Published on 12, July, 2020
I am 43, diagnosed Autistic and with Tourette Syndrome. As much as I feel like the TS diagnosis is correct, I do feel some of what I have is actually stimming (more convinced the more I understand my Autism).
My main issue is a harmful stim/tic which is a forced cough which makes my throat and chest sore, gives me headaches and hideously affects my working life. Nothing in fact has depressed me more in my entire life.
It occurs anytime I go to speak (rarely when sat in quiet and relaxed) but it can feel like my throat is closing like an anxiety reaction. It started as a throat clearing, but now i have to push out a really full force cough/to feel the sensation from it on my chest/throat.
I have had 16 sessions with IAPT (to no avail) but did help me understand the pattern more. I had Hypnotherapy which did nothing either, other than make me feel less anxious after the sessions.
I embrace my Autism (quite happy to be despite the challenges), quite open and so advocate when i can, have taken steps to manage my sensory world. I just cannot continue as i am with whatever this is. I so DESPARATELY need to decipher what it is and gain help for it. It is literally ruining my life.
Does anyone out there feel like they have a take on what all this is/means? Solution?
If it is a tic, then there's no help as Cbit is not funded on the NHS and tablets don't agree with me. If a stim, where do I go for help?
Huge thanks in advance,
Isla
Interesting you saying this about having a cough as I have one. I haven't yet found any way of dealing with it, so I hope you find a way to. For me it comes on when I have to talk to people & gradually builds up.
When I was younger I used to have some..... not quite sure how to describe them, but "larger" stims. I often got laughed at, told to act normal, stop doing that, or even held down etc etc. Over time I managed to change the majority of my stims into things that were much less obvious which in turn reduced the stress of others reactions to what I was doing. The last thing I wanted was interaction with someone. So I did everything I could to be less obvious.
If you find a way of coping with your cough, please let me know as it's one I haven't been able to do anything with yet. But on the upside...strangers think I have something contagious & it keeps them away haha! :P
Just wanted to add to that. Have you tried meditation? To give it a go I recommend a body scan type and give it a few months of doing this every day if possible. It has been proven that you can change the way you brain deals with certain things. It takes some getting used to to get into a zone but it does make me feel very refreshed afterwards.
I’m sorry to hear this is causing you distress. I’m not sure my tiny bit of advice will help but here are my recent findings.
I suffer panic attacks which afterwards do make me feel better so maybe this could be a stim, if I’m not having those I’m chewing the inside of my mouth and around my fingers which I also believe is a stim. I have taken steps to slow myself down and lower the pace of even the little things I do in every day life. This is very early days but have found that I am so much calmer and don’t have hardly any panic moments. I’ve suffered for probably near on 30 years. I slow things down by not rushing anything and trying to do a particular thing in a more mythological way and it feels really relaxing. Like I say I’m only a couple of weeks in but it’s definitely not doing me any harm.
Im sorry I cannot offer any more than that and I do hope you find something that helps you manage this a little better.
Thank you so much for replying. I shall have a look at this; will try anything to help.
In general, stims tend to reduce anxiety and tension, even self-injurious ones. If you feel a drop in anxiety afterwards, it could be a stim.
From a physical point of view, there are devices that are used for clearing phlegm from the airways, they look like fat tobacco pipes, but have a steel ball inside. You breathe forcefully into them and the heavy steel ball vibrates, sending waves of back pressure into the airways. Using one of these might give the same effect, but with less damage and pain?