OCD and Anxiety vs. Autism Spectrum Disorder

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I had my assessment yesterday (what will be one in a series it seems). Something he mentioned was that people on the spectrum are unable to think of change since their brains are wired that way. I was a little confused on this point since we are all rational beings and though the idea of change may be difficult and irritating, rational beings can conceive of its theoretical possibility and potential benefits depending on what the change may be. I had also read posts of people here adding something new to their routine. With me I have some rather rigid daily routines that I may add something new to every few years or so (Something like perhaps I may add flossing my teeth to my nightly routine because I'm getting cavities). What's important is that I think of this idea myself instead of someone else forcing it or the outside environment suddenly requiring it because I get fairly irritated when that happens. It seems my psychologist is trying to rule out OCD (Or see if it's OCD + ASD in my case) since I apparently have anxiety problems.

Anyway, my question to you all is what do you feel when the possibility of change is brought up (And personally affects you)? Are you literally unable to conceive of the idea of change? If you have OCD, where do your OCD and ASD inclinations start and end?

I don't have OCD.

Yes, it's difficult for me to think about change. It's a tricky problem--sometimes it just doesn't occur to me, like I just never think of it. Or I will think in a binary way--either things are this way, or that way, and no in betweens and no other options. If something unexpected happens, I may freeze and not be able to deal with it because I don't have a plan for it. It's also hard for me to change from doing one thing to doing something else, and I may keep using the same useless strategy, figuratively pounding my head against a brick wall trying to break through it because I can't see that I need to find another way to get across.

It's not a matter of actually being unable to think about change. I can do that. I can even plan for change. The trouble I have is mostly with understanding when I need to be thinking about change, when change is possible, when I need to be preparing for it. Sometimes I just have this rigid idea of the future in my mind, and it doesn't occur to me that things could be different. But, if I happen to be able to plan, then I can usually deal with change, since it allows me to see the multiple possible paths and plan for each one. Unexpected things still sideline my brain, but at least that way more things are in the category of expected things. In an emotional sense, perhaps related to PTSD, I am also not quite able to conceive of having a long-term future, and tend to focus on the immediate present to the extent of knowing how to plan, knowing how planning would benefit me, and still not feeling as though planning is a priority. It is more about daily survival for me.

I'm under the impression that this sort of thing is more severe for me than it is for most people diagnosed with Asperger's and other types of mild autism, but you would probably find some degree of trouble with change, with transitions, or with routines in anyone with any kind of autism. For some people it is so severe that delaying a scheduled event by five minutes can cause trouble. Thankfully that is not true for me, though until my late teens, a canceled event could send me into a meltdown.

I'm not sure about full on OCD, but I definitely have a lot of the tendencies. Certain tasks need to be done a certain way, such as cleaning my kitchen and doing the dishes. I separate everything by type (plates, bowls, silverware, utensils, plastic utensils, etc.) and soap them up by group, then when I'm done with that I rinse them by group. I've taken a love of cooking for my family because I get to 'be as OCD as I wanna be', and I'll just do different things in a VERY particular way depending on whatever dish I may be preparing.

I think for the most part I can deal with change, if I have the proper support. Major ones will definitely bother me. Moving, new job, driving to someplace new are a few examples of what I despise. I do, however, love to change my menu, as it were. I don't usually have a problem trying something new/different when it comes to food. I hate corn though! I've been called a Commie because I hate the stuff, lol. The texture of nibblets repulses me. I mean, who doesn't like corn?! THIS GUY!

I get to go over my report with my psychologist next week, so hopefully I'll find out where I stand on the spectrum. Or at least a ballpark. As far as the ASD goes, I've never learned more in all my life than I have in the last 6 months. I've become far more keen on my sensory issues, which seem to lean toward the auditory mostly, though certain touches are really irritating and I'm incredibly sensitive to heat and bright light. I've definitely been more cognizant of my sometimes irritatingly literal/logical thinking. Unfortunately, learning all this stuff about myself has been a really rough change and I'm still kinda struggling to deal with it.

I don't know if it is more or less severe for me than other people, but unexpected change can completely lock me up. Today I was supposed to go to the store and buy some food so I will have something to eat (as well as food for the rest of the house), and my ride canceled the trip today with no warning and now I am stuck and have no idea what I should do or should be doing and I am stuck on the fact that I am not doing what I was supposed to do today.

No meltdown, but a lot of frustration and being "stuck." Trying to cope with this is taking up a non-trivial amount of my brain right now.

OCD = you experience unpleasant obsessive thoughts, and you do some form of compulsion to help alleviate them (or as an anxiety reducing measure).

Obsessions and compulsions can vary widely, but it's all pretty much the same thing.

That's it.

In that case, it's looking like more of an ASD thing since I don't particularly gain relief from my routines, it's just what I do. I have a pretty elaborate bathing routine and there have been times when I was so tired I could barely stand but I still need to shower so I need to follow my process. During those times, I don't think "Gee I'm tired so I'll shorten my shower", I think "Gee I'm tired and my shower process is pretty long, well guess I better get it over with". There have also been times when my shower process would keep me up passed my usual bedtime so I grow frustrated while showering, I go to bed frustrated, and then I can't sleep because I'm frustrated, so I guess it's not very anxiety reducing...

Thanks for the replies by the way