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Tips for coping with routine changes

Wib

I struggle with any sort of change to my routine and not knowing what I’m doing in advance. However, sometimes change is out of my control and sometimes I can’t plan ahead in advance due to my plans involving other people and situations cropping up last minute. I want to be able to cop with changes to my routine and schedule in a better way that doesn’t cause me so much anxiety that can lead to a melt down. At the moment when my routine changes I feel extremely stressed and it’s all I can think about and I can’t focus on my usual distractions. I feel extremely unsettled and can’t concentrate on anything other than the change that’s happened. This has caused some issues in my relationship. My partner is autistic and understands my issues around this. However, for him routine changes aren‘t as distressing so he struggles to understand and can get quite frustrated with mc reaction to these changes. I often became quite withdrawn and moody when this happens so I can understand why he gets frustrated. I know there will be people on the forum with similar issues. Do you have any tips or strategies to help ?

  • in reply to Emmalephant

    Thanks for the advice. I think developing a change routine would be beneficial for me. I think I’d basically just include a few tasks that calm me down and that I can do any time anywhere. 

  • I’m currently trying to build a “change-routine”. When something doesn’t take place or is being delayed, then I try to go through this “routine” which is based on things I have to do regularly anyway or things that just calm me down. It doesn’t really work yet, but the more I get in settled in my brain as a “routine”, the better it gets. 
    This however obviously only works with specific kinds of changes. If the change is not bound to unexpected waiting time, I’m currently trying to just verbalise what upsets me at the moment. It kind of helps me to think about wether this change is really as bad and what I could do to ease the anxiety it brings. But this also doesn’t work all the time. I’m still figuring out and I might never find the right answer.

    Sorry I could not be of greater help. Best wishes!