Aspergers/Autistic or just shy & unconfident?

To me, it sounds like you're just shy and lack confidence. As someone who has lived with an autistic person for most of my life, I think autism is different to what you're describing. Autism makes it difficult to relate to others and form friendships and there is often a very one sided, obsessive element to it (ie only wanting to have conversations about a certain topic/thing that interests them.) Often they don't even realise that they're doing it, but you seem quite self aware. The fact that you have a few close friends is important too, as the autistic people I know find any kind of friendship difficult. You just seem shy and unsure about how to strike up a conversation with someone new - a problem that a lot of people have.

Don't worry, you're only 22 and you have plenty of time to make new friends. Spending time wishing you could do the last six years of your life again is pointless. I would focus on the present and see what you can do now. Maybe join a club that interests you or get in touch with your close friends and see if you can meet new people through them.

If you think you may be autistic you probably aren't. Generally, autistic people lack the ability to detect certain emotions such as when somebody is being sarcastic.

Yes but Aspergers is not. Aspergers are extremely sensitive although true they tend to struggle detecting sarcasm...(this is not an emotion though...)

i have all of these.

doomed to social failure...?....

i try not to be but its hard........

Or their biggest downfall is there very literal thinking... A textbook example is if someone tells an Aspergers Kid to pull there socks up... meaning, Work harder, get you act together...!

A person with Aspergers is highly likely to pull there socks up as in bend down and pull up their socks...!

I'm an Aspergers and I am forever falling in that trap...

Our sense of humor is warped as well... meaning we dont often get jokes very well...

We can misread emotions... for example... a situation when im scared... I will laugh, and yes that has caused major frowning in my direction.

Yes, the example you gave though wasnt an example of you misreading emotions; it was an example of other people misreading you. My mum tends to do the same thing and can get extremely odd looks!

Emotions and social things do tend to be misread in Aspergers, mostly due to literal thinking and other things but it varies i think between the person. Emotions i found though in aspergers, they tended to be much more sensitive. For example when i broke my toe my brother tended to constantly come into the room every hour to see if i was ok :P. And another person i know tends to find small situations a big emotional deal...but in generally is very emotional.
My mum tends to have some mega emotional radar and can tell what everyone's feeling lol.

Varies with everyone but i do think a common misconception, in my experience is that people with Aspergers are robots and have no emotions and are oblivious.

I think thats more Autistic then Aspergers.

autism is just the beliefs of doctors. most medicine is.

You're just shy.

Emotions and social things do tend to be misread in Aspergers, mostly due to literal thinking and other things but it varies i think between the person. Emotions i found though in aspergers, they tended to be much more sensitive. For example when i broke my toe my brother tended to constantly come into the room every hour to see if i was ok :P. And another person i know tends to find small situations a big emotional deal...but in generally is very emotional.
My mum tends to have some mega emotional radar and can tell what everyone's feeling lol.

Varies with everyone but i do think a common misconception, in my experience is that people with Aspergers are robots and have no emotions and are oblivious.

I think thats more Autistic then Aspergers.

So, now not only is Psychiatry made up, but ALL medicine?

A lot of medicine is socially constructed. What is and what we think of as disease varies across time, space, and cultures. Especially with so called mental illnesses.

A lot of medicine is socially constructed. What is and what we think of as disease varies across time, space, and cultures. Especially with so called mental illnesses.