Anti-social vs Asocial
Psychiatric problems are rising in number in today’s world due to increasing stress levels and decreasing threshold for tolerance. Two similar sounding terms have emerged as people behave differently when faced with social challenges.
Anti-social means against morally appropriate behaviour while asocial means avoidance of social life. Antisocial behaviour is caused by repression of emotions, bad experiences and negative thinking. Asocial behaviour simply develops as one’s attitude towards life. It could be due to introverted nature (keeping one’s feelings to one’s self), autism, and schizophrenia (delusional psychiatric disorder).
Antisocial behaviour is such that it could hurt the people in the society or have a bad impact on the society. It is harmful and negative behaviour. People who commit murder, rape, steal, hurt animals, exhibit violent behavior, all fall under this category. Basically, they do not feel guilty despite their actions that offending people. They do not have sympathy nor do they respect others. They lack the sense of right or wrong. Their behaviour is committed most often with intent of causing harm to others and in very rare cases it is due to neglect. Since childhood they lack morals that a good human being should possess.
Asocial behaviour is seen in people lacking confidence while meeting new people or being anxious of rejection. They avoid social meetings to such a great extent because they do not want to give people a chance to accept or reject them. They will generally prefer doing things all alone rather than making new friends or relations. It becomes a burden for them to handle any sort of relationships. They will have very few friends or no close friends at all. Due to such behaviour they are criticized and looked upon as subnormal individuals. Also, they tend to do constructive things than be anxious in social gatherings. In autism, this type of behaviour is noticed because they cannot express their feelings and also lack necessary skills for communication. They like routinistic things and do not make eye contact which makes them asocial. In schizophrenia, many people become asocial and keep imagining themselves as strong and confident people as a way to reduce peer pressure. They have delusions and hallucinations which take them away from other individuals. Asocial people have fear of being humiliated and hence they develop anxiety and restlessness in social engagements. Asocialism can be observed in individuals who are depressed. They lack interest in day to day activities or hobbies which once gave them immense happiness.
Treatment for antisocial people will be psychotherapy, counseling and drugs if required. Antisocial people have a low threshold for stress and so get frustrated very easily and are impulsive in nature. These people are explained about society norms and how they are expected to behave. They are taught better ways to keep themselves occupied as a way to reduce thefts. They are positively taught ways of being independent and handling stress better. Drugs do not help directly but treat co-morbid conditions like depression etc. Asocial people are taught communication skills which boost their confidence levels during social gatherings. Also, once they efficiently start expressing their emotions, people reciprocate appropriately setting forth a chain of positive future social interactions. This will reduce anxiety levels and encourage them to meet more people.
Summary:
Anti-social behavior and asocial behavior are both caused due to decreased stress management levels. Both are treatable and the person can be normal after treatment. Antisocial behavior will need more of counseling whereas asocial behavior will need more of communicative and socializing skills.
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READ: I really hate being rude but I hate misinformation more. I am only assuming that you tried extensively researching both sides, and maybe you did, but most of the information in this post about ‘asocial’ is wrong. The anti-social information seems fine given that I have read numerous other sources on this subject though since the asocial information is rather one-sided with what sounds like no voice from anyone who actually is asocial, then I doubt the anti-social treatment information and this whole post in general.
I am in no way saying that being asocial can or cannot be a part of something like schizophrenia or autism, but I am saying that an asocial mind/brain can develop without those things.
Asocial literally means “I do not want to socialize because I just don’t ever feel like it.” The only reason why any asocial may not develop adequate communication skills is because they are not used to it. Instead of asocial, what this post is talking about sounds a lot more like social anxiety. As for why an asocial’s brain developed this way, well why did your brain develop to socialize? Why not asocial? Simple answer is, no one knows.
Anti-social is having an uncaring attitude towards hurting others while being impulsive. Unlike what I’ve seen people say, anti-social is not “asocial to the extreme”; asocial is in the completely opposite direction, they do not want anything to do with socializing while an anti-social will go after people/seek them out, and may even hate people. An anti-social may have friends but they are all like-minded.
