Ways to explain shutdowns/meltdowns to an nt?

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At my Highschool there is currently construction going on. The leads to constant beeping crashing shouting and other loud noises to an unbearable degree for me. It's causing me to have meltdowns and shutdowns allot more then normal. I'm trying to explain it to my nt parents, they don't seem to understand at all. How can I word whats happening so they understand that it's not just that I get upset, but that I lose controll?

This doesn't upset you? Then why would you need a solution?

Well you could use the example of the audio level comfortable for everybody else and turn it up until they are uncomfortable to show what you are hearing.

Or you could prove it with a hearing test beyond average hearing limit and auditive pain threshold, which should result in the above-average.

Any solid evidence should help.

I explain that my sensory overloads are like being in a night club, SOBER but in any place or situation. The flashing lights, loud noise, crushing bodies, they are exactly what I can't stand (I don't get why NTs go to those things...). My meltdowns which are more to do with information overload I describe as being in a room with about 20 people and they are all talking at you at once. Obviously I would only really be speaking to one person but it can feel like trying to hear 20 people at once.

I sometimes explain it like this:

My sensory sensitivities are a problem with my central nervous system--my brain can't process incoming sensory input normally and I have a lower physiological tolerance for things like noise.

So, when the amount or intensity of incoming sensory information exceeds my brain's capacity to process it, my brain shuts down--or switches into something like an extreme "fight or flight" state, resulting in a meltdown. Shutdown/meltdown states are a built-in safety mechanism (my brain protecting itself from continuing overload) and are about as controllable as a seizure.

You try to prevent seizures from happening, but doing so is not a matter of will nor of emotional self-regulation--and it's the same with meltdowns and shutdowns.

My parents seem to think it's loud noise hurting my ears. It's not JUST that I get upset, but that I lose controll.

Perfect description. I perceive it as the equivalent to a series of short circuits when all the fuses blow and finally shut down the entire system.

Just had a major meltdown because there was something wrong with my new laptop. How stupid is that? There must have been a build up for some time but apparantly I failed to notice it.

I feel exhausted right now so it's time to take it easy for a while.

Although I haven't been diagnosed yet, I suffer from overloads, meltdowns and shutdowns A LOT. I still can't explain it to anyone, including my boss or my own wife. Whenever I try they conclude it's just being "tired and overwhelmed". The closest my boss ever got was "a system crash that needs a reboot". For the computer savvy: it's kind of like a Denial of Service attack: a server gets so overwhelmed with requests (input) that it stops responding to input and stops functioning properly, it didn't really crash or stop but is no longer able to process the data and it needs to be taken offline.

Last edited by AdamDZ on 29 Oct 2011, 4:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

This very basic, but it usually helps at least to achieve a basic understanding.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWgApN3GZwA[/youtube]

Also, this one is for noises and some other issues.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-czACkakRc[/youtube]

I hope you can get some understanding from your parents.

Meanwhile, maybe there's another route you can go with people at school? Do you have an SEP, IEP or some other kind of plan? Are you already working with a resource teacher? If you are, go and talk about your sensory overload. If not, go and talk to a guidance teacher. I hope it's temporary and you can find some quiet spot to work in until it's over.

J.