what is it like to you when there's unexpected change

Post Reply New Topic

Just curious, what does it feel like to you when there's unexpected change in an event or routine? Describe the anxiety. Do you feel angry, stressed, or confused? Why do you feel these feelings? Is it because a specific event you expect has got to be how you expect it on all levels or else it won't feel the same and it's disappointing or is it something different?

It makes me frustrated and angry and panicky, because it's like suddenly being asked to halt the momentum of a speeding freight train to make it go in reverse. It's like my brain is already speeding toward this thing that it expects to happen, and it can't just shift gears that quickly.

To me it feels a little like being shoved off a precipice into a swirling vortex. The mass of details that needs processing about the suddenly new situation bombards me all at once and I don't know which questions to ask first, so I get panicky, then frustrated, and if I don't resolve it, a meltdown may ensue. The worst kinds of change in plan are when I had anticipated doing something I enjoy, but something prevents it from happening, or I am suddenly forced to do something I don't like. Even after it's over, I still feel frustrated or angry that it happened, which, again, can trigger a meltdown.

Initially, stress and panic because it takes me awhile to switch gears.

But now that I'm older, I know that this initial feeling will pass and I use curiosity to trick my brain into moving forward.

when that happens, more often than not I'm akin to a deer in the headlights, and I have to be shoved out of the way.