Autism Meltdown vs Shutdown (5 Essentials YOU Need To Know)

What is the difference between an autism meltdown vs shutdown. We are covering all that right now!

So autism comes with many intricate parts that create impacting issues for life with an autism spectrum condition.

Some of these are meltdowns and shutdowns - but note that these are not the same thing.

1.An autism meltdown can be characterised by an emotional outburst of reaching the end of a sensory input overload.

2.When too many communication inputs are overloaded into an Autistc persons mind they will end up having an out bust which is seen as a meltdown, and can be noted as a feeling of despare hopelessness for that situation.

3.But with an autism shutdown, a person experiences the last straw of a situation they are trying to control and just gives up.

4.The giving up is a result of the lack of control and a lack of understanding for the situation they are currently presented in.

5.The person will be silent and docile with little to no input on the situation from that moment on.

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[ArtsyMegz_On_Etsy]

Yes, this is exactly how I would describe meltdowns and shutdowns! I experienced them the most during my last relationship, of where my ex was emotionally abusive. I wasn't even allowed to cry because he said that, that was gaslighting (and that I was being manipulative). This of course turned into a total meltdown where I screamed and screamed, and then shut myself into the bedroom, slamming the door. He didn't take any of it seriously. He would feel a little bit bad the next day and try to buy me things (which passed me right off, because I knew that he was just doing it to make HIMSELF feel better . . . it was more about himself than it was for me). And then as you guessed, after he felt better and his guilt went away, the emotional abuse would happen again. And there were days when he hurt me so badly (emotionally) that I totally shut down. I just froze, and sat on the couch all day, paralyzed by depression, anxiety, and pain. Not seeing a reason to get up and do anything; not if it wasn't going to make anyone happy anyways . . . I figured that I would just do something wrong. And it didn't seem to bother him too much that I was that depressed. And it blew my mind that he would rather spend our free time criticizing me and arguing. I couldn't understand why he would want to stay in that type of relationship. So I ended it. I feel more and more angry about that relationship as time goes on.

[Mimikyuloverr]

Your videos on shutdowns and meltdowns have been helping me regulate myself and emotions. Thanks for the tips and videos explaining the two!

[kukalakana]

At work is the absolute worst place to shut down. 😟

[apolonioromerojr]

I'm A Proud 🦚 Member of The San Diego County California USA Autism Society Since December 4 of 2019!!!!

[dwale]

For me, meltdowns feel like blunt lightning trying to get out of my body whereas shutdowns feel like those scenes in movies where a building goes into lockdown and all the metal doors and shutters come down

[mnvore]

Yeah, I've lived most of my life not knowing I'm autistic, and as such mistook shutdowns for depression. There probably was some of that too...

[TruStorm]

Yes! I had a shutdown yesterday during class...after the very beginning of having a meltdown. When I got home, however, I had a major Meltdown. I am not officially diagnosed yet, but hopefully will soon. It sucks constantly going through things I can't control. Thank you for your content. It's super interesting and informative. They always describe me and my situation to a T.

[tracyrain]

Explosion vs implosion?! How much is down to not knowing how to control the input? I'm not one to explode but go very quiet, subdued, feel numb, don't want any kind of communication.

I'm just recently diagnosed and am realising just how much my behaviour is understandable through an Autistic lens. It's reassuring and overwhelming all at once.

Thanks for your videos shining a light into this complex subject. 😊

[dawnanarumo]

I call it " checked out " at a certain point. I just check out. For a shutdown. I'm out.
Meltdown I call just overloaded. Or like a valve or a pipe bursting.
Good explanation!
Thank you for your content!

[johedges]

Thankyou for this wonderfully informative video Dan. I appreciate it can't have been easy to make. My ex partner would have meltdowns from time to time which I desperately tried to empathize with and I know since being apart he has shut himself off for long periods. I love this man to my bones and would do anything to understand him more. Thankyou for the great help and content. Peace! xxx

[dawnrobertson]

My wee lassy used to have loads of meltdowns. She's nearly 15 now and I'm realising she's now having a lot of shutdowns. I can't remember the last time she had a meltdown. But shutdowns seem to be what happens to her often now. Thanks for helping me understand this Dan 👍👍👍

[TheKjoy]

I experienced shutdowns on a regular basis as a kid. I would wind up face down on the carpet, a couch, or my bed and there would be no response from me until my brain could cope again. One of my mom's friends called it a tantrum and said I was being manipulative. My mom's oldest friend, my "Auntie Theresa, " saw it for what it was and would just let me be. Sometimes she would move me to a more comfortable place or position, because that wasn't even a consideration when it would happen. I would often fall asleep because I was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted from the overload. I still take naps on a regular basis because I can get overloaded, but at least I understand what is going on now. I didn't understand it as a kid.

