Share Your Coping Techniques...

[trvp3zoid]

Not sure if this will help any of you, but I just wanted to share it and find out some of your coping mechanisms so that they may possibly aid me as well.

Since I was a little kid I have been folding my arms across my chest and laying against the back of the couch facing toward it, it feels like someone is holding me and it feels comforting even now during meltdowns. I even did this while I was in a romantic relationship.

 

[Kari Suttle]

Does it have to be meltdown-specific? I'm going to assume not. I've always had more issues with sensory overload and shut downs than actual meltdowns, I'm just not the type for it I guess. I didn't even realize it was an issue until I got my first job at a grocery store as a cashier. I'd get overwhelmed so easily cause it was a busy store and as a kid my mom avoided peak times. She hated and still hates shopping so she would go early in the morning when it was mostly dead and empty. So when I started my first job I never expected how freaking BUSY it was. I would get overloaded and it would cause panic attacks on the register which were obviously no fun.

The best way I learned to cope with this was to use the aspie ability to hyperfocus to my advantage - focus on the customer in front of me, and that customer alone. In doing so - focusing intently on the customer, on bagging their groceries, on checking out that one person, I would just naturally shut out the other excess noise that was giving me panic attacks. Otherwise, as a small nervous habit I will twirl a pen around in my hand. I also script the majority of what I say when i'm interacting with a customer.

 

[Catlover614]

I'm in need of a weighty blanket so that I can feel like I'm being held while I sleep. I have a quilt, but it's not heavy enough. I do most of my coping by isolating myself from the rest of the world. Laughing is a great coping mechanism for me because otherwise, I'd be crying from being rejected over and over again. Also, music moves me and helps me feel good. I sit with my chiweenie dog in my lap and twirl my hair.

 

[trvp3zoid]

Does it have to be meltdown-specific? I'm going to assume not. I've always had more issues with sensory overload and shut downs than actual meltdowns, I'm just not the type for it I guess. I didn't even realize it was an issue until I got my first job at a grocery store as a cashier. I'd get overwhelmed so easily cause it was a busy store and as a kid my mom avoided peak times. She hated and still hates shopping so she would go early in the morning when it was mostly dead and empty. So when I started my first job I never expected how freaking BUSY it was. I would get overloaded and it would cause panic attacks on the register which were obviously no fun.

The best way I learned to cope with this was to use the aspie ability to hyperfocus to my advantage - focus on the customer in front of me, and that customer alone. In doing so - focusing intently on the customer, on bagging their groceries, on checking out that one person, I would just naturally shut out the other excess noise that was giving me panic attacks. Otherwise, as a small nervous habit I will twirl a pen around in my hand. I also script the majority of what I say when i'm interacting with a customer.

I think sometimes the cause of some meltdowns is sensory overloads, so you actually may be having meltdowns and not realize it. I would describe my meltdowns as panic attacks, feeling of anxiety, dread, hopelessness, fear, anger, sadness etc.. are all feelings I get during meltdowns. I also focus on one thing at a time when I feel overwhelmed and have always scripted every single thing I do before going out in public, even down to how I will open a door and walk inside a room or building.

 

[trvp3zoid]

I'm in need of a weighty blanket so that I can feel like I'm being held while I sleep. I have a quilt, but it's not heavy enough. I do most of my coping by isolating myself from the rest of the world. Laughing is a great coping mechanism for me because otherwise, I'd be crying from being rejected over and over again. Also, music moves me and helps me feel good. I sit with my chiweenie dog in my lap and twirl my hair.

I guess I sort of do that myself, I put like 6 blankets on top of me sometimes.

 

[Kari Suttle]

I'm in need of a weighty blanket so that I can feel like I'm being held while I sleep. I have a quilt, but it's not heavy enough. I do most of my coping by isolating myself from the rest of the world. Laughing is a great coping mechanism for me because otherwise, I'd be crying from being rejected over and over again. Also, music moves me and helps me feel good. I sit with my chiweenie dog in my lap and twirl my hair.

