Shutdown at the worst time

Ok I know shutdowns are not great at any time, but yesterday I had one that was particularly embarrassing.

My workload has increased lately and I have been aware my stress levels were rising.  It was only after yesterday that I realised this has been building for a while.

I had to be part of a day long meeting consisting of numerous presentations and I had to present as well.  I thought there would be 10 people in the room maximum, but this was closer to 30 when I walked in, which I wasn't prepared for.  We also started to run behind schedule so there was no real breaks and a working lunch.  My breaks and lunch are normally when I focus on resting and keeping myself fueled so this also impacted.  The day was also full of masses of information from different people that I was struggling to keep up with/take in.  Finally, when I had to present I was ok for the first two thirds of the presentation, then I started to feel unwell.  Due to my concentration on the presentation, I hadn't realised a shutdown was creeping up on me.  What resulted was me stuttering and stumbling over my words, speaking sentences backwards and generally not making sense.  I stopped the presentation to say I needed a drink of water as I was feeling faint.  I then tried to carry on, but my hearing went very fuzzy, I could no longer read what I was presenting and finally my vision went to which point I panicked and ran out.  I was found by the first aider in a slumped heap outside the building.  To make things worse I was non-verbal for 5 minutes, so then people didn't know if I was being hypoglycemic or whether I was having a stroke!

I just wanted some quite in a dark room, but couldn't say that.  I finally managed to say I needed some water and something sweet - I find this helps with brain function and getting things kick-started quicker.  Finally I was taken to the first aid room to rest, but the lights were awful and the smell of disinfectant was overwhelming.  I spent the evening feel terrible at home like I was trying to function whilst wearing a lead suit.  My head was banging and I felt incredibly anxious.

Whether this is just the anxiety affecting my judgement, I am not sure, but I am now worrying how people at work will judge me.  The only person who knows about my ASD is my boss and he kind of put two and two together.  It's my colleagues I worry about as it is a dog eat dog type of place at times, where I woiuldn't want my weaknesses to be made public.

I'm not sure what to do now as work is obviously impacting on me, so need to speak to my boss, but worry they will start to think I am not up to the job anymore.

Parents
  • Well today I have been feeling groggy and my anxiety levels are peaking, so that probably explains my initial jump to conclusions on everyone's assumptions at work.  Most will probably be concerned as you rightly pointed out, so I am now focusing on trying not to dwell on what others think/might judge of me etc.  It's just difficult as I always find these episodes knock your confidence tenfold.

    I will just explain I was feeling unwell to people at work and leave it at that.  I find it hard to explain to people who know about my diagnosis as well.  My partner is worrying about me, so I am trying to reassure him whilst being honest, but I don't think I explain it in a way he understands.  He thinks spontaneously taking me out for a meal will make me feel better and take my mind off things, but that just makes my anxiety much worse and I end up getting stroppy and indecisive as a result.  It's hard to try and explain to people what you need without confusing matters further, especially as I struggle to ask for help.

  • Starbuck said:
    He thinks spontaneously taking me out for a meal will make me feel better and take my mind off things, but that just makes my anxiety much worse and I end up getting stroppy and indecisive as a result.  It's hard to try and explain to people what you need without confusing matters further, especially as I struggle to ask for help

    Hope you’re ok Starbuck

    my OH does the same with the NT idea I’d spontaneity so,bing every thing...,when what you need is stillness and stability.

    i struggle to ask for help too. I was moved to a new office with two women in September and a chaotic few weeks at work really threw me back in September. I have told the two women I share an office with that I am ASD.....but deaf ears and closed minds...

    like you, the pressure to be high functioning and pressure not to show cracks in the show mask help protect you from the curiosity of others, but can also hamper help and understanding. 

    Hope you’re ok. 

Reply
  • Starbuck said:
    He thinks spontaneously taking me out for a meal will make me feel better and take my mind off things, but that just makes my anxiety much worse and I end up getting stroppy and indecisive as a result.  It's hard to try and explain to people what you need without confusing matters further, especially as I struggle to ask for help

    Hope you’re ok Starbuck

    my OH does the same with the NT idea I’d spontaneity so,bing every thing...,when what you need is stillness and stability.

    i struggle to ask for help too. I was moved to a new office with two women in September and a chaotic few weeks at work really threw me back in September. I have told the two women I share an office with that I am ASD.....but deaf ears and closed minds...

    like you, the pressure to be high functioning and pressure not to show cracks in the show mask help protect you from the curiosity of others, but can also hamper help and understanding. 

    Hope you’re ok. 

Children
  • In my last job I originally shared a quiet office just with one colleague who I worked with everyday. I was her assistant. After years of this which suited both of us, we were told our office was to be dismantled and used for Hot desking. We then had to join another office in a busy area. My manager and another manager and both teams had to share 2 desks, it was the rest/coffee area. It was the delivery area. And it was next to the area of business. For me it was a nightmare. I wasn’t diagnosed then so I couldn’t understand why I found it so difficult. I’m sure it was a contributory factor to my demise. So I know changing offices is hard and adapting to a new workspace and colleagues is difficult. I hope you have settled in more now though for me such changes take ages for me to adapt to. I’m not good with spontaneity and especially surprises. I like some warning that spontaneous or surprising things may happen! Then that helps to get the hang of whatever it is more quickly. Expect if it’s major then it takes me weeks.