AS and stress?

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Is it common for people with AS to get easily stressed? If I have too many things to do (like 2 or 3...) I tend to do shut down and instead do absolutely nothing. It doesn´t help...

/the new girl

I get that too.

Ya me too. I have a metaphor that describes this in me: I'm a glass plate, if too many things are put on my plate at once, it shatters. So I've got to keep the weight off. One thing at a time for me. I've learned that the best thing is just to keep it simple.

Yeah, i call this my stuck at freeze mode, where I don't ever get to fight or flight because I am just so overwhelmed I get stuck at freeze.

Sometimes I dont' even pay bills when I'm in one of my freeze modes. My question is...How do we deal with this? I have learned some coping methods, but would like to hear about others as well. I use breathing to calm down so I can ask, "Is there anything I can do about X right this second?" If there is, I try to do it, if not, I tell myself there is nothing I can do right that moment....I think part of my problem is that later I forget to do something about it!

that's a great way to describe it. Freeze mode. I like it.

I'm a chronic list maker. If something is stressing me out and I can't deal with it right way, I write it down so that I don't forget. But I'm a bit OCD about my list making so sometimes I put every little thing down on my list and then it gets so big it stresses me out. Repeat cycle.

Yup. And I go blank, too. I forget how to do even the simplest task if, while I'm in the middle of said task, there is too much stimuli or people talking at me.

"Freeze mode" is a good term.

I also use the term "frozen" to describe myself. Anxiety and Asperger's go hand-in-hand. Plus, we have deficient executive functions, due to the fact that our prefrontal cortices are wired differently, so that causes poor planning skills and the inability to switch between tasks/pay attention to more than one task. I get "frozen" most often when switching between tasks. It's like I just lose focus of what I'm doing, and I just sit there, stiffened. I also get "frozen" during really bad panic attacks, where I'm literally paralyzed with fear.
-OddDuckNash99-

Stress is probably going to be what kills me. I don't have many ways to get rid of stress, and the things that do help me relax can cause me to stress at the same time.

Me too!

Yes, me too. i sort of have a way to handle this. while if I am a bit behind and overdone i just plain haul a**, when I am really behind and overloaded i take a break and come back in non rushing but "dogged perseverance mode". No hurry. Just pick something and start to chug. it works!

WOW, I have the SAME problem. And, if I have to do contradictory tasks, etc... I DO freeze!

Steve

Yes, because it's a side effect of impaired Executive Functioning, which is something that people with ASDs are known to have.

Yes, I feel this way all the time. I get overwhelmed and then don't know--and don't want to--start whatever it is I need to do. Also, when I have a lot of things to do in a schedule, I'm unusually prone to forgetting something on that list. I'm not sure if they're related or not, but I do wish I had a greater motivation level to complete multiple tasks.

My sister S. (diagnosed AS) gets this, which is why she rarely accomplishes her goals.


I get it to a lesser degree-- it takes more to trigger the freeze--- but days when I'm trying to fix dinner and my kid is pulling on my leg and then S. calls to complain about something and won't let me off the phone... then I freeze. Being the borderline AS "helper" of a "real" AS person is a b*tch.


My question is, what do you do about it? Regular meditation helps me be more focused overall. So does a nice stiff drink in an acute situation (not that I'd recommend it, though). S. won't do anything to help herself, though. She thinks it is everyone else's fault.

I did.. I cleaned my mind and now I put those 2-3 things in order and accomplish them with little stress. Now, I find myself reassuring others that its "not that bad"

i feel this way too... which is hard for me atm... as i need to do a million things at once everyday