List the COPING STRATEGIES you are using (effective or not)

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We can learn from each other and learn more about ourselves.

List the coping strategies that you use to deal with your non-ASD challenges. Some of them may be helpful and others may be destructive. Some may work only for you, others may work for almost anyone.

These means of coping may be mental, physical, emotional, or behavioral.

Unless it's obvious, explain why you use it and how it helps(or doesn't).

Egs. Some people write to express their feelings/thoughts.
Some people pick fights with their family members
Some people use lists to stay organized
and so on............

Sleep.

Routines
Lists
Exercise
Meds
Alcohol

I still feel like I'm floundering blindly, but I seem to survive and appear okay. I have cut back the latter a lot, but some nights it hits the spot.

Distraction. The issue that causes me distress is one that can't be resolved so the next best thing is to take my mind off it.

Music is my medicine. I'll listen to it whenever I'm overly stressed. Other coping mechanisms are watching TV, movies, or YouTube videos, writing one of the many stories or songs I have running through my mind, and sometimes combining music with writing. I even have an ever expanding playlist on Spotify that I use to get in a creative writing mood. All of these are just soo relaxing and really help to relieve stress.

Distraction for the things I can't change.

I have been diagnosed with non-24 hour (a circadian rhythm disorder) which causes manic depressive symptoms. When I am in the depressive phase I can become mildly suicidal due to the pain.

For suicidal ideation I tell myself "not today" and set a future date. This relieves my stress and setting a future date makes me feel that I can choose to end the pain when I want to but just "not today". (I have been using this technique for several years. I just keep re-setting the future date further into the future).

Cats have staff!! !! love it!.

Yeah the suicide thing: I highly reccomend not getting on alcohol, or ever trying to get off effexor.

It's an f'ed feeling that can come on anytime...and when mixed with ADHD it's dangerous.

Avoidance
Lists
Procrastination
Routine
Videogames
Books
Prozac
Sleep
Exercise
Quiet
Pets
Weighted blanket
Music
Movies

Avoidance is probably both the most and least effective coping strategy in the short and long term respectively.

Yeah isn't that funny! And SO true!

Fortunately I was able to decide at a young age that I didn't want to drink alcohol. I became a devout Christian when I was only 15 years old, and so I wasn't exposed to situations where there was a lot of drinking. I do think it helps, as drinking lowers inhibitions and increases impulse behaviors. Since I don't drink (at all) I am never impulsive.

I have some experience with Effexor and oh my gosh! It is the WORST drug to get off of! I decided to try the medical model to treat my manic/depressive symptoms, but the drugs actually caused the very problems they were supposed to be treating (plus some additional severe physical problems!). So in 2006 I stopped all psychotropic medications cold turkey. This is an approach I do NOT recommend. It worked for me, but it took 2 years for my body to completely detox from those drugs.

I designed my own treatment regimen by using the Aspie ability to hyperfocus. I studied the medical journals and textbooks until I was able to formulate a comprehensive understanding of what might be causing my manic/depressive symptoms. I then put together a step-by-step treatment regimen.

So far it is working.

Hope you have found some things that work for you.

This is a great list! I have condensed your list to the things I use as coping strategies (hope you don't mind). I especially wanted to say how much the weighted blanket has helped. I have been using a weighted blanket nightly to sleep under, and occasionally during the day when stressed or for special occasions (like a visit to the dentist).

The weighted blanket and QUIET are my go-to things when I am really stressed and nearing melt-down stage.

Withdrawal
Focusing on special interests
Music
Cats

I used to have avoidance, but I realized that in doing so, I was running into the fire when I was trying to run away from it (i.e., I was more likely to encounter the problem when I was avoiding dealing with it).

Withdrawal - yes! I forgot about that coping strategy.
I withdraw to decompress by using quiet, the sound of rain, and scented candles.

What a creative idea
I have never heard of it before.
Thanks for sharing.

I guess the strategy I mostly use is realism: "It is what it is". "They are what they are". (Instead of wishing it was different, they were different, thinking they should be different, and so on). Basically this is a buddhist strategy: witness, rather than just react.

However,I would react if overt cruelty (eg to an animal or some other helpless being was going on in front of me though, I wouldn't witness that and say it is what it is). Sometimes direct action is called for and has its place.

Primary: expect best, prepare for worst
Main Three: control my environment, desensitize myself, & socialize

I don't drink, smoke, do drugs or party. I make plans & don't procrastinate. I take responsibility for my actions & don't make excuses. I surround myself with supportive & caring people.

If something is bothering me I research it & figure out coping strategies. I make sure to take an hour off each evening to rest. I listen to music, watch anime, read & watch my favorite shows to relax. I distract myself and don't think about what's causing stress & anxiety. Sometimes I have to retreat from the world to protect myself. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I need 10-12 hours of sleep a day. So I make an effort to get enough sleep. It usually doesn't work. Keeping a schedule really helps. I use a planner during the school semester. I also use my laptops sticky note feature to keep track of things.

I make up a lot of stories in my head like a movie. The stories are relaxing & an emotional outlet. Every time I try to write it down I forget everything. Sometimes the stories distract me & keep me up at night. In preschool, I'd crash on Thursdays. I'd be so worn out I couldn't go Friday. My parents discovered that if I took Thursdays off I could go Friday. To this day I need Thursdays off. Except now, I only need the evening off. I relax at home or go out on my own. Since I was little I have had a strong connection to animals. I learned to read by reading about animals and veterinarians. I had two dogs growing up and currently have a dog & a kitten. They are everything to me, my lifeline.

Effective: Learning, today I learned what I am. And also proved that I exist.

Also effective: The forer effect. If you believe something enough, you will learn it as true.

Socializing on Mycroft Holmes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycroft_Holmes

^^Pretty much a description of what I am.

I ought to list the people who were this.

'A better strategy, he suggests, is to reject the label and live as if the oppression did not exist. Quoting Goffman, he writes, "But of course what is a good adjustment for the individual can be an even better one for society."'

Exactly what I am doing. This is subjective, yes.

Any errors in logic detected?