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darkshine

Avoiding Meltdowns

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Ok so these meltdown things...

 

I know in the past the subject of meltdowns has had mixed views from people, like what they are, what is one, what isn't etc...

 

I guess I don't really use the word for myself, I use different words according to what it is that is making me react, and other words to describe how I am reacting.

 

The other day something happened, it was beyond my control and it was a really stupid thing - like insignificantly stupid - and I could feel the stress building and felt like I was losing control - but I managed not to react and went for a walk instead... then I felt kinda alright and like I could cope with the stress of what had made me react.

 

The thing is - I can't always control these reactions, so when something happens and I can control them, I guess I'm curious as to whether there are ways to avoid these 'meltdown' things.

 

When I say this - I mean controlling it/them (the 'meltdowns') ourselves.

 

I do not mean other people around us having to try to do things to avoid them or control them.

 

And I do not mean controlling them by having a predictable and controlled little world to ensure nothing changes so that nothing makes us react.

 

As always I am interested in anyone's opinion, whether they are on the spectrum or not :)

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Not ideal, but I tend to limit my communication/interaction with bipedal carbon based lifeforms to the bare minimum.

I find that if I am left alone to get on with things I am far happier than trying to figure out someones latest stupid action.

 

When I am approaching meltdown, I usually try to imagine the best and nastiest way of getting rid of the person who has caused the meltdown.

At the moment, that is the only way I can seem to cope

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Meltdowns are unbelievably horrible.

Personally, I chant words or numbers that calm me slowly in my head, or fold a sheet of plain white paper over and over again.

Good luck!

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meltdowns are certainly horrible things. I wish I knew the answer to helping Glen, I wish I could deter meltdowns from happening but with Glen when it happens it's usually quite out of the blue with no warning at all.

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So what is a meltdown? Cuz sometimes it could be stress, upset-ness, anger, anxiety, fear, control, being overloaded, freaking out etc etc....

 

And can one word really explain all those things?

 

And if it can then wouldn't we be better off understanding why we are flipping out in order to try and do something about some of the things that make us react - rather than saying like "oh it's a meltdown and that's part of autism so oh well there's sod all we can do about it then"?

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For me a meltdown is total overload frustration anger quickly followed by loosing control. The loosing control part can vary from person to person, for instance I have never been physically violent to anyone but I have been verbally, I have also smashed things up and (embarrassingly I've even spat at people - which is totally out of character) I've also tried to do something stupid, basically I can't think straight and just loose control.

It is the most horrible feeling and thankfully these days for me it's extremely rare.

Oh yeah and if I get embroiled in some kind of injustice or something unfair then I find it REALLY find it hard to not have a meltdown - my brain screams DOES NOT COMPUTE DOES NOT COMPUTE.

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Meltdowns for me happen usually when I'm tired. Like tonight when I'd finished a particularly stressful few hours in work I came out and just suddenly felt a certain level of disconnectivity with the world around me - it's like an inner state of calm but also a feeling of being 'out of it' somewhat. I have times like this in the supermarket too where I just totally warp out and can go from pacing round to being transfixed on the shelves of products as like being in a trance.

 

My best remedy is to walk for a bit and appreciate the finer things in life such as admiring the amazing architecture we have all around us and things like that. Give yourself a break and just enjoy....that's my advice. When your mind has had enough of a break (or finished mulling over something deeper down) it will wake itself up.

Edited by Mike_GX101

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Fear. That's what I think all my meltdowns are, no-one deserves to be at the receiving end regardless what they may have done. Especially those close to me, I used to blame everyone else for my behavior because they had done something that to them was insignificant but to me it is huge. I realised I am very fearful and the fight or flight response kicks in instantaneously and it’s always the fight response, a learnt behavior from my father who thought nothing of inflicting his violence onto me.

 

I am grateful I am not physical but the psychological pain I have inflicted on my family fills me with remorse and yet knowing that in its self cannot stop the FEAR setting in. I wish that someone could implant a device into my brain that would render me unconscious with a remote control given to my family to press when I go off on one.

 

I don’t think they will ever stop; I just need to find a way to focus on the fact that it is my own fear and how to deal with it without impacting on others. So far, the best action for me is to actually shout out load “I’M SCARED”.

Edited by Prud

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