Getting lost in the dark close to your home

Post Reply New Topic

In daylight I find my way when I have to go to a shop or the station. I live in an area with many little streets, but in daylight I know more or less what street to take, though I have to pay a lot of attention. But now it is autumn/ almost winter in Europe and it is getting dark around 5 pm. So now I am always getting lost and go into the wrong street and end up somewhere wrong. All these ways are maximum 10 minutes from my house. I live there now for three years.
Can anyone relate to this?
Why can I not "remember" the way I have to go?
Edit: There are streetlights everywhere.

I feel your frustration.

It's happened to me while walking my dog in the evening at this time of year. I just try to stay calm and remind myself I've never fallen off the edge of the planet, yet. We could call it the Autistic scenic route.

I've been asked if I could change one thing about my "interesting condition" what would it be. I think having no sense of direction even edges out auditory hypersensitivity for me.

It's so common amongst women, and talked about so casually, that people don't realize how handicapping it really is, especially when driving.

Do you have to be out walking after the light fades, and you can't see the landmarks anymore?

Thank you for your reply!
Yes, I have to be out sometimes.

First: I felt it was better for me going to do the shoppings when the light is fading, because then I have less visual overload. A few weeks ago it was good, because there were not many people in the streets but still enough light that I had orientation. Now it has changed.

Secondly: Sometimes I have to be at the station in the dark now, because I have to go to my psychologist. We try to put the appointment on the same day (saturday, because then there are less people in the building, which means less distracting sound) and same time each time I go there and normally it is at three o'clock, but sometimes it is not possible for her because of other appointments so I had to go later. And then I have trouble finding the way to the station, which is 10 minutes from my home walking, because I do not drive.

I don't know, what "scenic route" means. Looked it up, but it is not clear to me.
So it is not unusual?

Redacted

I can relate. For me it's because the colors, and the light and shadow are all different at night than they are in the daytime--my brain takes longer to register what I'm looking at (to account for the differences).

When I've had night jobs and gone out mostly in the dark for extended periods of time, my issues with night-time navigational-disorientation disappeared and I'd get lost in the daytime instead.

Nat4200 is right: it was a joke.

Highways are fast and efficient, but the scenery along the way is often less than beautiful
So, when we take the backroads to view the scenery along the way, we say we're "taking the scenic route".
It's usually prettier, but longer.

i dont like going out at night when i am by myself. ill try and get home before it gets dark so i werent have to worry about creepers following me.

Thank you for your replies!

Sorry that I didn't got the joke

Yes, I'd need a gps too!

@animalcrakers: Yes, it might be a course of it, because everything all of a sudden looks differently.

I guess, for me another reason might be too, that I pay too less attention in daytime, because I get easily visually overloaded and I stare a lot at my feet and the pavement when I walk.

Thank you for the landmark-idea. I will start looking for it.

I can relate. I get lost in the dark. I get lost if I come in from a different angle. It's a good thing I find fun stuff getting lost. The only reason I have any sense of which way East is is that there is a big honking mountain in the east. Hard to miss. Unless it's dark.