going into shutdown can I stop it ? any techniques ?

Hi aidie, I hope you're hanging in there OK.

The main thing, I think, is just to get rid of as many sensory stimulations, stresses, and demands that you can, and to find a way to relax yourself as much as possible (I know - easier said than done!)

I think it's very important to listen to what your brain and body are telling you. Although a shut-down can be very inconvenient, or even a bit frightening, it is your brain letting you know that it must re-charge its batteries soon, otherwise you'll just flop completely. So if you feel sleepy, then sleep, and if you feel the need to stim, then stim (stimming is definitely an autistic survival instinct in my opinion.) I find that trying to fight a shut down too hard is usually counter-productive - the effort to suppress it just tires out my brain even more, and I'll just shut down even harder a bit later on.

If I can, I usually let anyone important know that I can't be contacted for a while, and turn off my phone, e-mail notifications, etc. - that way I know there won't be any unexpected demands made of me while I'm trying to relax. Then I shut out the world as much as possible - I use an eye-mask and ear-plugs for maximum sensory deprivation. The relaxing is usually the hard part - different things work for different people at different times. Sometimes some breathing exercises or a walk in the woods work great for me, other times, my mind is racing too much, so it's better to go for something that will completely distract my mind (playing music and Lego work well for me, but if you have any interest that you can completely lose yourself in, now is the time to get lost in it.)

And very importantly. Try not to feel guilty about taking this time out, and don't let anyone else guilt-trip you either! Worrying too much about shutting down can be a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. A shut-down coming on is your mind telling you that there's something you need to do, just like hunger tells you to eat, so try to accept it for what it is - a perfectly natural defence mechanism.

In the longer term, it's a matter of using those same techniques, but little and often, so that the need to shut-down is less likely to happen in the first place. I try to take as much weight off my mind as possible in advance, too - for example, if I agree to go out with someone, I might say that I'm a bit tired, so I already have a reason to bail out early if it gets a bit overwhelming and I'm not fretting about whether I'll offend them if I decide to do that.

Best wishes - I hope it passes soon.

thanks

can i reply to myself lol

can i reply to myself lol