Shut down vs. Melt down

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What is the difference? Or is there one? Physical examples welcome (it is too abstract right now for me to be able to picture). Can I learn to identify the the two in my own life or will they just...happen? I am very new to this and I am still learning so much (vocabulary, etc.). Any help is very much appreciated. Thank you.

I tend to think of shutdowns as being primarily inwards directed and meltdowns as primarily outward directed.

That makes so much sense. I cannot believe I did not make the connection. Just had a duh moment. Thank you.

Meltdowns feel like a kettle boiling over.
They feel like anger, impatience, sensory intolerance, overwhelm, etc.
You try to restrain yourself from exploding but you can't.
They involve a lot of adrenaline for fight / flight.

I'm about to have one myself because someone keeps opening and shutting a door.
I'm going to snappppp.


Shutdowns feel like you want to vanish.
Your surroundings fade or blur away because you can't deal with them.
You shut off your nervous system so you won't get any more input.
Sometimes stimming helps to regulate your nerves.

I think I have had both. They feel very similar, but with shutdowns I tend to kind of sink inward and go through the motions. Things like speaking become more difficult.

I think w shutdowns your brain actually shuts down any processes that it deems unnecessary to get through the situation

Thank you. This has helped a great deal.