Intolerance of Uncertainty and Managing Emotions

Week 8: Putting it all Together

It's the end of the course today. Watched my final video, did the quiz and got my "well-done" e-mail. I found my answer to the stimulus-response issue - Brackett calls it a "meta-moment". In layman's terms, it's a pause. Give myself time to think and then choose how to respond. 

https://ideas.ted.com/feel-like-youre-about-to-lose-it-it-could-be-a-good-time-for-a-meta-moment/#:~:text=A%20Meta%2DMoment%20is%20when,and%20find%20a%20wiser%20response.

I'm not great at these - I'll still struggle in group meetings, especially if I think everyone is going off on the wrong tack, but I think when certain things happen, or I hear the latest fudge then it will be a skill worth practicing. Who's to say I can't ask for a moment, step back, do my thing before I re-engage? If I need it, then it makes sense to take it. 

Was the course worth it? I'm going to venture a "yes". I still have Yale's Mood Meters in the sitting room and my study so I can check in with myself. I've printed out the stuff on resilience and having difficult conversations - both are really useful. I'm reminded how much I'm going to have to actively engage with this material, as well as using other more autism-specific self-management strategies. 

I watched Brackett's video - I like him. Not just for his style but because of his personal history. He's very open and honest about it. He references his own struggles and in doing so does away  with the stereotype of "dusty academia" and replaces it with someone who's committed and passionate about his field driven by his own experiences and questions. If nothing else, he's inspired me a bit about how adversity can be re-moulded to a new outlook - maybe even a new direction. It's something for me to think about.

In many ways the course has helped me with self-reflection and writing my ideas out. I'm worried a little that I'll let this all slip - there seems so many strategies for everything that it's easy to feel overwhelmed. But, as I keep telling myself, trust my brain to soak it up and bring things out when necessary. And if things feel like they're going a little bit off track, then step back, take stock and refocus. It is all about nudging in the right direction.

I'll sort of miss the course in a weird way. The focus has helped - I've not been quite as committed some weeks and I noticed after the halfway point I was starting to lose interest a bit. But I've managed to take something away from each week, and even if I hadn't got that sense of motivation and achievement from previous weeks - the practice of reflecting on this thread (as well as reading others responses) has helped in a lot of ways by opening up insights and helping me "tune in" a little bit more to myself.

So with the end of the course, comes the end of the thread. Or maybe not - it has been useful to not only to reflect on here but sound off too. I may check in with it from time to time as a kind of journal. Or a place for my cathartic rants.   

Week 8: Putting it all Together

It's the end of the course today. Watched my final video, did the quiz and got my "well-done" e-mail. I found my answer to the stimulus-response issue - Brackett calls it a "meta-moment". In layman's terms, it's a pause. Give myself time to think and then choose how to respond. 

https://ideas.ted.com/feel-like-youre-about-to-lose-it-it-could-be-a-good-time-for-a-meta-moment/#:~:text=A%20Meta%2DMoment%20is%20when,and%20find%20a%20wiser%20response.

I'm not great at these - I'll still struggle in group meetings, especially if I think everyone is going off on the wrong tack, but I think when certain things happen, or I hear the latest fudge then it will be a skill worth practicing. Who's to say I can't ask for a moment, step back, do my thing before I re-engage? If I need it, then it makes sense to take it. 

Was the course worth it? I'm going to venture a "yes". I still have Yale's Mood Meters in the sitting room and my study so I can check in with myself. I've printed out the stuff on resilience and having difficult conversations - both are really useful. I'm reminded how much I'm going to have to actively engage with this material, as well as using other more autism-specific self-management strategies. 

I watched Brackett's video - I like him. Not just for his style but because of his personal history. He's very open and honest about it. He references his own struggles and in doing so does away  with the stereotype of "dusty academia" and replaces it with someone who's committed and passionate about his field driven by his own experiences and questions. If nothing else, he's inspired me a bit about how adversity can be re-moulded to a new outlook - maybe even a new direction. It's something for me to think about.

In many ways the course has helped me with self-reflection and writing my ideas out. I'm worried a little that I'll let this all slip - there seems so many strategies for everything that it's easy to feel overwhelmed. But, as I keep telling myself, trust my brain to soak it up and bring things out when necessary. And if things feel like they're going a little bit off track, then step back, take stock and refocus. It is all about nudging in the right direction.

I'll sort of miss the course in a weird way. The focus has helped - I've not been quite as committed some weeks and I noticed after the halfway point I was starting to lose interest a bit. But I've managed to take something away from each week, and even if I hadn't got that sense of motivation and achievement from previous weeks - the practice of reflecting on this thread (as well as reading others responses) has helped in a lot of ways by opening up insights and helping me "tune in" a little bit more to myself.

So with the end of the course, comes the end of the thread. Or maybe not - it has been useful to not only to reflect on here but sound off too. I may check in with it from time to time as a kind of journal. Or a place for my cathartic rants.