How long do your meltdowns/shut-downs last? Help!

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I've been in a combination of meltdowns and shut-downs almost consistently for the last month. There are moments of lucidity interspersed here and there but for the best part, life has been abnormal for me for 4 weeks. The situation I am in at home is very stressful at present but i don't think this is the cause of the meltdowns and shut-downs, I think that because of them I have lost my ability to cope with home life. This is causing a vicious circle making my wife more short tempered and emotional which is in turn increasing the stress on me. What's normal for a meltdown? She is of the opinion that they should last for little more than a morning then I should be fine and is thus saying I'm 'putting it on' to get out of having to manage my responsibilities.

I can have a really bad spell that can last too long. My boyfriend jokes and asks when it is safe to come out from under his desk or if he needs to resupply.

I don't think most people understand how we tick. If they did they wouldn't have opinions about our behavior like they do. I would love to be the giant success like my sister is - but I can't and no one understands why.

All I can say since I don't really have advice or real help is that I hope my post at least sends some moral support your way.

Keep your chin up.

Mine don't last longer than a few hours or a day at most, but what you're talking about sounds like maybe an episode of depression. Does that seem possible?

That sounds exhausting.

How can you communicate how you feel to your wife? Is it possible?

A few hours.

What's important is that you get to take a BREAK. If social interaction is the problem, then a break from it will fix it.

Maybe a small few hour nap every time you feel overwhelmed? Or maybe some videogames? Just spend some time alone and you'll calm down on your own.

On the average, an hour give or take a few minutes.

Ive had one last more than 4 hours, but thats usually because I put myself into a place where stimulation was very very high.

My adventure to the local roller skating rink.

That one lasted a long while.

a meltdown in itself wont last much longer then few minutes usually, although the aftermath can easily take a day or more before i can function again. i disappear from the world in that time (door locked, curtains closed, phone off...)

Mine are variable, can last minutes, hours or rarely a day depending on how much stress and anxiety plays into the equation.

okay maybe I should clarify.... the meltdowns are over in a matter of an hour at the most... its the exhaustion, shut-down and hypersensitivity that follow that go on for days....

for me, it depends, once it lasted 2 days but it never lasts under an hour for me,

Shutdown, day or 2 sometimes week long
meltdown usually start to end about a 1/2 hour. People (and myself)are amazed how I can be a complete wreck crying and all then be in perfect mental shape in a few hours with only the discoloration under my eyes from the tears as a sign of the meltdown.

There are two kinds of stress response.

The immediate stressful event sets off a peak in immediate stress (let's call it Stress-type A) which rises very quickly, and then drops quickly afterward. For Stress-type A, it's usually over within hours.

Meanwhile, delayed stress (Stress-type B) rises slowly in reaction to the same stressor, but continues rising for much longer, and then declines longer. It could last for a couple of days.

Problem with Stress-type B is that every time you get a new stressor, it takes several days to recover from it. So if you get daily stressors, Stress-type B has no chance to recover, and just keeps steadily increasing.

This steady high level of Stress-type B is very dangerous. It can cause long-term health problems such as heart attack and stroke, and can also result in psychological problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder.