I’ve written loads of posts about how I overreact when I feel any heightened emotion, whether it’s happiness, sadness, frustration or excitement. A while ago I developed an ‘overreacting plan’ to help guide me and my support workers through these difficult moments.

The only problem with it is that it’s quite long and therefore hard to remember, so I’ve developed an acronym for it – P.U.R.R.R.

Protect by giving me my gloves or arm-guards
Understand that my behaviour doesn’t reflect my true feeling and isn’t a choice I’ve made
Remind me that I’ve decided not to overreact
Reassure me that I don’t need to apologise
Re-direct the conversation

I’ve made each of my support workers a handy wallet-sized card with the P.U.R.R.R Plan on one side and some penguins on the other.

So far this acronym is proving very useful, but not just because it reminds everyone about the plan. It also helps diffuse the tension itself because it’s such a silly acronym. In fact both Fran and Leftwing Idiot have condensed the steps of the plan even further and have been simply ‘Purrring’ at me.