Meltdowns about things other than sensory overload?

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I have heard meltdowns being called "going into overload" by people with AS. I can't relate to this people very well at all because I have meltdowns (it's my biggest symptom) over things other than sensory overload. I don't have issues with lights and noise, I have issues with touch and taste though, but they don't make me have meltdowns. I used to think I had sensory issues around smell, until I found out that NTs agreed with me when I smelled something gross.

Things that are NOT sensory issues cause me meltdowns though, in fact, it's more biggest symptom! I normally go on a walk when I have a meltdown, that seems to be the best way for me to calm down.

I do not usually suffer outright meltdowns, but I can slip into a similar state of unsettlement. To the outward world I still largely look functional and I can even give (most of) the appropiate responses, but inside I am all anxious and uneasy and worried and frightened.

It usually happens when I realize I have made some kind of mistake, regardless of whether or not the other person has realized my mistake by that time or whether it was of any real consequence whatsoever. When it happens, I am inwardly scolding myself for not having done it correctly, for not having tried harder to do it right. At the same time I am extremely unsettled by the thought that the other person might be mad at me because of that mistake and like me less because of it.

The list of mistakes that I get so worked up about is quite long, everything from posting something with a typo in it to giving someone some information that I find out later was incorrect.

Even when I can handle the situation quite well for any onlooker, I will later (typically when I go to bed) go back to the whole thing and spend a long time ruminating over it, making myself sick with trying to estimate how bad the consequences of my mistake will be.

The worst part though is that I would like to avoid a repetition of the situation, which in other words means reducing my social interactions quite a bit. Sometimes I really consider simply not talking to the person in question ever again. Than I have to put some effort into convincing myself that it was not THAT bad and that people are still willing to deal with me because otherwise I would simply run out of people to interact with and of ways in which to interact with them...

i can get meltdown from interaction with people who appear to be of authority or very much in control. from insensitive remarks, from feeling less in control than they appear to be and fearing that i have no choice but to let them make decisions that affect me. it looks very specific but it happens often, actually. my son's teacher , school psychologist, special ed guy, during job interviews, that kind of thing. when i feel powerless, i fight back the tears, then get home and spend hours calming myself down.
full blown meltdowns have come from this in the past. it is horrible. crying at a job interview an running away is not going to get me a job

Personal attacks, or anything that feels like a personal attack [people who defend contrary (or no) logic stances, people with dismissive or aggressive demeanors, accusations that are arbitrary or founded on incorrect information (or are the result of incorrect instruction), etc etc], interruptions, people not listening when you're saying something important...

These can cause frustration and eventually meltdowns as well. We notice the little things - the little noises, the little too bright lighting, the little too strong perfume, the 3 day old mouse corpse under the skid of garden soil... and the little mistakes and oversights that others make as well - and these little things add up, don't compute, cause confusion, cause distraction, cause loss of our naturally persistant grip on the order of the universe and POWIE. We fall off the gangplank into the shark infested waters. Time to flail helplessly, anyone?

*The sharks of course, being the little bits and pieces that have been building up inside us. The problem is, we lash out for all that at the pirate who poked us off the plank, and he wasn't responsible for all of it, so he (nor his fellow pirates) can make sense of it - nor does he see the sharks*

** In fact - trying to explain about the sharks only serves to convince the damn pirate that we're trying to get attention, that it's all about me me me. When it's really all about "are you F^$% blind? Look at those TEETH! **

pirate metaphore!! loved it. your first paragraph applies to me too. i forget half the stuff when i'm on an idea ....sorry for stealing your paragraph, mr pirate....

A meltdown, breakdown and shutdown are all different things for me.

Meltdowns are when I starts screaming and throwing things, or banging my head against something, or biting myself, or running. I'm able to talk and move, but am entirely irrational. However, I, in some way, know I am being irrational.

Shutdowns are when I either retreat into myself or an activity and ignore the world because I'm overstimulated or upset, or when I can't speak. These are almost always sensory overloads.

Breakdowns are emotional overloads, where I can't process all of the emotions coming at me at once, so I break down crying. I can't speak or move on my own in these, but am entirely aware of the fact that I can't. They're very frustrating because of this - I wish I could talk to the person and tell them why I'm upset, tell them to stop touching me or what I need to calm down, but I'm physically unable to until I come down. These have been happening to me a lot lately because of a new relationship.

I have meltdowns by being overwhelmed by emotions. I cannot sort through them, or handle them properly, so I shut down. I sit, or toe bounce, and avoid looking at anyone, or even their direction. I stim by flexing my fingers back, and tapping, or pressing with the tops of my palms. My speech becomes short and desperate, and if pushed, I'll pull my hair. I cannot think or handle human contact when I get like this.

Sometimes, people push, and I end up lashing out verbally.

