Special needs harness

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I'm starting to wonder if my mental state is deteriorating, because among other things, I am wracked with PTSD,
and I really don't know how long I'll be able to hold my mind together. I spoke to thearapists, took different kinds of medications of varying strength, but none of this so far has done much to aliviate my suffering. I've thought of doing a short term commitment to a mental facility, but I have heard horror stories about doing this, including having LESS rights than a patient who is put there involuntairly. I don't think it would do me good anyway, as I have been put on a 5150 hold (72 hours minimum) when I attempted suicide about 5 years ago. I didn't come out of that much better than when I went in. It's possible I could end up in a special needs home or under a caregiver, and if it gets even worse than
that, I might have to be put in a special needs harness from time to time (I'm no mental health professional, so don't
know if this even happens).

As an experiment, I made a sort of 'special needs' harness out of dog leashes, and I strapped myself into it, and I had it connected to a chair. There are no locks on the buckles, and it takes less than a minute to put it on and buckle it up and take it back off.

I didn't get horny or anything like that and I wasn't trying it to be kinky, I did it to see if it could help me in some way with my various mental disorders.

It actually made me feel a lot calmer and safe, and I really did NOT want to unbuckle it, but I had errands I needed to run, so I had to take it off. I felt the anxiety rise back up when I did that. I might try it again, maybe for an hour to see what effect it has on me.

If I ever do need to be put in a special needs home, or be under a caretaker, I would want to be kept in a harness and have it where only the staff or care taker can undo the fasteners.

I'm wondering if anybody here had an experience with being put in a special needs harness, though I'm sure it's unlikely because those are normaly only used for low functioning people with autism, not Aspies like myself

Last edited by plateshutoverlock on 06 May 2019, 2:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

Many people on the spectrum benefit from physical pressure in various forms. What you're describing sounds like the same effect people get from weighted blankets, weighted vests, etc. Have you tried any of those? There are lots of different weighted accessories/items available for ASD folks.

There are compression garments intended for body shaping that may do what you want.

I have worn heavy jewelry and I always keep my shirt collars buttoned partly because I like the feel of it, but mostly because I prefer the modest look, but this is not what I was talking about.

For me, the 'special needs harness' made me feel safe because I felt it was keeping me from going someplace where I would be in danger, and scince I was confined to one spot by it, it forced me to sit, relax, and think. I could have undone the buckles at any time, but I didn't want to, and it took me a long time to will myself into doing it.

Yes, I felt some pressure on my body, but it wasn't much different in regards to what weighted garments are supposed to do than wearing a seatbelt in a car.

Odd thing about all of this is when I was an infant, my mom would have me strapped in a baby car seat like chair in the living room while she did her chores (not to be mistaken for a high chair). Apparently, this was a popular thing in the mid 70s. She told me a couple decades later that I really liked it as we were looking through my own baby pictures. I wonder if some of this has carried over into my adult hood?

This all makes perfect sense to me, and looks a lot better for you than heavy duty drugs to control mood..

I had had a succession of such things through a large part of my 55 years, some "Safe Place" plus sensory input.

I would not expect someone not on the spectrum to get it first time around and very few people know that such things are part of my self care procedures.

Just make sure there is always a "back door", some means to release quickly in emergency.

Huh. Do you think something like a hug machine might work, too?

I think it would.

Wow, tough times! I hope you can find some relief.

When I am in some stress I tend to wear tighter clothing or more layers of heavy fabrics. It feels better in some inexplicable way and I like that.

It almost sounds like you are talking about a straight jacket.

If you are suffering from PTSD then the cause of this condition is stress. Your body releases stress hormones when it feels threatened. Unless these chemicals are used up, the will accumulate in your body and can lead to a state of distress. PTSD is a form of distress that causes trauma. To relieve PTSD, a person must vent this stored stress energy.

There is a form of exercise that is very good at venting core stress. If your body can produce a shiver state it will release stress in the psoas muscle and help you manage PTSD. This exercise is described in detail with photographs in a book called "The Revolutionary Trauma Release Process" by David Berceli.

I;ve been doing that a lot lately, even with the summer heat that's been going on. Collar buttoned, check. Cuffs buttoned, check. Belt tightened, full length skirt on, check.

Funny thing is, when I was a kid, I used to dress down, t-shirts and all that, and I rarely dress up. Now almost all the time, I'm fully dressed up, almost like I'm in Victorian times.

I'm not sure what exactly changed, other than people's habits change over the years. I also used to be much more tolerant to cold weather, but over time that too changed. People I have spoken to suggested I get more iron in my diet and what not, but trying that didn't produce any significant results for me.

Come to think of it, when I was a kid, I saw a lady who looked fairly old, but not elderly wear a winter coat in 90F+ degree heat, and I asked her "why is she weating a coat in the summertime?". She replied that when some people get older, their bodies have trouble generating and retaining heat.

I'm thinking this is the case with me.

This is not safe or a healthy desire. The staff could take advantage of your helplessness to harm you. Not all caretakers are good people.

It's better to not be locked up. If you are such a danger to yourself or others that you must be restrained, you should try to find someone you know and trust to do the restraining. Better to live at home and have friends/family as caretakers, or at least have a single female (safer than men) home-care aide.