Blog #513: The Impacts of Moving From a Neurodivergent Perspective (Part 1)

...

One thing that has become a fact of life for a lot of people is that moving from place to place is sometimes warranted in order as part of something bigger. This can range from going to college, getting a new job that requires a relocation or seeking a fresh start.

For the past few months, that is exactly what happened to me and what happened to Going the Distance. I've been living here in Attleboro for almost a month now and while I have gotten fully used to the idea of living in another town, the road to get to this point was not easy at least from a neurodivergent standpoint.

...

Now, for several years, my folks had been looking at having me get out of my old apartment building at Greenbrier Condominiums in Seekonk. I had been living at Greenbrier since 2015 and this was also where I founded Going the Distance during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in May of 2021. Not as is to say that I didn't object to the idea of moving in the first place, of course. By 2025, Greenbrier Condominiums was becoming a mere shadow of it's former self. The new residents were shady, had no respect for other neighbors (in my old apartment, I had neighbors that were just downright noisy as an example) and a land owner that was only in it for the money.

So, it was no surprise when on my 36th birthday, we acquired the new headquarters for Going the Distance in Attleboro. However, the biggest challenge was related to my sensory processing disorder. Because it was a massive change, I ended up having up to seven panic attacks over a four day period. A neurodivergent brain works a lot different than a neurotypical brain and just the idea of processing any changes can be challenging.

I had been living in the same location for 10 years and had lived in Seekonk my entire life. How could I process the idea of moving from one town to another just that easily? Some people just jump at the chance, especially if their situation turned around for the better. In my case, while it was for the better, I reacted differently. It was around this time that I had to adjust my anxiety medication as my previous one was no longer having any effect.

The solution was ultimately made that I maintained two mailing addresses: one in my new location of Attleboro and one at my folks' location in Seekonk. The solution ultimately worked and took some of the edge off.

...

...

Then there was the actual moving process itself, moving items and furniture from Seekonk to Attleboro which ended up becoming a 7 week moving process. Once we had acquired the property, we then had to wait to close on it and have the previous occupant (an ex-NFL player turned NFL executive) move out entirely. Bear in mind that this was all before we even started moving anything into the new property.

...

For the first couple weeks of Operation Grinch, I managed to make the best of the transition, trying to keep myself occupied and even managing to present the 18th annual "Go the Distance" Scholarship at my alma mater, Seekonk High School as well represent as one of the co-founders of Boca School for Autism in Boca Raton, FL at their June open house. But then after I got back from Boca Raton, that's when things really started to turn upside down.

In addition to the moving process, we also had a lot of family events happening at the same time. In my mind, this was a hurricane that was brewing up inside of me and sooner or later, it was to reach almost CAT 5 status.

...

Trust me, there were times where I ended up changing from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde. Words came out of me that were hurtful and made myself look like an idiot, there was the matter of being pulled in twenty different directions from to getting my approval on where my pictures would be placed to having to learn how to use the new washer and dryer for my laundry and using the new dishwasher. And for someone who struggles with sensory processing disorder, it's a lot to take in.

...

But if there is one thing that I admire about the new location in Attleboro, it would have to be that I have actually gotten to know several of my new neighbors in the other units whereas in Greenbrier, I didn't know of any neighbors because again, most of them were shady and some would often leave their trash on the ground by the dumpster as another example. By meeting my new neighbors, I happened to feel like was part of a community of people that was warm and welcoming.

...

...

However, while relocating from Seekonk to Attleboro was both a good personal and professional move, I had no idea that I was receiving a sign to leave Greenbrier ASAP because 10 days after we finished cleaning the now empty apartment, something traumatizing happened...of which I will discuss in Part 2 of this blog.

Catch you all later!!