Autistic people can be prone to experiencing anxiety. Up to 40% of children and around 50% of adults have this mental illness (Rodgers & Ofield, 2018). This blog discusses what causes autistic people to feel anxious and ways to help.
About Anxiety
Anxiety usually comes about when you are worried or are fearful about something, whether its a presentation at school, dealing with a bully, or financial worries. Everyone, at some point, feels anxious. This can cause feelings on tension or unease.
Whilst it's normal to feel anxious, for some autistic people anxiety can be more intense. It can feel like a lot of your time is spent feeling anxious, even over smaller things, which then disrupts life. Things that some autistic people may find cause anxiety include:
changes & fearing the unknown- such as a change in routine or physical development changes
sensory overload
alexithymia- struggling with emotional awareness
struggling to communicate or being social anxious
performance anxiety- in school or at work
trying to fit in or bullies
Signs of Anxiety
Signs of anxiety can, sometimes, get mixed up between normal behaviour. This could be things like withdrawing from a situation. Whilst this could be a sign of anxiety, for some it may just be their preferred behaviour to have alone time. So, it's important to understand yourself, or if you are a parent- understanding your child, to recognise the difference.
So, with that in mind, some signs of anxiety include:
trouble sleeping
demanding routine or being obsessive
behaviour difference- sweating, hyperventilating, isolating themselves
behaviour issues- such as emotional outbursts
self harm- such as banging head against a wall
avoid or withdraw from social situations
If you or a loved one is showing these signs, they may be dealing with anxiety. This can be hard to deal with, especially when you are not sure how to overcome anxiety. So, here are a few tips to help.
Tips To Help
Whilst there isn't a way to treat anxiety, there are way to help reduce and manage it.
1. Routine and Avoid Unnecessary Changes
For some autistic people, the reason they may feel anxious is because they are worried about change or fear the unknown. A way to help with this is through following a routine. This will help to try to minimise the amount of uncertainty in daily life.
Try to stick to these routines and not miss or change them unless it is absolutely necessary. However, this doesn't mean you have to plan every single minute of the day. Try to leave some time for spontaneity as this can help to adapt to change gradually.
2. Prepare For Change
Even when routines are put in place, it is pretty much impossible to avoid all change. This can be things like changing schools, body changes, work changes. There are many situations where change is bound to happen.
This is why it is good to prepare for change, especially when you know it is coming up. For example, a big change in life could be moving from college to university. This can be daunting, especially if you don't know what to expect of university life. A great way to deal with this fear is to do some research. Learn about the university and read about other peoples experiences. This can help to calm fears and reduce unknowns.
If you are a parent, you can use social stories to help explain the change to your child. This could include things like body changes or moving year groups in school to help reduce your child's anxiety as they are growing up.
3. Try To Avoid Triggers
There are certain things, as mentioned above, that can cause anxiety. Whilst you may not be able to prevent all of the above from happening, there are still some that you can control. Such as avoiding places where you, or your child's, senses overload or places where you feel uneasy.
A good way to help avoid triggers is to make a note of places where you, or your child, tend to feel uneasy or act out. Then, when you understand what is triggering your anxiety, you can avoid it or find a way to overcome that obstacle. For example, if you have hyper-hearing, a noisy shop may make you feel anxious. A way to overcome this could be wearing noise reducing headphones.
4. Reduce Sensory Overload
Sensory overload can be a big trigger for anxiety. Sensory overload is when one or more of the five senses processes too much sensory information causing the senses to feel overwhelmed. It can also cause anxiety at the thought of going to a place where there has been a previous experience with sensory overload. So, to help reduce anxiety here it's a good idea to prepare for sensory situations and reduce sensory situations where you can. For instance you could:
Wear noise cancelling headphones if going somewhere noisy
Changing out bright lights
Wear a weighted vest or using a weighted blanket
If you are a parent, you can see if your child's school can help adapt the environment for your child. This could include having visual aids, a quiet zone, and being allowed to leave class a little earlier to avoid busy corridors.
5. Relaxation & Stimming
A good way to reduce anxiety is to relax or self-soothe. By taking the time to relax, you give your body and mind a chance to unwind which can be very beneficial for reducing anxiety. Take the time to understand what you, or your child, find relaxing. Some relaxing activities could be:
going into a sensory den
having some quiet time
taking deep breaths
meditation or yoga
getting some exercise
Another good way to relax could be through stimming. This could be anything from fidgeting to a repetitive movement or making noises, and so much more! Stimming provides comfort and can help calm and soothe. So, if you are starting to feel anxious, try it out. Find a stim that you enjoy.