Living with autism often means struggling to perform everyday tasks in an unfamiliar environment. For example, some autistic individuals can easily cook pasta in their own homes, but would freeze up trying to do the exact same thing in someone else’s kitchen. This happens simply because the layout and tools are different from what they are used to. While a neurotypical person can usually get their bearings quickly and feel comfortable in a new space, it can take an autistic person a significant amount of time. In autism, this is closely linked to difficulty with generalization—the ability to transfer knowledge and skills seamlessly from one situation to another.
A Sudden Shift in My Eating Habits
As many of you know, I moved in June, and for the first few weeks, I lived almost entirely on pastries and pre-packaged salad bar meals. Now, that might not sound too unusual to some, but keep in mind that health and nutrition happen to be my special interest. Under normal circumstances, I would never eat pastries—never! I am always the person who turns down sweet treats at work when a colleague celebrates a birthday, and I never buy junk food to keep at home. Yet there I was, eating Danish pastries and sweet buns for breakfast and dinner for weeks after the move, alongside quick salad bar bowls for lunch. I bought everything at the grocery store located in my new apartment building; I didn’t even have to step outside onto the street, as I could access the shop directly through the building’s hallway.
When Survival Instinct Takes Over
I didn’t choose to eat this way because I wanted to, but because I had to. My brain was completely exhausted from the move, and I simply couldn’t handle eating anything that required the slightest bit of effort. I couldn’t bring myself to cook in a kitchen that felt alien, nor could I deal with washing dishes. Pre-made salads and pastries were effortless: they provided the immediate energy I needed, and best of all, there were no dishes to wash!
Small Steps Toward Recovery
After sticking to that routine for a while, I managed to move on to the next phase. I decided to try swapping the pastries for simple sandwiches to cut out all that processed sugar. Mind you, I never usually eat sandwiches either—I don’t consider bread particularly healthy, nor cold cuts (and I can’t eat cheese due to the texture and flavor!). But I was starting to feel a tiny bit better, so my energy levels were just sufficient enough to butter a piece of bread and put the butter back in the fridge. It was a massive step that required a lot of mental effort because I knew it would drain me, but I managed it. That became my routine for another few weeks.
The Slow Path Back to Normal Routine
It took a long time before I felt ready to use the oven. The first time I turned it on, I heated up chicken nuggets—another thing I rarely touch since it’s processed food! Only now am I finally starting to feel ready to eat normally again. This wasn’t just a quirky phase; I genuinely lost the functional ability to use my kitchen. It was partly due to the unfamiliar environment and partly due to the sheer stress of moving, which made it even harder to adapt to new surroundings.
A Look Back at Past Struggles
This whole experience reminds me of the student housing I lived in while staying in Vienna back in the early 2000s. During the months I lived there, I didn’t use the kitchen a single time, nor did I ever store food in the fridge. There was almost always another student in the shared kitchen space, which meant I never got the chance to get comfortable with the environment in peace and quiet. As a result, I had to eat out every single day. People thought it was a luxury, but for me, it was pure necessity!
Two Completely Different Worlds
For someone who doesn’t struggle with generalization, it can be hard to comprehend how an autistic person can become completely paralyzed in an unfamiliar environment. At the same time, it is just as much of a mystery to me how non-autistic people can effortlessly navigate almost any kitchen they walk into—whether it’s their own or someone else’s!