Inconvenient Times To Have A Shutdown.

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Never had a full shutdown while driving as driving relaxes me so I don't have them. Actually during covid, I went out driving with my Mum (Having her calms me as I don't fel alone) to de-stress as had I not done I would have had multiple shutdowns leading to burnout and even breakdown etc...
But I foud that shutdowns would happen fast while doing excercise. One reason why I was never one to run, but I cycled instead, because cycling gave me more control to regulate my physical effort to avoid shutting down. BUT, I did not know their cause back then so I did end up twice having full on shutdowns whilst out cycling! Had many, many partial shutdowns while cycling, but this is what I mean by regulating. Driving in car relaxed me so I could have a partial shutdown and actually pull out of it by driving. BUT cycling was harder. I had to stop to recover because physical exercise speeded up shutdons. The quickest way to have a full out shutdown was to run or jog. Running, jogging or cycling would start me overthinking... Dangerous shutdown trigger. Driving made my rain "Switch off and relax" as I focussed solely on the road ahead.

Only twice had full shutdowns when cycling, and they were when I was working the last few weeks whil in burnout. (Torture!) When burnout started I would hand in my notice, but still be required to work (Usually for a month). This was the worst time for me! As was working while having strings of partial shutdowns! Every movement I made was lie wearing a heavy suit of armour! Sleeping at nights was seriously effected amplifiying the daily torture! And cycling to work and back... (As jobs were such low pay as by then I could hardly work any hours so couldn't keep a car on the road during some of those times).

Looking back at when I shut down while cycling. Both times I was fortunate as I was in danger. First time I was hitting speeds of about 30-35mph while cycling in traffic in a 30mph zone on my way to work. Was a very gentle downhill but almost level busy main road. Was concerned abouttime and thinking too much and putting lots of effort into riding at speed... And the shutdown came on fast due to the full on physical effort of maintaining road speeds on my bike. I fully shut down and "Came to" (The start of recovery) with me lying on the handlebars with both my hands trailing either sideof my front wheel. The bike (Bicycle) was out of control doing a "Tank slapping effect". Bike had sowed to about 25 mph due to the tank slapping effect. Took great effort for me to try and regain control of my arms enough to place my hands back on the handlebars so they would not get my fingers caught in the front wheel, and then I managed to push enough for my body to come back up off the bars... No way did I have strength to pull the brakes and I had a shot downhill that by then I had come to as I had overshot my turning off... All I could do was take back the balance of the bike and drift until the bike came to a natural stop (As couldn't brake). All my concentration then went on making my body force the bike towards the pavement so I didn't fall into the road, and I went to put my foot down on the pavement, but my foot didn't hold my weight (Shutdown causes limbs to have no power so I am like a floppy jelly!), and I ended up on the pavement until I recovered.

The second event (I remember where it was now. Wasn't where I thought I was), I was riding on the Gower on a day off. I was pushing hard and overthinking and went ingo a partial shutdown. Nkw naterally I would instinctively ease off and relax, but as this was before when I knew what shutdowns were and knew what was causing them (They make perfect sense now I understand these things but made no sense back then as assumed physical effected mental as a doctor had told me (He said they were "Some sort of allergy") and not the other way around). and my Mother had said I should try to ignore them and they will go away! So I tried that! Erm! I had a full on shutdown and ended up falling onto the grass verge as had just enough control to fall that way and not into the trafficas I went down, and I ended up with my head in a ditch with my bike in the air with my legs still touching the pedals as if I was cyxling upsidown!
Worse still, my head was in the ditch and the ditch had freezing cold running water. I was totally stuck unable to move my body. Luckily the depth of my cycle helmet was able to keep my nose out of the water so I could breathe as I couldn't move due to the shutdown. A number of cars passed me but no one stopped on that country lane. I was upsidown for around 10-15 minutes. My head was freezing! Actually, heat can hinder recovery so a very bright hot summers day with no shade and I would be at risk of repeat shutdowns. But I felt stupid for ignoring my own natural istinct to ease off, and try and push through!

Many times while walking, I have been overthinking and ended up in a partial shutdown and tried to ignore it and shutdown where to others it looks like I am drunk, walking all over the place as I lose my strength to power my legs, and the. I go down onto the floor and my eyesight goes until I start to recover. Luckily for me it looks like I am drunk so people leave me alone and ignore me so I can recover. If people made a fuss I would get repeated shutdowns as the effort to try and communicate before I have fully recovered... (When people ask if I am ok, just the effort to say "I am ok" pushes me into another shutdown!) So I am glad I "Look" drunk when they happen! As long as no one rings for an ambulance as hospital smells are triggers. I'd be in shutdown after shutdown and be really in trouble! (First thing medical people do is asume one is unconcious or fainted and start to ask questions and force patients to speak! Worse case senario for shutdowns!)

