What causes your meltdownn?

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For me, the latest meltdown I had was due to 1 comment.

Due to that comment, I started overthinking everything.
couldnt get to sleep at night.

somedays I couldnt go to work.

And while I ask, how your meltdown come forth?

For me I need to get some solitude, I can get very angry if I wont be left in peace.
it's almost like a depressing vortex, a downward spiral that lasts a couple of day's. then it's over.

After that I can funcion as normal as I can in the normal life.

It's usually a bunch of little things that build up over time and one slight annoyance will set me off. My meltdowns are like tornadoes: last for a short while but leave a trail of destruction.

If it's sensory meltdown it might take only a few minutes to reach a meltdown and then it's over if I leave the area where it happened.

Same here. The meltdowns are either little things building up, or else sensory. But my sensory meltdowns usually last long after I'm out of the situation causing the meltdown

I had an outburst last August, and it was so big that it drained all the energy out of me emotionally, and after that I didn't feel like having another outburst, and when it got to Christmas I decided that I will try to get to next August without having an outburst, then it would be a whole year without having any outbursts. But I had a few little outbursts over Christmas, but not enough to upset the whole household, and they got over it straight away, so I didn't really count them as outbursts, just normal mood swings what most people have (especially around the holidays). But about 2 weeks into the new year I blew it by having an outburst over something tiny. My mum had just told me that one of my youngest cousins has a girlfriend, and I got all jealous and angry because I'm older and should be me with a boyfriend, and it threw me into one. I started hitting myself angrily and becoming argumentative with my mum, which got her upset and aloof for the rest of the day. Then after that I felt guilty for upsetting my mum, so I was all miserable and aloof too.

Things as tiny as that trigger off my outbursts/meltdowns.

Usually some combination of sensory overload and excessive stress (either one big thing or a lot of little things). Been doing well so far this year, thankfully.

~Kate

I don't really know all the things that cause my meltdowns, I just know what qualifies as the final straw.

On one occasion, it was that someone on another forum I read was blatantly flouting the rules, and I was trying to talk to a moderator about why he's allowed to do this. She said this was not in fact a rules violation (even though it was both to the declared spirit and actual letter of the rule) and I hit my meltdown point trying to discuss this.

On another occasion, it was that someone I knew but was no longer on good terms with had posted some very elaborate lies about myself and several other people to make herself look like the victim when she caused the problems she was complaining about in the first place. Actually, that wasn't it either. Someone I know was telling me about a seminar he'd set up that someone watching the door had messed up (by turning people who were supposed to be there away) and that made me inexplicably angry.

Another occasion was being accused of doing something I was not doing, and then being accused of lying about it when I said I hadn't done it.

One time I had things in a storage shed my parents were renting and was told they'd need to be moved to a smaller storage shed. At the last minute - with only a few days to get it done - I was told they were getting rid of the storage shed entirely, and I had a few days to find something else to do with my possessions. The sudden unexpected change in plan plus the possibility of losing most of my books (before the compromise was reached that we'd move my things back to the house) caused a meltdown and then a shutdown.

On other occasions, it's usually sensory overload. This often happens when I'm shopping for clothes or shoes - finding what I want to try on, then trying it on, dealing with other customers around me, having to deal with a clerk to get into the dressing room, in some stores hearing loudspeaker announcements, the fluorescent lights. Sometimes I just walk out.

None of these things are the strict cause. There's other things going on - social frustrations, sensory overload, sudden changes in plans, pile on top of each other until one lights the fuse and then it's time for a meltdown.

Trying to interact socially. Just casual gatherings really stress me out, but with people I'd like to befriend I've totally shut down before.

Too much social interaction, deadline pressure, being picked on and ridiculed, constant interruptions, not being taken for full, permanent loud noises, and little accidents around the house. The latter is often the trigger. Too much stuff builds up over several days, and then I drop a dish or accidentally step on one of my cats' tails and have a miniature breakdown.

alot of things do........
my meltdowns are realy realy bad

Mine usually result from frustration. But too many people standing too close, if I'm trying to do something at a job will trigger me to lash out. Or have a panic attack. I cannot stand feeling closed in by people (not claustrophobia, since I've gone caving on a couple of occasions. Well, only a little & I overcame it). Work pressure & sensory overload I guess..
Also, if a CO-worker or close friend does something that could be seen as a betrayal.
And frequent bullying..
Fortunately, I've been able to keep this kind of thing to a minimum. The incident at work caused me a bruised/possibly hairline fractured wrist!

Matt

Can you elaborate on what you mean by, "meltdown?" You don't have to be super-detailed, but is it fury or panic or what that you're feeling?

Couple things set me off:

People whining or moaning about the same thing over a long period of time without even TRYING to help themselves, or get professional help, or anything. Just constant moaning with NO effort to fix the issue.

Constant bullying of me or my friends.

Being unable to remove myself from a situation or a crowd, frustrates me to no end.

Touching me when I'm not expecting it

By meltdown I mean the state you go into when everything goes to hell for you.

as far as I read, the meltdown is different for everyone.

some rage, get violent, and such.

as for me, I lock myself in, seek soolitude, become veryvery exhausted.
it last for me a different amount of time, last one was for a couple of day's.
now it's has been 2 day's.

For me I guess it would be more of a panic attack. The worst ones I shake and can't speak or respond to anything external for a bit. That's at the extreme for me though.

The most reliable thing to cause a meltdown in me discussing a particular person who bothers me a lot.

Most of my meltdowns are a lot of little things building up. These can involve sensory things (I had a really bad meltdown for me the other day because of having to be around a beeping fire alarm that had ran out of batteries, then having some little trigger set me off).

However, if its all sensory, that tends to put me to shutdown instead of meltdown.

Sensory overload -> shutdown
Emotional overload -> meltdown
Sensory almost overload + little emotional thing -> meltdown
Emotional almost overload + little sensory thing -> disassociation that's different than either normal shutdowns or meltdowns, but closer to shutdown, with it being very very easy to trigger a meltdown after it.

It is however sometimes possible for me to turn a meltdown into a shutdown. Or more specifically its possible for my cat to turn a meltdown into a shutdown for me.


Meltdown -> Losing control and making me burst, usually depressive meltdowns where I scream and sob and feel completely worthless and like there's no reason to try on anything. I will also sometimes have rage meltdowns and that's far more screaming at other people about what they're doing wrong. In a rage meltdown I might kick things, or want to rip things up, and in both I might want to throw things, but I'm so terrified of hurting anyone or anything that in all situations these are only things that can't be hurt (I don't have control but the fear of hurting things is far enough down that its still there). I'll throw pillows or clothing, I'll kick a couch, I'll rip up toilet paper or paper towels and once I'm out of it feel like I'm a cat.

Shutdown -> Locking down completely, and not being able to process what's around me properly or react to it. Usually causes loss of speech. Usually reduces ability to move. Sometimes completely prevents me from moving.

Many of my adult meltdowns and shutdowns could have been avoided if I'd said no, set limits, left the room, left the house, walked away, broke contact, told the other person their behavior was inappropriate, etc., SOONER. A lot sooner. Like when it was happening. Ideally, the first time. I've stayed in situations way beyond my comfort level because I thought it was a mark of tolerance and perhaps maturity. Meanwhile I was getting more miserable than I could admit to myself - until I reached the tipping point. We all know about the tipping point.