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.

 

[blitzkrieg]

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.

Your post reminded me of the distressed laughter of 'The Joker' from the movie Joker (2019).

Sorry to hear about your dad threatening you and your Mama however. That is disgusting behaviour. Might your Dad have some kind of mental health disorder that is driving these behaviours?

 

[FayetheAspie]

Your post reminded me of the distressed laughter of 'The Joker' from the movie Joker (2019).

Sorry to hear about your dad threatening you and your Mama however. That is disgusting behaviour. Might your Dad have some kind of mental health disorder that is driving these behaviours?

I think I reminded some people at work of that as well. I know some people praise the show for bringing attention to Pseudobulbar affect and similar conditions but I think that it is a rather poor way of bringing attention to such conditions because it makes people think that people who experience mood incongruent laughter are automatically violent or at least likely to become that way and that is not really the case. Perhaps it was not their intention, however; I think the show causes people to fear individuals who in many cases wouldn't hurt a fly while they ironically trust narcissists and psycopaths who often happen to be very charming and have excellent social skills which they use to manipulate the minds of others. Of course, a bad person could have such a condition as well but then you need other shows where the individual with PBA is not evil so that people see both good and bad individuals with the condition and PBA = villainy does not become a stereotype (in my opinion).
As for my dad, I am not a doctor.

 

[Masked Man]

Overstimulated, stressed out, taking on too much and feeling burnt out - sure. I tend to isolate myself when I feel this way.