Having asocial instincts drives you away from people, not toward them, and you are happy about being by yourself. Yes, being asocial is wanting to be alone, you feel separated from others, it is natural to you. (It is NOT introverted as that is wanting to be alone but with little-some socializing in between taking hours or days off.) Asocial does not mean you hate people, being asocial is, again, literally just “I do not ever want to socialize.” and you may be an incredibly compassionate and kind person. So you may be a little asocial, or you may be a hermit, which in fact IS asocial to the extreme. Hermits are people who choose to live alone because an asocial is happiest when by themselves.
Please talk to people who are asocial and do proper research, thank you.
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READ: I couldn’t fit this in but it is still important.
I am trying to be impartial but I am really worried at the fact that whoever posted this piece on ‘differencebetween’ put it in the category of ‘Disease’. Whoever thought the word disease was applicable to being ‘asocial’ is completely wrong.
Of course learning communication skills and how to handle social situations is important. However people can freely choose to live alone.
I thought I covered it pretty well in typing that, “asocials can be happy and are happiest when alone” but people often misinterpret things, especially when online so to clarify: It is okay to be asocial. Society will tell you and go on to tell you in the future that ‘asocial’ is wrong or bad (like this post), but it isn’t. Being told such things, and certainly if it is more than once thus can and will make you feel as if you are wrong or bad. Being told things like “you can be cured” (like this post says) makes you feel like you are wrong or bad, or like you are a disease (like this post implies). There is no chance of stopping someone from being asocial, just like you cannot change a person from being a social person to a non-social person – it is all instinct, and you cannot change instinct.
You can be on the autism spectrum, or be anti-social, or have schizophrenia, or social anxiety, and still be a social person! Or not!
It is okay to be asocial! Stop trying to pathologize it, you cannot do it because ‘asocial’ is not necessarily unhealthy, like being ‘social’ is not necessarily unhealthy! I sincerely believe whoever posted this meant ‘social anxiety’ and not ‘asocial’.
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READ typo correction: “Society will tell you and go on to tell you in the future that ‘asocial’ is wrong or bad (like this post *does*)”
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This article is, in its purest form, trash. Who ever wrote this seems to live by societies expectations, conforming to ‘normality’, a concept merely painted by todays ‘popular culture’. I say that you are but a cog in societies wheel for believing this. Linking antisocials to serial killers is low. Did you know that ‘family figures’, and ‘big, well-famed’ businessmen, and others with no antisocial tendencies have committed just as much, or perhaps more crime as the antisocials? Just because the filth of the Earth have antisocial behaviours, does not mean that all antisocial people are prone to becoming hostile.
Also, the quote “Asocial behaviour simply develops as one’s attitude towards life”, makes no sense at all. Everybody has an attitude towards life. Therefore, by the apparent logic of the article’s author, shouldn’t everybody be asocial? If you don’t know how to construct complete sentences and accept societal diversity, maybe you should reconsider posting your inaccurate articles, and learn to think for yourself.
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You’re a big fat liar. Everything that Rachita typed and posted is correct. It’s really stupid that people like you don’t know the difference between asocial and antisocial. Hell, it’s just as stupid when a lot of you ignorant scum claim that those are nerds and introverted are antisocial when they’re really asocial. And that pisses me off.
All people who commit crimes are antisocial. In fact, those who claim that my kinds of people, especially those who are vullied victims, are antisocial when it’s really the bullies themselves who are antisocial as are those who make false assumptions about supposedly antisocial people. In other words, antisocial’s pretty much a word that’s used by hypocrites who can’t take a good look at themselves before passin’ judgment onto others who are different from them.
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I read the article and agree completely with the posts below. Asocial behaviour is not a pathology. It’s insulting when the article says, there are ways to get normal. I agree with the posts below the article saying the writer is confusing asocial behavior with social anxiety. Without being to hard on you like the comments below, just be careful when you’re writing on a subject that involves personality types. It sounds like you are very young and basically are writing a school paper. Subjects involving mental health can take years of study and research and can’t be written within this manner. Re-read the comments that these people submitted and learn from this. I don’t mean it in a negative way but their response to your article will be helpful to you on your next article. Just consider this a learning experience when it comes to informative writing to the public.
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You’re as much of a liar as Austin is.
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