Autistic Catatonia

[Warmheart]

This happened to me two weeks ago. It has happened quite a few times in my life. It is when I absolutely cannot move at all, I completeLy freeze up and am "stuck." I can't speak, move, or change position. It's like a whopper paralysis combined with deep, heavy brain fog. The phone could ring, and I would not be able to get it. If it happens in a public place, I am them extremely vulnerable.

This can last for five minutes, or an entire day. I have a memory blackout after. I recall very little of the days when this happens. During Catatonia, I am unable to care for myself, and may become incontinent. Scary stuff, as I can't even clean it up if I pee all over myself and the floor.

Apparently, fragile, reactive neaurology can have fight, flight-- or freeze reactions when events in our lives are sudden and overwhelming. Autistic Catatonia is one heck of a freeze. It's
like a shutdown gone wild, making self care impossible.

There doesn't seem to be any remedy, other than as with shutdowns, just waiting quietly until it dissipates.

Has anyone else experienced this? You suddenly get stuck?

 

[Judge]

I find such things fascinating...and am always wondering if this has a connection to sleep walking in any way.

Is it a true loss of consciousness?

I once had a girlfriend with a daughter who was prone to sleep walking....who seemed to go in and out of consciousness to varying degrees. Never saw anything like it. Your experience sounds very similar to hers.

I always wondered when I'd talk to her in that situation if she even heard me.

 

[wanderer03]

This happened to me two weeks ago. It has happened quite a few times in my life. It is when I absolutely cannot move at all, I completeLy freeze up and am "stuck." I can't speak, move, or change position. It's like a whopper paralysis combined with deep, heavy brain fog. The phone could ring, and I would not be able to get it. If it happens in a public place, I am them extremely vulnerable.

This can last for five minutes, or an entire day. I have a memory blackout after. I recall very little of the days when this happens. During Catatonia, I am unable to care for myself, and may become incontinent. Scary stuff, as I can't even clean it up if I pee all over myself and the floor.

Apparently, fragile, reactive neaurology can have fight, flight-- or freeze reactions when events in our lives are sudden and overwhelming. Autistic Catatonia is one heck of a freeze. It's
like a shutdown gone wild, making self care impossible.

There doesn't seem to be any remedy, other than as with shutdowns, just waiting quietly until it dissipates.

Has anyone else experienced this? You suddenly get stuck?

I did on one occasion. I was so severely depressed all I could do was sit in my armchair. My mom came by to check on me and she said, "We need to take you to go get help." I vaguely remember being driven to the local emergency room. I was in the psychiatric unit for 10 days. I hadn't showered in five days and had barely eaten a thing. My mom said that my face looked sallow. Naturally, she was quite concerned. Yes, I just shut down. This catatonia lasted for several days and was frightening. I had never been so depressed in my life. This happened two summers ago and I hope to God that it never happens again.

 

[Judge]

Interesting. When I shutdown I tend to deliberately shut things out. Never really felt that it happens where I have no control over it.

 

[wanderer03]

Interesting. When I shutdown I tend to deliberately shut things out. Never really felt that it happens where I have no control over it.

That was what was frightening about it - the lack of control.

 

[Judge]

That was what was frightening about it - the lack of control.

This is making me trying to revisit my shutdowns..to make sure that I really did maintain control. Hmmmm. But I've seen this in other people like the little girl I mentioned....where her control seemed to come and go without any queues. Very strange. Just not sure if there's really a connection with sleepwalking and autistic traits.

The human brain never fails to amaze me.

 

[Warmheart]

I could hear you if you were to speak to me, but I cannot respond. The state is groggy, brain-fogged, heavy-limbed, but not asleep.

Sportster, the Hulk thing happens to me too. My meltdowns are non-verbal, sustained physical outburst. Kaboom.

 

[Mia]

Wonder if there's any connection to waking up in the middle of a rem cycle? I've been startled awake from a deep sleep and have been completely paralyzed, can't move, can't speak, it's terrifying and seems to last forever.

 

[Warmheart]

This only happens when awake.

Mia, lots of people do get that weird state of waking up mid cycle and not being able to move. That must be distressing.

 

[Judge]

Wonder if there's any connection to waking up in the middle of a rem cycle? I've been startled awake from a deep sleep and have been completely paralyzed, can't move, can't speak, it's terrifying and seems to last forever.

Sleep paralysis. Hypnopompia when waking from REM cycles. I've had that before. Very strange sensation. A point where your dreaming transitions into reality if you can later recall the experience as it happens.

But once you're completely awake you come out of it the sense of paralysis.

I recall once when I was dreaming about being chased and attacked by dogs...it was intense. And yet I couldn't move an inch. As I slowly came out of it there were my cousin's two dogs...barking at me to wake up. Classic example...completely harmless. Of course at the time it didn't seem that way.

 

[Mia]

This only happens when awake.

Mia, lots of people do get that weird state of waking up mid cycle and not being able to move. That must be distressing.

Warmheart I didn't mean to unsympathetic, and I hope you didn't take it that way. Was thinking about the paralysis itself, what occurs in the brain, and how these connections are made. Wondering also if the paralysis is connected to neuron misfirings and how the state of rem cycle paralysis could be in a waking state.

Loss of muscle control is known as cataplexy, and people who experience it tend to have rapid rem sleep cycles, where they enter rem within a few minutes of going to sleep. Whereas it takes a person something like fifty minutes to do so in a normal sleep cycle. I have a tendency to go right into rem within a few minutes of going to sleep, it's like a sleep express train. From what I understand rapid rem like that makes for waking fatigue and many other difficulties from day to day.

