ASD Shutdowns or Disassociation?

[JamesM]

I frequently have these weird kinda shutdowns. For the past few years I thought them to be related to a Disassociative Disorder/Shutdown response.

However as I learn more about ASD, I see people speak in videos on Youtube about similar experiences, so it may be just part of ASD.

The experience is hard to explain but here goes. Imagine you are in one of those mechanical suits (like Ironman), and the suit gets shutdown, you are stuck inside of it and can't move. It's like that, by body shuts down, eyes closed, basically frozen like a lump of concrete, but inside I have full awareness, it's like I'm just the conscience part with no body. Sometimes I'll have a microsleep, sometimes not.

It lasts for a bit then I come out of it, eyes open, I come back in my body, it's like my Ironman suit went offline for a but then powered up again.

I can experience it often after waking in the morning from a vivid dream to quickly and I'm still half in the dream. But it can happen anytime from overstimulation, overwhelm and sensory overload, or often when nothing external at all is happening, rather it is inside my head that is on overdrive.

Does anyone here experience anything like this at all?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Judge]

Sounds like you may be experiencing a particularly intense kind of sleep paralysis. Perhaps also accompanied by a hypnopompic hallucination.

Something on occasion I have experienced while coming out of REM sleep in the morning. Though I can't connect it to any kind of autism shutdown. Something I rarely experience, but under entirely conscious circumstances and from any sleep state.

Sleep Paralysis

Hypnopompic Hallucinations

 

[Jumpinbare]

Could be narcolepsy with cataplexy. Ordinarily cataplexy is triggered by intense emotion. Could be the overstimulation is having that effect. Narcolepsy includes frequent sleep paralysis.

 

[JamesM]

Cheers for replies!

@Judge I have experienced both of those from time to time for many years. But this is something else.

@Jumpinbare Neither of those, but have experienced similar symptoms during really bad burnout.

I'm leaning more towards ASD shutdowns made worse by chronic stress, burnout and trauma. Cognitive shutdowns brought on by cognitive overload. Polyvagal shutdowns. Dissociative shutdowns. Somewhere in that area.

From what I gather CPTSD integrates with ASD dialing the whole thing up to 11.

The hardest part is verbalising what I experience.

More exploration needed.

 

[Jonn]

I frequently have these weird kinda shutdowns. For the past few years I thought them to be related to a Disassociative Disorder/Shutdown response.

I have them still, even now.
I lose the capacity to think on my feet, particularly when other ppl are around.
I don't take pressure well.

However as I learn more about ASD, I see people speak in videos on Youtube about similar experiences, so it may be just part of ASD.

My dissociative disorder was instilled through psychological ritual abuse when I was around 5.
Autism and my ADHD don't help.

The experience is hard to explain but here goes. Imagine you are in one of those mechanical suits (like Ironman), and the suit gets shutdown, you are stuck inside of it and can't move. It's like that, by body shuts down, eyes closed, basically frozen like a lump of concrete, but inside I have full awareness, it's like I'm just the conscience part with no body. Sometimes I'll have a microsleep, sometimes not.

Interesting.

It lasts for a bit then I come out of it, eyes open, I come back in my body, it's like my Ironman suit went offline for a but then powered up again.

It takes time to "collect one's thoughts again".
This can be exacerbated when I venture into society, possibly due to having some degree of "social shock" as a result of having a reclusive lifestyle.
I see it as a possible information overload.

I can experience it often after waking in the morning from a vivid dream to quickly and I'm still half in the dream. But it can happen anytime from overstimulation, overwhelm and sensory overload, or often when nothing external at all is happening, rather it is inside my head that is on overdrive.

Precisely.

Does anyone here experience anything like this at all?

Not in the least, as you can see above. <joke>

 

[Jonn]

Sounds like you may be experiencing a particularly intense kind of sleep paralysis.

This is me in certain social situations:

Spoiler

 

[Jonn]

From what I gather CPTSD integrates with ASD dialing the whole thing up to 11.

Ritual abuse has the conscious intent to instil a dissociative disorder.
This psychological effect would have been observed over millennia.

I don't know if that is what has happened to you.
It did to me.