I'm pretty much always shut down.

It would be inconvenient to "open up" instead.

I've never heard of a shutdown like that.
This sounds more like a blackout.
Or an absence seizure.

Or, myself having a vertigo attack. Minus the vomiting.

Same. ^

That's not how my shutdowns happen at all.
Mine are more like my nervous system can't handle more input.
I remove myself from stimuli.
I replace with other stimuli (sensory toolkit).

Ditto

Is why they took most of my life to trace as I have been tested for everything from diabetis to seisures. Is not classed as blackouts as I am mentally concious and with blackouts one is not. Same reason why they are not classed as fainting.

It was a link to different types of autistic shutdowns that I was given via someone on this site that I found out what they were as they were described so accurately that I wet to look who wrote them as I thought I had written them!

I once had this problem when going up stairs in winter, a sudden feeling of powerlessness. I put it down to feeling depressed, which gets better when I feel better. It may not be relevant to your situation, but I hope it helps.

Uhmm. Does not really seem the same... As that sounds similar but when I have a shutdown I may not be depressed at all. Other times I can be but the mood I am in (Happy or depressed etc) does not have that much bearing on when I get shutdowns or not.
I can get anxiety so strong I can be stuck in my car unable to get out the driving seat for half an hour (E.g. I can drive fine to an appointment, but when I get there anxiety can suddenly hit which has done this to me on occasions.... But that is not a shutdown. Is different. It can cause a shutdown or a partial shutdown but is not in itself a shutdown as they are different. They give similar results in that I am unable to get up out my seat when I open the car door, but if I was partly shut down it would take great effort to open the door. Anxiety would not give me great effort to open the door BUT I would not have the strength to get up. With shutdowns it feels like I am weak but it is not the same as it is that I mentally lack the power of thought to enable me to move my muscles as my mind overload is shutting them down. Is like a computer shutting down where it is shutting off its systems as it goes to sleep. (I don't go to sleep during a shutdown though I have on rare occasions had shutdowns late at night where I had just enough ability to get to bed and lie there and ended up asleep to wake up in the morning as if nothing has happened, but that is rare because the causes to shutdowns are triggers such as certain smells or overthinking or sudden unexpected decision change, and the shutdowns do not happen immediately, but more like one of the old computers that gives a message right when one is in the middle of doing something ["WINDOWS IS SHUTTING DOWN"] where there is nothing one can do but "Go with it" as if one tries to fight it one will lose... One can delay it while partially shutting down but delaying it means when a full shutdown comes it hits that much deeper where one will have a much harder time trying to recover. (Has one ever tried to quickly perform a task while those old computers start shutting down? Feels exactly like that to be going into a shutdown! Trying to find a suitable place on the floor to collapse on before I am on the floor! Very different from a faint as with a faint one is straight down. Also recovery is very different too even though both can feel similar. (Had it confirmed that they are definately not fainting from a medical expert in A&E who went over my symptoms after medical staff thought I was having repeated faints. (Had many repeat shutdowns due to medical staff giving me a blood test kept trying to force me to talk each time I started to recover which is the worst thing one can do for me as the effort talk before I am ready makes me have another shutdown!))

Like this?

APPENDIX II
Shutdowns in autistic adults
In April 2004, we posted a message on an internet message board (Goggle group: “alt.support.autism”) for autistic adults. The posting generally described shutdowns in the SD child.

A dozen or so responders generated over 50 messages discussing the syndrome. They recognized it and indicated that shutdowns are well known among autistics, but not taken seriously by either the medical community or by their coworkers. One said, “trying to fight off shutdown s among the most stressful things I have had to deal with.” Summarized descriptions include:

A flood of conflicting signals which makes deciding on one priority impossible.
Feeling suddenly very sleepy.
The ability to hear, move, make decisions, respond, evaluate information is shut-off.
Feeling confused, noisy.
Unawareness of the passing of time.
A sense of paralysis or heaviness.
Like a panic attack.
Getting tingly all over and nauseas.
Breathing heavily.
My tongue turns into a big dry sponge.
My sense of smell sharpens.
My Ears ring, eyes blur in and out.
I can’t move because I might attract attention, which is the last thing I want.
Everything gets too bright and loud, running at a speed faster than normal.
Like having 4 drill sergeants screaming conflicting orders at you at once and if you don’t do everything right away you will be in big trouble and you don’t know what to do first so you stand there being yelled at.

https://autismawarenesscentre.com/shutd ... ss-autism/

Was "Appndix ll" supposed to be a link. Looked at bottom link and is not the one I was looking for from the past.

List you gave... Can identify with quite a few on the list! Need to read more of what you wrote. Will return to it as catching up with a few things... Back when I catch up. Thank you for adding this...