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Meltdown advice

Tlc

I am wondering if anyone can give me some advice about meltdowns. I have lived with Aspergers for 32 years but I only found out that I have Aspergers 2 Months ago. I recognise now that I have had meltdowns in the past. I had one at college earlier this year during my annual review. Eveything built up but I couldn't do anything, it was as if I was in the room but switched off, I couldn't think or speak and when I got home I had to hide in the dark in my room.

I start back at College next week and my career is on the line if I don't improve my Social abilities/relationships. I am very concerned that with the mounting pressure I am going to be under that meltdowns will happen again.

Is there anything I can do to stop them from happening? or a way to recognise when they will happen and escape/hide?

Any advice welcome. Thanks in Advance.

  • Thank You longman for your response. I have found it very helpful.

    I didn't make it clear in my original post but I am a mature Student. I am not Staff. I will be starting my final year of retraining next week. I have not met crucial targets over the last two years all in areas of communication/interaction. Now that I know about the Aspergers I am hoping I can somehow try and control some of the problems I have by understanding myself better. I want to improve so I am not failed.

    Thanks again for your response and advice.

  • Funny how colleges and universities remain dumb about this where staff are concerned, even though most comply with it for students.

    As a retired lecturer I know all about being told I'm not collegiate enough.

    Meltdowns can be stress related, and this can be the current environment, or a build up of stresses over time, and often a combination of both. Hence the immediate trigger can be quire insignificant - last straw, because you are constantly close to your limit.

    Autism/Aspergers seems to reduce the bandwidth for coping with information, so you overload quickly. There is usually a predisposition to negatively reinforcing cycles of worry and anxiety. Try to defuse worries by talking over any persistent ones if you're lucky enough to have someone to listen. Write them down and draw up a plan to resolve as many issues as possible regularly.

    But you also need to better understand your environment. Under the Living with Autism section of the NAS website, several pages down, youi'll find advice on sensitivity, listed as where hyper (over) or hypo (under) sensitive. This may help ypou understand your triggers.

    It may be useful to test out some environments - sit in or on the edge of the source of stress and study it to find out what parts are more stressful, so you build up an understanding. Establish how much you can cope with, and what types of environmental stress are best avoided, or stepped back from as soon as possible.

    I get into difficulties in crowded social environments. I've found part of the problem is if sound (such as different conversations, background music) is coming from different directions. If I sat or stood near the edge of the room I could manage it better. Unfortunately colleagues interpreted this an being antisocial and expected me to mingle. Unfortunately I tire very quickly when "mingling", often lose coherence of understanding (people seem to be talking in a foreign language), and I'm then accused of looking distant or drunk/on drugs. You cannot win.

    If you have been diagnosed it is laughable that they criticise you over your "Social abilities/relationships", precisely the nature of your disability.