Creating “A Guide to S.U.C.C.E.S.S.”
Loneliness is a feeling of being without company or being cut off from others, a feeling many of us are probably familiar with during this time. Having to stay at home and avoid social gatherings is understandably leading many of us to feel cut off from our communities. There is a reason why loneliness is also described as “social pain”; it is an unpleasant emotional response that comes from the perception of isolation. We as humans have an innate need to form social bonds and affiliate with one another, which in all likelihood is part of the reason why social distancing has been an added challenge in navigating a global pandemic.
Coping Strategies
In trying to remain sane during the stay at home order, many people have been using different coping strategies to reduce their stress. Mindfulness is one such strategy that is among the most common methods of healthily reducing stress and anxiety. It places an emphasis on attending to the elements in the environment as they are, without judgement. If we are truly attending to the present moment, and taking deep breaths, we can reduce our anxiety and focus on the experiences occurring in the present moment. The best part about using mindfulness is that it can be done anytime, anywhere and mindfulness based stress reduction appears to be equally as effective as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) in reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms when practiced regularly. What’s more, these results have been found to remain stable over the longer term.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
From a young age, individuals with ASD have a difference in their ability to relate themselves in an ordinary way to other people and situations, making social interactions challenging even when we are not navigating and coping with a pandemic. The feelings of loneliness that everyone is experiencing to some degree is something that people on the autism spectrum face on a regular basis. It is common for high-functioning individuals on the autism spectrum to experience difficulties in identifying and maintaining healthy relationships, which in some cases exacerbates the challenges that adults with ASD face when it comes to accomplishing tasks associated with daily living.
There a number of resources in existence, both online and in print, that are available to aid in caregiver and family support for individuals on the autism spectrum, each focusing on building specific skills using a specific approach. However, sometimes situations are vague and a resource that can be customized by the individual to connect a number of coping strategies could be a beneficial tool for high-functioning young adults on the autism spectrum.
As they say, “practice makes perfect” and continually practicing healthy coping strategies, as well as identifying healthy relationships, will get easier over time. Hence it is important that focus is put towards building a repertoire of coping mechanisms and activities that alleviate anxiety through the development of social skills because when individuals make use of personal strategies for social compensation without any knowledge of healthy coping mechanisms, poor mental health could result.
In an effort to share the knowledge I have gathered over the years, I collaborated with professionals in Developmental Psychology and college-aged individuals on the autism spectrum working on gaining independent living skills to create an interactive book for high functioning young adults on the autism spectrum that will not only focus on creating and maintaining healthy relationships, but provide a number of strategies for coping with the stress and anxiety of social interactions.
A Guide to S.U.C.C.E.S.S.: Skilled Understanding and Coping with Complex Experiences in Social Situations
This short, interactive book for high functioning young adults on the autism spectrum contains information on creating and maintaining healthy relationships with the people in our lives. Considering the fact that social situations can be nerve-racking, especially for individuals on the autism spectrum, this book aims to also inform the reader on strategies they can adopt to cope with that stress and anxiety. The ultimate goal is to provide a number of different coping strategies to pick from, including CBT/dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mindfulness, and expressive writing coping strategies, so that the reader is aware of what they are most comfortable using, and has a reference for other options.
Having the knowledge is not always enough though, we also need to know how to use this knowledge. Therefore, the book has many opportunities to try each strategy and practice the preferred methods. The individual will have an opportunity to personalize the response so that it directly relates to them, integrating the different mechanisms and creating an at-home reference for how each strategy could be used.
It also contains QR codes throughout the book which link to videos that demonstrate or provide examples of the information being read, and at the bottom of nearly every page is information on contacting the crisis text line in the event that the reader feels the need for immediate support. Being a workbook, A Guide to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. is meant to write in and make your own personal practice book. Again, the more we practice something, the easier it gets because it becomes a habit.
It is my hope that this book will be of great use to young adults on the autism spectrum and provide them with the necessary knowledge and skills to take the first steps in building and maintaining healthy relationships.
Now to find a publisher!
