What to do when overstimulated?

GoblinsAndTea

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(˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)ﾉ Hello there

So for context
Im autistic, i got ADHD and i have social anxiety.
I got diagnosed with most stuff when i was around 18, i am now 21 so im still discovering alot about myself.

Just today i started getting overstimulated. I still dont know exactly what to do but i do breathing excercises and i close my eyes and stim alot wich causes me to calm down eventually.
But thats because im home, where i can do those things freely.

I remember when i was in school and i got overstimulated and i just didnt know what to do so i had to excuse myself from the class and had a panick atack.

So now im wondering, what should i do exactly when in public?
On the one side i know i shouldnt hide my stims because they help me. On the other, my social anxiety would kick my ass. I have trouble enough saying hello and bye to somebody, let alone make "wierd noises and movements".
Some of my stims include, bouncy leg, hitting my forehead (not to the point it hurts), uh i gies flapping my arms/hands up n down, vocal stims (mimiqing beatbox and ska noises, whoopwhoopwhoop, saying a line from ice age, and more) (i now realize i make sim noises lol)

So are there any things you do when getting overstimulated or overwhelmed?

。.:☆*:･ヽ(˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)

Totalanimefan

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Sometimes sounds can overwhelm me. I try to move to sometimes quieter, wear earbuds or if it's something that will be over quick (Like a firetruck) I will stick my fingers in my ears. As for advice with the other stuff, I'm afraid I don't have good advice for you.

GoblinsAndTea

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(˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)ﾉ Hello there

@Totalanimefan: ah yes! i recently gotten some wireless headphones, they arent noise canceling but they do cancel out alot of the "smaller noise" around me! like the wind, electrical stuff, mumbeling ect wich is great!. I also stick my fingers in my ears if its a sudden loud noise or too many people talk at once.

@Stinky: When im with a friend or family i also dont really care about being wierd. But when alone i just simply dont want to be percieved lol. It stresses me out when people talk to me or simply look at me

。.:☆*:･ヽ(˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)

Totalanimefan

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@Stinky: oh that’s a good one. I heard from my therapist that splashing cold water on you face lowers you heart rate. So I think that’s why it works.

@GoblinsAndTea: oh smart. Maybe I should do that. The in ear ones tend to hurt my small ears. For traveling and the airplane I have the Bose noise cancelling ones. Those go over my ears so it doesn’t hurt them.

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MaxIsConfused

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Should they keep it on display...

I have noise canceling headphones for times like those. I recommend over-the-ear, simply because you can wear them longer without pain. I think mine are 25 decible. It cancels out a lot of the background noise, but I can still hear some stuff (like speaking) if I pay close attention. Also stim toys may help, or if you like a certain texture, getting something small with that texture that you can rub when overwhelmed can do wonders. I really love the material squishmallows are made of, and my grandma got me one of the tiny corgi ones. Squishums comes with me to a lot of places lol.

Or redecorate?

CooperationIsKey

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GoblinsAndTea:

[color=#318573](˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)ﾉ Hello there

(i now realize i make sim noises lol)

。.:☆*:･ヽ(˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)

This made me giggle.

I think I do a lot of like, shaking my leg (if I'm sitting), tapping my feet if I'm standing, sometimes I honestly do just shut down into panic/frustration too. I dunno, being around loud noises sets off my tics as it is, and being uncomfortable. And my tics aren't fully controllable, so sometimes I just do weird stuff like turn my head suddenly to the right several times in a row, or flap my arm about a bit.

I once hit myself in the head by accident. It hurt. XD;;[/color]

GoblinsAndTea

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(˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)ﾉ Hello there

@MaxIsConfused: I bougt a fidget cube online! It hasent arived yet but im looking forward to it!i got a semi-broken fidget spinner i got from my brother after the hot craze a few years back, it spins normal butits missing the inner piece so its akward to hold but i put it on a pencil and spin it around bc i like the feeling lol. I got recomended in another group to get a lil plush keychain as "companion" when going to a store alone so ill look into it + i loveee corgis!. That reminds me for while i had a small resin heart in my pockets at all time bc a friend made it wich i used to fidget alot with... i have no idea where i even put it i should get it back.

@koneko: Whenever i get overwhelmed with family they think im mad or im being mean so i just... go away. However somehow my friend can tell so when she asks if im ok i know i should go to a quite place, and then we either talk or she waits for me to calm down.

@CooperationIsKey: Im sorry to ask/asume and you honestly dont have to answer. But with tics are you reffering to tourrettes?

。.:☆*:･ヽ(˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)

CooperationIsKey

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@GoblinsAndTea: No, I don't have Tourette's, but you're on the right track. I have motor tics, but in my case mine were likely caused by a medication I was on years ago, unfortunately (I have no real proof, it's just kinda what I've surmised since they developed in my adulthood after a singular seizure-like event).

GoblinsAndTea

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(˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)ﾉ Hello there

@koneko: Ive told them, no idea if they just forgot of dont care. So i just dont bother bringing it up again to no cause any unecesary arguments :^/

@CooperationIsKey: Oh alright! I good friend of mine has tourrettes. They told me its generally better to not hold it in or it starts hurting or it will get more severe. I personally rarely experience unvolentary movements or noises. A wierd one that trigers it tho is the word "clock" but at a secific pitch. The fisr time it happend was when watching a series, i got so taken aback i needed a moment lol. I then tested it and it happend again. Not sure why my body reacts when i hear it lol

。.:☆*:･ヽ(˵◕ ᴥ ◕˵)

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CooperationIsKey

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@GoblinsAndTea: Yeah, you know those drug commercials where they say "uncontrollable muscle movements that may become permanent are possible on this drug"? Yeah that's me. :P And yeah, that's it, it's like a really bad itch that HAS to be scratched (by ticcing). That's interesting that you have a tic that's triggered by watching something! I sometimes get triggered to tic after watching someone else tic or even from talking about it. It's a weird phenomena.

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LilMissKushy

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@goblinsandtea: hello there :) so I had the feeling since my daughter was around 1 year old that she was autistic.. she started rocking as soon as people she didn't know came to visit (family members that were new to her) she did used to get really upset and pull her hair but she just rocks now bless her .. I have bought her poppits and fidget spinners .. not sure if u guys have them there but poppits are like a rubber version of bubble wrap and they are quite satisfying when u hear the popping noise XD also I seen a ring now that is good for anxiety and maybe could help keep u calm .. its silver and had 5 wee beads across the top and u can slide them across the ring and fidget with it .. I hope you can find something that will help make u feel more comfortable in public 💙

Just seen ur post about tourette's .. my daughter swears alot when she's really frustrated I said at the start to my health visitor about my daughter having autism and that sometimes it seems like she has tourette's because when she's stressed she will tell me to eff off ..eff up repeatedly even though I'm just trying to calm her down and help her with what's she's upset about.. my health visitor said she's too young to tell at this stage .. I'm like but I can tell .. I can tell because she's mine and I know something's up.. I'm just reading online and trying to educate myself so I can help her the best I can but it's a long road to get her diagnosed as I'm sure u know it can take quite some time

Forums Serious Talk What to do when overstimulated?

GoblinsAndTea

Totalanimefan

GoblinsAndTea

Totalanimefan

MaxIsConfused

CooperationIsKey

GoblinsAndTea

CooperationIsKey

GoblinsAndTea

CooperationIsKey

LilMissKushy

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