Everyone has their safe spaces and creature comforts. For some people who struggle with things like anxiety, the familiarity of these things is even more crucial.

Like in this story, when a girl meticulously arranged her room… only to find it totally shuffled around when she returned home.

Let’s see how this plays out.

AITA for asking my parents to stop rearranging my room while I’m out?

I (20F) still live at home with my parents in Germany while I attend university nearby.

I’m autistic and also have anxiety, which means routines and familiar environments are extremely important to me.

My room is my safe space and I’ve set it up in a way that helps me stay calm lighting, furniture placement, everything.

Sounds like she put a lot of effort into this. But maybe not everyone respects that?

My parents are generally supportive, but sometimes they do things that really throw me off.

A few days ago, I came home from class and found that my mom had surprised me by reorganizing my entire room.

She moved my desk under the window, changed where my books were and even swapped out my blanket for one she said “looked nicer.”

She also lit a scented candle to “make it feel cozy.”

Those seem like nice enough changes, but not if you don’t want them. How will OP respond?

It immediately overwhelmed me. The smell was too strong, the lighting felt wrong and I couldn’t even find my noise-canceling headphones.

I started crying and had to go sit in the bathroom for like 30 minutes just to calm down.

Meltdowns happen. But surely everyone can get on the same page here.

When I told my mom I appreciated the gesture but needed things to stay how I put them, she got upset.

She said she was “just trying to help” and that I was “overreacting.”

My dad chimed in too and said I should be more “flexible” and that it’s “not healthy” to be so attached to how a room looks.

Well healthy looks different for everyone. Will Mom and Dad come around?

I tried to explain it’s not about looks it’s sensory and mental. But they said I was being ungrateful and dramatic.

I asked them not to touch my room without asking first, and now things are tense.

My mom is hurt, and my dad says I owe her an apology.

AITA for setting that boundary?

I’d say, the boundary of a room was already there, and unless there’s a good reason to cross it… don’t.

Let’s see what the comments think about this rearrangement.

Someone is like, they should know better.

Another person is like, nope this would make me crazy too.

Someone else says unless your room was a literal dump, NTA.

Another person thinks these parents need a brief education.

Someone else says, the audacity!

Autism is a spectrum.

Understanding of it is too.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.