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Camping anxiety

Thomas Ray

I don’t know about anyone else but I’m never comfortable when I’m away from home. My girlfriend convinced me to go camping and now looking back I have no idea why I said yes, probably just used to pleasing other people I suppose but now my body is in turmoil with the anxiety. The campsite is 50 miles and it’s for four days. That’s four days away from home in a tent, with my girlfriend and our four year old daughter.

My daughter is also ASD, we have that in common which is awesome. But she hates travelling in the car for long periods of time and when she has a meltdown she screams. She literally screams so loud it feels like my ears are burning from acid. I have my ear plugs but they can only do so much. Sometimes I’m able to help my daughter with ASD-related things but her meltdowns are different to mine and I don’t know how to calm her down.

One thing I’m going to try this weekend when we go is putting a portable dvd payer screen to the back of the head rest so she can watch an animation as we’re going along. I’m hoping it will be a good distraction for her and will be avoid her having a meltdown. I just hope it doesn't make her travel sick as I know some people get that when they look at a screen during car journeys. My sister gets this, I luckily never have.

Fingers crossed it works.

My anxieties with camping are getting to me though. I worry about everything and I can’t stop. It’s frustrating and has started affecting my sleep, so I feel like at the moment I’m only firing on three cylinders if you know what I mean. My girlfriend is luckily very understanding and has been giving me a lot of support and encouragement. My dad would tell me to pull myself together and stop worrying but she’s not just my girlfriend but is my best friend too. I feel lucky to have her and am ever grateful for all she does for me.

Parents

  • Wow, there is a lot here I relate to.

    First off, totally understand the camping anxiety. I can’t imagine how you’re holding together at all because I know I would be going crazy lol. Since my diagnosis my wife has been really good about planning trips that have creature comforts, time built in for naps/destress, and plans that can be cancelled if need be. My best advice would be to make sure there is plenty of time set aside for you to rest during those four days. And by rest I mean a place you can go where your girlfriend and daughter can’t disturb you. Also, I’d plan an extra day off work so you can recover from the trip.

    Also, the people pleasing. Omg do I relate to that. I’ve made so many mistakes just trying to make everyone else happy but myself.

    One of my daughters (age seven) has ASD/ADHD. I deeply understand what you mean when you say it’s great to have that in common, but the screaming meltdowns are so hard to deal with. We have headphones all over our home for both C and I. Teamwork is important in our case, as my NT wife is better at handling the meltdowns while I have a deep understanding of what C needs and what causes the meltdowns. 

    The portable dvd player is a brilliant idea. I hope that she doesn’t get car sick, too. My daughter sometimes gets car sick, but generally not when she is distracted by our dvd player. Keep a bucket handy just in case, lol.

    I commend you for doing your best to get through this. Even if trips are difficult to manage for you and your daughter, it could end up being a trip your family remembers fondly. Communicate with your girlfriend throughout the process to make sure she is aware of how you are feeling.

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  • Wow, there is a lot here I relate to.

    First off, totally understand the camping anxiety. I can’t imagine how you’re holding together at all because I know I would be going crazy lol. Since my diagnosis my wife has been really good about planning trips that have creature comforts, time built in for naps/destress, and plans that can be cancelled if need be. My best advice would be to make sure there is plenty of time set aside for you to rest during those four days. And by rest I mean a place you can go where your girlfriend and daughter can’t disturb you. Also, I’d plan an extra day off work so you can recover from the trip.

    Also, the people pleasing. Omg do I relate to that. I’ve made so many mistakes just trying to make everyone else happy but myself.

    One of my daughters (age seven) has ASD/ADHD. I deeply understand what you mean when you say it’s great to have that in common, but the screaming meltdowns are so hard to deal with. We have headphones all over our home for both C and I. Teamwork is important in our case, as my NT wife is better at handling the meltdowns while I have a deep understanding of what C needs and what causes the meltdowns. 

    The portable dvd player is a brilliant idea. I hope that she doesn’t get car sick, too. My daughter sometimes gets car sick, but generally not when she is distracted by our dvd player. Keep a bucket handy just in case, lol.

    I commend you for doing your best to get through this. Even if trips are difficult to manage for you and your daughter, it could end up being a trip your family remembers fondly. Communicate with your girlfriend throughout the process to make sure she is aware of how you are feeling.

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