When Making the Call to the Clinic Feels Like Climbing a Mountain

Hey. Let's talk about what happens before the doctor's visit. That moment you know you need to schedule it. The calendar is open on your phone or computer. The phone number is right there. And yet, it feels impossible.

It's not laziness. It's not that you don't care about your health.

It's a vortex of micro-tasks. Let's name them, because seeing them helps:

1. Finding the time: Mentally cross-referencing your schedule, the clinic's hours, transit time, and the unpredictable "recovery time" you'll need after the social battery drain.

2. The Phone Script Paralysis: Rehearsing what you'll say. Worrying you'll forget your birth date or insurance info mid-call. The dread of the automated menu, the hold music, the potential of having to repeat yourself.

3. The Anticipatory Anxiety: Your brain fast-forwards to the appointment itself—the bright lights, the unknown questions, the potential of being misunderstood—and uses that future stress to sabotage the present task.

4. If your brain has responded to this by having 12 browser tabs open about the clinic, while also doomscrolling, while also feeling a pit in your stomach… you're not failing. You're facing a neurodivergent tax on a task the world calls "simple."

What’s Real: This is executive function in action (or inaction). Task initiation, planning, and working memory are all required just to make the call. A 2022 study in Autism in Adulthood highlighted that administrative burdens like scheduling are a top-tier barrier to healthcare for autistic adults, often leading to delayed or forgone care.

You Are Seen. Here’s a Lifeline:

• Give Yourself Permission to Script. Write it down: "Hi, my name is ___. I need to schedule a routine physical. My availability is ___." Have your insurance card in front of you. This isn't childish; it's strategic.

• If You Can, Go Digital. Many clinics now have online scheduling. Use it. It removes the verbal processing demand.

• Name the Task for What It Is. Instead of "I need to call the doctor," say, "I need to do a High-Executive-Function Task." Then, barter with your brain. "After I schedule this, I will do my favorite low-demand thing for an hour."

The mountain is real. And you get to climb it with the tools that work for your brain, not the imaginary neurotypical one the system was built for. Our program, Neuro Assist at Neuro Navigation, can help. Visit our services page at https://www.neuronavigation.org