Alis Rowe's Blog, page 11

The Doughnut Theory

The Doughnut Theory is an idea for explaining tendon pain. It resonated with me and I thought it could be used to help us think about our approach to our autism…

It basically means, “treat the ring, not the hole.”

The hole is something that cannot be changed or influenced. Therefore, trying to “treat” it won’t work. Consider the hole of the doughnut to be the parts of you that can’t be changed, maybe some of your autistic traits for example?

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Understanding ‘input’ and the importance of managing it

Autistic people can have trouble processing ‘input’. Input is incoming information, for example sensory information from the environment such as a scent or a noise.

Too much input can make an autistic person feel stressed and overwhelmed. Too much input can increase the chances that an autistic person has a meltdown or a shutdown. 

If you understand input then you will be able to have better control of your life. Read this article for a clear description of the 4 main types of input and for helpful suggestions on ways to manage this input, so that ultimately you will feel less overloaded!

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Why it might not be a good idea to compare yourself with others

Over the years, something that has caused me to feel very unhappy and anxious is that I was comparing myself with other people. What I say now and the philosophy I adhere to whenever I think about comparing myself to others is:

“I will only compare you to you” (or “I will only compare me to me”)

This is a very powerful line. I will talk about what it means in this article.

Autistic people are prone to comparing themselves to others, but this can lead to poor self-esteem and anxiety. In this article, I provide strategies on how to stop comparing yourself with others and explain why the only person you might find beneficial to compare yourself with is you!

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Why do I feel anxious and not excited?

One of the ways I tend to feel most isolated from others is when other people are feeling excited about something, I am feeling anxious.

Or they might be expecting me to be feeling excited about something, but instead I’m feeling anxious.

Having autism can dampen one’s mood. For me, it’s as though anxiety masks any positive feeling. Anxiety is always there, even when I am trying to feel positive emotions. This experience is very common for autistic people.

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How to make decision making easier for autistic people

This is a follow up article to: Why might decision making be difficult for autistic people?

Now I will look at some strategies autistic people could use to help make decision making a bit more straightforward. Also, I’m excited to show you a new animation in this article!

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The Freeze Response (animation)

When something happens that I did not expect, I feel as though I freeze. It feels as though the cogs in my brain have come to a halt! This freezing happens for at least two reasons:

1. I struggle with flexible thinking (a part of executive function), which means it is hard to imagine or work out alternative outcomes to things

2. I feel highly anxious, because something has happened unexpectedly. Remember that to ‘freeze’ is one of the three primary responses to anxiety (the other two are fight and flight).

I created an animation to explain The Freeze Response and to provide a strategy that really helps me to deal with it. You can watch it below. I hope you enjoy it!

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Why might decision making be difficult for autistic people?

Autistic people can have some difficulty with making decisions. Here are some reasons why this might be:

Autistic people might have a preference for sameness

A decision usually means that there is a possibility of change. For someone with a need for sameness and repetition, being faced with a decision can cause anxiety or an autistic person may simply feel the fact there has to be a decision is unnecessary.

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The post Why might decision making be difficult for autistic people? appeared first on The Girl with the Curly Hair.

Understanding your personal ceiling

In psychology, the term ‘personal ceiling’ describes the metaphorical barrier between where a person is now and where they want to get to.

I suppose I could also use my glass jar analogy to describe this. My glass jar seems to have many different meanings! It has been a very useful idea!

Feel free to use either of the diagrams below in your understanding of the personal ceiling, whichever one makes more sense to you:

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The importance of good habits

Positive habits are hugely significant in helping us along in life. They teach us to be disciplined and responsible and encourage us to put the values that drive us into practice. These attributes make it easier to achieve our goals.

One positive aspect of being on the autism spectrum is that many of us are naturally inclined to want routines and consistency. One of the criteria for being diagnosed with autism is the person must have “restricted, repetitive behaviours or activities.” Therefore, I think some autistic people can often have a slight advantage over neurotypical people because they may be more inclined to create habits that contribute to getting things done consistently.

Three things are needed in order to have positive habits:

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The post The importance of good habits appeared first on The Girl with the Curly Hair.

The Supercompensation Theory

I came up with the idea of Supercompensation (inspired by a concept in sports science) a long time ago and we recently made it into an animation.

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The post The Supercompensation Theory appeared first on The Girl with the Curly Hair.