Why Did Meltdowns Turn Into Shutdowns?

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Pretty much.

I used to throw tantrums as a kid. At least some of those were “meltdowns.”

In my experience, meltdowns are emotional-based and demonstrative; shutdowns are sensory-based and withdrawn. I don't differentiate them by intensity. A shutdown can be just as intense if not more so than a meltdown, and it can last longer. It isn't just a "mini meltdown". Sometimes my shutdowns can last for weeks (e.g., I went through one in April and couldn't use electric light, listen to music or any sound, smell food, or barely speak for several weeks).

Oh no Isabella. That is aweful. I think the longest for me has been when I went to hospital for a blood test and actually got back to the car just after the car parking ticket ran out which was six hours later. Shutdowns feel so much like fainting and to be honest I may feen a shutdown rather then be fainting due to the situation I can't handle? Looking back, I knew it was a shutdown because the attention and fuss the staff members kept giving me was preventing me from recovering. They wanted me out of the chair so they could have the stall clear to do more blood tests for other people. Every time I thought I could sit up (As I was forcing myself a bit) it wasn't working. I go into limp mode when I have a shutdown and my strength leaves my body. Its like having lovely muscles but having nothing to run them with. (My leg muscles used to be impressive. They have shrunk back these days).
So, theh were stuck with only one of the two cubicles available for ages. Then when I could finally sit up, they transferred me to a chair and it became embarissing. They took me down to the A&E where I was able to lie down foe a few hours before I was ready to go out. A man saw me (I think he aas an A&E doctor and he said "Somethings not right here. Do you have autism?" I said "No". (Him asking that was a piece of the jigsaw which eventually led me to this site and to ask to be assessed).
I was eventually able to get up.. I think someone had givn me a coffee witn lots of sugar which I would have asked for (I can hardly remember) which would have perked me up a bit. I think my brain must run out of energy? They did have me on one of those machines on wheels to monitor my pulse and heart etc... I think they checked my blood sugar as well, as I think I had to wait until they had a result before I was allowed to leave. I was ready to leave about 25 to 30 minutes before then.
I know that if they had taken me outside and sat me in the rain or even better, let me lie down on the floor after leaving the blood test area... And let me have a little chocolate, I would have recovered in no time.
Whenever I have gone for a blood test, it is a battle for me to walk through those corridors, go down the stairs and get out the building BEFORE I end up panicing and get a partial shutdown and end up limp on the floor.
The nurves I get while waiting, and the panic I get inside when they take my blood and then trying to get outside after as I am not allowed to use the emergency door which would give me quick access... I have to walk all the way round through emclosed corridors. It is dealing with yhis that I believe causes the shutdown.
I can't actually feel any difference between fainting and shutdowns except I have learnt that the recovery from each of them is a little different. I believe if I faint (Which may actually be rare) I don't mind fuss. But if I have a shutdown I do as I need to lie down in a quiet shady place if I can that is not too claustrophobic so I can recover. Preferably under a tree outside. I don't care if I get rained on. It will actually help me. And a sugary drink or/and some chocolate or some food like a pasty or something helps me pull out of the shutdown.
It sounds like diabetis but it is not. I have been checked many times over a 25 to 30 year period. Always comes up clear.

Ammended. Sorry. Wrote too much again.

MountainGoat,
I'm certainly not an expert in autism, and everyone experiences their physical / emotional reactions in different ways regardless of their neurotype. What you are describing sounds to me like a panic attack, or a phobia of blood testing. Panic attacks can cause this type of reaction where you are in Fight, Flight, Fawn or Freeze mode. It sounds like you freeze. Jimmy m talks about tonic immobility (shutdown of muscular function), which can be caused by fear, insecurity, trauma or overwhelm.

Also, it's very possible that your reaction to the blood test is associated with hypoglycaemia or a condition where your blood sugar drops and you lose energy. Yours could be an extreme case.

I know that all of your "shutdowns" aren't related to blood testing, and that you only gave one example, but in your example it does sound to me like a panic attack or hypoglycaemia.

I'm not invalidating the possibility that you are autistic. From what I've read in your various posts, you could very well be. A person can be autistic and have meltdowns and shutdowns AND panic attacks (I have all three). Or, maybe your blood test reaction was actually a shutdown of motor capacity in response to the stimuli in hospital. Some people are very sensitive to the white walls, the fluorescent lighting, the smells, the sounds, etc. , and in that regard it would be sensory based more than you realise.

I hope you are able to have your assessment soon as I know you are really deep into introspection and eager to learn exactly where you fit on the spectrum.

Hugs

Thanks Isabella. Thinking about hospitals... It't the smells that get to me. I never thought of it from the point of view of being sensitive to smell. I could do with being assessed quick to put my mind at rest, but there are probably many in the same situation... The lists are quite long I believe.
One thing I fear is that the UK may go bankrupt before I get to be assessed so I may never get to know where I stand.