Shut Down or Melt Down

Page 1 of 2 [ 29 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next


Shut Down or Melt Down?
Shut Down 62%  62%  [ 98 ]
Melt Down 16%  16%  [ 25 ]
Both equally 22%  22%  [ 35 ]
Total votes : 158

EthosNKA
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 16 Sep 2015
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 74
Location: Spain

19 Sep 2015, 4:35 am

I shut down until I've got enough, and then unpredictably burst in meltdown.



izzeme
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 Apr 2011
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,665

22 Sep 2015, 5:01 am

I will deliberately shut down to prevent meltdowns.
I have had a few meltdowns; they are scary and i don't want to experience another one if i can help it.
Last time i had a meltdown i choked a good friend of mine (i stopped before anything serious happened, i did get control back), that was the moment where i decided to train myself to supress and stop meltdowns, whatever the (mental) costs might be.



C2V
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 Apr 2015
Posts: 2,666

31 May 2016, 4:22 am

Shutdown, nonverbal. :oops:


_________________
Alexithymia - 147 points.
Low-Verbal.


Quiet Water
Raven
Raven

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jul 2016
Age: 53
Gender: Female
Posts: 123
Location: Northern New England, USA

19 Aug 2016, 6:10 pm

Melted down as a child, was often punished for it.

Learned to shut down instead (I'm not normally nonverbal but speech can be difficult during shutdown); this is also poorly understood by surrounding NTs but most seem to consider it less threatening.



slw1990
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 Jan 2014
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,406

21 Aug 2016, 12:11 am

izzeme wrote:
I will deliberately shut down to prevent meltdowns.


I'm like this too when I'm in public. It's still bad because I have trouble processing things and I get really clumsy. When I have them at home though sometimes I cry on and off for hours.



PuzzlePieces1
Raven
Raven

Joined: 16 Aug 2016
Gender: Male
Posts: 124

22 Aug 2016, 11:33 pm

Wow, so many of the responses on here could have been written by me. Like almost everyone else, I shutdown instead of melting down, but I used to meltdown all the time (especially when I was younger.) Seven years ago, I was prescribed a medication that quiets my emotions and I very, very rarely have meltdowns these days as a result. I also became much more successful in pretty much every aspect of my life because of that medication.



Leahcar
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jan 2016
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 259
Location: United Kingdom

28 Nov 2016, 3:01 pm

Interesting to see that quite a lot of you guys have shutdowns. I've never had one in my life, and I didn't actually know what they were until I first joined.
I used to have meltdowns all the time when I was younger, but not so much now. Though, I'd be lying if I said I never have them anymore. Every once in a while if stuff doesn't go right, then I can break down, get very teary and snappy, and start doubting myself.


_________________
I'm sailing across Spectrum Sea, in my little boat.
The waters of the port were choppy. After I set off, there was a long, massive storm.
Years later, however, the sea calmed. I'm still on tranquil sea, but I'll never reach the Neurotypical Beach.


blackicmenace
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Nov 2016
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,465
Location: Sagittarius A

06 Dec 2016, 2:40 am

Melt down here, but to be perfectly honest it's more like explode. (Mostly at inanimate objects) My dad is the same way.


_________________
Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.” ― Bertrand Russell


caThar4G
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 21 Dec 2016
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,231
Location: TN

03 Jan 2017, 7:32 pm

Kiriae wrote:
I usually just shut down. I am even able to change a upcoming meltdown to a shutdown if I hold it for long enough.

Btw. My meltdowns and shutdowns seem to have different triggers.

I get a meltdown when I get emotionally unstable. For example when something unfair happens or I'm being humiliated. I get an urge to yell, cry and hit stuffs then due to feeling so vulnerable and helpless. But I learned to hold it till I get alone or it fades by itself.

Shutdown usually is result of physical exhaustion. It often happens after sensory overload or a meltdown. I get silent and stop receiving the information from senses. I close my eyes, I sit down, curl up or play with my stim toy to get rid of any unpleasant touch sensations, cover my ears and ignore the sounds that come to me and "turn off" my thoughts. It's a state similar to a nap but I have no control over it at all. I am only able to control my ability to speak to a degree and I can say stuff like "Yes", "No", "I don't know", "I'm tired", "Just leave me alone".

I am the same way! Except I don't have a stim toy. I never heard of that till on WP.



caThar4G
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 21 Dec 2016
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,231
Location: TN

03 Jan 2017, 7:35 pm

^^^ Except I have more trouble w meltdowns and controlling them.



ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,237
Location: Long Island, New York

13 Jan 2017, 6:27 pm

Shutdown


_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity

“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


Skilpadde
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 Dec 2008
Age: 46
Gender: Female
Posts: 27,019

27 Feb 2017, 6:10 pm

Shutdown


_________________
BOLTZ 17/3 2012 - 12/11 2020
Beautiful, sweet, gentle, playful, loyal
simply the best and one of a kind
love you and miss you, dear boy

Stop the wolf kills! https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeact ... 3091429765


Violet85
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 28 Jul 2017
Age: 1938
Gender: Female
Posts: 2

28 Jul 2017, 12:40 pm

I've shut down and zoned out for as long as I can remember. But sometimes I am screaming internally



StephenBeets679895
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 13 Aug 2016
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Posts: 49

09 May 2018, 7:25 pm

Depending on the exact situation and my overall trending mood, I'll either withdraw or I'll explode into rage. If I'm enraged, it becomes very difficult for me to calm down. I may go on for hours or days about whatever triggered me in the first place and then I drop off into the void of depression where I'll shut down. Being single and unattached does not make this easier to deal with.