meltdown vs mania

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what are the key differences? Just asking all replies thanked in advance

Either of the two terms can mean anything which you would like them to mean - there are no key differences.

Meltdowns are like tantrums, only due to sensory overload or under/overstimulation. They happen when the autistic person is unable to stim to calm him/herself down.

A manic fit/mania is usually due to bipolar (not always; I have them) and it involves rapid, pressured speech, grandiose ideas, etc. It is different than a meltdown because there is less crying and more hyperactivity.

Sometimes, medications that doctors prescribe for autism, bipolar, or other mental illnesses can cause one or both of these phenomenon.

Hope this helps!

Girlwithaspergers is correct:

- meltdowns are an autism thing

- mania is a bipolar thing

The two are very, very different.

I think mania is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain which would be the case for bipolar. Please correct me if I am wrong. I am not an authority on this I am just saying this from what I have learned from people who are bipolar. Meltdowns for autistic people are not tantrums or mania.

Tantrums are a childish and immature behavioral issue where someone throws a hissy fit because he wants something. As soon as he gets what he wants the fit stops. Tantrums require an audience and an object of desire.

An autistic meltdown is caused by sensory overload. Then the brain has too much sensory input and cannot process it it crashes just like a computer that goes on overload. The sensory input could be anything, lights, sounds, for me even people's voices can cause it. It can also happen when you are overwhelmed and you cannot process the huge influx of emotions you are feeling. That happens to me as well. But autistic meltdowns are never a behavioral issue. They are never because someone is just mad that he can't have what he wants and they are never an attempt to manipulate people into doing something. They are also not chemically based. They are always because the person is completely overwhelmed due to an emotional influx or sensory overload and that is the only way that the brain can deal with that and reset itself. Also unlike a tantrum, you can't really stop a meltdown as easily. A tantrum stops as soon as the person gets what he wants. A meltdown usually has to run its course until it is over. I can hold off a meltdown so that I don't have it in public and sometimes if it is not severe I can find ways to implode without others noticing but even if I hold it off it still has to happen. And once it's started I can't stop it or shorten it until it is done. Some are much more severe than others. Some take a minute or two others have taken hours.

Meltdowns can occur in many different ways. Sometimes I cry and scream. Other times I bang my head. Sometimes I cry and just kind of pace around in a seemingly random way. Some people get violent and hit and throw and break things. I am fortunate that I don't do that. I tend to retreat rather than reach out and grab things to throw or break. People experience meltdowns differently but the root causes are always the same.