What’s the differences between an overload, shut down, and break down? I think those are the three I’ve read. Sorry, I’m newly diagnosed and trying to educate myself
Hiya! I think you mean overload, shutdown and meltdown.
Overloads happen when things become too much for someone to cope with and they just get completely overwhelmed by everything. Overloads usually end in a meltdown or shutdown.
A meltdown is an intense response to overwhelming situations. It happens when an autistic person becomes completely overwhelmed by their current situation and temporarily loses control. In a meltdown we usually don’t know what’s going on or what we’re doing, our mind and body just completely takes over. Meltdowns are not the same as temper tantrums because we do not have them for attention or to get what we want! Meltdowns are completely out of our control and they’re really hard, scary things to deal with.
A shutdown is a different response to extreme overload, anxiety, stress or exhaustion. When an autistic person goes into shutdown they will usually be very silent, go nonverbal, lock themselves in a room alone, isolate themselves, not be able to do any tasks, not be able to think straight, and do things to calm down like stimming or just going to sleep. If we aren’t able to calm ourselves down when we’re in a shutdown, it can sometimes lead to a meltdown. Shutdowns are like mental paralyzation and they can make you feel empty and separated from the world.