For my entire life I have had a fondness for plushies. I love having the soft fur against my face. I usually put one under my head at night. It's my way to self soothe. I'm pretty sure it's a form of stimming.
This is Lux Alba, my trans cow. He's so soft.
Both before and after my various diagnoses, and, really, before I even had an inkling that my brain was wired differently from others, I had to come up with coping mechanisms. We all do, neurospicy or not. The world is not set up to ensure our safety or happiness on a regular basis, so we develop mechanisms for coping with both the good and the bad. (Let's set aside how we cope with good stuff for a moment, but I think it's a really important conversation.)
So, because I just need to share, because I'm an extrovert, and because the BPD "unclear sense of self" means that I am more me when I'm around, or communicating with, others than in a vacuum, I'm going to offer a few of the ways I deal with the difficulties of this condition.
I don't know where number 14R7@45alpha5 originally came from. My partner brought it home with her from work and it sounded silly, but I gave it a go and now it's my first thought. I call it "Tap Tap." You cross your arms in front of your body and start double-tapping each shoulder with the opposite hand. As with any kind of stimming, it may take a while to find the right rhythm, but once I do, and my brain starts concentrating on the rhythm, I break out into a huge grin, if not full-on laughter.
My understanding is that the stimulation of opposite sides by opposite sides helps the two hemispheres of the brain communicate a little better. There's also the mind-clearing effect of focus, much the same as concentrating on one's breathing during meditation.
Admittedly, it doesn't work for everyone. But it works for me, even when I am feeling my lowest. It may not make me smile at that point, but it keeps me from spiraling and ruminating into despair. A good friend pointed out to me about this practice that a lot of the time we're trained not to accept simple explanations. Things that are complex appear to be better-researched and more reliable. Tapping is easy. And it works. We don't need everything to be complicated.
So, "Tap Tap." Give it a go if you're feeling panicked, or teetering on the brink of one of those "everyone I ever loved is a bastard who never loved me" moods.
#BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #copingstrategies #BPD #Stimming
#ADHD #Autism #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #Depression #MentalHealth #IrritableBowelSyndromeIBS #Anxiety #PTSD #Stimming
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I know that many people associate stimming with autism; however I’ve been struggling really bad lately due to severe anxiety and ptsd. I will rock back and forth, flap my hands and sometimes go non-verbal #SelectiveMutism I’m trying to learn ways to cope, but it’s really hard. Anything help any of y’all with this issue?
#Stimming #Autism #Anxiety #PTSD
Hi. I am seriously interested in getting an assessment for ‘Autism,’ or ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ for Adults. I am over 60, and I don't need it to qualify for any kind of help or benefits at my age. I just need to know, so I can answer a thousand personal questions about myself. It's for my peace of mind, but it also has the advantage of being useful family medical information that I can pass along to my kids and grandkids.
I have a ton of different diagnoses from as many doctors and therapists from over the course of my life. So many of these diagnoses have some of the same symptoms, and so many of the diagnoses seem to battle with others for ‘dominance’, that I don't know what to believe anymore. One doctor will say he's certain I have one thing, and five years later another will say he doesn't agree, and says it's something different. Meanwhile, both of them put me on medications for those things, and the second one is basically telling me I just wasted 5 years of prescriptions and therapy designed for the first thing. Not once, not twice, but many, many times I have gone through this.
Because of all of that, I currently have a bushel of diagnoses that are supposedly correct and current, and a ton of prescriptions to go along with them. And I don't have the confidence that any of them are correct, like I so easily assumed when I was younger. Do you see my frustration?
From my reading in the last few months, I have seen my traits (i.e. symptoms) and my thought patterns and thought processes turn up time and again under the detailed descriptions of Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder. If that were found to be true, it would settle my mind, and it would give me something that I lost long ago, and assumed I would never see again: Hope. It would make such a difference if I could be able to focus on one true diagnosis instead of a jillion competing diagnoses. I could work on learning coping skills and workarounds for one thing. One.
So, I need to find a doctor or a therapist who assesses for ‘Autism’ or ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ IN ADULTS in the:
1. western half of NC, or
2. southwest area of VA, or
3. eastern part of TN.
(A little outside of those areas could work, too, if they are good.) ***I have been told that “the MIGDAS-2 assessment” works better for those of us who have been masking for many years. What are your thoughts?
I do appreciate you reading this far. I know that it was long. If you can help me find someone, please let me know. Thank you for your time. I wish you Peace, and Joy, and excellent Health. ♧
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#Autism #Depression #Anxiety #PathologicalDemandAvoidanceSyndrome
#ReactiveAttachmentDisorder #SocialAnxiety
#MajorDepressiveDisorder
#Bipolar2Disorder
#BipolarDepression #TreatmentresistantDepression #CombinedPresentationADHD #ADHD #AspergersSyndrome #AutisticAdults #Autistic
#Hypervigilance #Hyperfocus #silent #EyeContact #Stimming #Suicide #PTSD #CPTSD #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder
#BodyFocusedRepetitiveBehaviors #BFRBAwarenessWeek #Parentification #Abuse #neglect #Insomnia #DermatiIlomania
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