Unresolved issue and autistic inertia

My mind is stuck on a particular issue today and I don't know how to get it to move on.

The issue itself relates to a delivery of a large kitchen appliance yesterday which did not go to plan. The delivery men, who were supposed to install it, just dumped the item and left. I spent the best part of 6 hours yesterday on various live chats with the retailer trying to resolve it. Despite my best efforts I did not get anywhere. I tried again this morning but the department dealing with it is now closed until Monday.

At this stage I can do no more to change the situation and need to try and put it out of my mind until Monday. The trouble is I cannot. The matter is unresolved in my mind and I am constantly thinking about it. My brain simply doesn't want to move onto anything else until this is resolved.

I don't think this is just negative rumination. Best laid plans are often derailed by unexpected problems and this is something autistic people find difficult. Being unable to return focus to whatever it was I was supposed to be doing is something I really struggle with. I believe this is autistic inertia, an inability to move on from one focus to another.

This was not supposed to be my focus this weekend. I had other plans. Nothing special, just sorting out and listing some stuff on eBay. However try as I might I cannot get my mind to focus on that task or anything else. Sometimes when this happens I can distract my mind from the situation with sudoku or number puzzles. However even that doesn't seem to be working today.

Can anyone else relate to thinking like this? Any tips for how to switch thinking would be appreciated. What I usually end up doing in this sort of situation is absolutely nothing, which leads to feeling bad about myself for not having achieved what I intended to do.

Parents
  • This is yet another example of how great this community is for understanding oneself. This is something I have been searching for the words to describe it for quite some time. I too struggle with moving on from something, especially if I believe it to be unfinished. This has been the source of many a meltdown in my past. I’m afraid I don’t have any tips beyond what has already been posted, but it is something that I can most definitely relate to.

  • Reading all the replies and realising I'm not alone in thinking like this has been immensely helpful. 

    It is hard to describe but it is a feeling of not being able to move on while something is unfinished.

    Situations like this trigger meltdowns for me too. If something doesn't happen as I expect it to I can explode. Then having to contact customer services can often make things even worse. The live chat experience can be extremely frustrating, being given the same stock phrases by a chat operator who does not have a clue and just types what they think you want to hear (it doesn't seem to matter if it is true or not). Still it's better than the alternative of having to phone Fearful

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  • Reading all the replies and realising I'm not alone in thinking like this has been immensely helpful. 

    It is hard to describe but it is a feeling of not being able to move on while something is unfinished.

    Situations like this trigger meltdowns for me too. If something doesn't happen as I expect it to I can explode. Then having to contact customer services can often make things even worse. The live chat experience can be extremely frustrating, being given the same stock phrases by a chat operator who does not have a clue and just types what they think you want to hear (it doesn't seem to matter if it is true or not). Still it's better than the alternative of having to phone Fearful

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