My girlfriend used to 'live in a bubble'

[bhzmafia]

Keep in mind, this all happened before I knew my gf and I am going off what she has told me.

 

My gf used to live off in her own world, in a bubble she calls it. Due to this, she didn't realise a lot of the world around her and is pretty unaware of a lot of things that have happened and a lot of famous people.

This in itself isn't a big deal, in fact I think it's cute and I like it.

 

But lately I have been listening to old episodes of LoveLine with Adam Carolla and Dr Drew, where a lot of mental problems are due to some sort of abuse in childhood. What I'm wondering is whether her living in a bubble could be due to something that happened to her when she was younger.

 

She is pretty embarrassed by being unaware of so much, which is why I havn't brought this up with her before coming here.

 

Does anyone have any experience with something like this? Is there a reason for it, or is it just something that happens to people.

[d24]

i can't play games like trivial pursuit because i lived in a little bubble and have zero 'common knowledge' of movies, music, history, etc... pretty much anything that i wasn't taught at school (or that I had no interest in) it's quite embarrasing how little I know sometimes.

 

i don't think it's weird, it just happens sometimes if someone isn't exposed to those sort of things (through choice, lifestyle or however). I think you're trying too hard to 'analyse' this.

[bhzmafia]

I probably am analysing it too much. Just listening to Loveline really gives me the idea that lots of people's problems are due to being abused as children.

 

(BTW for those who don't know, Loveline was an American radio show where people called in with problems and were told how to fix them. Often the problems were results of people acting out due to rape/molestation)

[bar35]

There is no correlation between not being aware of pop culture and past abuse.

 

I have no idea about the junk that people talk about in Star magazine,Inquirer etc...

 

As long as she does not live in a bubble when it comes to you, then it's all good, as a matter of fact it's probably better.

 

If she has no interests whatsoever, that might be kind of peculiar, but it does not even remotely indicate a history of abuse.

[Tanzi]

I've kind of lived in a bubble for the past few years ... since my ex-husband left me 3 years ago to be more precise ... and I'm only just stepping out of it now. Its not related to my emotional state however, more my lifestyle change. I have emersed myself totally into bringing my 3 girls up on my own and getting my life back together again. I stopped being interested in the outside world because my immediate world (my children) were far more important to me. I'm a little embarrassed by my lack of general knowledge during this time but I figured that it was something I needed to do.

[Unreasonable]

I don't think not knowing "useless information" is anywhere near a mental health problem. In fact, I think the opposite might be more. My wife is kind of the same way. She grew up on a farm with restrictive TV and movie access at home, didn't really listen to pop music, and sometimes I'm shocked at some of things she doesn't know.

 

Me? I can "name that tune" of every late 70's-80's T.V. show (and obviously know all the characters/storylines), and sing along with every top 40 song of the same era. It's pathetic really. So much useless information I know! I'm also the type that can read wikipedia for hours on end, mostly about garbage of no historical importance, like actors, movies, comic books characters, etc. I'd do well at trivial pursuit, but that's just it, it's trivial!

 

What I think is more important is not being completely devoid of anything you can talk about, even stuff that you should know from schooling. For instance, my wife can talk about anything about farming, which I am completely clueless about, and we can always talk about things we've experienced together. Sounding uneducated uncultured and ignorant, that's bad. I think you live in a bubble and still not sound uneducated, uncultured and ignorant.

[shuttlefish]

My bubble friend has no idea who Lady Gaga is, or Justin Beiber or Jersey shore. She also thought that Paris Hilton was a hotel in France.

 

I envy her....

[Unreasonable]

My bubble friend has no idea who Lady Gaga is, or Justin Beiber or Jersey shore. She also thought that Paris Hilton was a hotel in France.

 

I envy her....

Indeed, so do I.

[geekgirl4]

uhmm, unless you're a grad major of the field of psychology or have done extensive research, i don't think it's wise to label people you know with psych disorders you hear on the radio. While the radio may bring up several points of truth, most of them are very generalized. Making any sort of diagnosis takes numerous tests. I have several friends who are in a bubble and it's most definitely not because of an abused childhood. It's also too much of a snap judgment to say many disorders are caused by abused childhood. Just like they say you shouldn't take television seriously, I think the same with radio. They offer some information but not the whole picture.

[greywolf]

'living in a bubble' is not a mental problem. I live in a bubble too. It's because I'm self-centered.

[Fudgie]

My bubble friend has no idea who Lady Gaga is, or Justin Beiber or Jersey shore. She also thought that Paris Hilton was a hotel in France.

 

I envy her....

 

Your friend is awesome. I envy her too.

If I could scrub off the CRAP in my memory, like jersey shore and paris hilton, wow...that would be great.

 

I lived in a bubble growing up. I knew a lot about books and such, but NOTHING about pop culture. We had no cable, no video games, nothing. Honestly, I think I had a great childhood. I really did. I'm just sad that when I grew up, I had to be exposed to all the crap that is pop culture.

 

And NO it's not a mental disorder. And don't listen to those "psychologists" on TV. They don't know what the heck they are talking about anyway.

[abitbroken]

I don't think "keeping to yourself" is a mental disorder. When i was in my teens I was absorbed in reading etc I really didn't have an interested in being social until I was 17, but really not til I was 20. Turns out I did myself a big favor avoiding experimentation my friends were doing at that age that I missed. I was NOT abused as a child.

 

She may be a late bloomer, or someone who likes to have a handful of really close friends but not 1,000 aquaintances, or just was not interested in pop culture. There's nothing "wrong" with her