Losing Temper/Getting upset/terrified When Confused
When I was younger, I used to get very stroppy and angry when I didn't understand something. For example, I remember being in a maths class in secondary school and whenever I got really stuck on something, I was very dramatic. I would rock on my chair or put my head on the desk or whine...I must have looked like a real brat. Looking back on it, I think I struggled to think creatively about solving the problem (that and I f*****g HATE maths).
I still have a problem with this to a certain extent. I don't act out like this, but I do feel intense emotions when I'm confused or can't understand something. This doesn't just apply to academia either. If I can't figure out stuff like people's behavior or be able to wrap my head around certain concepts, it makes me feel really infuriated because I can't imagine a way around it. It's even worse when you know others have figured it out but you haven't. This really does affect my day to day life, actually.
I think this is just a manifestation of the lack of creativity autistics are supposed to have. I lack creativity, not in the conventional way we think of creativity, but in the logical/problem solving way. Most people seem to be able to think of various solutions to their problems; I see an obstacle and sort of freak out and panic. I guess this is one way that many NT's get annoyed at why I seem to be incapable of "something so simple".
Is this something you guys have experienced? Is anything I'm talking about making any sense?
I freak out when confronted with something that I can't find a solution to. I know from experience that if I calm down and wait for the solution to present itself, everything will be okay. But this doesn't stop me from reacting badly. For me, it's the sense of a loss of control that freaks me out. Lately I've found that if I push myself to keep working on the problem and ignore the "voices in my head" (you won't get it, everything is flawed, etc.) I can overcome the feeling of helplessness. But there is always that panic and feeling of failure; it never goes away.
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People are strange, when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone.
Morrison/Krieger
Aut's certainly don't have a lack of creativity in prob solving or any of that context. Of course some can have it, it's not an "autistic thing"
But this problem occured for me when I was low on sleep, or there was a lot of pressure on me to fix or solve the problem. Like everyone was nagging me, and my brain couldn't look at the problem and everyone nagging me at once. Other times it happened when I had a bit of anxiety in general, it would reflect onto my performance and I would go nuts.
But yeah, really anxiety. Try to get rid of that, and see how it works out.
I completely relate. For me, it's like a partial blindness. Everyone else sees the entire diorama, but I am only seeing through a keyhole and have to glue the little bits together. All that stress to keep up leaves me wound up pretty tight most of the time, and there are times I go off about things that shouldn't effect me so severely.