I am susceptible to a "meltdown" when I think the remedy to a situation is blatantly obvious and the person who is supposed to solve the problem wants to do everything but the obvious or wants to do nothing at all, or lies and says they are doing something while they are actually not doing anything. This almost always happens when I get on the phone with "customer service" or "tech support". It also happens at Jiffy-Lube, the grocery store, the bank, etc. So obviously the problem is me, not them. Sometimes I have a moment of clarity and regain controll of myself.


Get to know what causes your "meltdowns" and see if you are able to stop in the middle of one and regain controll. Its a good skill to work on.

Yup. People Overload. Too much BS overstimulates my annoyance tolerance buffers.

I had the beginnings of a meltdown last semester when I was trying to get food before a final exam and the man kept putting my food together wrong and I was watching him like a hawk to make sure he got my food right and then he started to put it on a plate and hadn't done something I asked for and I (growing even more anxious by the moment) said, "wait, you forgot" and he lied to me and said he did it while I wasn't looking and I just about lost it but knew I had to walk away right then. I left my tray and everything and walked out of the cafeteria area to the convenience store across the hall to try to find something, anything I could eat. (I have a LOT of food sensitivities so it's already really hard for me to find food on campus that I can eat.) Someone from the cafeteria area followed me over and started saying they could remake my hot food and I said there wasn't time because I had an exam and she kept pushing and pushing and I started shaking all over and had keys in my hand and they were rattling and I could feel screams coming up and I said "no time! no time! no time!" and then she reached out to touch me and I screamed "I'm autistic and this hurts! Go away now!" and closed my eyes and tried to calm down and when I opened them again she was gone.

I paid for the food I had picked out and instead of sitting to eat it before my test, I went to the bathroom where I sat in a stall and shook all over and sobbed until I had calmed down enough to clean my face off and go take my test. I ate my food during the test because the barely stifled meltdown had taken away all the time I had to eat.



What I just related is the best I have ever done in my life at interrupting a meltdown long enough to get someplace safe to let it come out. For me, it's just like author Nick Dubin describes: having a meltdown is like vomitting. Once it comes on, there is no way on earth I can keep it from coming out. But I can do my best to get someplace private so I don't vomit in public or have a meltdown in public. Sometimes there's no helping it and you just have to vomit in the bushes or even all over your own shoes. But most times you can get someplace safe and private first and that's how meltdowns are for me now. But they still take a lot of time and take a lot out of me (like vomiting) so when it comes on, it interrupts my life and makes me miss things I wanted or needed (like lunch) and even seeing the "nausea" -- the beginnings of the meltdown coming on -- is disturbing for others and embarassing for me.

i usually turn into a baby or a jerk if im having a meltdown. i can never predict wich one will show up so i think its completely random

Meltdowns aren't exclusively sensory overload. Emotional overload and change are prime examples.

In fact, sensory meltdowns I should think are the most avoidable once the stressors are out of the environment.

FluffyDog and Xinro have already made a pretty clear explanation of how I approach this subject. To add a little meat to this post however, I'll try to add in my own personal experience with anger and breakdowns.

A shutdown will consist of:
-Hiding
-Listening to my ipod
-Staring off into space (usually huddled up)

A meltdown will consist of:
-Uncontrollable shaking
-Pacing
-Muttering scrambled words under my breath
-Quarantine (which leads into a shutdown, then back to normal)

An emotional overload (or breakdown) consists of:
-Fits of rage
-Throwing
-Kicking/punching
-Yelling

Thankfully, I seldom have any of these. I'm currently in the process of getting into better shape and learning martial arts as a way to curb my anger. I'm hoping that learning something that requires heavy self-discipline might help me stabilize myself better. If at least not for the endorphins produced during a good workout.

From being bullied, disapointment. My non sensory meltdows usualy start with rage. I've actualy hurt people from rage. I had more rage as a kid than true shutdown meltdowns. My mum still has scars from trying to handle them. Yes, scars. I would attack physicaly and actualy hurt people. I hope some of the kids and teachers who bullied me have scars...and not just physical ones. I bit a kid so hard I drew blood but then he was sticking his fingers in my face and going, "Bite me, bite me" Somehow I doubt a third grader understands that "bite me" is also slang for get lost. Anyhow, kids liked to see me explode so they would tease and taunt me until I had a meltdown. My meltdowns usualy resulted in my hurting someone, you think the bullies would catch on and leave me alone but maybe they liked getting hurt.

I don't really think martial arts is for me, I go for walks to calm down instead.

oh. i used to have biting urges as a kid when teased. somehow i could picture myself biting people in the throat and long for it lol.......i never did it though. i never bit anyone. after teenage years it subsided, i haven't felt it in a long time. but i can still remember that ticklish feeling in my gums....that's very animal..