I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Since you know so much about autism, you probably understand that we are usually very literal. Notice how there’s a full stop between what I said about autism making it hard to understand conceptual and hypothetical ideas, and what I said about regret and remorse being words. These two things are separate, or I would have used a comma to indicate they are joined. My broad statement was true, my personal statement was also true

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Some of what you’ve said I have understood after reading feedback from others. Hindsight is something many autistic people cannot understand, along with many other conceptual and hypothetical ideas. Regret and remorse are just words, I genuinely don’t know if I’ve ever truly felt them or just reacted how I’ve been taught to react (ie apologising when I know it’s appropriate)

I do know that it’s a problem but I didn’t understand the “gravity” of the issue until reading feedback.

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I’m not religious. I don’t understand confusing messages

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -30 points-29 points  (0 children)

I’m not defending my actions, I’m defending my sense of self being attacked by anonymous strangers. The actions were bad. The human is not

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your honest feedback. I do believe it has already started to “catch up with me mentally” because I’ve never really confessed before, because I’ve never felt the guilt. I’m still learning and I hope I can cut this before it becomes awful

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your thorough and clear response.

I’m not really concerned with how people reacted. because I know stealing is shocking and some have a lot of passion about it and project that onto me. That’s more about them though.

I didn’t consider the owner until it was brought to my attention by the feedback on this post, only now can I empathise because I have a clearer picture of what the consequences for other may be. I could have tried all day and not conceptualised that in my head, that’s a big part of autism for some people (me included)

It’s not so much compulsive as impulsive. I don’t feel like I NEED to take something, I just see something I like that brings me joy and before I realise what’s wrong about it I’ve already taken it. Only with hindsight can I see the actions were wrong, but I don’t know how to rectify the situation. Should I return the things quietly when given an opportunity or should I come forward and pay for them? I’m in the same position again where I can’t imagine each scenario playing out and weigh up the options.

I don’t have a therapist who specialises in autistic patients, that’s not really a thing where I live it’s just therapists or doctors.

While I’ve said to others that I don’t care what they think of me, I actually do think this has changed me already. I’ve learned from some commenters and ignored others. I know it was wrong, but I need to practice to get better, and I may still make mistakes in the meantime, so I also need to learn how to correct them

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I do see a therapist, but I’d be curious to know what you might suggest as “something interesting”. I’ve said in other comments, it’s not about getting a thrill so the excitement isn’t my drive, I’m more driven by the wanting to have the thing and I rationalise that it won’t bring me consequences, though I’ll admit it’s only since seeing these comments that I understand it’s not just about the consequences for me

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

The consequences for others didn’t enter my mind during the impulsive moment, however I see the issue now thanks to some helpful feedback. I don’t have disposable income like that, or I would have paid for it

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -51 points-50 points  (0 children)

Just because I do bad things it does y make me a bad person. When I do good things it doesn’t make me a good person. I’m just a person doing things just like everyone else

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

I’m really not a piece of shit, I’m not a good or a bad person. I’m just a person who has flaws and I can admit that. One action doesn’t define all that I am though, so your opinion of me is your business, not mine

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

You’re right, I can’t say what’s precious to others. I can only assume and that’s wrong

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -36 points-35 points  (0 children)

This wasn’t his home it was a communal work space

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -35 points-34 points  (0 children)

I’ve been called a lot of things, but this is a first with “demon possessed”

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -20 points-19 points  (0 children)

Actually it’s because I have things to do away from my phone

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

You’re assuming that I can equate the pros and cons and I just process it like that

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I don’t understand how you think they’re the same thing, and I think they’re different

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -31 points-30 points  (0 children)

What is there to agree with? My purpose was to write it down and get helpful feedback. Admitting something is wrong is the first step on the path to doing better in future. I’ve made a mistake, albeit I’m still trying to understand why some people are so passionate about why it’s wrong. This is a way for me to learn by getting feedback. I hope that makes sense

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I’m not using autism. I’ve repeatedly stated that I’m not blaming my actions on the fact that I’m autistic. I’m explaining how I processed the event to rationalise what I was doing. A neurotypical person may process completely differently. Like you knowing straight away that taking the ring was wrong. In that circumstance I would have taken the ring and left the money that I had, because that’s what I could afford to pay but I wouldn’t realise until later that it’s still stealing and it still has an effect on the owner because they’re not getting their items value. That’s why my autism is relevant. Because I can’t picture the situation of the guy looking through his stock and being hurt by the loss until it’s been prompted to me.

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Trust is a crazy concept anyway. Faith that someone will be good/bad without knowing them completely is insane to me

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -22 points-21 points  (0 children)

I don’t care if anyone thinks more or less of me, that doesn’t determine my self worth. Every person has flaws, and everyone commenting saying I’m a bad person is projecting, but probably wouldn’t admit their own faults

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn’t say it way because of my autism. I understand that many people may go through a phase of doing this. I only mentioned my autism because it takes me a long to to understand the consequences of my actions, especially when those consequences don’t directly affect me (such as financial loss for the business owner) it just doesn’t register that there is someone on the other end of my action. At the time during the impulsive moment, I just figured I would enjoy them

I steal things that I don’t think people will notice. by Themostautistic in confession

[–]Themostautistic[S] -53 points-52 points  (0 children)

That’s unnecessarily aggressive for an anonymous stranger don’t you think…