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Tlc

Hi 

I am wondering if anyone else who is autistic has a similiar problem to one I have.

I often have words in my head that go on a loop. When I walk for example I may continually count up to 10 until I get to where I am going, sometimes the words I have on a loop are a list of things I need to get from the shop or jobs to do.

Sometimes it is helpful words but when I am stressed/worried or overloaded I have noticed that it doesn't help because the words become very negative and the loop gets faster, it becomes very unpleasant and overwhelming so that I stop functioning properly. I somehow manage to keep the words in my mind and not shout them out even though I want to verbalise it.

I am not sure if it is mental stimming (if there is such a thing) or something else as I am still learning about autism.

Does anyone else do this? Any thoughts?

Thank you

T

Parents

  • Hi Dig

    I don't think it is a mental illness that I have. I think it is a coping mechanism and I think it is mental stimming. However I had not heard of any one else having this issue which is why I wanted to ask for other opinions.

    I am sorry but I don't know how to help your sister but I can share my experience in the hope it may help in some way.

    For me it isn't harmful for the most part and it can help me cope in places I often find difficult. Such as today I had to go to a supermarket (an environment I find too noisy and too busy) so I had my list on a loop in my mind and this gave me something to focus on. I managed to go in, get things on my list pay and get out fairly quickly.

    It is only when I am stressed or overloaded that things get very unpleasant as the words or phrases become negative. Things such as "I hate myself", "stupid" or "just die" can go on this mental loop get faster and become very intense and overwhelming. I have to isolate myself in a dark room for quite a while and just ride it out. 

    It isn't easy for me but I can recognise when these very bad words come in and especially when I want to hurt myself because of it. I now try and force a change in the words and replace it for simply "No" and loop this for a few minutes until I calm down a little and then change it to "I'm ok" and try and slow the repetitions down. This has taken a lot of practice and has been a huge step for me as I used to really hurt myself in the past as self hatred quickly took over.

    Can you think of a way to help your sister replace her nagative loops with positive ones?

    Could she have cards with her negative words on one side and positive ones she can replace themh with on the other? So she can see that when she thinks "this..." she can replace it with "this..."

    Just a thought.

    I hope for the best for you and your sister.

    T

Reply

  • Hi Dig

    I don't think it is a mental illness that I have. I think it is a coping mechanism and I think it is mental stimming. However I had not heard of any one else having this issue which is why I wanted to ask for other opinions.

    I am sorry but I don't know how to help your sister but I can share my experience in the hope it may help in some way.

    For me it isn't harmful for the most part and it can help me cope in places I often find difficult. Such as today I had to go to a supermarket (an environment I find too noisy and too busy) so I had my list on a loop in my mind and this gave me something to focus on. I managed to go in, get things on my list pay and get out fairly quickly.

    It is only when I am stressed or overloaded that things get very unpleasant as the words or phrases become negative. Things such as "I hate myself", "stupid" or "just die" can go on this mental loop get faster and become very intense and overwhelming. I have to isolate myself in a dark room for quite a while and just ride it out. 

    It isn't easy for me but I can recognise when these very bad words come in and especially when I want to hurt myself because of it. I now try and force a change in the words and replace it for simply "No" and loop this for a few minutes until I calm down a little and then change it to "I'm ok" and try and slow the repetitions down. This has taken a lot of practice and has been a huge step for me as I used to really hurt myself in the past as self hatred quickly took over.

    Can you think of a way to help your sister replace her nagative loops with positive ones?

    Could she have cards with her negative words on one side and positive ones she can replace themh with on the other? So she can see that when she thinks "this..." she can replace it with "this..."

    Just a thought.

    I hope for the best for you and your sister.

    T

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