Can you describe your sensory overload and/or shutdowns?

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It'll take a lot before I end up with sensory overload. I had to be overwhelmed enough to suddenly lose my defences. Either it'll take a really strong sensation, or several hours of extreme sensory piling.


Shutdowns to me felt like my physical state isolated from my mental state. Everything seems muffled and 'heavy' or overwhelming at the same time. It's like I gained some form of defensive shunning, whenever I'm losing (or failing) something that is from my first (which is hard to break in the first place).
At best, I feel like a puppet pulling my own strings, and no one would know what I really felt. At worst, in a catatonic state that seemingly stare at empty space.
I'd rather pull the former.

Panic attacks are nonexistent in my case. Either I get annoyed or frustrated at losing control. I could still think clearly, it's just my body and senses being less cooperative and more vulnerable.

I haven't found out how I would've feel during meltdowns because I'm sure my reactions then would be different from the now.

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I get panic attacks, meltdowns and shutdowns.

Panic attacks: suddenly hit with extreme anxiety. Difficulty breathing, chest pain, feeling overheated, dizziness, feelings of unreality.

Meltdowns and shutdowns: lights get brighter, sounds get louder, increased tactile sensitivity.

Meltdowns: screaming (sometimes for hours), lose control over my body and mind, sensory overload.

Shutdowns: mind is fuzzy and blurred, go catatonic, senses fade away.

Then there's that awful fear knowing it could happen at any moment.

I need to find a dark corner of a silent tomb immediately or I am going to froth ferociously like a bottle of all the ungraciously tossed away lemon slices gathered from the dingiest dive bars in existence! I remove myself from the source as quickly as possible either by hauling ass out of the environment or make adjustments to blockade before I go loco and take it upon myself to forcibly remove or at least dent whatever is causing me great distress. I can take hours and sometimes days to recover from being subjected to harmful sensory assaults, it's really not a great thing to contend with, people really do not even begin to comprehend how dreadful it is. I do appreciate having severely sharpened senses when I can predict or exert control over how much/to what extent the environment filters through my batty brain and get to explore so much in drenching depth but it is painful as a shower of pick axes when unwelcome scythes slam through or I'm having a tough day and my sensory radar is on the blitz due to energy being consumed elsewhere as priority.

I get tension headaches and really shaky. Most blow it off as I'm afraid to mention I'm overstimulated so I have to deal with it

For shutdowns I also feel detached from my body.

A crying child will cause me to become EXTREMELY upset. My face will display utter and total anguish and intolerance and usually will try to block the noise with my own voice. The child's noise will cause many tears, putting my hands over my ears, and if prolonged, I will enter bolt mode... and run out of earshot. This is almost a traumatic event for me. I will remain upset for several hours afterwards. This is my most severe reaction to over-stimulation.

Another less severe one are headlights in my rear-view mirror at night. This will cause alot of anger, frustration, and actions to avoid said lights. I have been afraid that this distraction will cause an accident while I am driving but hasn't thus far.

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*** High Functioning Autism - Asperger's Syndrome ***

ADHD, OCD, and PTSD.

Keep calm and stim away.

For me it’s when I am bombarded, multiple demands, too much information, too much social interaction is totally anxiety provoking. I can cope with it in the short term as long as I get time to come down again. If I can’t then I run into trouble, and I run into it quickly and I become really ill.

Early this year I worked in a open plan office, add all of the above and a radio, none stop small talk, phones which never stop, bright lights (they eventually let me turn them off on my side) and the heating up full. I could just make it to the end of the day and then would dry retch the moment I got in the car, often for 20 minutes at a time. When I was as bad as that I would go straight to bed as soon as I got in at 6 pm and would stay there. I would just shutdown. I couldn’t talk some days, it like being taken over by something I had no control over.

Sensory overload for me is awful. Normally it happens for me in cities or cafeterias.
Smells, all of them, are overwhelming and noxious.
My clothes feel uncomfortable
Everything is loud, dizzying, and hard to focus on.
Most lights become painfully bright.
It feels like I'm more watching a screen and controlling someone else.

A shutdown is different, they're normally caused by a bad, or too much, social interaction.
Everyone seems angry
I become unable to read sarcasm
And the only thing that seems appealing is sitting in a quiet corner while listening to some calming movie music on low volume.

As for meltdowns, I (thankfully) haven't had one since elementary school. I can't really describe it as it has been so long.