, but all feelings that are gone. Relationships are a lot of emotional work, and maybe he wants you to leave him alone (or the opposite) when he says that. Even so, it's incredibly rude of him to say it.
 
I sometimes go through phases where I don't feel anything for my boyfriend, but I know the feelings will come back and I'm sure this will be the same for him too. It's a shame that he's unable to realize that...
 
Medication is not necessarily the answer for everyone. Each person is different. Medication has definitely not been the answer for me. What helps me the most is finding friends (if possible) to talk things out and a therapist.
 
I sometimes go through phases where I don't feel anything for my boyfriend, but I know the feelings will come back and I'm sure this will be the same for him too. It's a shame that he's unable to realize that...

He's never really had any help with this though. He comes from a family that's not very emotional and watched his mother get abused when he was a preteen. I sincerely hope he feels better. If he was acting like himself, and he told me all of this, I would probably take it for what it is.

But you can just look at him and see that something severely off and unsettled with him. He looks so dead in the eyes and face.
 
Yeah, I don't see how simply not having feelings for you anymore would put him in this state, actually it's probably the opposite, his state being the cause of his apathy. I think you should make him read this thread, maybe he'll understand better this way.
 
Has anyone heard of anhedonia? I came across it and it seems like a lot of his emotional distress and empty feelings could be correlated with that.
 
Yeah, I don't see how simply not having feelings for you anymore would put him in this state, actually it's probably the opposite, his state being the cause of his apathy. I think you should make him read this thread, maybe he'll understand better this way.

I've thought about it but I don't know how he would react. Even now we're being nice and talking and coexisting but he still looks so dead behind the eyes and he's shut himself into gaming completely.
 
Is it something you believe will go away over time? If so, maybe letting him be for a while will help him get better faster.

If you believe he should get a different job in order to be happier, maybe print out some information about jobs you think will suit him better? Just leave it somewhere he would notice, like on his console maybe, and don't talk about it. If he wants to read it, he will, and if not, don't force him.
 
Gaming in this manner only avoids the reality and is not facing the problem. This is a recipe for disaster. It sounds like you need to re-consider the relationship altogether, and if you don't already have a job, start looking for one if you can. You can still stay friends with the person and help him how you can, but he needs to focus on him and you need to focus on you primarily. If he's not going to work with you, you may not be able to help him out of this state, or at least not alone. Are there any trusted relatives of him you can talk to about this situation, or friends that should work with him in this capacity?
 
Has anyone heard of anhedonia? I came across it and it seems like a lot of his emotional distress and empty feelings could be correlated with that.
Sure, but anhedonia is a symptom, not a cause. It means being unable to enjoy anything.
 

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