Coping With Emotions - Crying and Not Speaking

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I am not diagnosed, but have suspected that I have ASD since I was 11 years old. I find it extremely hard to deal with the experience of emotions, and cry very easily. I cry and become temporarily non-verbal when experiencing any emotion, including happiness etc. because it is painful and confusing for me to feel. For example, if I am worried, and a kind teacher asks me what is wrong, I often cry and cannot speak because they are so kind, and it makes me happy. On occasions where I have not been able to find my classroom, or have been late to class, I have also cried and become non-verbal (as a 16 year old).

Does anybody else have trouble managing their emotions, leading to frequent crying/becoming non-verbal? Do you have any tips on how to cope?

I go non-verbal when I get overwhelmed, and what I do to cope with that is just go into my imaginary world and someone there will comfort me by hugging me and saying kind things to me, instead of in real life. It sounds a bit insane but it totally works for me.

Thank you for the advice. I am so grateful that you took the time to reply to me.

You're welcome

That's exactly how I am. I also have never been diagnosed. Usually, if I'm crying over something that made me happy, I just go ahead and cry (and I often laugh at the same time). If I'm upset or sad, I'll start making up funny songs in my head or thinking about a funny memory I have or joke or something that gets my mind off the situation at hand. Also, journaling helps with the nonverbal part and gives me an outlet and some time to analyze/think about the situation that made me cry. If I'm by myself, I listen to music and sing/dance along or take a walk. If I'm around other people, I try to hide it (turn/look the other way/cover my face with my hands) and even walk away if that's an option.

I'm pretty much the same way, except I stay verbal. My friends call me Big Baby Schultz because of it. I kind of like that nickname.

Thank you all for your advice and solidarity.

Would it be worth checking with a doc to see if there's some influence from depression? I get hit pretty hard by situations like you describe too (minus the mutism), and have some history of depression. I don't know if the two are related, just a thought. If it's affecting your life negatively, it would be good to explore possibilities to determine how you may best manage it.

Cheers!

Thank you for your concern, Exuvian. I don't think that I am depressed - I potentially was when I was in primary school, but I don't think so now.

When I was in primary school, I had no friends, and school was too easy to make me interested in that. I didn't realised at the time that it was unusual to want to die, but then I went to high school, and after realising that I then no longer wanted to die, I became aware that I had potentially been depressed earlier in my life. I have never spoken to anybody about it or seen a doctor, though.

So I don't think that I am depressed. It's not that everything seems terrible, which makes me upset enough to cry, because I cry if I am happy or relieved, or experiencing any emotion, even those which I cannot put a name to. But thank you for your reply. Also, welcome to WP!

Thanks for the welcome & glad to hear spirits are high. I think a good thing about experiencing emotions intensely is movies/tv/books can be appreciated on a level that may not be available to others.

Cheers!

The thing is, I don't really become very invested in movies/TV/books. Actually, I have never really cried watching a movie/television or reading a book. I don't really experience emotion associated with entertainment, only personal things. I do enjoy books/films etc. but it has no obvious emotional effect on me. I would be the one sitting impassively whilst the intense emotional scenes occur in a movie.