Published on 12, July, 2020
I need to find better ways of dealing with my anxiety. I'm anxious all the time and very little actually helps me with it. I've tried medication, I've tried talking therapy and it's like its all in vain. Nothing seems to work it's like my anxiety is immortal or something.
I get the stomach pain, tiredness, headaches and poor sleep. All that I can deal with but in the last year I've started getting jaw spasms, they start up randomly, ache and just spasm. This I struggle with. Part of me is worried my jaw will dislocate and another part just finds this so irritating and it's led to me becoming a mute so I don't have to talk as much.
Ugh why can't life just be simple?
I did call the doctors on Friday and need broached the subject of my anxiety and how it's affecting me and the receptionist was so unhelpful. "You can do a lot yourself for anxiety like colouring. The doctors are very busy at the moment..."
Translation, go away.
️ Always feel so lonely with my problems.
That’s a shame that they don’t take your concerns seriously. I get told similar things. I don’t really know what they can do though at the same time as no one knows what autism is or how to treat it. So I can’t really expect them to give me this amazing help when they do t know what’s wrong with me. I sometimes get involuntary movements so does my friend who is also autistic.
It doesn't hurt at all, but I make it crack basically. It's not a good habit though.
Jaw spams can be caused by anxiety because your up and down teeth press so hard it dislocates your jaw. A dentist recommended I use cotton between my teeth for 20 minutes every day, try that or be more aware of how hard you press your teeth.
I know I will regret suggesting this: have you considered something in your ears? Like music or even having the sensation of sound closed around you relaxes me. One sensation calms another.
That sounds extremely uncomfortable for you. I hope it's been better today. This is something I have suffered from, my cause was anxiety and it got really painful in the end where I was unable to talk or open my mouth for very long. I do exercises now as instructed by a professional and it is less painful but does still happen. Anxiety really sucks.
Hi SarahMod. Thanks for your helpful response. All your tips are more than useful for me and I am really grateful to you for taking out the time to help with this.
I don't know if there is a branch nearby me but it's something I'm definitely going to have a look into. I feel it could be helpful for me.
Thanks again so kind of you. X
That sounds painful! I hope it didn't cause you too much grief. I'm not sur what's up with mine reddit, I think it is anxiety, it rules my entire life sadly.
Hi Fairy, Sorry to hear that your anxiety has been causing you so much pain and loneliness. I have some links below that might be useful, apologies if they are things you have already come across but I hope they are useful in some way.
You may like to have a look at the mental health section of our website which has useful links to information and advice about a range of mental health issues: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health
The information on these pages may be of particular interest:
Additonally, You may be interested in contacting a local National Autistic Society branch. They offer support to local autistic people and their families. If you interesting in checking if there is a local branch near to you, here: https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/local-branches
Our branches are volunteer-led, and as such every branch and group is different. Some are parent support groups, some provide support and information to autistic adults, while others have office premises and run their own a drop-in service. You will need to check with a branch directly for more information on whether they are able to provide a particular service that you are interested in.
Hope something there is useful and helps reduce these feelings :)
Best,
SarahMod
I have gotten into a terrible habit of cracking/clicking my jaw over the last year. It has gotten out of control.
Oh ouch! I'm sorry you had to go through that and I hope it's a lot better for you now. I do worry about my jaw and any problems it might have but it's one of those things if I think about it I start to feel faint.
At some point I might call the dentist but then I will pass out at appt so I'm not sure. I'm hoping it will resolve by itself.
You do need to be really careful with this. I grind my teeth compulsively which only increases jaw tension. I went through a period many years ago where I would stretch my jaw to try to relieve it and did end up damaging myself. I had terrible pain and a clicking jaw for months after that.