Have no idea what causes it, neurology is complex. Infections, viruses, brain wiring, genetics, its all so confusing, there's no way to really know. But I'm certain that it must be quite confusing and difficult to cope with, the most difficult part is not knowing when it will happen and what causes it. I guess we just deal day to day with so many things.

 

[Judge]

Warmheart I didn't mean to unsympathetic, and I hope you didn't take it that way. Was thinking about the paralysis itself, what occurs in the brain, and how these connections are made. Wondering also if the paralysis is connected to neuron misfirings and how the state of rem cycle paralysis could be in a waking state.

Loss of muscle control is known as cataplexy, and people who experience it tend to have rapid rem sleep cycles, where they enter rem within a few minutes of going to sleep. Whereas it takes a person something like fifty minutes to do so in a normal sleep cycle. I have a tendency to go right into rem within a few minutes of going to sleep, it's like a sleep express train. From what I understand rapid rem like that makes for waking fatigue and many other difficulties from day to day.

Have no idea what causes it, neurology is complex. Infections, viruses, brain wiring, genetics, its all so confusing, there's no way to really know. But I'm certain that it must be quite confusing and difficult to cope with, the most difficult part is not knowing when it will happen and what causes it. I guess we just deal day to day with so many things.

This was my immediate line of thinking as well. To ponder whether such things are neurologically "linked" in whole or in part.

There just seem to be so many "avenues of approach" when it comes to such states of being where at times it's as if they are in between a conscious state. Baffling, whether it involves being on the spectrum or not.

 

[Warmheart]

Mia, I'm glad you and Judge brought this up! I love the points you bring up, and I wonder at the possible similarities to the paralysis we experience in sleep.

I think the fight, flight, or freeze of survival are things our reactive autistic neurology seems to present some of us in frequent occurrence. Fight = meltdown, flight = bolting/elopement, freeze = shutdowns/Catatonia.

Honestly, I think what causes Catatonia is the same as what contributes to shutdowns, too much sensory/cognitive/emotional dysregulation overwhelm, causing the brain to go into an energy-save, "brown out" mode of extreme brain fog, this time accompanied by stupor and paralysis. (Add in some memory blackout for good measure.)

It makes living independently, even with supports, risky and challenging.

Perhaps the optimal ways to lessen the occurrence of Catatonia might be to streamline one's life might be:
Cut down on appointments, obligations, errand-running as much as possible. Don't try to do so much.
Limit social engagements to those which are necessary, and keep them as brief as you need.
Build a "buffer zone" of solitude before and after social interactions, to recover.
Mindfulness practices strengthen, ground, and refresh us. (Great help to ease strong emotions)
Devise your own Sensory Diet of regular activity to help routinely organize your nervous system.
Remove toxic relationships and people from one's life, as much as possible.
Surround yourself with people who accept whatever style of relating you can manage.

Basically, a very quiet life with plenty of movement, love, solitude, time in nature to rebound from errands, and having supportive, accepting people in our lives who understand and meet us where we are, all helps cut down on overwhelm. Not easy if you have work and family obligations, or live alone and are the only one who can run errands. Sheltered workshops and play dates may simply be too much for some of us to maintain five days per week, even if we seem to be having fun, the energetic cost may be too high.

I myself am working to better streamline my life, but it's challenging, as I also do need the autism services (many appointments) I am grateful to me be receiving.

Just my thoughts.

 

[garnetflower13]

I have had something similar to what you describe about three times in my life. Once I was lying on the floor, trying to relax and feeling very depressed. Suddenly I couldn't make myself move; it was like my limbs had gotten very heavy. It lasted about three minutes. Another time it was like what Wanderer03 described, when a friend committed suicide. I had to be hospitalized.

 

[Judge]

I have had something similar to what you describe about three times in my life. Once I was lying on the floor, trying to relax and feeling very depressed. Suddenly I couldn't make myself move; it was like my limbs had gotten very heavy. It lasted about three minutes. Another time it was like what Wanderer03 described, when a friend committed suicide. I had to be hospitalized.

"About 50 years ago, psychiatrists in England described a group of depressed patients as "atypical." Twenty-five years later, researchers at Columbia University in New York used the term "leaden paralysis" to describe patients who often told doctors that they felt like they had lead weights attached to their legs. Today, this type of depression is called atypical depression, or depression with atypical features."

http://www.everydayhealth.com/depression/understanding-atypical-depression.aspx

 

[Astroganga]

Yes. I have experienced this. When I had my breakdowns this was exactly what happened. With my breakdown in 2003, I just felt frozen to the spot, it took me two hours to crawl to the phone and call my dad to come and get me (I was living alone at the time), earlier that day, I had gone to quite a few places in a really bad way mentally but it was like I was on autopilot. I don't even remember going home or how I got to that absolutely frozen state. I was then in a semi catatonic state for almost three weeks, it was only a combination of beta blockers and citalopram that broke me out of it. When I had my massive ongoing breakdown in 1996/97, it was similar but worse. I think being given tranquilisers that time made my state much much worse.

 

[Warmheart]

There's a Facebook page dedicated to autistic Catatonia. Apparently, it's a thing!

 

[artfull dodger]

I can sometimes become catatonic during a shut down, not the point that I pee my pants, but I cant talk or respond to others. Its one of the main reasons I wear an "Autistic" medical wrist band at all times(unless I am in the shower or pool/hot tub).

 

[Judge]

There's a Facebook page dedicated to autistic Catatonia. Apparently, it's a thing!

My goodness, you aren't kidding! Interesting stuff. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4222130/

 

[Warmheart]

There is a video, depicting the stupor and showing a degree of the paralysis. After a few moments of stimming to try to self-regulate, this teen has a struggle to eat his ice cream. The challenges initiating and moving through a sequence are shown here.