I have read about shutdowns and meltdowns. But I don’t actually get what that looks like in real time.
What I understand is that meltdowns is when someone loses control of their emotions.
Shutdowns are when someone loses the ability to perform certain functions, e.g. the ability to speak.
I was wondering if someone could give a more explicit example, of what that actually looks like?
This is really insightful, it looks like meltdowns and shutdowns affect different people on the spectrum in different ways.
I’m still trying to figure out how exactly I experience them, but I’m very certain I’m autistic. I definitely get sensory overload, and overwhelmed in social situations.
I think I get foggy, when I get overwhelmed socially, or trying to take in information in a way that is not productive for me personally. I can become really uncoordinated and lose awareness of my physical space when I’m pushed too much. I get clumsy, and know I need to rest to recover. I can’t have a conversion without getting confused. I need people to slow down and use simple words for me to understand what is being said.
I think now, I’m very guarded due to dealing with a lot of manipulative people in my life. I have one good friend who has helped me a lot in terms of seeing manipulation and pretense in people, which has trained me to see bs. Before that, I was pulled in all sorts of directions, by all sorts of people in my life. From family members, to people in the social circles I had involvement in. Now I think they are all nuts, and self serving. More people seem to be manipulative than not, at least from my experience.
same