I have read about shutdowns and meltdowns. But I don’t actually get what that looks like in real time.
What I understand is that meltdowns is when someone loses control of their emotions.
Shutdowns are when someone loses the ability to perform certain functions, e.g. the ability to speak.
I was wondering if someone could give a more explicit example, of what that actually looks like?
From what I understand, both are caused by overload, either sensory, psychological, and so on, and that result in the person having a sudden shift in their behaviors, but with the capacity of understanding one’s surroundings and to act rationally getting greatly diminished. With meltdowns, the person can display a sudden shift to a more aggressive and/or anxious behavior, maybe similar to a tantrum externally, but with the mind having gone blank. Meanwhile, shutdowns make the person go far more quiet, or unresponsive altogether.
Oh, maybe I get more of an anxious response, rather than an anger response. Not that I can’t or don’t get an anger response at times. But that would make more sense for me overall.
Actually, I think I experience both to a similar degree, depending on the situation.