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Nicola2206
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11 Sep 2015, 3:51 pm

Ok so I know meltdowns are common in autism, but since I have other disorders (oh and btw I don't like calling autism a disorder), I mean mental disorders like bipolar (officially diagnosed) and anxiety and other stuff (bpd suspected too) I can't really understand whether my meltdowns come from the autistic part of me or from other parts of me.

What happened last night is that I had an argument with my girlfriend and she said something I perceived as offensive. I later found out what she meant was different, and that I didn't understand the context and just got stuck on a few specific words and didn't look at the whole picture (I always have issues like this where I get stuck on specific words/actions and miss the larger picture, or totally miss the context). So she kinda started talking in a way I perceived as condescending and hostile and blamed me for not understanding and not trying to walk in her shoes, and I started having a "buildup" and then I just exploded.
I started crying uncontrollably, almost choking, and feeling like the world was going to end and like I felt just overwhelmed, because I was trying to handle my own emotions and her emotions at the same time and it made me just give up. Besides crying a lot and trying not to scream, I also kept moving my leg as if it somehow could make me calm down, and it did after a while. (I don't know if it can be considered stimming? Sometimes I find myself rocking back and forth for some reason)
Then I also had other kinds of meltdowns in my life, triggered by fears like the fear of being abandoned by someone I felt attached to, or feeling inadequate, so in that case the cause was specific and linked to fear of abandonment.
Last night, instead, I didn't have fear of abandonment, I just felt like being yelled at and treated in a way that I perceived as hostile, and trying to understand her feelings at the same time just made me feel overwhelmed and like my brain was trying to deal with too much information at once. This doesn't sound mood related, but more like the autistic type of meltdown (feeling overwhelmed, too much info, too many emotions, too hard to understand the other person etc.)

Another meltdown happened last year, caused by exams and studying. Sometimes I have a hard time studying because I can't read texts, I tend to skim a lot and find it hard to focus on words. Anyway for some reason, a few days before the exam I just felt like it was too much for me to handle (exams here are all oral, so the thought of having to talk to a teacher face to face and answer questions and organize my speech as quickly as possible makes me anxious). For some reason during that period of time the exam and studying were just too much so one day I just went to my room, not wanting to hear any sound or see anyone and started hitting the wall and just feeling too overwhelmed. It caused me to eventually avoid taking the exam and stopping studying immediately. I don't study all the time, I don't even study a lot during the day before exams because I tend to get overwhelmed easily and find it hard to focus.

I'm still trying to figure out the possible triggers. My girlfriend acting mad and hostile is definitely a trigger - in the past I used to get paranoid a lot about abandonment, now I don't think she would abandon me, so the trigger was just her apparently hostile behavior and expecting me to understand.


_________________
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 173 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 32 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)

AQ Score: 40


SQ: 52
EQ: 5

Empathizing - systemizing mixed test version results


kraftiekortie
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11 Sep 2015, 3:56 pm

I would say what you experienced might be a hybrid between a meltdown and a shutdown.



Nicola2206
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11 Sep 2015, 4:32 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
I would say what you experienced might be a hybrid between a meltdown and a shutdown.

In what sense?


_________________
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 173 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 32 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)

AQ Score: 40


SQ: 52
EQ: 5

Empathizing - systemizing mixed test version results


kraftiekortie
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12 Sep 2015, 12:09 am

Because you have a difficult time verbalizing when you are having a meltdown. Sometimes, this seems more dominant than typical meltdown components.