Tag: Changes

In the grand scheme of things, change is generally a good thing. Without making adjustments as needed, we would never have progressed and evolved to the living standards and conditions we do have today. It takes an open mind and a good portion of curiosity to fully embrace changes.

On a personal level, changes present a challenge. This is partly due to Asperger Autism. Routines and schedules are good friends of mine, because they act as a safety net. Ideally, when something differs from my daily routine, I know exactly what’s happening, at what time, how long it will take, who will be involved….you get the idea. The more information I have, prior to whatever will occur out of the ordinary, the better, because I can (try to) mentally prepare myself. Most often, that makes a positive difference, but it still depends on how I’m doing overall on that particular day. Now heaven forbid something changes last minute, then “Housten, we have a problem”, and crap starts rolling downhill right quick. It frightens me time and again, how fast a nervous or agitated mood can turn into a full on panic mode. Often the lesser, but equally negative response, to last minute changes is anger. That happens, for example, when the handyman is due to arrive at 10 AM to repair something, but doesn’t show up at 10 AM sharp. Another example would be, that we have coffee and cake at 4 PM every afternoon. That is a constant since childhood. Up until about a year ago, it was a minor crisis for me, if we had coffee at 4.15 PM or any other time. Seems ridiculous, I know. And trust me, my mom “challenges me daily”, to help me learn a bit more flexibility and tolerance for such small changes. By now I can manage “the coffee crisis” a lot better, but it does take a considerable amount of conscious effort, to keep my grumpiness in check. So, while I understand that changes are a positive thing overall, it can be quite a challenge every day, to accept and deal with them accordingly.