Autism and Anxiety-How to Cope When Life Hits Hard

 

The number of people that are developing anxiety is increasing and more people are entering counseling because of it. This post is going to present some methods that might help those with mild to moderate anxiety. If these methods do not work or if you have severe anxiety, please seek out a counselor.

For those that have mild to moderate anxiety some approaches from a form of counseling called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) will be utilized. ACT was created by Steven C. Hayes in the late 1980s. Two of the hallmarks of ACT is the inevitibility of human suffering and to stop struggling with that suffering. 

There are several methods that can be used, not to stop suffering, but to embrace it. One of those methods is to practice self-compassion. According to another well known ACT practitioner, Russ Harris, self-compassion is encapsulated in this sentence: "acknowledge your pain; respond with kindness."

Can you feel your pain? Do not engage in any distracting actions. Do not obsess about your anxiety. Feel the pain. Acknowlege it. Next respond with kindness. After feeling your pain, what kind words can you say to yourself? Do not forget to say some kind words to yourself. It could be something as simple as saying, "I am hurting; now I am going to say something kind to myself."

Another method is dropping anchor. Dropping anchor is a combination of meditation, movements and stretches. It's better to listen to a dropping anchor routine than read about it. If you are interested in listening to a dropping anchor routine, click here.

A final method is finding your values and creating behavioral goals for yourself. What are your values? Mine are family, knowledge, human rights, and justice; in that order. If you do not know what values you have, do some reflection. Again I ask: what are your values? Once you determine your values, create  a few  goals arising from each value. A goal-oriented life creates a meaningful life.

It is hoped these methods help with your anxiety. If not, please get counseling. A good counselor will not just offer mere advice, but give you tools that can help you live despite your anxiety.

The Contributions of Wenn Lawson

 

Wenn Lawson is a psycholgist well known for for many things: One is he is trans-gender transitioning to male. The others are ideas about autism, being that he is on the spectrum himself. For example, Dr. Lawson has a theory he calls Single Attention and Associated Cognition in Autism (SAACA), which means an autistic person focuses on one subject as a time and channels it through on sense at a time. It all started when he added to the concept of monotropism when he wrote his doctoral thesis, and his book Passionate Mind. I have not had the opportunity to sit down and talk with him about is magnificent life, but it you want to read his story click here.

This Week's Support Group Meeting

 

Hello everyone,

This week the support group will be Saturday 15 August 2026 at 1:00 pm.  This week we will be meeting at the Eegees located at 243 E Speedway Blvd. The closest street is 5th ave. This week will be an open forum. We now have a Google Meet link for those that have an issue leaving their home. It will be up at this meeting. Please see this message's footer for the link. 


See you then

Regards, 

John

Support community location: 243 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ
Community Office Phone: (520) 314-6896
Community web site: www.tucsonautismadvocacy.org
Community  social   networking site: https://www.meetup.com/Tucson-Adult-Autism-Support-.
Google Meet link: To join the video meeting, click this link: https://meet.google.com/hnz-opbt-mos

Anniversary of the ADA

 

July 26, 2026 was the 36 anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA; 42U.S.C. § 12101), signed into law by George H. W. Bush in 1990. This civil rights law prohibits discrimination based on disability. The Americans with Disability Act is short for "An Act to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability." It all started in 1985 as a law in the Virginia House of Delegates and was passed in the Virginia General Assembly. Then in 1986 the National Council on Disability recommended and drafted a national law. A draft was introduced in the U.S. Senate in 1988 and, of course, signed into law in 1990. It was later amended and signed by George W. Bush with the amendments taking effect in 2009.

The ADA includes autism as a disability. Unfortunately government entities cannot be sued for failure to enforce ADA, as stated by an U.S. Supreme Court case. 

I was privledged to attend the ARC of Tucson's event of an ice cream social in honor of the ADA on its anniversary. Let us honor and create disability awareness not just on one day, but every day year around