Avoiding meltdowns at work

There's two things here that are worth thinking about. The first being that you are newly diagnosed. Although I'm not yet formally diagnosed, the way I found out was kind of unique. What happened afterwards, was a lot of mixed feelings. Relief that I now understood why I'd struggled, but also the over riding feeling that I didn't really know who I was anymore. Even if you don't actively think about it, your brain is trying to fit this new information into place and it may need to move things around in your head in order to do it. That will take time, eventually you'll find some balance.

The second, is obviously the major problem your asking about. You have two options. You can either leave, or stay. Having Autism doesn't make you incapable of doing your job, but it's important to make changes to how you operate. This is not just going to benefit you, but also your work place as they clearly want to get the best out of you that they can.

One of the easiest things you can try, is a quick meditation in between jobs. It can be two minutes or two seconds. Just take a moment, close your eyes and take a deep breath, let it go, then Count up to five slowly, then count back down to one. Repeat. Focus on nothing else, not the job, not the fuzziness in your head. Just focus on breathing in and out and counting. It's quite small but it can make a difference. What you need is to give yourself time to adjust. It's hard to do that when your so busy, so you need to steal yourself little moments here and there. I also like to do something I call stepping back. If it all gets to overwhelming, I often feel like it's all in front of me, it's too close and I can't workout what to do next. So, I take a literal step back, take a breath and look at  it. I can then decide on a next step and move on from there.

You can do a wellness action plan with your manager. I'm doing one at the moment, I effectively write down how, why and what effects me and what things make it better. There are specific questions but your work place may have their own version. You then bring this to your 121's with your manager, and between you, who can find solutions that help you to cope better.

Finally, I can appreciate that you don't want to leave your job. I trained in film and theatre costume many years ago. I loved it. But as I wasn't aware that I was trying to function with undiagnosed Autism, I was trying to do 'normal', be 'normal', and failing miserably. Eventually I left because I thought I needed to. Twenty years later, I now know I'm probably on the spectrum, I'm learning ways to help me cope, but I regret walking away from my costume work. I know that I wouldn't likely go back into it, but I've still decided to pick up my skills again because there are other avenues that I could potentially move into, like dress history. Still working in the field that I enjoy, but not so chaotic. Your career doesn't need to end as a result of your diagnosis. Perhaps your skills could help you move sideways into a similar role that allows you to function better, but still allow you to do what you enjoy?

Just adding this on as well, I find that meltdowns happen when it all gets a bit too much. Kind of like filling up the cup until it's too full. The meltdown is your brain poking a hole in the bottom so it drains out. Don't be afraid to have a cry. It can help to get you settled again. I know you want to find a quiet space and have a private moment to yourself, I'm the same. But my colleagues don't even ask me now if I'm ok, they know what crying is for me.

There's two things here that are worth thinking about. The first being that you are newly diagnosed. Although I'm not yet formally diagnosed, the way I found out was kind of unique. What happened afterwards, was a lot of mixed feelings. Relief that I now understood why I'd struggled, but also the over riding feeling that I didn't really know who I was anymore. Even if you don't actively think about it, your brain is trying to fit this new information into place and it may need to move things around in your head in order to do it. That will take time, eventually you'll find some balance.

The second, is obviously the major problem your asking about. You have two options. You can either leave, or stay. Having Autism doesn't make you incapable of doing your job, but it's important to make changes to how you operate. This is not just going to benefit you, but also your work place as they clearly want to get the best out of you that they can.

One of the easiest things you can try, is a quick meditation in between jobs. It can be two minutes or two seconds. Just take a moment, close your eyes and take a deep breath, let it go, then Count up to five slowly, then count back down to one. Repeat. Focus on nothing else, not the job, not the fuzziness in your head. Just focus on breathing in and out and counting. It's quite small but it can make a difference. What you need is to give yourself time to adjust. It's hard to do that when your so busy, so you need to steal yourself little moments here and there. I also like to do something I call stepping back. If it all gets to overwhelming, I often feel like it's all in front of me, it's too close and I can't workout what to do next. So, I take a literal step back, take a breath and look at  it. I can then decide on a next step and move on from there.

You can do a wellness action plan with your manager. I'm doing one at the moment, I effectively write down how, why and what effects me and what things make it better. There are specific questions but your work place may have their own version. You then bring this to your 121's with your manager, and between you, who can find solutions that help you to cope better.

Finally, I can appreciate that you don't want to leave your job. I trained in film and theatre costume many years ago. I loved it. But as I wasn't aware that I was trying to function with undiagnosed Autism, I was trying to do 'normal', be 'normal', and failing miserably. Eventually I left because I thought I needed to. Twenty years later, I now know I'm probably on the spectrum, I'm learning ways to help me cope, but I regret walking away from my costume work. I know that I wouldn't likely go back into it, but I've still decided to pick up my skills again because there are other avenues that I could potentially move into, like dress history. Still working in the field that I enjoy, but not so chaotic. Your career doesn't need to end as a result of your diagnosis. Perhaps your skills could help you move sideways into a similar role that allows you to function better, but still allow you to do what you enjoy?

Just adding this on as well, I find that meltdowns happen when it all gets a bit too much. Kind of like filling up the cup until it's too full. The meltdown is your brain poking a hole in the bottom so it drains out. Don't be afraid to have a cry. It can help to get you settled again. I know you want to find a quiet space and have a private moment to yourself, I'm the same. But my colleagues don't even ask me now if I'm ok, they know what crying is for me.