Macro Meltdowns

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Does anyone think they have had a macro meltdown. (I just made the term up so don't know if its used or not)

What I mean is that the meltdown occurs slowly over the course of a few days or weeks. It can start off as a slight stress that you can control. However, the action you take to control it cause it to become worse. And so on until boom you are totally done in.

I think it happens to me. This year I went off sick from work. My way of dealing with the stress i was having. This caused my employers to get very concerned and they wouldn't stop contacting me. So I tried to do what they wanted to reduce more stress. But no matter what I did or how co-operative I was it all just got more stressful for me. I ended up totally unable to deal with anyone from work and stayed off sick until they got rid of me. I could see what was happening and see it was getting worse but felt only able to watch as it all came crashing down.

I am just wondering if meltdowns could be classed as "macro". I.e. they happen over a period of days/weeks instead of happening suddenly at once. Does anyone know what I mean?

I think I experience exactly what you describe. I'll be feeling stressed out, either by something external or something internal, like anxiety and depression, and during those times I feel like I'm always on a edge, and about to fall off at any time. Then some relatively small thing can cause me to lose it, but it's part of a larger feeling, that lasts for days or weeks.

I usually get stressed out by situations that I find impossible to cope with (rather than individual instances), and those will last for several weeks or even months and then I'm in an ongoing near-meltdown mode.

I guess we're the only ones? I would have thought this was more common, and I'd be curious to read other people's perspectives.

When I get upset and have a crying fit or something (which is very rare) it's usually from things building up. It's similar to what you describe.

I think I understand what both of you are saying. It happens to me. I was looking for a thread about this tonight. Found it. But now it's late and I am too tired to get into it. If I find this thread again, I will check it to see if anyone else has commented. I would like to discuss it further. G'night!

No, in fact, my meltdowns take place from 2 milliseconds-1 second after whatever the trigger was, happens. They happen much quicker than most people here.

I have had meltdowns that happen within a split second of the cause. But as an adult I usually shutdown instead of meltdown in those cases. But I wonder if meltdown is necessary because it is a release of anger. So l've been looking at my life and wondered if I have at times had meltdown phases, as oppose to sudden reactions.

I could possibly be confusing meltdown with the way people behave when they are stressed. And when people (NT's too) are under stress for several days or weeks, it will obviously affect their behaviour. But it seems to affect my behaviour in such a way as to make me more self destructive. And so the stress builds and starts to become self perpetuating. It causes me to be more self destructive so whatever I do I end up making myself more stressed which makes me more self destructive....and so on. And when these things happen I am usually left with no job. So its as though my reaction to something normal in life was like a major meltdown where, instead of smashing a few plates and banging my head, I trashed my career! I seem to do it every couple of years. Then get back on the horse and forget it happened but I have become so convinced now that I will carry on going through these cycles.

I wonder if its because I am not venting anger impulsively as often as I would like to.

I am interested in other peoples opinion on what a macro meltdown could be.