Major Work Meltdown Got Me Fired

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Yeah, this was definitely NOT a suicide attempt. The only thing that makes It different from self injuring by hitting or biting yourself is the use of a tool, really.. And that for some reason if blood is involved people get more freaked out by it. I don't really see them as that different.

And about telling my regular manager... She wasn't there, so that wasn't really an option.

Are you kidding me. She scarred those people who witnessed the whole cutting episode to death probably. She would be lucky if she was not successfully countered sued for the emotional trauma that was caused to the witnesses and management. I know seeing an out burst like that would freak me out.

I have gotten mad enough to punch walls or run up and scream into people's faces durring meltdowns when I worked in a resteraunt. People quit because of my meltdowns knowing the union was not going to let me get fired as long as I did not hurt anyone or break anything. NTs are not use to seeing someone freak out like that and it scares them. For all they know someone who is willing to cut themselves infront of everyone with a razor would not hesitate to come in shooting. You know that is what everyone of them is thinking. Hell that is what people told my boss about my meltdowns that they were afraid I was going to come in with a gun and shoot everybody and all I did was yell a lot. Sorry Coldblooded if this post sounded against you it is not its more against the NTs I guess. I am sure you would never hurt a fly except to feed your pets but NTs scare easily when they have to deal with some kind of meltdown especially if they never seen anything like that before.

Last edited by Todesking on 06 Oct 2010, 3:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

My intentions were to express concern. Even though the injuries may not have been serious, the actual act of using a razor on oneself could easily go too far during a meltdown, without intending too. I find from personal experience that I am in a much more irrational state during a meltdown. So much so, that it actually "feels" like a psychotic episode. That is why I avoid self-harm at all costs. I don't have a problem with someone kicking store items, or throwing things, since they are inanimate objects. But self-harm is where I personally draw the line. As I said, I have in the past unintentionally harmed myself during a meltdown, so I know how fast it can happen. Hence the concern.

Ha. It almost makes me laugh to think that either of the managers there could have suffered "emotional trauma" from it. I guarantee that being on my side of the situation is 100x worse. Boohoo, poor them, they WATCHED someone become so unable to cope with an event that they felt they had to injure themself. Oh no, they had to see a little blood because one of them pushed the person to this extreme and the other wasn't usually very nice to that person either. Everyone says that there are consequences for my actions.. Well, maybe it's good that those two got to see some of the consequences of their actions toward someone.

I had a similar experience on codeine which I was taking to relieve the pain of dystonia. Mum said I was more ratty than usual and the smallest things were making me scream and shout. Cutting ISN'T a sign of psychosis. It is a coping mechanism, albeit a bad one, which helps relieve internal pain by releasing endorphins. Again, I must stress that no one else must try this (unless they do it already). I have cut myself since I was 17 and so far, no alternative has been found.

It is very sad that you lost control like that. It sucks that you lost your job, but as you didn't disclose that you had AS, you have no legal rights as far as I understand. If you had disclosed your AS and THEN this had happened, you would have the right to complain. If you get a new job, be sure to tell the management about your AS and maybe even write out a small letter explaining what makes you get into a state and how people can help you. I personally am unable to get a job because my meltdowns are still too severe and I regularly need 1-1 support.

Well, I did disclose my AS to managers.. A lot of them knew about it, actually. The one involved in this situation didn't know, but I did mention it when I was warning him that I could have a meltdown. It just wasn't put on file in the official way where I have my doctors send them papers and request specific accomodations.

meltdowns at work can be bad. I've never had one but I have come VERY close.

Last Saturday in particular. I'm a lifeguard and swim instructor for kids. It sucks. Well I was watching this class going on - it was a bunch of parents with their kids like 6months to 5years old. It was LOUD and CHAOTIC and I couldn't take it. There was a mess everywhere, and the obnoxious instructor has the most annoying voice. I couldn't take it. I wanted to get up and find a quiet space curl up in a ball and just scream. But of course I couldn't.

To make it worse, one girl did not show up to teach her class. Ironically, this class has a girl who is pretty profoundly autistic. The change in routine stressed her out. Well I had to jump in and teach the class since I have experience working with kids with autism (that's my other job - yes I have three jobs and I'm still broke). Well this little girl was fine - she did cry a little bit and scream but I was fine with it. The other three girls in the class however were terrible and would not listen to a word I said or cooperate with me.

Then after that I had to lifeguard again. And a parent was going off on me because I wasn't paying special attention to his kid. I swear that was the WORST day at work and I wanted to meltdown so bad but I could not.


I'm sorry, I didn't wanna make this all about me but I totally understand. Work can suck really really bad. I just try to use calming methods like squeezing my neck, tapping my feet, squeezing my hands. I know it sounds wierd but it works.

I gotta admit seeing meltdowns in public would freak me out. I have seen a guy faking one on the train on the way to work and it was scary.

I know most places wold fire your ass if you had one or can't control them because they want to keep their business and not scare away customers

Even aspies would freak out if they saw a scene. We don't know the person and how do we know they aren't going to start hurting people. Like that guy on the train, even though he was crying and asking for money, I didn't know if he was going to start grabbing people or hitting them just because he wasn't getting anything. He got louder and louder and finally threatened to kill himself. When someone finally gave him the darn money, he stopped just like that and was back to normal and I noticed how he never got off the train for food like he claimed he needed money for nor did he walk into the airport for food when we all got off the train. And you did admit you freak out if you saw someone hurting herself so it's not an NT thing to freak out when someone melts down.

I find that alot of regular people can claim to say they know what AS is but in all honestly most of them have no clue how AS works in action. The only knowledge they have of AS is probably something they looked up in a book somewhere. They most likely wouldnt know an AS meltdown in action when it's actually happening.

yes, it's true that the employer may not recognize a meltdown in action, or know what a meltdown could entail. each person reacts to situations differently, however, so even if the manager had seen one Aspie meltdown, that would not mean they would be prepared for a different Aspie's meltdown.

it may be a good idea for an Aspie to inform a manager ahead of time if they could become violent to themselves, objects, or other people during a meltdown. if the manager does not have any idea what a meltdown could entail, then they can't be expected to react with any measure of understanding.

One of the problems with that course of action is that the job centre would say that the person is "intentionally unemployed" and therefore not entitled to claim unemployment benefit. You can't just quit your job and go on the dole; your employer has to sack you.

At least, that's how it is in the UK. I can't imagine the US welfare system being much different in that regard.

yeah, i don't know how it works in the US. in canada you can still receive the employment insurance benefits if you show just cause for quitting. extreme stress can be just cause sometimes.

I don't do a such a thing, If my back was in pain, I would tell the Boss about the pain. Then Ask him to excuse me, and go home. And Before you go to work, Take Ibuprofen before going to work, which it can heal your back. If I feel distracted, I would ask him for a break. If I can't, then try what you can do, but if your back pain is hurting, Try sit down and sort the toys, then slowly get back up, from bottom to top.

Do Not try and hurt yourself, because hurting yourself is a bad thing, and you can die from it. Just Try and hard to ask your Boss to be excused and go home.

Meltdowns suck! I'm sorry

ive never had a job, but i have been in trouble for meltdowns before, once i lashed out on a person for taking my hat, i bit her and pulled her hair. got suspended for a week.

its out of my control, i shouldnt have gotten in trouble.

This thread is from 2010.