What are your Coping Strategies?

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pretty much avoidance and being quick about things...=/

Oh god, yes. I tried to emulate a hyper-social rock star for years and years, right down to what they wore and everything. I honestly thought it was working, but it turns out everyone knew I was trying to be something else anyhow, and if they didn't I came across sort of fake and manic. I've decided that since no matter what I try, I'm going to come across as different, I'm just going to be myself. It's less embarrassing than looking back and seeing that large chunks of my life were devoted to a bad impression of someone I wasn't.

Other ways I cope with daily things:
1. Sunglasses all the time outside, and sometimes inside if I want to.
2. White noise or music on earphones so I don't snap from being bothered by sounds at home.
3. Checking the board here so that I don't feel like I'm the only one with these issues.

I believe that if you had a permanent Theory of Mind you would not experience Executive Dysfunction. The Executive Dysfunction is a by-product of a lacking Theory of Mind.

That's what I think, at least.

I gathered that.
How do you think a theory of mind would make executive functioning defects go away?

As far as emotional coping strategies, I have none. Zilch. When I feel bad, I just feel bad, and nothing I say to myself gets rid of it.

So I must resort to external coping strategies, such as:

-Avoidance (extreme sometimes)
-Coming to WP
-Looking up the problem on the internet
-Crying
-Venting about it to someone else
-....and this is bad -- wanting to solve the problem immediately and regretting the decision later. Sometimes my emotions are so overwhelming that I want to fix it right away so I try and sometimes regret the choice I made.
I really need better coping strategies!
I honestly don't know how to cope with stress or negative emotion. Tried for years. Nothing really works.

However, I find it notable that in this thread, very few people (if any) came up with any internal solutions either, like thinking things through (while doing nothing) and somehow feeling better by virtue of changing the thoughts in your head. Maybe the Power of Positive Thinking doesn't work for many of us on the spectrum!

Tidying my room, general maintenance, and playing Uncharted: Drake's Fortune on my playstation. No idea why on that last one, but every little helps, right?

During my diagnosis, the Psychologist explained to me that my limitations with Executive Functioning (not to mention Multi-Tasking and Abstract Thinking) were a direct result of my difficulties with working memory – particularly with complex working memory (as tested by: Wechsler Memory Scale and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test).

It's been my guess that my issues with "Theory of Mind" deficit and "Weak Central Coherence" are driven by this same limitation.

As a note, Minshew and Goldstein wrote an interesting paper. In it, they assert that Aspergers (and Autism) is a disorder of Complex Information Processing.

In a presentation, Minshew identifies the following cognitive weaknesses in individuals with High Functioning Autism:
• Complex Sensory
• Complex Motor
• Complex Memory
• Complex Language
• Concept-formation
• Face Recognition

I realize that there are differences between HFA and Aspergers (particularly around language acquisition). But, I believe these neurological deficits explain a lot of the symptoms (e.g. executive functioning, theory of mind, etc.), at least for me.

So, the question is, how do you cope. I am still trying to figure it out. LOL.

tjr1243 - You very articulately describe my typical coping strategies. I wish I had something better.

Though, whenever I get “cranky” (which can be often), my wife tells me to take a break, by doing one of my favorite activities (walking my dog, where I can escape by myself and just think). Almost all the time, I come back from that 30 to 60 minute walk with a fresh mind.

From my own experience Executive Dysfunction is about not "being in the real world" all the time, but also in your own some of the time. If you have a permanent Theory of Mind you will not be absorbed in your own world, hence also effectively taking care of the executive dysfunction. The executive dysfunction is (in my experience) due to not having enough sense of your own mind as a result of a weak Theory of Mind. When you are not properly aware of your own mind you cannot plan, sequence, initiate, and sustain your behavior towards some goal, incorporate feedback and make adjustments along the way. You have to be aware of your own mind (yourself) continually to be able to do this, i.e. having a proper functioning Theory of Mind.

Weak central coherence is similarly due to a lacking Theory of Mind. A proper functioning theory of mind makes you focus on what's important, i.e. giving you the "big picture" or a Strong central coherence.

I attempt to make up a better Theory of Mind. It works far better than anything else for me.

Indulging in my special interests and listening to music.

Going forth and being weird.