flight or fight response

[Lealea]

Now I'm not a aggressive person but there's been some incidences, always when im least expecting them when I have felt that I just need to escape a situation no matter what and this scares me a little. One example was that a few months ago my children were late for school, only by about five minuites it was the first time ever and I was already very stressed as I need to be on time for everything, and this day there just happened to be truancy officers outside the gates. Instead of letting me get my kids into class they approached me an started demanding me "why we're they late" and "what we're they're names" and all I was fixated on was getting my kids into class and these people were preventing me doing so. I walked away from them because I knew that if I didn't I would have headbutted one of them. For days this got to me I was so angry at these people.

Someone said that I let it get to me, it's they're job they would have checked the register, realised that it wasn't a reoccurring problem that they were late and left it, I seen the situation differently then.

 

[Naturalist]

I do this, too. I have been in arguments with actual police because I got confused about why I was detained, and was panicked over being late. I can almost feel neurons short-circuiting in my brain. I can't improvise, and I know it and so I go into panic mode. Sometimes that manifests as "fight", sometimes "flight". Or "freeze" which is when mutism kicks in. Because I can't predict which response will manifest until too late, it's all the more panic-inducing.

 

[Tom]

Its interesting you bring it up as fight or flight, as I think that is one of the elements commonly involved with autistics. Though I don't know if its due to the autism or the anxiety co-morbid that very often accompanies autism.

From what I have gathered, NTs fight or flight responses are like 'Dimmer Switches' that have a range of settings. They have a very low response, a low response, a moderate response, etc. But people with Anxiety disorders switch has just two settings: Off and Max.

I get this totally illogical over-the-top response so often and for the smallest things its ridiculus. For instance if someone says the smallest negative comment to me I don't want to respond in kind. No, a huge feeling of anger and maybe fear wells up inside me and I want to kill them and cut off their head and stick it on a pole and plant it at the entrance to their office.

Fortunately I too am very unaggressive inside as well and would never even consider doing anything like that. I don't think Aspies and other autistics are very aggressive by our nature. But the thoughts cross my over-reactive mind.

But as far as the actual incident, truant officers interrogating parents outside the school, for lateness, seems overbearing and a bit disrespectful. If they feel they need to know, there are more discreet ways of dealing with it. Perhaps a sign-in ledger at the entrance office where you also put a reason. Though maybe they would get "Why do ya think!" and "Ask the aliens who abducted us." But just being sensible, you risk getting an earful if you press parents who are already stressed (and everyone is a little stressed when late). We have several cultural groups in my area and some of the Moms in school districts around me would chew those Truant Officers to pieces.

 

[Lealea]

I get this totally illogical over-the-top response so often and for the smallest things its ridiculus. For instance if someone says the smallest negative comment to me I don't want to respond in kind. No, a huge feeling of anger and maybe fear wells up inside me and I want to kill them and cut off their head and stick it on a pole and plant it at the entrance to their office.

Fortunately I too am very unaggressive inside as well and would never even consider doing anything like that. I don't think Aspies and other autistics are very aggressive by our nature. But the thoughts cross my over-reactive mind.

I can totally relate to this feeling, even if someone just gives a snide little comment I can feel this monster raging inside me an I often wonder how I manage to stay calm on the outside. But these are the kind of things that eat away at me and keep me depressed for days afterwards.

And I aggre, about them interrogating parents outside, to me the most logical way of seeing what children are late all the time would be to go and check the registrar and go from there not stand outside and scare people.

 

[Omega]

I do this, too. I have been in arguments with actual police because I got confused about why I was detained, and was panicked over being late. I can almost feel neurons short-circuiting in my brain. I can't improvise, and I know it and so I go into panic mode. Sometimes that manifests as "fight", sometimes "flight". Or "freeze" which is when mutism kicks in. Because I can't predict which response will manifest until too late, it's all the more panic-inducing.

I get this totally illogical over-the-top response so often and for the smallest things its ridiculus. For instance if someone says the smallest negative comment to me I don't want to respond in kind. No, a huge feeling of anger and maybe fear wells up inside me and I want to kill them and cut off their head and stick it on a pole and plant it at the entrance to their office.

Fortunately I too am very unaggressive inside as well and would never even consider doing anything like that. I don't think Aspies and other autistics are very aggressive by our nature. But the thoughts cross my over-reactive mind.

I can totally relate to this feeling, even if someone just gives a snide little comment I can feel this monster raging inside me an I often wonder how I manage to stay calm on the outside. But these are the kind of things that eat away at me and keep me depressed for days afterwards.

I was going to respond, but everything I wanted to say has already been said.

 

[Greg]

There are situations that I am in where I expect things to go a certain way and when it doesn't go that way I freak out and just want to run. There are many different situations that occur that takes everything that I have not to tell them to go to **** and just walk out. My job in particular.