Too many meltdowns - ouch

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Does anyone else have periods of high stress/anxiety and end up having multiple meltdowns over say a few days or a week? I always am optimistic about getting out the other side of a meltdown without injury since I punch things or bash myself with my hands or sometimes a nearby handy object to try and bring the careening, out-of-controlness of my emotions to an end. Does anyone have a way to detect the approach of a meltdown and disfuse?

I had a time of months with nearly every day having at least one meltdown.

But then it got better. I can't name a specific reason, but before I was living in a very loud environment with way too much stress and after that this persion started.

I have no real advise, but look out, to be not in a too loud environment helps, because it can get worser and worser.

I'm a male, I have ASD and I have never experienced a melt down. Is this more of a thing that happens to autistic women?

I experience shutdowns where I find it impossible to talk even when I want too.

It has nothing to do with the gender. Most autistics do, but not all.

I could never imagine hurting myself or breaking things, I would just consider that childish and would be scared of pain. I have always had trouble acting on my emotions regardless.

Maybe we're talking about different things, I dunno.
I never break things or cut myself or stuff like this.

But some situations are just overwelming for the sences or emotionally and than it get's too much.
My sences are breaking down and I react with "not being there" anymore really, or crying or in a different way.
Those occations were I scream are rare.

Everyone reacts different in a meltdown I would guess.

Last edited by Raziel on 15 Jan 2013, 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

About a year ago or so i stopped having the type of meltdowns where i hit myself or break things. Well i stopped hitting myself. I have my gf to thank for helping me with that. We also moved and i'm getting older, i think know this environment is less stressful for me than where we were living before.
When i am going to have a meltdown sometimes i can feel it coming on, and everything stress, anger, that mass of emotions in my head is all a jumbled mess and i have to either redirect myself somehow or i might end up throwing something. I did break the last xbox360 controller yet i didn't touch the new one. (GF has been playing Skyrim as of late). Yet some meltdowns are hard to prevent i'll pace around or my gf will have me take a klonopin if its bad. That usually calms me down if it works.

If you can tell a meltdown is coming on, it's good. Then try and redirect the energy (if that is the right word? i am unsure) so that you aren't hurting yourself or things. Try stimming or pacing. I try to ride my bike on good days outside so that i can get physical energy out that way. Also it's healthy and sometimes a bike ride will help me calm and relax myself.

Also if you have an area in your house where you can be alone with peace and quiet it might help. Theres been times for me that peace and quiet and being by myself no humans can be helpful for me to diffuse myself.

There have been a few times with me where i had meltdowns that were out of nowhere and completely unpredicatble. Those are bad ones as i don't know why..

Not all people break stuff during meltdowns, for me it's more of the panic get me out of here/find me a corner to hide in thing.

exactly.

Even those of us who break/ throw things (me being one such) dont do it during every meltdown, and not every meltdown is the same; I have emotional triggers, situational triggers (such as financial pressure or one of my interests is trying to outwit me), and the random sensory trigger. With the more physical meltdowns there appears to be a hierarchy of damage - top of the totem pole is self-injury, then my own property, and lastly someone else's property. Fortunately it seldom gets beyond self-inflicted thumps to the head

I've had shutdowns when I or the situation have pushed me too hard and my fuel tank is exhausted, so to speak. Meltdowns of the more expressive kind are less common, now in my adulthood anyhow, but do happen.

The meltdowns are usually not an immediate and complete loss of control; it's more of "I have to scream in rage and/or break stuff sometime soon, but not necessarily now", though it does take a lot of mental effort to hold it off. I suppose a full-on meltdown wouldn't allow this sort of control.

And I'm male. I've seen nothing to indicate this is gender-dependent.