Meltdown (i think)

[AprilR]

I have been at my parents house since yesterday and it is very crowded. I also invited a friend over and yesterday has been kind of stressful. My friend left today and i felt a bit relieved. I cried a lot and my head is hurting. Is crying a sign of a meltdown? I just felt the need to shut myself in my room and cry because everything is too much.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Perhaps, not an actual meltdown, per se, but definitely withdrawal and emotional "let down" can be a way to relieve some stress.

Meltdowns, in my experience, tend to be more an extreme outpouring of emotion, frustration, anger. Verbal violence, if there is any such thing as that, to almost physical violence. It's almost an out-of-body experience. It's someone else.

 

[FayetheAspie]

Needing to hide in your room sounds like it could be bordering on a partial shutdown and/or trying to avoid a meltdown.

 

[FayetheAspie]

Emotional Meltdowns: Why They Happen and How to Prevent Them

Well, apparently crying can count as a meltdown in some instances. I didn't realize that.

 

[AprilR]

I think i have been so accustomed to masking and trying to make sure i am normal around other people i don't understand myself much. That's why i wanted to ask if this is what a meltdown looks like.

I never get angry or snappish but crying when i am exhausted is very common. I am resting at bed now, i told my family i have a headache.

 

[FayetheAspie]

I think i have been so accustomed to masking and trying to make sure i am normal around other people i don't understand myself much. That's why i wanted to ask if this is what a meltdown looks like.

I never get angry or snappish but crying when i am exhausted is very common. I am resting at bed now, i told my family i have a headache.

Yeah, I thought that I didn't really have a meltdown tendency because I thought meltdown implied like throwing things and stuff like that. My dad is the one does that stuff. Now I am really starting to think (I had questioned a bit before) that my distressed laughter may be a form of meltdown.

 

[thejuice]

Social battery is dead id say. The social version of a 'post exertional malaise' perhaps. (When you're knackered after exercising)

 

[thejuice]

They do say crying is the body's way to expel stress chemicals

 

[thejuice]

I think i have been so accustomed to masking and trying to make sure i am normal around other people i don't understand myself much. That's why i wanted to ask if this is what a meltdown looks like.

I never get angry or snappish but crying when i am exhausted is very common. I am resting at bed now, i told my family i have a headache.

Unfortunately my bad trait is to impulsively snap at someone when I'm stressed. 'Act in haste, repent at leisure'. I need to practice the pause.

I always noticed on a night out in England, when it's throwing out time and everyone's coming down, the lads are usually fighting, the girls crying. Different ways of coping with withdrawal.

 

[FayetheAspie]

They do say crying is the body's way to expel stress chemicals

What kind of emotional reaction is it when you laugh,snicker,or giggle when nervous, laugh or giggle when genuinely amused, laugh (sometimes loudly) when afraid, occasionally have laughter mixed with your tears when sad, and laugh rather than yell when mad? The different laughs seem to sound different and definitely feel different. When sadness or anger show as laughter there is usually an anxiety factor at the same time like after my dad threatened my Mama and me with a weapon last year.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

I'd say you decide what is a meltdown is for you individually.
Common ground for autistic meltdowns (from what I've gathered so far) are loss of control, heightened sensitivity to stimuli, negative feelings. How exactly it presents for you is individual.

For me, a meltdown very often involves crying. Especially meltdowns stemming from social overload.