Shutdown leading to a meltdown?

[SomeRandomAspie]

So this question probably doesn't require any background but I'll give it some. Yesterday I had a dentist appointment. It wasn't a huge deal on its own of course. So my brother, mother, and I went to the dentist and got that out of the way.

Afterwards we needed to go to the store. It was at this point that I started to feel a bit eeh so I asked to stay in the car. My mother rolled the windows down and went into the store while I stayed in car and programmed on my laptop.

I should mention that where I live it's very hot and humid. On this particular day there wasn't a cloud in the sky (or at least not many). I had my headphones with me so I put them on and I turned on Spotify so that I could calm down to some music and quit programming. This worked for a while until I started getting more impatient and began to start freaking out.

I saw them walk out of the supermarket and I thought, "oh great". I don't know exactly when it happened but the next thing I knew I thought I was in full shut down mode. They arrived and I didn't say anything.

By brother asked if I was catatonic. My mom came and gently patted me on the forehead. I almost instantly grabbed her wrist (not aggressively but defensively) and apparently I said "don't hit me" or something. This escalated to me having a full blown meltdown.

So what confused me is that I felt completely shut down, but then went from 0 to 60 to 100 in a matter of seconds. I've never done anything like this where I first shutdown and then meltdown. It seems strange to me because one moment I can't move or speak and the next I'm moving and talking. I usually do one or the other. Maybe I wasn't completely shut down but in the process.

Has anyone else done something like this?

TL;DR: Is it possible to go from a complete shutdown to a meltdown? If so how fast is the transition?

 

[Progster]

It sounds like you had a lot of bottled up emotions ready to explode, and your mom touching your forehead was the final straw. Stuff like that happens to me, too. It will help if both you and your mom learn to read the warning signs.

 

[Tom]

Yeah, if you let it.

 

[balsabonbon]

I'm not really sure what the difference is between a complete shutdown and a meltdown. I know what I experience myself, but am not sure which label goes with which experience. It does seem to me, though, that what happened to you is perfectly within range of what could be expected, especially considering that you were sitting in a hot car on a hot and sunny day. That alone could seriously stress your body and tax your reserves. I think that you had, perhaps, been much more drained than you thought that you were and her touching your forehead was just the final straw.

 

[AO1501]

It is rare for me to go from a shutdown to meltdown, because in shutdown, I'm disconnected and the inputs and stressors that lead to a meltdown are largely off, or very distant. However, it does happen from time to time, because some sensory data doesn't switch off - heat and humidity or tiredness for example.

 

[Judge]

Afterwards we needed to go to the store. It was at this point that I started to feel a bit eeh so I asked to stay in the car. My mother rolled the windows down and went into the store while I stayed in car and programmed on my laptop.

I should mention that where I live it's very hot and humid. On this particular day there wasn't a cloud in the sky (or at least not many). I had my headphones with me so I put them on and I turned on Spotify so that I could calm down to some music and quit programming. This worked for a while until I started getting more impatient and began to start freaking out.

Occam's Razor. That the simplest explanation can often be the most plausible one. Even with the windows rolled down on a summer day you can still overheat sitting in a parked car.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/feeling-hot-can-fuel-rage/

 

[the_tortoise]

Has anyone else done something like this?

Every meltdown I have ever had has involved a shutdown....meltdowns, as I define and experience them, are basically shutdowns with a fight or flight response added in.