Published on 12, July, 2020
We all have really bad days and when I do I often feel I’m floundering and don’t know where to turn to find some comfort and make the world feel like a less completely hostile place. What strategies do you use on those days when everything feels completely overwhelming and bleak and you’re feeling hopeless about life? What helps?
I just try to bury myself in a video game and hope it goes away eventually. Interspersed with trying to think of a bearable way out.
About a year ago I tried video games but somehow I just couldn’t connect with them or enjoy them. My eldest really does and gets so much pleasure and interest from them - which is great. He finds they help a lot when he’s stressed - he gets in the zone and forgets other things that he might be struggling with. In terms of ‘a bearable way out’ - I’ve never come up with one of those. I don’t think there is one. The only viable thing is to try and make life more bearable, or (best case scenario) more enjoyable. My problem is that when I get into this ‘tunnel’ state of mind I can’t seem to see out of it. I know it WILL ease - it always does eventually - but it’s hard to FEEL that it’s going to. I want to stop feeling like this but I get into a kind of inertia where I can’t help myself. Eg I know music improves mood but I can’t bear to listen to it. I suppose it’s a bit of a vicious circle in some ways. I’m always eager though to learn about what helps other people - and people in this community really do understand. I feel people with autism often have to work really hard to keep going with life sometimes. It can be a battle.
You never know, you might just not have found the kind of game that works for you. There are as many genres of video games as movies or books. But I guess if I didn't care for games I would try to do the same with whatever hobby I had that involves actively doing something; anything passive like reading or listening to music leaves too much of a gap for those thoughts to overwhelm me.
It's great that you can keep that certainty that things will be okay. When things are bad I don't see them ever really getting better, and I'm terrified of how much worse it can get.
I know what you mean. You can factually remember that in the past you’ve come through periods like this and yet somehow can’t ‘feel’ that it’s actually possible for that to happen again. I think you’re right about passive things too. Really I know I should DO SOMETHING - like cook a meal or tidy up the house or something. It’s just hard to act on that and actually do it. I’m sorry you have times like this too. I’ve never been part of the ‘autism is a superpower’ thing - because to be honest it often feels more like a disability to me, because it can make everyday life almost impossible sometimes. Sorry for being so negative.