Can someone please explain what a "meltdown? is?

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Can someone please explain what a "meltdown? is? thanks

This explains a lot:

(Edit - sorry I posted the wrong link)

http://www.autismvox.com/engaging-floor ... ee-speech/

Here is another link too.

http://thiswayoflife.org/blog/?p=69

I myself have never had a meltdown, but i have seen non-autistic ppl have them. I think NT's have them too.

I used to think I didnt have meltdowns because I hate screaming and breaking things.I find loud noise and destruction overloading and hated it in my Punk Rock friends.Then I was told that my silent crying and cutting were also considered meltdowns.They were caused by emotional frustration and sensory overload.I think what made them a meltdown is that my response was out of proportion to what an NT would experience in similar circumstances.

That answers a question I had about my own history. I can't recall having meltdowns of the rage variety when I was a young child. But I do recall that I would break down in tears when I was called out in class for not having a homework assignment-right up until the sixth grade. Not too many other kids were doing that and it was extremely humiliating. A teacher brought me into the hall one time and started screaming in my face to "grow up!". The worst part was the rest of the class laughing at me...ah good old school days.

This thread might be helpful too Fanny:-

http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... ic&t=18460

A meltdown can be like a tantrum, or fit. It can also just be exhaustion, and needing quiet and space. Sometimes I have a hissy fit of anger, and then I need to quiet down, and rest. It takes different forms for different people.

Once I kicked the door on the public bus over and over again because I missed my stop and the driver wouldn't let me out. I was afraid of getting lost.

Another time I yelled (screamed) at a friend because she wasn't listening but just continued to talk over me.

Are these meltdowns?

I suppose. Fits of rage are the ones I hear about the most, and those are most often triggered by sensory overload, and having one little thing more make them snap and burst out in anger. When this happens to me, I most often have to spend about half an hour 'downcharging' to get back to my normal, bouncy, loving self.

I view a meltdown as: "a complete loss of rationality."

Now, what do in this state is highly individualistic. In my experience, I find that NT's tend to blow outward and Aspie's tend to blow inward...

Pretty much its what happens when you've taken about as much as you have the endurance for and you're forced to take more. When your a kid you might have a tantrum, as an adult your apt to just really zone-out bad, start stuttering, and generally have a bit of a hypoglycemic or high-anxiety kind of reaction.

That sort of thing is also considered a meltdown? I've been wondering lately because I cut myself when things build up, and sometimes the slightest thing can set me off on a huge fit of crying.

i get them alot, a meltdown is when you get pushed past mad, sad, or any negative state, and you get so upset, you tottally lose control, you get mad at everybody. you cry your eyes out, you can't fuction, and you won't accept any alternative choices, just the one you are facing ( always a dead end.. ) they can be big problems because no one can take you out of it, not even yourself. i often spend hours freaking out with meltdowns... it is really hard to explain... bassically you cannot function, often at the brink of meltdowns, i have sensory overloads. those are where you cannot function, but otherwise, you are just fine, those are caused by stess, pressure, or extensive work.

I don't cut, but my meltdowns are me crying to get out tension. It's not just crying, though- I will stim before, during, and after I start crying, so it is an autistic reaction. When I start doing something repetitive with my hands, I know I won't be able to hold it in any longer. Then, I find a place by myself (if somebody even comes near me before I'm finished, I get sooo upset- I like to crawl in a ball with no noise or light) and cry and rock. I usually listen to my soundtrack from A Beautiful Mind to fuel my breakdown. Once I'm done crying, I'm completely devoid of all emotion and feeling and I rock some more. It's like going from one extreme to the other: totally filled with emotion to the point of sensory overload to being drone-like. I have breakdowns quite frequently. I've had two this week alone. Like you said, it's way out of proportion to something an NT would have a breakdown about. Both of my breakdowns this week were from fear that I won't get into my chemistry class and watching with agony as the spots are taken before I'm able to register. I also lash out at people (usually just my mom) or throw things, but I don't count these as "breakdowns." They are just fits of anger that don't last long (an average of 5-10 minutes), unlike the breakdowns, which may be an hour. I start being verbally nasty and aggressive when there's an abrupt change in my environment. For example, if my mother randomly tells me to go do something and there's no warning, I'll start mouthing off to her. I never make the connection of why I get so upset and volatile until it's over. So, she's starting to give me time warnings, like saying that she wants me to do something at three o'clock. That way, I'm able to mentally prepare and finish what I'm doing.
-OddDuckNash99-

Oddducknash99

The "drone" like feeling following the crying is WHY I used to cut...I could not stand that feeling off complete emptiness and the cutting would bring me back into my body....needless to say,it was effective but very dysfunctional way to achieve that end.I am glad you dont do that because it can become an addictive habit of it's own and hard one to break.


My mothers constant interruptions when I was "daydreaming ....deep in thought....doing a project" also provoked anger beyond reason....(except the reason is AS...lol)I never directly rebelled(until I was 16 and totally rebelled,long storey)but I would mutter under my breath and role my eyes which drove her nuts...evedently this is common to repressed teens world wide.I think it's great that your mom has been "trained" by you,to give time reminders....evedently,averssion therepy works on parents as well as autistics.