I have to have a significant amount of weight on me as I sleep, too, even if its summer and its hot. Not weighted blankets, just blankets. It might be more comfortable to lay down with a thin blanket on me but I just can't get to sleep unless at least one thick comforter is on me and I've got it all bunched up around me. I agree, its comforting like your being held. I second the music thing - I love it, have since I was little. I almost always have music on and headphones in.

 

[Kari Suttle]

I think sometimes the cause of some meltdowns is sensory overloads, so you actually may be having meltdowns and not realize it. I would describe my meltdowns as panic attacks, feeling of anxiety, dread, hopelessness, fear, anger, sadness etc.. are all feelings I get during meltdowns. I also focus on one thing at a time when I feel overwhelmed and have always scripted every single thing I do before going out in public, even down to how I will open a door and walk inside a room or building.

My meltdowns and panic attacks are two totally different things, so that's how I know its a panic attack. I also get panic attacks for different reasons as well, and the symptoms are the same in those other situations - can't breath, racing heart, racing thoughts, helpless, terrified, jumpy, etc. With meltdowns I pretty much lose control and become a toddler again to the point I cant even string together a proper sentence...but i'll only let myself fall into a meltdown if i'm alone. Otherwise i'll just suppress it and look like some moody teenager, I would think.

 

[artfull dodger]

I have a weighted blanket, cant sleep well without it. If I am at work and I feel I am becoming overwhelmed, I will take a walk outdoors or just take a break for a few min. If at home, I will go play with some of my model trains, or work on my antique tractors I restore and use for my enjoyment. If its late enough in the evening, sometimes I will just go to bed early and wrap myself in that blanket and go to sleep. A good nights sleep is my "reset" button after bad or stressful day. As I tend to become non verbal when under extreme stress or sudden stress. I wear a ID bracelet on my left wrist that refers others to my wallet card that lists my wife's number, therapist's number, that I have asthma and what allergies I have. Mike

 

[trvp3zoid]

I also find that art therapy helps, I've been writing music for a long time and have recently started writing poetry and making digital art.

 

[Mathalamus]

Regrettably, i have only three real coping mechanisms, and they just let me hold out longer.

1. going out for a walk, to get a slurpee.
2. taking a nap, or going to sleep.
3. use my military (willpower) to gain control of the situation, whichever it may be.

it does not solve the issues, and it does not make them go away forever. for that, i have to do it the hard way.

 

[Marcus]

Sorry to be late to the party here, but one of the ways I've found that have helped me is I tell myself "Remember that this feeling is only temporary." and "Look how far you've come."

I realize that might sound cheesy, but that's just my two cents.

 

[Acorn_Elf]

Curl up in ball under blanket with earplugs in is what I do.

 

[Pondering]

A few things work for me:

1. A good cry
2. When I'm done crying, listen to my favorite soothing songs
3. Curl up in a ball
4. Pet a pet
5. Play an instrument
6. Deep breaths
7. Being in a quiet place and let the feelings pass; as painful as they get, they are never indefinite
8. Sing
9. Write, either artistically or in a journal
10. Talking to a trusted person about it.

 

[mw2530]

Running (This has gotten me through so many things in life that it is near sacred to me at this point)
Listening to music
I need to develop more coping mechanisms I think.

 

[Spencer Carr]

My primary cope is definitely finding someone to touch. Personal contact relaxes me like it relaxes any pack animal, and my cats are naturally tuned to this and crave physical contact a lot. I'm assured that there is another person who cares about my continued existence.

Without another person I make sure to start writing, drawing, diving into fantasy and creativity. My mind can take all those complex thoughts and world build.

If my BPD kicks in too, I have to nap. Cuddle my cats and just sleep. Waking up makes me physically stand and go pee, eat, smoke, just get up and do something, and sometimes those small victories pile up.