Do You Find Animals Easier to Relate to Than Most People?
Non-human animals don't lie to you. They didn't "act sweet" to lure you in.
As I navigated through my formative years, I encountered significant hurdles in forming deep connections with others. This was particularly true when their expectations of me surpassed my capabilities or when I struggled to comprehend them.
I was a kind kid—sharp in many ways but also gullible (and vulnerable in others). I also fit the Autistic stereotype of being someone who takes things literally. This trait, which is still present in my adult life, was even more pronounced in my childhood.
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Outsiders describe me as "taking things literally," but I see this as more related to my visual thinking.
Because I am a visual thinker, my brain translates people's words into literal pictures. This means that when someone speaks to me (or asks me questions), their words act like search terms that produce various results in my images, videos, and sound bites.
When people speak to me (or ask me questions), they use words (like search terms) that bring up various results (images, videos, sound bites).
Like Google, if someone enters a wrong term (or uses the wrong words), it can majorly alter the results returned (from a browser or my brain). In my case, this means that if someone uses words that don't accurately describe what they're trying to convey, the 'results' in my mind can be completely different from what they intended.
Also, similar to Google (or any other web browser), different results come back whenever various words are fed in.
I usually pick the first, number one, top result - which is only sometimes what the other person was looking for. When I get it wrong, I frequently am blamed for not picking the "correct picture" fast enough (even if the other person used "the wrong words" for me to understand them).
Animals Are Often Easier Than People (for Me)
Animals, in contrast, were a constant source of solace for me, easier to form bonds with than people. They were uncomplicated, direct, and provided a sense of security that was often absent in human interactions.
Humans were complicated and didn't always mean what they said. Sometimes, a human would treat you "nicely" only because they wanted to hurt (or take something from) you.
