Im not sure of pressure would help. There was one time he had a melt down like this one, which was triggered by Glenn removing arrows Evan had placed around the house for Santa to find the basket with a letter he put out (in November mind you). Evan responded by punching Glenn in the stomach. To which he was sent to his room. Where he lost it completely. DH was in bed, I had to get him to get up & help me. He tried to calm Evan while I calmed Glenn (he really hurt him) & in that instance the roles where reversed DH was handling it badly so I went in & asked him to go out & I tried to help Evan. I put him on my lap so he was straddling my knees & just tried to hold him close. He fought with such might. But It was all I could think of to do, he was going to hurt himself. He ended up biting me on the arm which left a bruise the size of a mans fist. He also ripped at my ear rings, my hair etc etc.
Once that part of it was over he was extremely hyperactive, obsessing over checking that all his arrows where still where he put them etc.
When he is this way he reacts badly to being touched (so smacking him was the worst thing, mind you this time round he was so caught up in screaming & yelling I don't think he really noticed). But yeah if I was to try & take him by the hand/arm, direct him by placing a hand on his back & "push" him etc he spits venom almost! This is where its hard. He doesn't want to be touched, looked at, spoken too etc.

I did have a little chat with Evan just before. Told him that I love him & that I just get so cranky & even scared when he behaves that way. But im not really cranky at him, Im cranky at myself because I don't know how to help him. He said he was sorry also & that it would have been ok if we had just kept going to the park (he thought thats where we were going on the walk).
Its strange how he focus on what he thinks is the problem. But its not. It wasn't that we said No to the park. It was no more walk someone is going to get hit by a car!
Or earlier today, he got into trouble after I had already said not to use the skipping rope the way he was, he was threading it down from the top bunk between the wall & teh bed & the pulling things back up that Glenn had tied to the bottom. BUT yanking it up against the wall. Which I explained was going to damage the walls. But then later they were doing it again & he got himself caught in it trying to get down off the bed & freaked out thinking he was choking. BUT not seeing I was cranky at doing what I had already asked them not too, he got caught up in Blaming Isla for holding on to it & he was choking. He wasn't choking by the way. He had it stuck around his elbow & it was across his chin.

Eta- thanks Yeddi. I will try & remember that. This time round I have no idea! LOL This is going to be so hard with 5 kids.