38 Results in Anxiety

Understanding post-event anxiety

Many autistic people feel anxious about events that are impending. We recently talked about this in our anticipatory anxiety article.  It’s important to understand that autistic people can also feel highly anxious after an event. I call this post-event anxiety…. Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you would like to continue to read this article, along with receiving access to…

What is Anticipatory Anxiety?

Anticipatory anxiety is a known condition where a person experiences increased levels of anxiety by thinking about an event or situation in the future. In neurotypical people, anticipatory anxiety is often caused by negative thinking. They might worry that the worst is going to happen in a forthcoming situation. Autistic people can be prone to… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you…

“Attire is formal for dinner. See you later”

If you are autistic, do you ever struggle to socialise with colleagues outside of work, such as at team ‘Away Days’ or the Christmas party? The Girl With The Curly Hair does! Her time working at a science measurement and testing company included the big three-day annual science conference in a different part of the… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you would like to contin…

How other people can affect what an autistic person does

Based on my animated film, A Day Working at the Vet’s for The Girl With The Curly Hair, I have been developing e-courses to help autistic people at work and to help employers understand autistic workers. There was one specific scene in this film that inspired me to write this article. In the scene, The… Join The Curly Hair Project Community Today This article and our podcasts are available only to members of our community. If you would like to continue to read this article…

The Anxiety Continuum

Lately I’ve been reading about tendon pathology and there was one concept, called the continuum, that I thought was interesting and could be applied to anxiety as well as tendons! It reminded me of my view on anxiety: anxiety is not always bad. A small level of anxiety can even be beneficial because: It warns us of danger It helps us perform It helps us become more self-aware: it makes us think about what makes us anxious and what we can do about it It keeps us de-sensitised to things The continuum idea means that anxiety is reversible. It can be good and bad. It can get better and worse... I hope this idea might help you or make you think about anxiety in a different way.

Subconscious anxiety

Subconscious anxiety is anxiety that's just there. It might not be present for any obvious or particular reason. It causes an individual to feel nervous, worried or on edge throughout the day. Many neurotypical people feel anxious about a particular circumstance. For example, a neurotypical person might be anxious about the meeting they're having with their boss later. They can feel anxious all the time leading up to the meeting, but at least they know why, and the anxiety will probably go when the meeting is over. Autistic people (or anyone who has an anxiety disorder) may have something called 'subconscious anxiety', which means they feel anxious regardless of what is going on. If you think you experience this, or that your loved one experiences this, I hope this article helps you.

Why do I feel anxious and not excited?

One of the ways I tend to feel most isolated from others is when other people are feeling excited about something, I am feeling anxious. Or they might be expecting me to be feeling excited about something, but instead I'm feeling anxious. Having autism can dampen one's mood. For me, it's as though anxiety masks any positive feeling. Anxiety is always there, even when I am trying to feel positive emotions. This experience is very common for autistic people.

The Freeze Response (animation)

When something happens that I did not expect, I feel as though I freeze. It feels as though the cogs in my brain have come to a halt! This freezing happens for at least two reasons: 1. I struggle with flexible thinking (a part of executive function), which means it is hard to imagine or work out alternative outcomes to things 2. I feel highly anxious, because something has happened unexpectedly. Remember that to 'freeze' is one of the three primary responses to anxiety (the other two are fight and flight). I created an animation to explain The Freeze Response and to provide a strategy that really helps me to deal with it. You can watch it below. I hope you enjoy it!

How to manage separation anxiety problems

In the previous article I provided insight into why autistic people might experience separation anxiety. Now I will look at what we can do to overcome or reduce this particular type of anxiety...

Understanding separation anxiety

Something that I remember very strongly from my childhood is a feeling of anxiety whenever my parents left me anywhere, such as to drop me off at school or when they went out for a while. As an adult, I still have that feeling of anxiety even now about my parents. I also sometimes feel anxiety when I am spending time with someone and the time is coming to an end. Saying "goodbye" can be really hard. It is obvious now why such situations make me feel so anxious. The anxiety is largely caused by the transition from being with someone to being apart from them. I have learned that transitions can be incredibly hard for autistic people. The Covid-19 lockdown will likely have emphasised feelings of separation anxiety for autistic people. For example, they might have been separated from family and friends who were part of a routine. And, as the lockdown is eased, autistic people will have to get used to being apart from those they live with because of the return to school and work.