How do you prevent a meltdown?

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If you feel a meltdown coming how do you stop it? Is there a way to stop it? Anybody know? I've had two serious meltdowns in the past two days, I don't know if its the holidays and people have been over the house a lot, or if its the fact that I haven't really slept good in 3 days, Idk! Also after my meltdown happens, my left side of my head becomes like numb, and tickaly, and the right side just hurts, and it bothers the sh*t out of me. I usually can control it pretty well, but not these two, they defintely were uncontrollable. Anybody got any ideas?

I think it may be the combination of lack of sleep plus the extra visitors, plus the change in usual routine because of the holidays. I'm always more stress-prone when I'm tired. I think you can cope with a lot more when you've had a good night's sleep. I've not experienced the head symptoms you describe as part of a meltdown, maybe others here have though, but I get the numbness/tingles sometimes with a migraine. Do you suffer from migraines Age1600?
Preventing meltdowns...I think the trick is to spot the things that trigger them which is not always easy. I know some of my triggers, e.g. holidays, lots of social stuff, so I pace myself now. If I know I'm going to have a lot of visitors, I don't try and cook for them as well, for example, we eat out, so I'm not piling pressure on myself. If you feel yourself starting to 'go' try and have a plan of action, an escape route, if possible. Maybe take yourself out of the house for a walk by yourself, something like that. Hope this helps.

Hey thanks starr, no I don't really get migraines at all, as for taking walks, they both were in the early morning when I woke up, and I think it is partly no sleep and a change in routine, but I don't know how to get some sleep lately? Idk thanks for your advice though.

Sometimes I just... can't lol.

You have to try and run your life being aware that a meltdown could be around the corner if you get exposed too much to certain situations or senses. So, socialisation is good but big crowds, continuing over a few days, will most definitely find you in a serious meltdown. So, rule 1 is:

Prevention rather than cure.

Of course, we can't always predict these things especially once we're in a job and all that. You must tune into yourself and try to know yourself well enough to know that you are being pushed and that very soon, you may just have a meltdown. When that happens, you need to look for a cool down spot, isolated from people and definitely quiet, preferably not too bright. Just collect yourself. Breathe. Try to clear your mind (it would be buzzing like mad! You have to try and calm it down...it is possible). Try and feel your heartbeat, feel it go slower, and remember to do something that comforts you , e.g. hold yourself tight, rock yourself or stim somehow - whatever makes you feel more gentle and caring towards yourself. Take your time - I can easily take an hour for doing this.

Then you have to mentally prepare yourself to shield yourself against the outside stimuli, or you must avoid going back into the situation. Take care of yourself: it is good for everyone

Starr hit the nail on the head. LadyM gave great suggestions. I really can't improve upon it. I tend to escape for a time out and concentrate on my breathing exercises. However, understanding and controling meltdowns is the single most important improvement in my life. I spent so many years allowing meltdowns to progress to the breaking point simply because I didn't know what was happening. At times, I didn't just get headaches -- my brain would snap. And, yea, if I had a bad day at work, I would need a good 10 hours of sleep to recover. It's great you know your triggers and can trace the cause. Then you can just sleep it off.

Age1600 - good thread on a tough issue. How to stop it indeed. Lots of good practical info here. Self-control through monitoring my stress level at all times. Knowing when I'm getting near the red zone. Last week for example I didn't get out in time and had a mini-meltdown in the project group room. Nothing dramatic but I was testy and acted immature. Then days to recover from the emotional aftermath. I have to do a better job of self-control.

Avoid certain situations and places. Well thats what I usually do anyway.

A lot of people here are suggesting prevention methods, which is the best advice. However, if you are unable to prevent or avoid the circumstances that lead to a sensory overload, then you need to have "foolproof" aids.
My husband wears sunglasses nearly everywhere. Keep to your schedule as much as possible despite the visitors. If they are in your house, then make it clear that you need to adhere to your routine. Sleeping in the night may not be possible, I can't sleep while travelling. So, you may need to nap or "chill out" alone. Keep something really familiar to you. My husband holds a doll when he naps, my son dresses up when he plays at home, sometimes I retreat and listen to favorite music.

Perhaps write down the schedule of events so you don't get "surprised" too often.

When you feel that you are going to blow up, try to go in a place where you can be alone (like your bedroom) and give time to yourself.

I hang around in my room all the time and my parents respect that.

I've found ways to prevent Meltdowns what you do is 'calm down relax and try to forget about things' which is what a typical would say

What I do is if I have a meltdown I don't let people see me but if I know one is coming what I will do is go outside for fresh air for 5-10 minutes I am more likely to Meltdown when I'm out rather than when I am at home.

Recently, I've been trying this to prevent melt-downs:

I've been watching very funny sit-coms and cartoons snippets depicting stressful situations. I've laughed cathartically at how panic attacks have been portrayed in such a ridiculous way.

When a stressful situation occurs in real life, I just replay the funny "panic" dialogue in my head and imagine the characters facial expressions/actions.

As a result, I haven't melted down for weeks and been much happier.

I don't know how long the effect will last for though.
Perhaps I will build up a laughter tolerance after a while and have to hunt down some new material.

Also, the kind of material I laugh at is quite hard to come by sometimes: it really has to be top notch quality in order to work for me. It has to be good satire, but without too many depressing bits or swearing.


Also silly songs.
I feel much calmer if I replay silly songs or poetry in my head.
This calms me down too.

Maybe there is something to laughter therapy?

I've noticed, after laughing, that everyone seems to be so miserable and serious these days. What happened?

I've been depressed, "laughed my head off" *idiom* then felt strange about the rest of the worried world when there's been no one to laugh with me.

Also avoiding stressful situations wherever possible and being in the right environment with understanding people/friends also helps. Being around cranky/stressed out people makes things a million times harder.

Whatever works for the individual I guess.

A good way to prevent a meltdown is to remove yourself from the situation that is triggering it so you aren't putting on a scene for people to watch and it avoids embarrassment for you and your partner and it avoids anyone from feeling uncomfortable when they see it.

wow i cant believe how old this thread is, 2 years ago haha, so crazzy, my meltdowns happen a lot less, and more managed, thanks to fixing my sleeping issues the best. thanks for all ur new advice as well hehe.