I like to think that everything in life is going to happen according to the way it is supposed to. Nonetheless, that is not always the case. Sometimes for one reason or another, things happen that we do not expect. It can cause me and many others on the autism spectrum to become unraveled. When additional stressful factors pull away even more of the lining we have left, holding ourselves together becomes difficult. But when we pull ourselves together, we self-advocate for what we need. Instead of placing the blame on things, we see that things will be just fine. They just need a chance to work themselves out.

When things happen, it can lead us to have anxiety that it is going to happen again. We fear taking action because of past events. We also want to pass the blame onto others, thinking they can fix our problems. But in reality we sometimes realize that things do happen. I often reminded others on the spectrum that unexpected events occur. We need to be flexible at times. But when things happen to us, it can be hard to keep it together. Our minds easily go into overdrive, worrying about the worst.

That is when we need to be strong. If we have the necessary skills, we need to do what we can. We should make sure that we get what we need instead of nitpicking everything that is wrong with a situation. We must focus on what we think we can control. We should not have to live in fear. We should not stay out of things that we know we need. This is just because we fear that something can go wrong again. Yes, that anxiety will be there about it happening again. Often, we want to let our emotions pass the blame. The past can make us feel like we have to blame others for the way things are.

We must remind ourselves that we can do great things. We need to allow ourselves to be brave. We should do the work we were taught to do. This is important when we need to be heard. We must also make sure we get what we need. Indeed, it can seem scary. It is true that it feels intimidating to the point we want to avoid something. Fear drive us away. Still, we also need to be strong and stand up for ourselves by being polite and asking. Sometimes we must guarantee we get what we need. This helps us be assured that the same thing does not happen again.

At times, it can be hard to be strong. We think about what we really want to say to express our feelings. There are times when that does not help a situation. In fact, it would only make things worse. We need to be brave. We must work our way through the issues that need solving. It is important to self-advocate for what we need when we need it. This way, we can be assured and safe.