Stress Relief

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To all those with ASD's:

How do you respond to stress?


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When I become stressed, my intellectual and creative drives become very active. If the intellectual drive happens to be significantly stronger, I only get compulsions to memorize data. If the creative drive is significantly stronger, I express desires to create art. If they are approximately equal, the drive changes to one of wishing to invent. The main focus seems to be distraction from the harsh reality of the stress.

Of course, when the stress comes from conversing with too many people, I begin to withdraw and frequently remember to give the cues for discomfort and having to leave. It generally works and certain methods of walking seem to have the same effects as stimming.

I respond very badly. I get really sick. I am seeing someone on how to deal with stress =) i was refered to her for an actual diagnosis... she cant give me one but said shed teach me to deal with the stress.

I get angry and irrational, then go into solutions mode (sometimes called survival mode when in an unfamiliar or scary environment).

I'm less intellectual or creative when stressed. I have no control over my emotions when I become stressed. I have to eventually calm myself down and come to a solution.

Do you find you are irrational still in survival mode? I end up getting hyperfocused, but still make awful decisions.

I hyper focus on getting to a safe place so I guess you could say I'm not thinking straight but I have to get as far away as possible from the environment that caused the stress.
Solutions mode is when I become highly logical and without emotion. I'm just coming up with all these ideas for solutions and if with another person will not think about how the situation is making them feel or even console them.

I'm stressed practically all the time, so...

I get busy with something... Usually a physically and mentally challenging project, which makes me forget about whatever the stress is. Particularly if I'm forced to attend a social event. I'll point out something that needs fixing, and volunteer to do it. Last birthday party that my wife and I went to this summer, I had a quick snack, and then went outside and installed some copper plumbing.

Charles

Being upset/stressed often fuels my creativity as well. It either makes me completely shut down and do nothing, or allows for some of my most creative art to come out.

I get so creative that I have too many ideas and end up doing nothing, which makes me even more stressed because it's like all I'm thinking wanted to get out but couldn't and I feel this huge pressure I'm feeling like that now, I want to be drawing but here I am

But to relax me, every night before I go to sleep I put on a DVD to watch in bed with the light off. This helps me to be able to block out all of life's problems and get lost into the film, leaving all of my stress and worries out of the way. It really does help me a lot, and it's probably why I don't wake up worrying in the night, it's because I have wound down and relaxed myself before going to sleep.

Interesting...

It turns out it is fairly common that stress increases even cognitive drives. I already expected the survival drive, but the occurrence of cognitive drives was a surprise.