Meltdown from your own emotions?

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Just this evening, I had a meltdown. I'd had a rough week, very tiring and no rest, hadn't been eating because I'd forget to, and I kinda felt like I was getting sick but not really. I had more plans tonight - I had to beg off and ask to show up later in the night so I could pull myself together. The meltdown came on when I was trying to fight off the recurring thoughts in my head about getting sick (what it was, what it might be, how long would I be ill, how much would I have to pay for treatment, how much work would I miss, etc.) and at the same time trying to focus on what I needed to do to get ready to go out (choose clothes, get dressed, do my hair, etc.), and then suddenly I realized I was really hot and felt like I couldn't breathe...and meltdown. Right now, I'm still mostly non-verbal, but it's coming back and I can write/type/sign.

Does anyone else find that racing or anxious thoughts and negative emotions can bring on a meltdown? I'd always understood that sensory overload caused it, but maybe you can get overloaded by your own thoughts and feelings? Any tips for handling this? Most of the time I can stim to prevent a meltdown, but it didn't work tonight.

I'm sorry to hear that you had a meltdown and yes, emotions can cause a meltdown / break down. Emotions come from our brain which is tied to our nervous system. If your nervous system gets overloaded and sends your brain too much information, you'll have a meltdown. It sucks and I've been there several times in my life and still go though it a lot.

I've never had a meltdown purely from sensory overload. I'm a bit sensitive to light, and I can get a bit overwhelmed by a small crowd (big ones are easier somehow, they're more like regular noise i guess?), but strong emotions will absolutely trigger a meltdown for me too. I find meditating has helped me at times, other times there's certain songs I find calming (mostly piano and violin, not a good time for heavy bass and whatnot), but some other times it seems nothing will do and I just have to "go through it". You should look for alternatives to stiming if only so you have more options to try when you feel a meltdown coming and that's not enough to keep you calm. Perhaps more importantly those behaviors are discreet and socially acceptable to NTs. They can help keep you out of trouble.

Thanks so much. I'd been calling these things panic attacks until I started the diagnosis process a couple of months ago and started really looking into any and all symptoms that could be indicative of AS. It honestly never occurred to me that I could be overloaded by internal stimuli instead of external.

Sometimes it is preferable to just go through it, as the full reboot it gives me is really good. 3 hours after that meltdown last night, I was out with friends, dressed nicely with great makeup, having a great time, and even those who knew I'd cracked earlier in the night couldn't tell. And today the anxiety levels are much lower.

Has anyone used anti-anxiety meds or L-Theanine successfully for preventing or easing anxiety based meltdowns? L-Theanine was a godsend for me as far as my general anxiety, it made me much more functional day-to-day, but nothing has been reliable for these breakthrough moments.

I have meltdowns from sensory and from emotional overloads as well andI have anxiety attacks and PTSD anxiety attacks. Emotions are extremely powerful and emotional overload affects the nervous system the same way sensory overload does. So yeah, I can have meltdowns from both. I do not take any meds for anything at all. I always prefer to feel the pain and go through it. It is important for me to accurately feel my body or emotions even if the pain is unbearable.

I had one today. It's usually emotional overwhelm that causes them. I have more scars I can count from wrist to shoulder on both arms from others in the past. I can usually remove myself from overwhelming physical sensory stimuli. Hard to remove yourself from emotion ...

Sorry you had a meltdown today. I had about four today. Yesterday I think I had five or six. It's tough. Mine were triggered from sensory overload from sounds mostly people's car stereos. But I have a ton of emotional stresses right now as well which make me more vulnerable. I feel for you friend. It can be really hard. It really helps me to know thatI am not alone having this sort of thing.

I appreciate your post (and your other in the thread I started). I feel kind of bad sitting here dwelling on my bad day with only one meltdown when others are having worse days. I hope your tomorrow is better.

Btw have you thought about ear defenders. I carry a pair at all times now and just plop them on when sounds start to stress me. They are a godsend.

Awww, thank you. Don't feel bad though. Your pain and challenges are just as valid and real as anyone else's. I never tell people that they should minimize what they feel because others are going through challenges as well. When we are able to fully experience our own pain and acknowledge it, that is what gives us the ability to feel live and compassion for others. And whether it's one meltsown or ten, the challenge is real and not any less challenging for you as it is for me.

I have two pairs of ear defenders and varioys earplugs. I have spent thousands over the years on this issue. They help sometimes but sometimes they make the sounds worse and they can be excruciatingly painful. But I always have a pair with me everywhere I go and earplugs in case it will help. I even sleep with them sometimes.

Most of my meltdowns are caused by emotional overload. I'm constantly working hard to keep my inner emotions under control so I don't end up crying. I do a very good job most of the time, especially when I'm at work. It's been a real struggle for me over the past three weeks, after falling victim to a scam artist and expecting her nasty boyfriend to be outside my door with his golf club that he carries over his shoulder, ready to smash my head with it. I cried about it a couple of times, over the past 21 days. I'm feeling less anxious now.

I can definitely get shutdown from emotional overload. Especially as alexithymia makes it impossible for me to understand or perceive what is going on. I might be getting intensely emotionally overloaded and not know it until it slips the proverbial lights off.
I wondered if this might be helpful or not ---> https://themighty.com/2016/06/reveal-we ... stressors/
Unless it can be confused by activities that cause similar physiological responses (skin temperature could just be heat, exercise, etc) it might help identify emotions when I for one cannot until it's too late.

That sounds great. I looked at the link. It's pretty cool. Of course they neglected to make one for adults since we all stop being Autistic on our 21st birthdays.