Huge meltdown after seeing HORRIBLE TV Commercials.

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This past Thursday I was in a terrible mood. I felt very uneasy, anxious, restless, and isolated. Then at around 4 pm I try to relax in front of the TV, but the commercials were so aggravating I had to stop watching the rest of the show and turn off the TV. There was this back-to-school ad for Wal-Mart that featured an "overexcited mom" shrilling and squealing over every single thing she picks (OOO HIGH-FIVER PAPER!! ! HIGH-FIVER PENCILS!! ! out and each time she does she makes her less-than-excited son and daughter high-five her. And what's worse they showed it a SECOND time after the show went into its commercial break and I had to cover my ears until it was over. Late that evening I try watching some more TV, and it gets worse. There's one for some new kind of Toaster Strudel that has a boy dressed in lederhosen and a feathered cap speaking in a horrible in very stereotypical-sounding Scandinavian language, while an infestation of flying pastries have invaded the household of some kid and his mother. Then there's another boy who heats up pizza snacks or something in the microwave and immediately afterwards stuffs them in his face so he can't answer his mother's question about his homework. YOU CAN'T STUFF PIZZA SNACKS IN YOUR FACE RIGHT AFTER NUKING THEM THEY WILL BURN YOUR MOUTH AND MAKE YOU SCREAM IN AGONY!! ! And THEN I see another sickening commercial for some salad and of course a woman picks up a piece of fried onion from the salad she makes that orgasmic face when she slowly puts it in her mouth and that horrific image is engraved into my memory. Then I saw one more back-to-school ad with some stupid snot-nose brat and that's when I finally snapped. I screamed so much and so loudly that my voice is still messed up when I try to talk. Why? WHY have TV ads gotten so horrible that it's nearly impossible for Aspies to sit through them. Muting or switching the channel seems to be the only alternative, but I shouldn't HAVE to do that. Forget disease, war and climate change, I see modern TV ads as a sign of the "End Times"!

Anyway, since my voice is a crackling mess and I have no one to talk to offline anyway, this is about the only way I can complain now.

Television is like the very definition of garbage. Reality TV, commercials, game shows, american idol, like how else could you better waste your time? Of course you had a meltdown, you tried to indulge in a NT only drug. That's like trying to play something like "barbie quest" with your little sister. Did you really expect entertainment?

I hate most ads too but I do like smart tv. We have a DVR so any show with ads I never watch in real time. That way I can fast forward through the ads. If a DVR isn't an option, watching on the Internet either by waiting/watching only shows through Hulu or Netflix without ads or just watch on the network website which will have the same short ad but less often & you can mute it.

Does your TV have a mute option? (Most TVs do.) I suggest muting it and finding something else to look at (book, magazine, doodling pad, tidying up the room) during the commercials.

It might seem like a drastic step, but have you considered giving up television and using Netflix or something? My husband and I gave up television three years ago, and I subscribe to Netflix. We watch movies and stream television shows (without commercials) and are perfectly happy with that. Last night we watched an episode of "The Bridge", with the Aspie character in it. There were absolutely no commercials in that. We find that when we are in a waiting room and the television is on, we become very irritated and will often lower the volume if no one seems to be watching it. Television has definitely gone downhill, and you would have to have the attention span of a gnat to enjoy it.

Roku.

This is exactly why I can't watch TV.
It drives me to a screaming heebeejebies, literally.

I feel your insanity.

i hate commercials! i always make sure to record any shows i want to watch so i can skip the commercials.

I hate that "You're too perfect" Cascade Commercial. "The Perfect" housewife is a b***h.

Whoa. I just saw the Toaster Strudel commercial with the lederhosen boy while watching NCIS. Bizarre.

Live with parents while going back to college. Dad grumbles I'm in my room all the time.

Come out in the living room and of course he has the Remote and he is always watching FOX News. I can stand FOX Business Network and I even like Tom Sullivan or Lou Dobbs. But Bill O'reilly and Sean Hannity cannot conduct a sane interview or moderate a panel.

So, I come out and sit in the living room with my laptop and earbuds seeking refuge from the TV.

@OP: That's why I watch PBS and foreign programs almost exclusively.

I have always been freaked out by the Snuggle Fabric Softener Bear, The Pilsbury Dough Boy, The Frosted Mini-Wheat little guys (especially the commercial where they are sitting in a bowl of milk and have towels around their waists), make-up commercials (the lipstick ones are very scary), and that commercial where the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Squares are eating one another.

that's why i use Netflix. most commercials are on average louder than the actual programming and it always drived me nuts. especially loud annoying female voices. and the scrubbing bubbles commercials., oh god...

Why still watch TV? Watching TV is a great way to develop brain damage. It will do nothing but hurt you.

Commercials don't bother me. They can be boring but they give me a chance to get get stuff and get a little break from whatever I'm watching, which can be good as I don't have the best attention span.
There are plenty of programs I don't care for (reality-TV, sports, most things called culture etc) but the solution is so very easy, just avoid watching them, so that's not much of an issue.

I'm glad I belong to them generation who still watch TV to see shows. One episode a week gives me something to look forward to and a sense of schedule. It also keeps me from over indulging, plus TV screens are easier to watch for an extended period than computers. I don't understand the generations after me at all.
About a month ago my computer malfunctioned and I was computerless for several weeks, depending on the PCs of other family members to get online. Boy was I glad I didn't rely on one machine for all my entertainment!! !