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My Environment and My Aspie Moods: Finding a Happy Place

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Yes, this is a picture of a bathroom, my bathroom to be exact and today this is my happy place.

I’ve been discussing the importance my environment has on my emotions, and how utterly critical it is for me (and most Aspies I believe) to have a place where they feel happy, calm, and peaceful. When the house is a wreck, as it often is with four boys, and things are out of place, or I have no place to retreat, I become overwhelmed fairly quickly.

Lately, our house has been in shambles. Rooms are pulled apart for de-cluttering, painting, renovation, and what is not torn apart is tore-up with kid’s toys and madness. It drives me insane to have to walk through an obstacle course or have to move things to get to another place in the house! However, we’ve been planning these renovations for quite some time now so I’m happy that we’re finally powering through. My favorite part of the renovations is choosing the new decor we’re going to have. I’ve found some great nursery wall decals for the kid’s rooms and some cute bedding for our room but we’re not at the stage yet where I can add in those decorative touches. I guess at least I have something to look forward to but it’s still frustrating having to clamber over everything!

My bathroom was one of our first renovation (DIY) projects. We tore out and replaced the old vanity with something like a unique black bathroom vanity, installed wainscoting on the walls, laid new flooring, painted, installed new hardware in the shower, and redid the decor. It has taken many weeks to complete this little room because Hubby and I have been working on it over the weekends in between schoolwork and the kids driving us crazy. If I knew it was going to be that much hassle between the kids and school I might have been more inclined to get in contact with a company such as a bathroom renovation in Melbourne as an example.

The last piece of hardware was installed in the shower today, and I finally was able to bath in my own bathroom again instead of upstairs in the one that boys share. It made such a huge difference in the way I felt to be able to walk into a clean, uncluttered space. I felt instantly happier, and peaceful.

LIGHT also always affects my moods and emotions. When I sit in a dark house all day long without getting a good dose of sunlight, I am often depressed, and always very irritable. But when I spend time in well-lit areas, or outdoors in the sunshine my mood is instantly elevated.

Hubby constantly complained that someone keeps getting shower water all over the floor. That, someone, was me! The bathroom was too dark, even with a window, so I consistently flung open the curtain (we don’t have Frameless Glass Doors) and floor be damned got the light in behind my shower curtain!

Now I found a much better solution, a LED light-up shower head! Yes, I purchased this 31VlD7ZIdqLshower head (which I found on Amazon) and am so glad that I did. Now my shower lights up blue, green, yellow, red, and rainbow colors! It is so bright and cheery-an instant mood elevator! It made me so happy that I had to share! I am becoming a firm believer in color and light therapy! So surround your senses with happy lights, rainbows, wonderful smells, and soft furry blankets!

BTW: I put the same showerhead in the boy’s bathroom, and the Little Man, and Aspie Teen LOVE it!

Jeannie Davide-Rivera

Jeannie is an award-winning author, the Answers.com Autism Category Expert, contributes to Autism Parenting Magazine, and the Thinking Person's Guide to Autism. She lives in New York with her husband and four sons, on the autism spectrum.

13 Comments:

  1. Pingback: Video: Tantrum Tot practices his colors; LED shower head | Aspie Writer

  2. I wanted to get those LED faucets for all the taps in my house, but not all are compatible. Very cool! And I love your bathroom – it looks a lot like mine with the curved shower curtain and little shelf. We just went through a big reno (kitchen and bathroom) so I know the disarray. When my environment is tidy, my brain is clear and I can think. I slump when everything is a mess.

    • Yes I know the feeling!!! Unfortunately with for boys, I always am in a mess that I can’t quite keep up with and it is driving need crazy…I’m so fuzzy headed and cranky lately.

  3. that is cool! but id be afraid to buy it without trying it. can you take a video or something (obviously when you arent actually IN the shower)

  4. Bathroom looks nice, I especially like the shower curtain. Never heard of the LED shower head before this.

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