[eleanortaylor]

I broke my headphones whilst watching this and lost all concentration trying to make it come out both ears 😅

[bonkersbunnymum]

Thank you for this. I actually think I have more shutdowns than meltdowns. The shutdown description you gave perfectly describes how I went when my ex-husband left me, and then more recently when my furkid passed away. I seem to have less meltdowns now that I am in the menopause and no longer have my monthly cycle making emotionally and sensory stuff 100 times worse.

[kaleestables]

Not diagnosed as autistic but definitely just had an autistic shutdown. I was asked a question & ignored it completely. Didn't answer the question at all. Just came home & isolated myself, wouldn't talk at all, waited until everyone had gone to sleep before leaving my room to grab something to eat....😅

[izzilloyd-cook]

I thought this was a really good description Dan. When you meltdown it’s like an explosion, it doesn’t happen so often but personally I think it is the least dangerous of the two ? When you shutdown, you retreat inside yourself and disengage to protect yourself, f from everything. If someone gets put in situations where they shut down a lot or it lasts a few days it can be really bad for mental health in the long run?it is so much easier for us to disengage than deal with people or situations and if your shutdowns last a while it can wreck relationships or employment as no one understands it.

[thehatersball]

Needed to hear this today in the worst way. Thanks

[beccywilson]

Id love more idears of how to relate to a person in either of these states . How we can help regulate ourselfs and each other . I have melt downs, my partner has shutdowns . Its a very hard way of relating and its causing us a lot of suffering .

[theruleoffire]

Duuuude. Thank you thank you thank you. Ive spent all of last night and today now obsessed with learning more about this. Last night was hard. I didn’t realize i had aspberger. I only researched it because i met some one i care deeply about that has this.

I for years suffered from dyslexia/ OCD/ ADD and wasn’t diagnosed for any of this, not until my mid 30s did i learn i had PTSD/anxiety . Now
As I’m learning through you my can of worms is a lot bigger then i thought.

I checked every single sign on your “9 signs of Asperger” video by sign two i was in tears because I couldn’t believe you was literally saying things as i was saying them or replying to you out loud. The min you said “the flicker of the light” is annoying i lost it crying. I thought i was alone. I didn’t know others saw this too. IDK ABOUT you but i cam hear them too.

When i get excited i talk too fast and am told to slow down which angers me because now i cant think and lost all train of thought have to start from the beginning.

The rocking back and forth was something i didn’t even notice i had been doing for years until you said it. I used to and still try to control it as so im not seen as “crazy”.

I cant stand people yelling or large crowds. I don’t understand sarcasm from strangers at all and often question their intentions behind their “joke”s. Make it even more odd to ask someone if they are joking and then still not laugh because you didn’t get the sarcasm.

The flapping of the hands. I am sooo shocked to know this is a symptom because i always did it so normally and always calmed me down i still call it “fanning the air” a term i quoted since kid, just to avoid weird questions or judgments.

The wearing of the same clothes s too ironic because i find myself wearing the same tshirt pants for days mind you i will buy a new shirt to wear and yet never wear it. Soo many shirts in my closet currently with tags on. Socks, Elastics, turtleneck shirts, nylon fabrics all irritate me. cracked or bubbling paint on walls freaks me out, cracked earth (soil) like causes me to have to leave the areas.

Although i love my music loud i can heat dog whistles and high pitches from lamps especially those stupid stupid stupid fluorescent bulbs. Hate hospitals, or Walmarts.

I can not stare someone in the eyes so I learned to stare at the person’s forehead, especially in a job interview, don’t like small offices or being crowded in on, especially if the exit path is blocked by another person, i have to know exit routes at all times in all spaces i enter.

Wow i could go on forever. Either way. Thank you. Thank you thank you.

[just-alil_spooder]

It makes me uneasy how you kno more about me from your own self than I kno about me from my own