Okay, so I should note that I'm only really listing this as urgent because it's time-sensitive--I need to be able to know some of this stuff by Thursday. So I'd appreciate it if I got responses ASAP, but like...it's not a life-or-death situation. So as I think I mentioned elsewhere, I work at a donut shop, and have been there for almost a month. I'm doing pretty well, I think, but the other day we had a major rush where a lot of people were in the store talking at once and everything was going INCREDIBLY fast, and I got all shaky and panicky. I even went nonverbal at one point. The problem is, there's a major anime convention in town this coming weekend. It's maybe two or three blocks from the donut shop, which gets a lot of congoers as customers for obvious reasons. And naturally, since the convention is pretty big, the shop gets INCREDIBLY busy during the con. And since the shop gets so busy, everyone has to work that weekend (though we all get some time off to enjoy the con). What I need is some coping mechanisms. How do I keep from getting crazy stressed from all the noise? How do I manage to focus solely on selling donuts and working the register? Please help. I can't lose this job. I just can't.
Okay, thoughts: If you can wear ear plugs, do that. You can get flesh-coloured ones that are less noticeable (though I've only ever seen them in beige, which is not great if you have dark skin, but hopefully you can find brown ones if you do!) if you're worried that your boss might say something. If you can wear or carry around something that you can subtly stim with, that would also be good. Like a necklace with a pendant that has a nice texture or with beads that you can fiddle with, or a spinner ring, or a bracelet that is fiddle-able. Maybe even something you can put in you pocket and periodically fiddle with, like a worry stone? Make sure you drink a lot of water and your blood sugar doesn't get to low. I know for me, being thirsty and having low blood sugar makes sensory overload even worse. If you're allowed to keep a water bottle and/or some snacks at the register, do that. Don't drink coffee. It does not help. (Well, it doesn't help me, it just makes it worse, but ymmv.) Those are some things that I can think of at the moment. I hope that is helpful!
Unfortunately, earplugs would make things even worse--I have issues with auditory processing, and it'd be hard enough for me to understand what customers are saying anyway... I can bring a spinny ring and a stress ball, that might help. And we're allowed to have water back there, so it's all good.
Ah, I see =\ I can't think of anything else to deal with the noise then, but I think fidgeting things might help overall, at least!
For me, if I keep my breathing steady and just focus on what I need to do next (look up, 'hi how are you', enter order, take money, repeat), I can get myself into a rhythm and just propel myself forward until the next break. I don't know if that would work for you, but it's worth a shot maybe?
Another very helpful thing is to keep in mind that there's a definite endtime to the situation. No matter what happens, at [insert time here] you go home and leave the stressful situation behind completely. It's easy for us to forget that when we get panicky, and react as though the badness was not completely transitory, as it is. One thing that helps me (I don't know if it'd help you, but...) is also to put on a role/persona and treat it as an acting challenge. I put on heavy-ish makeup and dress in "normal" clothes but with a type in my head (eg "I'm wearing all black clothes that make mobility easy and aren't too flowy, because I'm a superspy on a secret mission and I'm talking to these people to gather data to take to my headquarters, and my training has prepared me to deal with any situation with cold-hearted, level-headed focus") It's a Heart player thing I guess?
You know, funnily enough, I'm gonna be cosplaying at work...who wants some donuts from the Lalondes? :)
the good thing is that it's anticipated that it's going to be super busy - that means extra staffing, which makes life easier. idk how your workplace exactly does things, but at mine we tend to assign stations for big events - two people on tills, one person grabbing food, one person 'floating', four people at drink stations, etc. that means you have one role, so if you're on till all you have to focus on is till, and not worrying about what's going on with drinks or fresh food or anything. if it's possible and you're comfortable, tell your boss/shift/whoever about the auditory issues so that they can plan for you not to be the one taking orders. my auditory comprehension tends to go when i get stressed, but understanding my coworkers is easier than random strangers, especially since coworkers know all the terms and i'm not trying to translate what the customer's saying into one of our products. it also means that i can ignore customer-based noise as not-important, which makes it easier to cope with. offer to do garbage runs/bus countertops/etc. it's usually necessary and it gives you a moment away from customers. one of most widely-applicable bits of advice i got when i started my current job is to pretend there's only ever two customers - the one you're helping, and the one who's next in line. when you've finished taking the order, if you're not going to immediately serve the customer behind them, at least acknowledge them. nod, made eye contact, say i'll be right with you, something like that. 100% agree with @wixbloom 's reminder that it's temporary. i'd also ask your coworkers how they cope with the super busy rushes, because there might be tricks specific to your workplace.
What I did when I still had to do rushes: lots of water. Bottle full of ice water preferably, so that I can put the cold damp on the inside of my wrist quickly as a distraction/calming thing. Caffeine also helped, and just living the necessary role rather than it being anything personal, and the whole just dealing with the thing in front of you thing and not thinking about anything else. Head down and dealing with the thing in front of me got me through a lot of rushes.
See, that's a great opportunity. The visualization I use: if things get hard, I imagine the character taking care of stuff and "real me" taking a break in the back of my head with soft blankets and comic books. So while Rose Lalonde serves people coffee and donuts, Acey can afford just not to think about stuff or worry for a while. I know it's weird and other suggestions here are way more foolproof (esp. since this one is more about coping with anxiety than with overload?), but for me at least this is the thing that helps the most.
And see, I find that things like that help a lot as well! I think I'll try it, thank you so much. :) Also, my boss said it's totally fine to wear my spinny ring to work, so that's good too!
If the boss is at all decent, pointing out that this is a disability thing and seeing whether there's a way you can be doing work which is necessary and helpful but does not involve the rush directly some of the time might work.
They know it's a disability thing, and they're all trying really hard to accommodate me. I think I'll bring up the idea of maybe helping with other important stuff, but since sales are the main priority during rushes, for obvious reasons, I'll definitely be working the counter some of the time. That is, sadly, unavoidable. Also, @wixbloom, my mom says your idea is really excellent! (She's allistic, but she also has severe ADHD and executive dysfunction issues, so she can relate to a degree.) Now I just have to come up with reasons for WHY the characters are selling donuts, because I put too much thought into things like this. :P She also recommended carrying a piece of my blankie around, since I find it comforting. :)
Yeah, sales will obviously be a major thing. Hmm. If you're in costume, I wonder if you can use that to help some. If you can do a costume with glasses that prevent eye contact, that can help some.
