Aspirin doesn’t help with all ‘Headaches’

As a member of society, I run into social roadblocks on a daily basis. We’ve all encountered social roadblocks. I sometimes run into what are referred to as, “brain farts.” I heard this description over 10 years ago by an instructor at another school: A brain fart is “the brain not exhaling information” for the purpose of succeeding in school, work, or social life.

This the first of two worlds; lots of society belongs to this world.

On the other side, I find myself trying to join general society, but run into “social headaches.”

Society is made of “social headaches” such as interactions, unwritten codes, cues, boundaries, language (sarcasm, joking, laughing, sincerity, honesty, swearing, slander, etc.). These headaches can present obstacles to individuals with varying ability. They are communicated in social media, by phone, in-person, other electronic devices, and by personality differences.

Depending on an individual’s ability and background, understanding how to merge with society can be challenging. This can lead to a lifetime of being bullied, teased, discriminated, and even slandered – all because the individual isn’t understanding how to cope with these social headaches through different forms of communication.

Take me, for example. I continually run into social headaches. Lots people experience brain farts, but many of us experience headaches with various communication styles. Unfortunately, a lot of society isn’t very compassionate or understanding of some people’s differing abilities.

I’m surprised I was even allowed to write this article. I learned society really admires or pays attention to degrading, disrespecting, slandering, and swearing. In a nutshell, if you’re not a Jerry Springer fan or into Jerry Springer (or something similar), you’ll be subjected to years of bullying.

The “brain farts” get upset at the “social headaches” for subjecting them to their own taste of medicine. My support team of varying mental health professionals have been quite troubled by how society treats others who are unable to align very well, as they have had to advocate for me. I’ve run into people who I thought were compassionate, caring, thoughtful, role-model figures earning the public’s trust off the clock. These people are in professions such as mental health, education, and law, yet these people are some of the cruelest in society.

It’s important to note, I’ve run into people in the same professions who are kind, compassionate, and understanding when I reveal my abilities and my inabilities after disclosing I’m on the autism spectrum. I commend The Advocate for giving me the opportunity to write this article.

I’ve heard countless stories of people complaining about why society rewards degradation, disrespect, slander, and swearing. In a nutshell, if you’re not able to align well with society, you’re labeled as an outsider, outcast, loser, loner, idiot, rapist, sex offender, wacko, a nobody, freak, geek, stalker, psycho – basically anything and everything in the book.

People like myself have abilities and interests we value greatly that others may not have. Some of the interests range from reaching out, helping others, and… (sorry, brain fart right now). This doesn’t mean we are the above-mentioned names. I saw in the news a couple weeks ago that some officials are working on passing a law prohibiting bullying, teasing, and discriminating among youths. As one of the parents interviewed on the news broadcast said, “These kids have learned they can get away with it and how to get away with it.”

I think they should pass the same kind of law among adults. We shouldn’t be shunned to the side by our peers just because our abilities and inabilities aren’t aligned with society.