Strange Meltdown

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Is this normal?

When faced with too many stimuli(Loud noise and flashing lights oft cause this) I zone out essentially focusing on one light or section of wall, or whatever. After a few minutes I usally come out of it , and if I'm touched I snap out of it, but otherwise I'm totally out of it.

I have a non-Aspie ADHD colleague who has reported something somewhat similar. It also sounds a bit like a petit mal seizure (a kind of epileptic fit -- not sure what the new name for it is). Epilepsy is a common co-morbidity with autism.

I've done that countless times, and it's not related to epilepsy. Basically you focus on one intense stimulus and "lock in". It's not much different than anything else you focus heavily on to extreme. It's a fairly common autistic-type trait. It's not even a meltdown, really.

Yeah I do that. I wouldn't call it a meltdown. If you give me too many things to focus on, I focus only on one and zone out from the rest.

Yeah, I do that all the time - (in fact I used to do that with books too in Primary school, where I'd be so engrossed in the book somebody could shout my name, or people would leave the room, and I wouldn't hear them or notice). I also do it with a tile say, or a leaf, or a section of wall, or pretty much everything and anything at least a couple of times a day.

I wouldn't call it a meltdown, as a meltdown is tied to severe emotional and psychological distress. Basically when you're having a meltdown you feel like you're in so much intense unbearable mental pain that you can't take it anymore... and then you crack - rock, scream, cry, injure yourself. Sometimes when I reach that pressure point I lie down and I can't get up - I lose all ability to move my arms or legs, complete paralysis except I can sometimes turn my head, but my mind is still racing, and I can end up like that for over an hour.

Another possibility is that if it's like a meltdown and not a seizure or similar, it's a shut-down. Shut-downs are.. well, shutting down of thoughts, feelings, actions to the outside. The opposite of outbursts/meltdowns.

Well, I used the term "lock in" because it also applies to when you get hyper focused or obsessed with a particular thing. Your mind locks in on that one thing, and other things around you tend to fade out. Although with visual stimuli, it often combines aspects of a shutdown.

I've learned to not stare at a bright window. That always did it for me, and being sun blinded for a while afterwards kind of sucks.

yes thats very normal actually i do that, but i will ususally headshake or rock either fast or violently, while doin it., its a way of coping with the outside stimiulis(i cant spell lol).

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Being Normal Is Vastly Overrated

I have had shutdowns. I get nonverbal and shake. I also have minor ones where I zone out for a few minutes.

I also have had the same thing...ALOT Particularly when I am stressed out or overstimulated (duh factor) . I also have had letters on blackboards change colors on me and senses shut off. If this happens you may be in trouble (if you are like me cause my body sometimes loses total sensation or individual senses shut off). Sounds pretty common . You just have to deal with it when it happens.

guess meltdown was wrong word. I don't think it is a seizure, I don't really remember what I was doing before and I'm totaly aware. I guess it is just a lock-in/shutdown. Plus I can purposely trigger it even in quiet isolated room(I always feel calmer/happier/fresher after any lock in) Is that common?I always thought of it like a meditation that some times starts on it own. It is not too hard to deal with really, it is just how it looks to the outside world when I suddenly freeze for a few minutes.

I think it sounds like it can be compared to a stim, except that no movement is involved.

If I get confused with too much different talk / different topics / different stimuli, I may look up for a while to focus on something firm in order to concentrate my attention and make my mind quiet instead of confused.
I may focus on a light or a spot on the ceiling, the corner of a ceiling, etc. But normally it's not for a very long time, if I'm having a specific dialogue with another person. If I'm not, it can be a bit longer.
But I wouldn't call it a meltdown, nor a seizure.