The Rolling Snowball

Hello again readers and if you are reading this thank you for reading this post and any previous posts. Right now the leaves are falling off the trees and it's getting colder. Wearing longer sleeves is becoming more and more of a necessity. This of course means that snow is in the immediate future, the white stuff that everyone loves until they have to drive in it. In the spirit of dropping temperatures and the impending series of snowstorms that is coming, I would like to talk about rolling snowballs. You might ask what does a rolling snowball have to do with adult life, to which I will reply it is a metaphor for anxiety and perseveration. Once I get anxious about something, it is hard for me to let go of it, until topic of anxiety is addressed and gets better. Decrease in anxiety has primarily been outcome-based rather than coping-based, and it is like that for others as well. It is like a rolling snowball, once the snowball of worry gets rolling, it is hard to stop without an external force. Usually the best way to stop a rolling snowball of anxiety is for another person to use redirection or a reminder to calm down, which can make living independently/alone especially challenging since there is no other person, no external force to stop the snowball.

One thing I think can be helpful when living alone is to talk with a go-to person/someone you trust. It can be a parent over the phone or someone else. They can usually talk things out and put your mind to ease and also redirect you from your worries. Additionally, putting your worry in a more positive frame of reference can be helpful. This can reduce your penchant for worry by taking a more positive frame of mind. Finally, distracting yourself is another great way to reduce your worry. By distract yourself I mean entertain yourself, whether it is by watching something funny or going out and doing what you want to do. This can distract you from your worries and add some much needed enjoyment. Overall though it can be difficult taking your mind off worry and it is easy for someone on the Spectrum to get stuck and perseverate