*Autistic Shutdowns collection* - Do you experience these ?

This sounds like a really interesting topic, I have read a lot of what other people have written and found it interesting, as well as a relief that it's not just me!

I admit at first I read these questions and posts and commented to my partner that I don't have shutdowns, this sentence resulted in her laughing and pointing out that I may not be aware of it but I certainly do experience them.  We spoke about this and I have to say she is right I clearly do, but I have never really either thought about them or actually called them a shut down.

For me it seems like I can't hear or feel or smell anything outside of my own head, to people around me it looks like I am daydreaming as they say it.  My partner, and parents, all add that when I am tired or stressed out I am more prone to basically sitting almost still and staring out into space, which they don't mean the place that surrounds our planet but rather staring ahead but not actually looking at anything in particular.  Retrospectively I do recall with both vivid clarity and with benefit of other people also remembering that when at school I would often get halfway through the lesson and then apparently just drift off into one of these daydreams, I believe what may have been happening was a shutdown to use this new word that I will use almost constantly now, because in a classroom surrounded by noise and smells and lights and just lots of stuff that's too much I imagine it was too much just my brain couldn't cope with it so I switch off.  I certainly know that as an adult I can do this and sometimes frankly, it's needed!

How I feel afterwards is difficult to express. I think it is a combination of things, partially I am refreshed all reset and feel a bit more awake and with it, but also I am a bit annoyed with myself that I feel that in some way I have let myself down or not been strong enough to deal with the sensory inputs or stress that has caused me to have the shutdown.

I am lucky insofar that my partner and stepdaughter that I live with both understand that sometimes although I am physically in the room my brain is just having a break from what is happening around me, and they both understand that I'm not ignoring them or being antisocial, or that I have any control over it.

I think this is a really interesting topic, and I actually found it hard to find the words to explain things. I look forward to hearing what other people experience.

This sounds like a really interesting topic, I have read a lot of what other people have written and found it interesting, as well as a relief that it's not just me!

I admit at first I read these questions and posts and commented to my partner that I don't have shutdowns, this sentence resulted in her laughing and pointing out that I may not be aware of it but I certainly do experience them.  We spoke about this and I have to say she is right I clearly do, but I have never really either thought about them or actually called them a shut down.

For me it seems like I can't hear or feel or smell anything outside of my own head, to people around me it looks like I am daydreaming as they say it.  My partner, and parents, all add that when I am tired or stressed out I am more prone to basically sitting almost still and staring out into space, which they don't mean the place that surrounds our planet but rather staring ahead but not actually looking at anything in particular.  Retrospectively I do recall with both vivid clarity and with benefit of other people also remembering that when at school I would often get halfway through the lesson and then apparently just drift off into one of these daydreams, I believe what may have been happening was a shutdown to use this new word that I will use almost constantly now, because in a classroom surrounded by noise and smells and lights and just lots of stuff that's too much I imagine it was too much just my brain couldn't cope with it so I switch off.  I certainly know that as an adult I can do this and sometimes frankly, it's needed!

How I feel afterwards is difficult to express. I think it is a combination of things, partially I am refreshed all reset and feel a bit more awake and with it, but also I am a bit annoyed with myself that I feel that in some way I have let myself down or not been strong enough to deal with the sensory inputs or stress that has caused me to have the shutdown.

I am lucky insofar that my partner and stepdaughter that I live with both understand that sometimes although I am physically in the room my brain is just having a break from what is happening around me, and they both understand that I'm not ignoring them or being antisocial, or that I have any control over it.

I think this is a really interesting topic, and I actually found it hard to find the words to explain things. I look forward to hearing what other people experience.