What are your shutdowns like?

[Southern Discomfort]

After a full day at college, I would return home and go straight upstairs to my room; specifically to my computer, only going down for dinner.

Hmm, that's what my days at college and school would consist of mostly. I didn't have any interest in socialising with anyone outside of computer games. I was into World of Warcraft at the time.

The only other cause of a different kind of shutdown is in a supermarket like Tesco's or ASDA, as the longer I spend in those kind of environments, the more absent-minded and distracted I am.

I think that's most of a sensory overload if you're getting distracted by a lot of things.

 

[Streetwise]

This would help me figure something out. I have gotten these jarring moments where my brain gets stuck on two thoughts, I can't talk much because of it and I get severely nauseated. These occur on long days where I've been doing a lot, one example being my brother's wedding last month. I think my brain tried to process the day during REM sleep and I can't cope with it and I just sort of lock up I have to rush to the bathroom and prepare to have to vomit. I'm not too sure if this is a shutdown or not because I've never heard of anyone describe it like this.

I asked this a long time ago. I should bring this up again with my new doctor.

i was laughing at your comment that you're fascinated by vocal

 

[Streetwise]

This would help me figure something out. I have gotten these jarring moments where my brain gets stuck on two thoughts, I can't talk much because of it and I get severely nauseated. These occur on long days where I've been doing a lot, one example being my brother's wedding last month. I think my brain tried to process the day during REM sleep and I can't cope with it and I just sort of lock up I have to rush to the bathroom and prepare to have to vomit. I'm not too sure if this is a shutdown or not because I've never heard of anyone describe it like this.

I asked this a long time ago. I should bring this up again with my new doctor.

tics it reminded me of the comedy ripping yarns and the episode the curse of the claw Michael palins character is bed ridden and the narrator

 

[Streetwise]

This would help me figure something out. I have gotten these jarring moments where my brain gets stuck on two thoughts, I can't talk much because of it and I get severely nauseated. These occur on long days where I've been doing a lot, one example being my brother's wedding last month. I think my brain tried to process the day during REM sleep and I can't cope with it and I just sort of lock up I have to rush to the bathroom and prepare to have to vomit. I'm not too sure if this is a shutdown or not because I've never heard of anyone describe it like this.

I asked this a long time ago. I should bring this up again with my new doctor.

says he was cheered up by a rare Spanish skin disease
love ripping yarns
hate my phone

 

[Southern Discomfort]

tics it reminded me of the comedy ripping yarns and the episode the curse of the claw Michael palins character is bed ridden and the narrator

Wrong thread I think, buddy.

 

[Streetwise]

My phone

Wrong thread I think, buddy.

My phone decides where i comment hate Samsung phones

 

[Danny 74]

Times like that i get out of the situation as quick as possible..! Im aware im in the real world but my mind goes to another dimension that i find hard to control.. Being alone helps then i tend to come back down to earth again. ..!

 

[Mr Allen]

I don't actually "shut down" per se, usually when things are bad, I go on a long swear word filled rant about everything that's wrong with my life.

See my latest Blog entry for current goings on (link in my signature on here)

 

[orphan]

I have shut down in the past... it is hard to describe.
Like it's all I can do just to sit there and not rage.

Mostly I explode. It has warning signs. My head starts telling me to get away because something bad is going to happen. There is not a lot of time. I can usually warn people.. something like... you should get away from me. If they don't take that seriously, I may turn on them and get too close, showing them that they are way too close to come out of it intact. I go blank... sort of. Like I'm already several steps ahead. What's coming is just fact... to me I am already breathing hard and you are already crumpled on the ground.

Folks that know me see it coming and usually ask to help, by leaving me alone. I almost always feel awkward the next time I see them. They on the other hand... just act like I'm normal.
I'm very lucky that way.

My dog helps me so much. She knows I am hurt and broken and just wants to share my lap for a while. Her weight and furry softness gets me out of my head.

 

[Adonisus]

My shutdowns almost always culminate in a panic attack or a spike in blood pressure. Suddenly, I'll get this feeling of trying to remember an old dream I had, and as more and more details arrive I get more and more lightheaded.

 

[HelzBelz]

Thank you thank you!! I thought maybe I was alone in this! I have shutdowns where my brain just doesn't seem to function; my comprehension dims and I say something totally left-field then later on wonder what on earth I was thinking. I don't often have meltdowns, usually just if I've let stuff build and build, but I have plenty of shutdowns. For me it's just total overload. Oh, I'm so pleased I'm not alone!!

 

[Diagnosed2015]

After 30 years with a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, my recent specialists realized (at the same time I was diagnosed) that I WASN'T DEPRESSED, but I did suffer from EXTREME anxiety, which causes (me) to have the issues you described.

I am generally calm, cool and collected, and able to handle glitches and emergencies (as long as they don't affect me), but I have also been known to appear (at times of hyper-stress) "aloof," or "unaffected."

What actually happens is that my brain hits and "overload" status (I'm assuming) and I suddenly "flash back" to the instant where I was last supposed to act rationally. So, if I was cooking dinner and a car ran through the house and into the living room, at some point I can only assume I'd be found standing at the stove, trying to finish dinner.

It's not a voluntary action; it's just the point at which everything was going well. I've had situations like that which have caused people to assume I wasn't worried or didn't care, when actually I'm just trying to "process" what's happening, because each decision would require further decisions, and it's difficult to think of all the possible choices and decisions, as well as whether or not they are my responsibility to act at all.

On a more daily basis, if I'm anxious, I tend to withdraw and isolate (and obsess). Often, others have to step in and "shake me out of it," to get me to reattach with my environment. Other times, I just have to think things through (in my head) ...

