My boyfriend and I are moving to a new unit in a little over a month. Events such as this are challenging for me, usually resulting in twitching, rocking, stuttering, meltdowns of various forms etc. There are simply too many new elements to deal with, different smells, textures...everything. When we moved previously, it resulted in us finding out about AS and discovering that my personality quirks and eccentricities all strongly fit the criteria. Our new home is in the same building that we currently live in, so this shouldn't be a big deal. But it is. We did find some online resources with advice for helping AS kids adjust, but not much of anything geared for adults.
Does anyone have any suggestions or coping mechanisms they use to deal with this sort of thing? I have listed a few helpful things we learned during the last move.
1. Make familiar, favorite things readily accessible. I had my backpack stuffed with my favorite stuffed animals, music, a book, and snacks. It probably looked odd, but I was happy to carry it around for the entirety of moving day.
2. Help is not always helpful. We had great help in moving from friends and family that we were very grateful for. But, it was distressing to see people gathering up our things and carrying them away. To the point where I ended up hiding in the bathroom until I felt more settled. This time, we are doing everything ourselves and hiring movers for the big furniture items. Hopefully feeling more in control will alleviate some of the stress, not to mention avoiding any problems with socializing. I also plan to await the movers in the new place so I can see familiar things arriving, rather than seeing them being carted away.
3. Find something positive to be excited about. We are going to have the hardwood floors I've always wanted. When I start to feel overwhelmed, I try to remind myself that when it is all over with, there will be something I actually like better.
4. Put furniture in the same arrangements that you had previously. It was amazing how calming it was to see our familiar, carefully chosen furniture back in it's familiar spots. The result was the new place felt much less alien.
5. Burn incense (or find a way to bring an aroma you love into your new home) Things smelling differently was something that was upsetting me a great deal. The solution was to burn incense and the new weird smell was then chased away. Cooking a favorite meal helped as well.
6. If possible, try to find something fun. I collect plush camels. My boyfriend got me a new camel and had him waiting for me in the new place. We started thinking up names and making up a back story for him. I was so happy and excited about my new buddy, it provided a much needed distraction from the madness of moving.
22 Jul 2010, 5:36 pm
