Coping Mechanisms which don't work?

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I've seen a lot of people talk about humor and getting out with people as a way to deal with stress.

For me, a lot of these coping mechanisms are basically like red-bull. My mood picks up really quick, and it stays up for a little bit, but then I have a sudden crash. After that I feel completely drained, and those old emotions seep back in. The primary difference is that I don't have the mental energy to deal with them, and they quickly become overwhelming.

I can't tell you how many times I've watched a comedy show, or gone around people, only to watch this 'red-bull' effect. Each time I end up feeling worse off after the fact than I did before.

Counting to ten doesn't work for me. It makes me feel like a little child.

Meditation doesn't work for me. I have much more of a Mod Mind than a Hippie Mind.

Exercise doesn't work for me, believe it, or not. I feel like I've been hit with a medicine ball, 20 times, like I actually was, as a child, one time and my left ankle swells up.

Walking helps

A cup of tea helps

Listening to my music helps

Dressing nicely helps

Amen to that. Nothing better then listening to The Smiths with a cup (or two) or tea.


I've read that getting an AS child a pet will help him or her socialize with people - but for me, being around my cats and dogs made me feel less connected with people, and more so with animals,

For me, getting a dog helped me with both. I learned how to take care of other living beings and connect with them (dogs), and then I started being able to connect better with other people who owned dogs, as dogs were a shared interest. I then eventually extrapolated taking care of dogs, and having an emotional connect with them, to taking care of people, and having an emotional connect with people.
But the dogs came first.

Oh! I can describe a little bit about my co-worker, whom I swear has AS. He is known throughout the lab for some rather opinionated and naive viewpoints, and whenever he voices them, people laugh and shake their heads, muttering "wow that's so wrong". So because people laugh, he thinks he is entertaining them, so he continues it. But either he doesn't realize it, or he doesn't care, that they're not laughing with him, they're laughing at him. Since I know that he has some severe self-esteem issues, it makes me cringe every time it happens. His coping mechanism for his social awkwardness is not doing him any favors in the long run...