What is normal in the world

@Former-Member I'm not sure how old you are, but I know there is a whole cohort of women around my age (39) who were missed in childhood as being aspie because the diagnostic criteria are heavily focused towards how it presents in males. Indeed, even today, most mental health professionals don't seem to have a clue about ASD in females. It is very much an emerging area of research.

Anyway, whatever your particular difference is, it's totally ok, you know. I have neither children nor partner. The only romantic relationship I've had was the one I had as a young teen when a youth group leader took a "special interest" in me. "Normal" simply means that it is what the majority of people do. It isn't a value judgement or anything. And yes, most adults at some point have a romantic relationship and most adults produce children. But that doesn't make it somehow more right or more acceptable than the alternative. It's simply a matter of numbers - most people do that. It's totally ok not to.

I do yearn for "something more". For me, that is employment. I desperately want to be self-sufficient and off welfare. But aside from that, I'm ok with just being these days. I super like my world to be calm, quiet and predictable. It must be really tough longing for something more without knowing what that something more is. You've probably already done this, but I'm wondering what it would be like to kind-of imagine you are at the end of your life and looking back over it. If you were to say "I wish I had..." I wonder what you might come up with? I wonder if that would maybe give you a clue about what this mystery thing is that you are longing for. That could be a totally stupid idea. Again, just throwing it out there.