Anxiety

I've chatted online with many autistic people, and quite a few of them (including myself) have issues with anxiety. Personally, anxiety has always been a big problem for me. This is sometimes caused by a legitimate problem, like finding out too late that I'm not ready for a big test. However, it is often caused by something seemingly inconsequential or nothing at all. I have accepted this as one of the drawbacks of autism. I find that this problem can be managed if you stay healthy, avoid known anxiety triggers, and learn to deal with stressful situations to the best of your ability. Most people with autism that deal with anxiety have a way to self-soothe. This is often called stimming (self-stimulating), although this term often not completely correct since most of these behaviors are to sooth instead of stimulate. Some stims are nearly unnoticeable, like running a hand through your hair or tapping your foot. Others such as hand flapping and rocking are not only noticeable, but are often associated with serious mental disability (and I do NOT consider mild autism a disability in any way.)
I have found that one must find what they can and can't deal with when it comes to stimming. If your most comforting stim is hand flapping and you don't care what others think when they see you, then go ahead. If you find yourself embarrassed or ashamed from a stim, I suggest to try new ones until you find one that works reasonably well and is not too noticeable. If push comes to shove, remember that the most important opinion about you is your own. This may sound like something from a corny motivational speech, but it's true. If you have to do something noticeable, then do it without worry. No one is perfect, and you don't have to be either.
Something I've run into time and time again is the "Why don't you just stop?" speech. Why? The reason is I'm experiencing enough anxiety to make me feel like I want to scream, or at least cry. Stimming lessens the feelings of anxiety greatly, and can change hours of anxious misery to a just a minute or two. For people who don't often deal with anxiety, please remember this: It may seem like nothing, but to them, it's everything. Anxiety can bring a mind to a screeching, screaming halt. Anxiety can make you feel like the world will tear apart, starting with you. Anxiety starts small, then feeds on itself, growing big enough to suffocate and breeding more of itself in the process. Remember that this cycle can be put to a stop before it becomes unbearable if you'd just let the person rock, or flap their hands, or do any other harmless soothing behavior. Remember this, and you can spare someone from feeling like the air is trying to suffocate them. You can change a day in a moment.