Learn to ask others (spouse, family
members, teachers, etc.) for support. Be specific about what you need,
firm in your method of asking, and appreciative for what others do to
help. This can be a difficult step; after all somewhere we got the idea we
had to be super-parents. Why?
Because we think other people expect it of us.
Lower your stress threshold. Okay,
this sounds odd; after all shouldn’t we be learning to deal with larger
quantities of stress than the typical family? The answer is no. As Dr.
Richard Carlson suggests in his book “Don’t Sweat the Small
Stuff…” “Our current level of stress will be exactly that of our
tolerance to stress. You’ll
notice that the people who say, ‘I can handle lots of stress’ will
always be under a great deal of it!”
If we raise our tolerance to stress, we will learn to accept even
more responsibility and confusion until our stress level reaches our
tolerance level. Notice your
stress early, long before it gets out of hand.
Change your standards for housekeeping (and other tasks that don’t really
matter). Did you ever notice
how housework can sometimes send you over the edge? You have dealt with inordinate amounts of stress, then
suddenly your daughter forgets to throw out her apple core and you lose
it! If at all possible, hire
someone to come in every so often to clean and try to relax about your own
obsession with tidiness. In
various polls we’ve conducted at BBB Autism Support Network, we’ve
asked how our members deal with stress; many people cite this attitude as
a way they lessen unwanted frustration and negative feelings. It can be
quite liberating!
Hand in hand with the above is make peace with imperfection.
Are you obsessed with losing 10lbs? Get over it!
If you are at a reasonably healthy weight and are taking care of
yourself physically, don’t go crazy over a few pounds.
Find a healthy physical outlet. Discover a sport or exercise you really
enjoy, and then do it regularly — either by yourself or with an
“exercise buddy.” Take a Tae Bo class and punch out the stress; take a
cycle class and beat stress to the finish line.
Out- walk, run, bounce, jog or play it.
You’ll feel better, look better and sleep better!
If you feel you would like to start eating healthier, check out the Food
Guide and try to get a good variety of healthy foods.
If weight gain is a health risk, organizations such as Weight
Watchers ® offer healthy, sensible alternatives to fad diets. Sometimes, paying attention to such things can take the focus
away from our stress for a period of time.
Take pleasure from music, movies, magazines, museums, and even favorite
television programs. It’s OK to take time for yourself to “escape”
every once in awhile. If you are experience warning signs of burnout, do
NOT read anything about autism and do NOT watch Rain Man for the fiftieth
time. If you feel you have to unsubscribe from the BBB Autism E-News for a
period of time, no one will be hurt…we all need an autism vacation
occasionally! J
Give yourself permission to say, “No.” I have a tendency to reach out
to others to the point where I sometimes lose myself and my feelings.
I can spend hours trying to help someone through a rough time and
then I’m stunned when they walk out of my life without even a ‘thank
you’. I need to learn to
say ‘no’ more often; in other polls we’ve conducted, this appears to
be a problem area for most of us!
Find someone you trust — relatives, friends, and baby sitters — to
take care of your child so you can get away. You can try a respite worker
(in home or out of your home). For
more information on respite, check
out this link.
Scream therapy – it works! When
you are all alone, bury your face in the pillow and let off a good scream.
You can also have a good cry, sob your heart out.
After you are finished, dry your eyes, wash your face and go about
your day. A good way to
prevent stress from boiling over is to dump some of it occasionally.
Otherwise, you just might find yourself bursting into tears at the
checkout line when you see the last copy of the T.V. Guide is gone!