'Tis the season to have meltdowns - falalala lalala la

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Anyone else under seasonal pressure right now?

Incredibly so. I'm terrified of the gatherings at this time of year, elderly people that smell of dogs and little children screaming and urinating on the carpet. I'm 99.999% certain I'm going to have a meltdown, just like every other miserable year. Why people enjoy parties is far beyond me.

Logical Mom, while I don't feel any stress in anticipation of the Holidays, I just wanted to say this thread title made me laugh out loud. I could just imagine you or somebody else actually singing it.

We are going to have a dinner, go out to eat at a restaurant, with all the closest relatives. I'm not particularly looking forward to it this year, but I don't think it will give me a meltdown.

Every year, we do a "family" ( BF's "adopted" family - matriarch insists on paying) get together at a fairly high end resort in West Virginia. I actually enjoy it, but . . . "appropriate attire" is required at all times - pretty much, dressed to the nines at all times, but more formal in the evening. And, for whatever reason, you just *can't* wear the same thing twice.

That means I have to have three different sets of perfectly co-ordinated clothes for lunches, and another three perfectly co-ordinated outfits for dinners. I have enough clothes to DO that, but 99% of the time I just wear jeans with a nice shirt, because I suck at choosing any combination more complicated than that. 6 entirely different outfits all at once? Hours and hours of staring into the closet. Came very close to a shutdown last night.

Great title

My main problem right now is that I have to go into town for some essential things and that it seems that the entire country is doing their shoppong RIGHT NOW, RIGHT HERE. And then there are the street musicians. I normally enjoy some music in the street and stop to watch, but there are far too many now. And they are all playing thesame songs. It just drives me nuts.

On top of that, having to go and visit family who live far enough that I have to stay over is very daunting. I would not mind staying home (in my crappy student room but that is a subject for another rant) and just ignoring all the christmas stuff.

I luckily got my Christmas shopping done December 1st. I don't think I would have lasted long in the chaos of the last few days before Christmas. And the rest of the Christmas I'll be spending with family, so most other aspects of it is already taken care of.

I try to prepare a lot in the summer - anticipating slamming up to Christmas after finals. This year it did not go as planned - and there were a lot of personal stressors this fall to boot.

I'm glad the title made some laugh - that's always a good thing.

Thanks for answering, all.

Never liked it, not as a kid, not now.

Love the song, will sing that in my head if I feel I'm losing it. Might be just the thing to keep me sane

Got shouted at by husband this morning for crying. I just find the complete abandonment of normal life for a few days too crazy, too much. Why do people do this, even NTs complain about it!

I love the spirit of Christmas, the decorations and the nostalgia but good God, forget going shopping, forget the get togethers, forget the food...I enjoy next to no food served during the holidays. I highly doubt I'll have any sort of excessive anxiety-related reaction but it's certainly going to be grating on my nerves. I wish I wasn't so conscientious so I could just bring an iPod, sit in the corner and listen to music instead of conversing with people I couldn't possibly care less about. Anyway, happy holidays!

And the glitter everywhere you go AAAAAAHHHHHHH!! !!

Don't forget the mandatory flashing lights and of course "All I Want For Christmas is You." playing loud everywhere =D

Oh.....yes....yes...

Except that I shut down. And if I can't shut down, I melt down.

In a very unstable family situation for the next few days. Not going to be pleasant. It's new news to my family that I'm autistic....perhaps they'll understand it better when things are over.


Yeah.

Not this year.

I have to give credit here to my family though. They are all making 'alternative courses' for the christmas dinner. It's basically the food besides the main food and it's this-is-for-you-because-you don't-like-any-of-the-other-stuff-we've-cooked food. They accept me and I love them for it even if they don't get me!

You're lucky! i'm having to take a veggie burger with me to my cousins' house. Have already had a stressful meal out this week with work people- was really nice of them to include me so I went but it was to an indian restaurant and I've never had a curry and don't like things 'mixed up' (i usually eat things separately with no sauces) and the curry said 'dry' but came in a sauce so ended up using a side plate to put bits on to try to separate them, then just eating rice (which luckily came in a separate bowl!). The people i work with were amazing- no-one commented or made a big deal out of it which really helped and i thought I dealt with it really well- minimal shaking and no meltdown! A couple of years ago, I couldn't have done that (wouldn't have gone in the first place), shows how 'social skills work' and reading up about AS and anxiety can really help. Very nervous about christmas though- staying with my cousins for a few days and the'yre really laidback and I find the unstructured, 'relaxed' atmosphere really hard to deal with and they don't know about AS and get frustrated with me a lot (but don't say it to my face- my mum usually tells me off for being 'antisocial and controlling' and, because they've all been drinking, we end up arguing. Am taking running stuff with me though this time, which really, really helps with reducing anxiety.

It's anxiety season.