Understanding Your Dysregulation
The neurodivergent brain is more prone to dysregulation because it often processes sensory, emotional, and cognitive information differently. Our heightened sensitivity to stimuli means that everyday experiences can quickly become overwhelming. This can lead to sensory overload, emotional intensity, and cognitive fatigue, making it challenging to maintain balance. Understanding this helps us approach ourselves and others with empathy and kindness, recognizing that these responses are natural and not a sign of weakness. By creating supportive environments and practicing self-care, we can better navigate and manage these moments of dysregulation. Here's a breakdown of how you can do just that:
Recognize Your Triggers: Identify the sensory, emotional, or situational triggers that often precede your dysregulation. Keeping a journal can help track patterns.
Early Signs: Learn to recognize early signs of an impending outburst, such as increased irritability, anxiety, pain or physical discomfort.
Containment Strategies
Create a Safe Space: Designate a calming environment where you or your loved one can retreat to during a meltdown. This space should be free from overwhelming stimuli.
Sensory Tools: Engage your senses! Use sensory tools like noise-canceling headphones, calming essential oils, weighted blankets, fidget toys or mints/sour-candy to help manage sensory overload. Spashing cold water on your face, having a warm bath can help you regulate based on if you need a winding down (over-arousal needs cooler temperatures) or a ramping up (under-arousal can benefit from heat).
Deep Pressure Therapy: Applying gentle, firm pressure (e.g., a hug, weighted blanket, self-massage) can be calming and grounding. Bonus points if you have a safe pet/person that can lay on top of you!
Breathing/Stim Techniques: Practice deep breathing exercises or other stimming strategies like flapping, rocking, shaking, etc. so they become second nature during a meltdown.
Limit Stimulation: Reduce sensory input by dimming lights, lowering noise levels, and minimizing distractions.
Accommodations for Dysregulation
Time and Space: Give yourself or your loved one time and space in a safe place to process emotions without pressure to "snap out of it."
Clear Communication: Use clear, simple language to communicate during a meltdown. Offer reassurance and validation.
Scheduled Breaks: Incorporate regular breaks throughout the day to prevent sensory overload and reduce the likelihood of meltdowns.
Routine and Structure: Maintain a consistent routine to provide a sense of predictability and control.
After-Care
Rest and Recover: Allow ample time for rest and recovery after a meltdown. This could mean taking a nap, snacking, hydrating, engaging in a calming activity, or simply being left alone.
Reflect and Learn: After the episode has passed, reflect on what happened and identify any patterns or triggers to better prepare for the future.
Self-Compassion: Practice compassionate self-talk (if its hard, pretend you're talking to your loved one) by reminding yourself that you're a neurodivergent trying to live in a world that wasn't designed for you so you deserve all the permission, care and accomodations you need to get through this.
Support Systems
Safe person: Have a designated safe person who can assist you before, during or after a meltdown.
Therapy and Counselling: Regular sessions with a neuro-divergent affirming therapist (like us!) can provide ongoing support, coping strategies, and a safe space to explore emotions.
Support Networks: Connect with support groups or communities of other neurodivergents who understand and share similar experiences.
Managing dysregulation is a personal journey, and it’s important to be patient and kind to yourself or your loved one throughout the process. Feel free to tailor the above strategies to fit your individual preferences and needs. If you're unfamiliar with reparenting yourself through dysregulation, be open to experimenting with different techniques to find what is most effective in managing and accommodating your struggles. We're so proud of you for doing the hard work it takes to support your exisitence and when things feel too heavy for your system to bear, you know where to find us. :)
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