Should a neurodivergent person mainly be friends with other neurodivergent people or have relationships with them?

I’m 32 years old and was diagnosed with AuDHD very late in life. I’ve been living in Ireland for the past three years.
Since moving to Ireland, everything has become much more difficult for me. Back in my home country, my closest friends were my cousins, so I always had people around me who genuinely cared about me. Now I’m far away from them.
Everyone I’ve met in Ireland seemed to try to take advantage of me in some way, either financially or emotionally. I made friendships, but it took me a long time to realize that some of these people were only interested in using me. I had relationships with women as well, and I eventually felt that some of them had the same intentions — to take advantage of me financially and emotionally.
Now, when I stop and look back at everything, I’ve started to wonder if perhaps the people I should be building friendships and relationships with are people who are more like me.
As neurodivergent people, are we more vulnerable to being manipulated and hurt by neurotypical people?
What do you think about this?

Posted Sep 23, 2026, 8:22 AM UTC

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