Is this a meltdown?
Greetings, all. This is my first post on the forum -although I've been reading for some time, and I would like some thoughts upon the aforementioned question.
Background - I do not currently have a diagnosis, however after extensive research I am pretty sure I have Asperger's. I am currently seeing a therapist about a formal diagnosis, and to help I've been collecting data to attest my concerns(thusly why I am here). I cannot seem to find much information about this particular subject, so I've decided to ask those who are experienced.
Sometimes I suffer from crying fits. I try desperately to stop them, yet usually they come upon me so fast I can do naught but curl into myself and hope it'll stop soon. It often takes many hours for me to stop. These situations happen usually when I am in proximity to someone who is at a certain level of emotional excitability, or if something of that level is displayed in media such as music or movies. It's not restricted to negative feelings, either; even when someone is happy, I start crying. I've also noticed I do this when those with whom I am not close ask me to tell personal thoughts or information, precluded usually by anxiety until it reaches "that level". This is not a new development -I remember doing exactly this as a young child. My mother used to just tell me I'm just sensitive, however such a epithet is not enough of an explanation as an adult.
So, does this seem to be a meltdown?
I don't know. I am interested to know though.
I can cry at things but don't consider that to be a meltdown. I am just hypersensitive.
I do get what I think might be meltdowns but I can't be sure. I basically feel overloaded and once it reaches a certain level will basically run off into a ranting or yelling fit (although I try to get away from whatever is upsetting me before it goes that far). Can happen due to overload in a supermarket (in which case I have been known to dump my basket on the floor and just leave mid shop to get away from the noise before I explode) or due to an emotional upset where I feel overloaded by my own emotions for whatever reason.
I appear to have lost my mind for a short time but once it has finished running its course I come back to being completely normal or reasonable again. So from the outside it looks like I have lost the plot but actually I have not. I kind of know its happening and I am still in my own head at the time. I just can't always stop it if i don't get away from what is overloading me soon enough.
On the other hand I can get the opposite where I go so drowsy I can do nothing but go to sleep.
As a result I try to stay away from things I find too stressful. They tend to happen less that way.
I see. I'm not really familiar with such things myself (as you might have noticed from my inquiries), although I think I understand what you mean. You feel as if something is building up within and then it releases. That's what it feels like if I have the time to try to stop it. Unfortunately, usually these things sort of sneak up upon me.
This describes what a meltdown is pretty well:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=meltdown
my last meltdown, all i remember is throwing, hitting and screaming.
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Obsessing over Sonic the Hedgehog since 2009
Diagnosed with Aspergers' syndrome in 2012.
Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1 severity without intellectual disability and without language impairment in 2015.
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