Ever lost... your keys?!

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What a heart-stopping moment that is, eh? Doesn't then help that even when found I can't identify them because I never bothered to personalize it and only has the bare minimum of a keychain... then the people who found it convinced me that it is it because it doesn't fit in other types of keyholes they had nearby, so I was convinced... until five minutes before arriving when anxiety kicked in like a raging monkey and suddenly thought it wasn't it because I thought it was golden, not silver... turns out it was it (hyperventilating at this point, already thought about which hotels I could book in)... and, I think, what was golden were my keys from years ago. Does the mind regress in anxiety? And that is saying something, isn't it? I've lived here for years and still I barely look at my own keys... I couldn't even tell for certain it was the same brand, although that is probably because it's a brand available everywhere. Well, from now on... I think a safety pin could indeed 'safe'guard it in place? Just always hated those because of the possibility of being stabbed...

Well, what a day, with such a stupid ending... but, I made the best of it and was about to get pizza while waiting for the next bus, but instead a healthier option was even nearby and, as it happens, open (did you know McD closes *before* a healthier 'sub' option?! Is this society promoting healthier food or just a coincidence?) - could barely manage the smaller option, though, due to a certain appetite-suppressing thing suddenly kicking in, really weird since half an hour earlier I was hungry, but at least I didn't go for an entire pizza... by the way, did anyone notice how similar (and gorgeous) the Breath of Fire V OST is to FFXII's?

I've found anxiety can really affect my short-term memory (which then increases my anxiety even more) and it can kill my appetite very effectively. I don't know in my case if that's related to autism or age regression. When I've had a stressful event coming up I tend to just not eat for the day preceding it. And honestly I only have a good memory of the few keys I routinely use and have to find on my keyring on a daily basis. There are other ones I have no idea what they unlock, lol. But I can't take them off the ring until I figure out if I might ever need them... I learned my lesson once about misplacing / not keeping my keys consistently in my pocket though, about 30 years ago shortly after I got divorced. I went to a class and locked the keys inside the car. I had to search and walk miles and miles to find a public phone to call my ex-wife to bring a spare key for the car and had to wait an hour for her to arrive. That incident got burned deeply into my memory, so I never close my car trunk or door without visually checking that I have my keys in my hand. Which is a good thing because I now live in Colorado where I could freeze myself if I locked myself out of the house or car. One single traumatic experience like that can make me very averse to ever having it happen again. NTs seem to take a number of negative experiences to develop that same level of aversion.

I lost my keys in the snow outside the library. It was the middle of a huge snowfall and the fresh snow was 4" deep. When I got into the library with my dog, a bunch of young boys was just leaving and I asked them if they could look for my keys. With no hesitation at all they were all over it, rushing out to find my keys. One of the boys said he'd be glad to help but asked me to keep good control of my dog because he's afraid of dogs. They kept sending one or another of the boys to say "Not yet, still looking." They worked so hard! But they never found my keys. It was heartwarming to have all that support from such a bunch of good kids.

At that point I lived in an apartment, so when I got home I asked the janitor for a spare key. And he had none! He had to replace the lock entirely and suggested that I wait in his apartment with his friend. That didn't go so well. The apt was ultra-hot because he had a hairless cat. I had to take off my coat, under which I wore a caftan which got a double-take from the friend. He asked if I had children; I said no. When I picked up my dog, he said, "Aha, the baby."

It was a long night but at last I got a new set of keys. The next day I bought a lanyard with "I love someone with Autism" printed brightly on it. Now I know where my keys are - they're around my neck!

Thankfully not, but I have had panic attacks when I couldn't find my keys.

Up until my senior year of high school I wasn't allowed to keep my own copy of the house key, because I was notorious for losing it. Funny thing though, since I moved out of living with my parents I don't have trouble keeping track of my keys. I think the ability to put something down in a particular place, and be certain that it won't be moved by someone else is really valuable to my executive functioning.

I lost my keys 1ce at my grandparents cuz they fell out of my pocket while I was sitting down. It didn't take long to find em thou thankfully. I'm a forgetful person so I keep my wallet & keys in the same spots/places so I don't misplace them. I've misplaced lots of other things in my life & I know how anxiety provoking it can be.

Lost? No.
Misplaced? Yep.

Is that your dog, or...?

I once loved someone with AS, was generally uncommunicative, which is probably what ended up destroying the relationship... I don't think I didn't talk, but clearly he held back.

(...or do you love yourself? Still acceptable...)

It's not a dog (I wish). It's just the closest I could find to "I have autism" - this helps me a lot, being 68yo and retired. It would not have helped back in the day of 9-5 office dress code.