Thoughts being locked down.

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Has anyone here experienced some sort of thinking shut down? It is difficult to explain, but here goes. The other day I was under stress and I was no longer able to think, truly. I often think by saying words in my head, or visualizing things. During this "shut down" whenever I were to try to think or visualize something, my mind's eye would see black, and any thought would be cut short. This lasted about fifteen to thirty minutes.

I think mental burn out is common for anyone under stress. I know I've experienced it where any sensory stimulation, thought, conversation is just not possible I need to just zone out. Once I'm able to do that things come back into focus. But yes stress is a great trigger for it.

Thank you.

The Aspergian mental processor chip has a limited data gateway. We process information and stimuli just fine as long as its not coming through the system too fast. When we're trying to multitask too many ideas simultaneously, or perform almost any mental function under stress (which includes the stress of social interaction, where we are bombarded with nonverbal signals and our brain tries to focus on those and interpret them while processing other input at the same time), it's like trying to shove too much data through the processor's gateway at once, or 'shoving mud through a funnel'.

To me it feels the same as when you're computer's hourglass (now a spinning circle in Vista and 7) just spins and spins and you get that message that the program you're trying to run has 'stopped responding'. You can either sit there and wait for the brain to catch up, or just dump everything and start over.

Usually, I can only go a few seconds without having a thought in my head. I do have the rare moment where I can't think of a single thing. When I shutdown, however, I have this airy feeling like my thoughts are swimming really slowly around my head.

Totally........when this happens I go into default mode. "jimmy cracked corn and I don't care"......if I say it enough and yell it out a few times, it passes and then I have to have a big lie down.

This gets particularly notorious if it is stress to do with traumatic events or hormone fluctuations......especially dealing with "feelings".

Take care,

Mics

Yes, mostly at work, and it's a very bad experience, some sort of temporary non-existance. The job is selling random stuff, it's for the most part a very superficial interaction, but sometimes there are multiple people at the same time, meanwhile I'm browsing the net, and I arrive at a point (usually after about 2 hours) when I start to get tired and I just go blank. Trying not to use the computer may help, but boredom and hyperactivity don't help.

I hate when that happens especially if you're like me and forget what you were thinking about afterwards

Yeah it's a form of shutdown which is a common response to overload.

apart from stress, if i have too much to think about, my head feels "saturated" and can no longer think. it's not a nice feeling, the blankness and emptiness.

Yes, "thinking shutdown' - yes happens to me, but , i haven't felt it as empty space or processor malfunction. My experience has been 'wide awake, alert (on all senses and functions) with non of these functions having priority therefore, Nothing happens.

Had one this morning....it took me a long time to get out the door. Luckily i didn't have to go to work today, so i could just mull around. If it happens when I am scheduled for work, I work on automatic, but am moving through what feels like a heavy blanket and do overtalk to myself or listen to radio on high volume to 'wake -up' at least for safety sake.

The blanket feels extremely heavy when I am tired and having a shutdown time.

Yep, I can relate to that.

Mode 1 - not TOO common, I am glad to say - I blank and freeze.

Mode 2 - I go into staring and stammering, like a skipping record [CDs do it these days] with no mental flow.

Both of these are different from the more common shrivel up and do nothing OUTSIDE like the rabbit I trapped this morning. That is rabbit - Mode 1 is possum.

mine gets fuzzy but never really shuts down.

I get those, many times a day.