#meltdowns

[desultory-suggestions]

Pay attention to what makes you feel on edge. If you’re feeling angry try to stop and assess what is triggering that anger. It doesn’t have to make sense. Is the sound of shoes squeaking on the floor grating? Is the way someone is asking you for something upsetting even if the ask isn’t? Understanding what is bothering us is the first step to diffusing our anger.

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

7 Autistic Things Which Are Difficult for Non-Autistic People to Understand

Neurodivergent_lou

[zebulontheplanet]

Sometimes yes, people with meltdowns do need to be retrained. Sometimes yes, they can seriously hurt themselves. Yes, there is nuance. Restraint can be seriously harmful, but restraint can mean the difference between injuring yourself severely, and someone else hurting you from the restraint.

I’m an autistic person that has violent meltdowns with self injurious behaviors. And yes, this does mean that sometimes I need to be restrained.

I think that in the autism community, there’s a lot of people saying “never restrain!! Never do that!!” And they forget about people like me, who WILL hurt themselves severely if they are not restrained. Does this mean that I allow random people to restrain me during meltdowns? Absolutely fucking not. My caregiver is the ONLY person I trust to restrain me during meltdowns. Why? Because they know how to do it in a way that won’t hurt me, or lead to me hurting them.

I feel like within the autism community, there’s so many people telling us what we can and cannot do. And what our caregivers can and cannot do. YES! Restraint can be life threatening and harmful, but I am prone to hurting myself. To giving myself a head injury, to self harming. It is far more safer for me to be restrained correctly from my caregiver.

Please remember that those of us with higher support needs and more violent meltdowns, do sometimes need to be restrained. However, it’s important to remember anatomy. When my caregiver became my caregiver, that’s one of the first things we talked about, and we came to an agreement and I talked to them about the CORRECT way to restrain me during meltdowns.

Please remember those of us who do need restrained, and please remember those of us that this is the safest option for us.

[beesareyes]

I need tfc member reaction to the MC having a meltdown/break down. Where everything is overwhelming and they start to get agitated with every little thing until it all overflows and they are upset at everything. Pulling their hair, hitting things and themselves, crying, not being able to properly talk because she is just so frustrated. Pleaseeee

-from an autistic with ADHD.

[theorahsart]

Here's a comic I made a few years ago, explaining autistic meltdowns and shutdowns in detail! They can be pretty different to what you might expect- I didnt even realise I was experiencing them for years. I thought they were panic attacks that just happened to last much longer than an average person's, or that I was very sensitive- newsflash, it was actually autism lol

[auschizm]

An autistic meltdown is a complete loss of control over your behavior and should never be treated like a deliberate, manipulate act meant to provoke a certain response

[adhd-induced-happiness]

Listing my meltdown patterns for myself to refer back to since it always somehow takes me by surprise:

Your triggers are socializing, decision-making, and tight clothing. Don't do too much of any in one day.

The first thing to go is the mask. You will slip into a more authentic version of yourself ... whether you want to or not.

You will start feeling fatigue, and smiling will be more difficult, but the high of novelty dopamine during whatever you're doing will drown out this initial signal.

Without further warning, you will go into shutdown mode. You will get quiet and straightfaced. You're much too polite to tell someone. (btw people can tell that you hate being there, you're not slick)

You will feel trapped ... like the Animal. Like you must get out. Possibly pacing around the enclosure.

When not moving or unable to move, your mind will be scurrying from wall to wall trying not to accept the fact that it is in fact Trapped

When Trapped starts to sink in you have an hour tops. Your fidgeting will increase and stimuli will begin causing you pain. This is when you stop being Polite and start being Assertive because the next thing to go is your speech.

Words become difficult, but not impossible. They take more effort but you don't really know what's going to come out. If you don't end this now, you will have to choose between saying something you do NOT want to say or being silent.

If you continue to push past the blaring alarms going off in your head, People begin Asking Questions, especially "are you okay." Stop lying to them.

Processing words that are spoken to you becomes nigh impossible. This will frustrate you and push you deeper into the meltdown. Request space and quiet with the words you have left.

You cry without speech OR spew venom uncontrollably during meltdowns if you tip past the boiling point. You shrivel like a prune or explode like a volcano. It depends on the trigger.

You mostly say things that hurt people during the volcanoes. You hurt your own feelings. Unfortunately, all of it is true. None of it is productive ... but it must be purged.

Time spent draining battery and time spent recovering is 1:1 and sleeping somehow does not count. You must engage your brain in calming activities by choice.