Eye contact is one of the hardest things for me. I cant stand when someone yells at me for not looking in their eyes, or they tell me Im not paying attention. It isnt that Im not paying attention. Its that I dont know what your eyes are saying, alot of times your body language and your eyes dont match. I cant read your eyes, they confuse me.
“Eye contact makes me feel threatened. I may not look at you in the eye but that doesn’t mean that I’m not taking in what your saying.”
– Jeanette Purkis’
The next thing that Im about to post about may seem weird, or that it will draw attention to you in public. The thing is, it calms everything. Once you decide that it doesnt matter what people think of you in public it helps everything (in my case anyways).
As soon as I get into a building (Doctors, Psychiatrist, therapist, even store, ect.) I take my shoes off. Here is my list of what helps me in public hacks!
- Sensory Backpack with all my necessary items (Wallet, phone changer, headphones, noise cancelling headphones, three sensory balls, fidget spinner, emergency medication, weighted lap pad, inhaler, and pretty much anything else that will help me
- I take my shoes off
- I cross my legs
- I rock
- Twist my arms
- Walk around with my shoes off (sometimes)
- Play with something in my backpack
- Draw
- Fun games on my phone (coloring, angry birds, music, Facebook, WordPress, ect) This is why I find it is SO important to bring the charger in case it dies.
These are my must haves. I need to have everything on this list as a option, to feel safe and like I know that I will be able to get through it. I dont always use every single thing in that list, the fact that I have it helps me get through stuff like waiting rooms, and loud restaurants, even stores.
Its important to remember to take care of yourself before worrying about other peoples opinion on what your doing, everyone will have a opinion, and not everyone will agree or like yours all the time. Doing something that is safe and helps you manage is the best way around it!