De-Stressing and Building Your Supportive Village as an Autism Mom

Thriving Moms of Autistics

Hi Moms! You pour your heart and soul into raising your child, but this often leaves you running on fumes. So, it’s important to reduce your stress the best you can.

Having a village to support you is one of the best ways to de-stress. Unfortunately, so many moms don’t have that.

It can be overwhelming to even think about it. As moms it feels like it is just one more thing on our list.

I don’t want you to be like me and wait until you have no other choice. That is hard. I don’t want that for you.

In this episode, I help you prepare for building your supportive village and give you tips to get started.

Find the full transcript for this episode at https://thrivingmomsofautistics.com/81

Please share the podcast with other moms to help them grow in their autism journey. You can also do this by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. I appreciate you!

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How Moms of Autistics Can Prepare for the Task of Building Community

It doesn’t seem like that big of deal to others, but for autism moms.. Well, we are teetering. The thought of one more thing can really stress us out.

So, let’s talk about lightening your load and reducing stress to prepare you.

Here are some ways to reduce stress and prepare:

1. Acknowledge your feelings and fears. Don’t hide from them or ignore them. That ultimately makes it worse. It adds more to your plate in the end. You don’t need that!
2. Prioritize your self-care. When you prepare to build your support system, that is self-care AND family-care. Everyone benefits!
3. Be Mindful. You can do this by simply taking a moment to prepare your nervous system and taking deep breaths.

I know this sounds cliche, but it makes a difference. When I am overwhelmed, I do not breathe properly, which impacts my oxygen intake. As a result, I don’t think as clearly. This is more simple than you think. You can breathe in for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 5, hold for 2, and repeat until you are in a better place.

1. Identify stress triggers related to building support. This might be your experiences with others, who did not understand autism. It might seem hard to find others who get it, so why bother, right? No! There are people who get it. I promise. When you are aware of your triggers, you can shift away from them more quickly.
2. Be realistic. Sometimes, we want those who have hurt us in the past to be on our journey with us. As humans we need relationships. However, it is okay to recognize that that one person might never be what we need them to be.

This is a hard fact of life. There are others, who are willing to be a gift to us and share in our celebrations and our sorrows.

You are prepared to build your autism community, now what?

In Episode 80, I explored building a strong community. Here are some tips to get you started now that you are mentally prepared for the task.
3) Consider your online and local options that already exist. I’ve mentioned Facebook groups for special needs. You might have some local meet-ups too.

I recognize there is a difference between online and face to face. I teach the psychology of social media. We often explore how people are willing to say things online that they would never face-to-face.

Just keep these things in mind. Not everyone will be your cup of tea and vice versa. That’s okay. Keep scrolling.
4) Ask your spouse or partner about their vision for your support system. I