Join a Community That Understands You

Get answers from those who share your health journey

Left Image 1Middle Image 1Right Image 1

Explore Over 11,000+ Conditions, Medications, and Symptoms.

Get a personalized feed by signing up for free.

avatar

Bean69

Updated 10mo ago

Can an Autistic Person Mask a Meltdown?

Odd Question Probably But Could An Autistic Person Who Has Been Maskin All Their Life…. Could They Possibly Mask A Meltdown

Can you help? connect today

avatar

Muffen91

1y

As an autistic who's masked a lot in their life, I can tell you that if it's not a big meltdown we can otherwise we just have a meltdown like any other autistic person.
avatar

EntropyMill

1y

Yeah 100%, i have shutdowns rather than meltdowns which is just internally burying the pain by dissociating
avatar

Bean69

1y

The Only Reason I Ask Is Because I Had A Huge Meltdown Earlier When I Usually Jus ShutDown
avatar

StrawberryMilk

1y

I believe even shutdowns are our expressions of beung overwhelmed. That still may not be masking since you’re letting yourself shut down rather than smiling and talking, ya knoq?
avatar

lasaaagna

1y

100% also bc like one of my biggest things is crying in public like I’ve done it but I hate it so much eventually it will come back to bite you in the ass though so pick ur battles
avatar

fakeosphere

1y

i remember when i switched from shutting down to melting down in my early 20s. It was like someone opened up a reservoir of emotions and I just couldn't hold them back anymore. not healthy to hold them back anyway as it turns out
avatar

SillyGoose

1y

Oh absolutely. Having an internal meltdown is 100% a thing.
avatar

Ash.G

1y

I think so or instead of having the visual meltdown that people stereotype instead they will have a shutdown.
avatar

IceGoddess

1y

I normally have like my brain is melting down while my body shuts down. My brain normally focuses on wanting to be destructive during those times. But feel like I hide that because of anxiety of what would come of me being destructive.
avatar

LenaSunrise

1y

This is something I’ve struggled to get my head around. I invalidate myself a lot if I don’t present in very typical ways but I think a lot of that is to do with very narrow representations we are taught. I definitely shut down rather than being as visibly upset (although sometimes it’s impossible to hide). A lot of it is to do with the fact that, over time, I’ve learnt that it would be ‘unacceptable’ for me to react in a lot of ways (according to others)
avatar

MumTo4Daughters

1y

I believe so, I'm 40 this year and had a mental breakdown in july/august/september due to significant life changing trauma in June. Anyway long story short I ended up having a psychological assesment that believes I am ASD (my 12 year old took 6 years to get diagnosed 4 years ago.) And now awaiting an official assesment. But I do believe I've masked until I'm 40 as looking back things like being put into foster care, past domestic violence relationships and abusive relationships and even now noticing things day to day. Totally ironic that even my daughters diagnosis didn't make me question myself until this assesment, and now I wonder how different life would have been if I'd been diagnosed as a child, instead of being told I was naughty and a horrible child and the effect that has had on me growing up, allowing people to use and abuse me, thinking I deserved it etc. And in relation to ur question I absoloulty think I have masked meltdowns where I have shut down, or struggled with overwhelment over the years but not having a diagnosis I didn't believe they were meltdowns till now.

The content in this post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

feed-footer-0

Free unlimited access

to all community content

feed-footer-1

Find others who are

medically similar to you

feed-footer-2

Pose questions and join

meaningful discussions

pp-logo

Alike is a transformative platform that goes beyond just bringing together patients; it meticulously connects individuals based on multiple critical factors, such as age, gender, comorbidities, medications, diet, and more, fostering a community of knowledge, support and empathy.

appStoreBtngooglePlayBtn

© 2020-2024 Alike, Inc