The angry autie and what to do with her

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I'm extremely short tempered as of late (diagnosed autism by the way) and this usually happens from time to time. However I'm getting angry over stupid things like broken pencils and specific noises and too much light which really can't be helped when living with roommates. It's mostly sensory overload starting my temper today. Any ideas on how to wrangle that little red monster of a temper into some order? More specifically, how do I manage my sensory overloads?

Counting to 10, meditation and classical music. I don't really have any more answers, and I hope you feel more at peace, soon.

I stim myself silly & listen to rock music

Can you reduce the sensory overload in any way? Earplugs or white noise on headphones, something to reduce light such as cap or shades? I find living with roommates highly stressful unless I have my own space that I can retreat to when I begin to get overloaded.

I would imagine if you could easily get away from these things that are bothering you, you would have already done it. Therefore, I would be cautious about wearing ear plugs or doing anything that will completely block out the stimuli all the time or very often because it is possible that you will become more sensitive, and if you are ever forced to deal with it again, it may be much seem much worse to you as a result. If possible, you could try to desensitize yourself to some degree. If a certain noise bothers you, try to expose yourself to the sound in a controlled environment. This way, you can slowly build up a tolerance to it. You can also figure out what kind of thoughts and/or actions help you deal with the things that bother you in this way. For example, you could experiment with some not so obvious stimming or practice counting to ten or meditating, as was mentioned in another post, while exposing yourself to a sound or other such thing you find problematic.
I am extremely sensitive to florescent lights, perfume, and loud noise myself. When I first started attending college I was extremely stressed and exhausted all the time. (The first time the fire alarm went off, I thought I was going to meltdown and crash right then and there in the library. As things turned out, I just wandered around in confusion and almost lost track of all of my books and supplies. -__-) Exposing myself to similar things I was exposed to on campus and the regular exposure I got from attending classes helped me quite a bit with the noise and smell sensitivities; however, exposure did not help with the lights.
I am also subtly trying this with an aspie student I tutor, and it seems to help somewhat with him as well.

If it is possible for you to get away for a while, you could try to regularly take a walk outside. For myself, I find if I can take a break (a short break) from the things I am sensitive to, they do not bother me as much when I am exposed to them again.

I hope you find something that works for you. ^__-

Edit: Is it possible to talk to your roommates about the things that bother you? I know not everyone is understanding, but some people are very willing to adjust their behaviors, at least for short periods of time, in order to help others cope with things. Perhaps if they understand certain things stress you, they could do things differently or let you have breaks from time to time.

I find sex to be the best medicine for that.

Unfortunately, any interaction afterward will likely only reignite the irritability, so a strict post-coital policy of 'get dressed and get out' must be maintained.

I think you're probably stressed out like crazy, and need to find a way to relax. That's the way overload feels to me sometimes--like anything at all will cause me to scream, or throw something. When I get like that, I know I need to get out of there, lie down, read, walk, whatever will make me feel better.

Be glad you get warning. Being irritable like that is something that can tell you you need to relax before you have a meltdown. Maybe it's short-term, like you're having a bad day; maybe it's more long-term, like you're not getting enough down time or you're not getting enough sleep or good food. Either way, if this were me, I'd be going, "This is a stress red flag. Something needs to be done before it gets out of control and I embarrass myself."

Well I live with regular annoying roommates on my own. I installed blackout curtains so the light from street lamps wouldn't bug me at night. Counting to to ten is just a waste of time really, doesn't work at all. I've tried meditation seriously before and it works 50% of the time. I do hardcore karate to get the energy out of me but sometimes it doesn't get rid of it all, especially as of late. All that crap about soothing herbal tea is not worth pursuing considering I hate drinking tea and never drink coffee. I figure I'm screwed for now and just have to shove my anger down until I'm in front of a punching bag.

My roommates will not change their annoying behavior long-term (over three days), despite me asking for them to got to sleep at a normal hour. At this point I want to nail egg cartons to the wall like Bill Nye the science guy to absorb outside noises so I can sleep (I'm a light sleeper).