Life throws us disappointments or things that we do not want to hear or undergo. It can be all that I can allow myself to think about at times. Then I must remember that there are so many positive things in my life, and I cannot allow myself to be consumed by all the gloom and doom in my life.

When something happens in my life that produces a lot of adrenaline and cortisol, it can be hard to wind down and see that there is more to focus on than the one thing that is so bothersome and makes me anxious. There is often so much other than the one thing that is consuming my brain all the time. It can become very challenging to escape that thought because it is all that I can think about and finding some sort of comfort.

However, we cannot always find immediate comfort or there may be a possibility that you cannot escape the reality that you have to face. Changing to an autistic person can be overwhelming and scary. It feels like there is no way out of the change that is being proposed to you, even if it may not happen. All you can think about is wanting to avoid what may become necessary to face or even allow yourself to see that after getting acclimated to the proposed change that it may not be as bad as it seems, and in fact may be eventually able to have a better impact on your future.

It can be very difficult to not react adversely to when something is changing that is sensitive to you. However, you must think about all those that support you in your journey and show them that you can conquer anything that you put your mind to. I often think of those that support me as a shining light and the way that I need to live. At that point I remember that it is not all about me and that I need to care about them as much as possible too.

When catastrophizing, all a person can think about is the situation at hand and how they can escape to what makes them feel comfortable. It can be hard to see the full picture other than what is the worst possible scenario and that it could hurt you. Having this continually can produce excessive adrenaline and cortisol that will have to find some way to have a healthy release.

This is where your coping skills come into play. You must find another way to distract yourself from the catastrophic thought and release the energy that you are feeling in the safest way possible. It can be challenging when you want to express yourself in a way that may not be healthy and will cause further anguish in the long run. I know that it is essential that I find other ways than having “diarrhea of the mouth” which I often do to express myself that can be contentious and consequently challenging.

It has taken me a long time that I do not want others to see me have an outburst. That does not align with my values and is not truly the kind person who I am. I do realize that I am an autistic adult that can be hard to calm down once that I become escalated. I now know that being angry and conflicting back and forth in an unhealthy manner is very counterproductive in getting anything accomplished.

 It essentially is being the better person in knowing that becoming verbally aggressive will not likely have a positive outcome. There is so much more to me that just what is going on at that very moment and as consuming as a challenging thought is in my brain can be, it is not what is going to make or break my world. Although all you can think about is the catastrophic thought, you must remember that there is so much more and that it is essential to find how you can break free of those thoughts and find what helps you cope with the challenges of life without escalating and having additional consequences to what may already be compromised in our lives.