 

[the_tortoise]

Like, are the precursors for a shutdown different than those for a meltdown?

For myself, a meltdown is basically just a shutdown with fight or flight activation added into the mix. My brain isn't working properly either way and with either of them the lack of brain functioning is due to overload (usually sensory but can also be cognitive or emotional) but with a meltdown I am feeling trapped (sometimes just because I have exceeded my frustration tolerance) and/or extremely threatened, too, and am unable to cope with that.

 

[Lady Penelope]

This would help me figure something out. I have gotten these jarring moments where my brain gets stuck on two thoughts, I can't talk much because of it and I get severely nauseated. These occur on long days where I've been doing a lot, one example being my brother's wedding last month. I think my brain tried to process the day during REM sleep and I can't cope with it and I just sort of lock up I have to rush to the bathroom and prepare to have to vomit. I'm not too sure if this is a shutdown or not because I've never heard of anyone describe it like this.

I asked this a long time ago. I should bring this up again with my new doctor.

I experience something like this too.
It is almost like a seizure of sorts but you are conscious of it happening.
My brain freezes and I can't think straight, move or react. It feels utterly foreign and debilitating. It is like the mental wheel cogs get jammed for a moment.

It shocked me when I became aware that it was happening recently. I then recalled it occurring on a number of other occasions. I think mine are triggered by mental exhaustion, stress, overload...etc. It is completely different to an anxiety attack where I get hot flash followed by cold sweats and feeling nauseated.

It is also completely different to a meltdown which is more shouty and caused by frustration.

When I started looking into ASD and I was reading about 'meltdowns', I thought that my version was this form of 'shutdown'. It is a little scary as, unfortunately, I found I am unable to use my intellect to remove myself from a potentially harmful situation when I am pushed to 'shutdown' mode... not sure how I'm going to manage this side of ASD...

 

[Streetwise]

The thread that connects everyone are stages psychological shock ,depression and fatigue from panic youll know for definite as you wont want to eat

This would help me figure something out. I have gotten these jarring moments where my brain gets stuck on two thoughts, I can't talk much because of it and I get severely nauseated. These occur on long days where I've been doing a lot, one example being my brother's wedding last month. I think my brain tried to process the day during REM sleep and I can't cope with it and I just sort of lock up I have to rush to the bathroom and prepare to have to vomit. I'm not too sure if this is a shutdown or not because I've never heard of anyone describe it like this.

I asked this a long time ago. I should bring this up again with my new doctor.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I experience something like this too.
It is almost like a seizure of sorts but you are conscious of it happening.
My brain freezes and I can't think straight, move or react. It feels utterly foreign and debilitating. It is like the mental wheel cogs get jammed for a moment.

It shocked me when I became aware that it was happening recently. I then recalled it occurring on a number of other occasions. I think mine are triggered by mental exhaustion, stress, overload...etc. It is completely different to an anxiety attack where I get hot flash followed by cold sweats and feeling nauseated.

It is also completely different to a meltdown which is more shouty and caused by frustration.

When I started looking into ASD and I was reading about 'meltdowns', I thought that my version was this form of 'shutdown'. It is a little scary as, unfortunately, I found I am unable to use my intellect to remove myself from a potentially harmful situation when I am pushed to 'shutdown' mode... not sure how I'm going to manage this side of ASD...

I don't think I get sweats but what you describe is exactly the same as my experience. Thank you for sharing, it's nice to know that maybe this is to do with autism and shutdowns. Thank you.

 

[Streetwise]

I experience something like this too.
It is almost like a seizure of sorts but you are conscious of it happening.
My brain freezes and I can't think straight, move or react. It feels utterly foreign and debilitating. It is like the mental wheel cogs get jammed for a moment.

It shocked me when I became aware that it was happening recently. I then recalled it occurring on a number of other occasions. I think mine are triggered by mental exhaustion, stress, overload...etc. It is completely different to an anxiety attack where I get hot flash followed by cold sweats and feeling nauseated.

It is also completely different to a meltdown which is more shouty and caused by frustration.

When I started looking into ASD and I was reading about 'meltdowns', I thought that my version was this form of 'shutdown'. It is a little scary as, unfortunately, I found I am unable to use my intellect to remove myself from a potentially harmful situation when I am pushed to 'shutdown' mode... not sure how I'm going to manage this side of ASD...

You are in the catatonic stage of panic attacks not catatonic where you could be still for hours but a part of panic that a lot of humans don't experience i get it

 

[Streetwise]

You are in the catatonic stage of panic attacks not catatonic where you could be still for hours but a part of panic that a lot of humans don't experience i get it

I've had panic disorder for so long i forget that to some people its very very distressing i still get distressed but its sort of everyday to me
if the panic attacks happen too often go to your md gp better still psychologist

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I've had panic disorder for so long i forget that to some people its very very distressing i still get distressed but its sort of everyday to me
if the panic attacks happen too often go to your md gp better still psychologist

Hmm, interesting thought. But if Penelope's is like mine then there isn't exactly a underling worrying going on. I dunno.

 

[SD_David]

If I'm being ignored during a social event then I'd just focus on the glass or plate infront of me and zone-out. My mind is on the edge of an aspie meltdown but as the problem is caused by lack of information rather than too much information there's no stimuli to have a full meltdown so my mind just does nothing instead. Kinda like how water is unable to boil or freeze when it's in a pure state.
By 'being ignored' I don't mean that I'm an attention whore, I just mean that social events are already out of my comfort zone so not having the benefits of them makes it twise as bad. Fortunately that doesn't happen when in good company.