Adulting: Routine, Regimen and Purpose

In recent weeks, with the systems and the world resuming some state of normalcy in my neck of the woods, I have also gotten back to some sense of normalcy and understand more that with adulting comes the importance of having a routine, regimen and ultimately a purpose.

I think I have always understood the fact that everyone needs to adult to be engaged and have a purpose in this world if they are able to do so. For years, this was always stressed to me and adhered to vigorously. However with independence, I started to be unwell and break away from this understanding. The COVID-19 Pandemic exasperated this understanding for many and I was not strayed away from this issue. However, years later after acquiring more defense mechanisms and coping skills, I am in a much better place to know the importance of these things.

It has been countless psychotherapy sessions and trial and error with medication to understand the necessity of having it to better manage the challenges that I face. It was busting those myths and understanding what had to work for me in not only this realm, but all dimensions needed to be well. A routine is one of those things. As is a trait of being autistic, having a routine is just a part of realizing that I keep up with the things that I need to do in life so I do not fall astray to the looping thoughts about things I cannot control and fall into a trap that can be hard to dig myself out of.

Knowing that I have a routine, while not concrete, but somewhat linear can make me somewhat regimented. I have to admit that I am more flexible than most autistic individuals and can be flexible to change more than I was in the past and the proper tools help with that including less caffeine and the medication help with the effort of being more flexible when changes occur, especially those of a transitional nature.

But, most of all is the importance of having purpose. Finally being on the right track for some time now, I am realizing more and more that I need to have purpose in life and do things to fulfill my void of time so I again do not ruminate or obsess on certain points of my life or things I cannot control in a given moment. It also helps that the world is getting back to normalcy from the COVID-19 Pandemic alongside with me being more regulated than I have been in over four years, I can see that I need to have purpose and take advantage of more things that are available to me as I can.

With that, it is also important to keep a balance and schedule in time to practice some self care so you can take care of yourself. For me, I like to schedule one day each month and a period of five days including a weekend every three months in addition to any vacations that you may have. In recent times, there has been a lot of consideration about mental health, including that in children. The changes of the past few years have been cumbersome for everyone and our youth and especially those with challenges have further exacerbated this unprecedented dynamic that has long needed attending to.

However, in a sense, there is an understanding of having a routine, regimen and purpose in all, especially in autistic individuals as not doing so can make life more complicated. It is essential to make sure that it is a delicate balance to what the individual can manage in order to stay well that will make them excel in life.