Zoning out/shutting down

I'm really sorry to hear you're struggling. It could be that you're experiencing shutdowns due to autism and/or anxiety, but it might be worth going for a check-up at the doctor's. Since I last commented here, I had to see the doctor about some health issues, and it turns out that I may have a chronic health condition that's causing me to suffer from fatigue. I also have a vitamin B12 deficiency, which has been contributing to my feeling constantly exhausted. I'm now a little more open-minded about my shutdowns... they definitely happen when I've been overloaded, but it might sometimes be a result of my physical health condition too.

I get so frustrated and beat myself up as in stressful situations I used to sleep straight away or be so tired I couldnt stay awake. I'd fell asleept at my new boyfriends parents house, at a social gathering as we sat around a table talking, an arguement with an old boyfriend I promptly fell asleep in his car.

Then the shut downs changed i think, (i'm still unsure if their shut downs) So for example, Friday I was experiencing extreme stress in a situation, I was unconfortable, started thinking I dont like this right what can I do, then I felt the room going weird like I wasent there, my brain stopped, I couldnt move, my husband got me outside but I barely remember walking out and I collapsed in a heap followed by a meltdown then extremely tired. As I was still traumatised I was stimming like mad, another shut down episode (if thats what it is) followed by stimming alot and meltdown. I spent the next day exhausted and I hate myself for not being able to do what I want to do and I cant control my body. I feel I've let my child down time and time again over this. I found out recently I'm autistic but I'm still learning about my struggles. Does this sound like shut down or anxiety? 

I think I'm too slow to process too, this causes me extreme anxiety, I asked my husband today and he said I've always been the same and I cant change that. Even the simplest of questions or situations I need time to think. Ive spent years hating myself, but now I need answers and solutions

If you're shutting down there and then, it might just be easier to lie down where you are than to try and get yourself to another room. It's whatever works for you in these situations.

Yeah I get irritable and angry because I’ve lost a load of time and not got the things done I needed to.  I don’t even get the urge to go to a dark quiet room or anything, yeah it would be nice to just be in bed, but I don’t know really.  Like sometimes I just lie flat on the floor or in a ball shape and just stay there for hours.  I think I’m more comfortable like that than in bed.  Maybe because I’m not actually asleep, and bed is for sleeping.  I don’t know.  

I get really irritable too - especially if I know I've got loads of things to do and don't have the energy. I just want to be in a dark, quiet room.

some of these issues are quite amazing

I totally get this.

i switch off when people become nasty and abusive too, even when I try really hard not to.  I slept through nearly all of college and the university lectures I showed up to.  My gp said it could be adhd, or it could be that any chance my body finds to shut down it takes because It’s constantly stressed due to autism.  Even when I’m out with friends or family so I have more relaxed company and some support it happens. I didn’t realise how angry I get because of sensory issues.  Or how other people don’t have the same anger and I’ve struggled and lived with it for years.  I

That’s what happens to me, everything starts slowing right down and I can’t form sentences properly and then I can’t speak at all.  It’s like being stuck between asleep and awake without being able to do anything. It happened last night and I was so angry because I had a lot to do, but I just could not move.  I couldn’t even move to get the tv remote control as it was too loud and making me angry.  It wasted most of my evening. 

Same!  I have a habit of just wandering off without realising, and then having no idea how I got to where I am.  I wandered off from my group when walking up a mountain on a foggy day years ago, without intending to or planning to etc.  I was lost for hours and had people out searching for me. 

Yep, that’s exactly it.  It’s really frustrating at times, and it can be so painful trying to fight it. 

My son's diagnosis at the age of 11 came as a total shock, and with it I realized that I share a lot of the experiences of people on the spectrum. My son reminds me very very much of my brother and my father always had social anxiety issues and a love of precision. I respect truthfulness, I do not relate to a need to conform which I have always understood as a reason behind a lot of suffering. I have always treasured quiet time as a vital need as my parents did.

Hi Nas50557

Have been zoninng out way before my diagnosis.

As a small child during maths lessons.  Anything else that was a bore.

I feel its a response to sensory overload in some Autistics. 

Or when you feel mentally overwhelmed by stress.

I live with depression & anxiety but still zone out when not being effected by the two.

Which means its part of my asd

To be honest I have also found myself switching off mentally when being verbally abused lol. 

This to my benefit because the other person could see I was mentally switched off.

My relative who is Autistic does this as well when the enviroment is crowded or noisey. When they don't understand something or in a new enviroment.

I think it helps if you try to eat well sleep well & exercise. 

I found in my case when I don't do the above I  zone out, a lot more.

Ah, okay - thank you. I definitely speak less when I'm feeling like this, and sometimes my words come out a bit jumbled.

thats what i get --- i think it is a shutdown - i found it listed  under types of shutdown ( feeling sleepy and tired - and needing sleep ) sorry i cant remember where i read this. Again i thought it was fatigue but not now. When i feel my shutdown happening i talk in monosyllables and single words - and i know i am going down.

Purple Ella has a good video about shutdowns on YouTube.

I'm not sure whether I experience shutdowns or just extreme fatigue... sometimes, I feel like my whole body is slowing down so that even walking feels like hard work (it's like when you walk under water). I also find myself struggling to communicate and just longing for my bed. This tends to happen after a stressful day/when I've felt particularly overloaded.

That's so funny, I was always compared to my uncle too. I don't think he is autistic but he has over the years suffered with agoraphobia, anxiety, loves techy stuff, very clever etc. During the assessment I said "do you think I've just learned to be like this?" but from what my Mum says, the traits were clear very early. Psychologists thought it may have even protected me from too much stress when little as everything had a routine and we rarely socialised. Impossible to say though.

Fraiselongue said:

I've never drunk alcohol (aside from trying it a few times and hating it) as I know how easily I get addicted. I used to think it might have helped me in social situations but reading this I'm glad

My stubbornness when I think I've hit on a solution to something, and my tendency to get stuck in behavioural ruts, certainly played their part; especially at the time when I'd just left home for University, and found myself suddenly way out of my depth socially when I'd barely learned to cope with school life. The excesses that I went to with alcohol, and the events that it sometimes led to, absolutely horrify me now. When the circumstances are right, I do drink socially now and then and enjoy it, but I am very strict with my rules about keeping a dry home etc.(turning that stubbornness to my advantage!)

Fraiselongue said:

I wonder whether that's why she never saw me as odd!

I think that's very much the case in my family. I'm even more similar to my Uncle, Mum's younger brother. Throughout my childhood she often remarked how similar I was to him when he'd been the same age (she'd even call me by his name sometimes if she was flustered!) He was as reclusive as I am now, so I didn't spend enough time around him to have so precisely copied all of the personal quirks that we have in common (we got on great when I did see him though!) I'm rather fascinated by the idea that there could be a kind of "autistic cultural transmission" down the generations besides the genetic one.

problem and probable cause in one sentence :)

I usually have shutdowns in cinemas (Around 70-80 %). I have put this to not liking the film but its like I just can't watch - its a shut down.

I can sometimes zone out for a few seconds at most. Definitely tired a lot, which is probably due to my tablets and the fact I often stay up later than I really should...