RSD Shutdown? What does that look like?

Hello. I have been diagnosed both ADHD and more recently ASD, and in the past couple weeks I’ve had several things that might be shutdowns but I’m not quite sure what triggered them. I feel stiff in my chest and stop stimming altogether. It gets really hard to talk, like the very thought of moving might shatter me into a million painful pieces. Recently, I was told by a couple friends that I’ve been talking too much about my recent ASD diagnosis, and while they were both fair and kind about it, I had to go lock myself in my room for a couple hours until I could rejoin civilized society. I didn’t do anything during that time.

is this a shutdown? Is it common for RSD to cause shutdowns or meltdowns?

comments are appreciated

Parents Reply
  • I would agree with you that pain in face of someone else’s indifference is a perfectly common NT reaction, however in ND folks it tends to manifest in a particular way. It’s perceiving even the slightest cues as severe rejection—missed eye contact, tone of voice, setting boundaries. For NDs specifically, it may cause intense bodily and mental reactions that often would only be described by NT people as violent mood swings, “temper tantrums” (meltdowns), or withdrawing completely (shutdowns—the thing I’m asking about). 

Children
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