Meltdowns are a common thing to happen in the autistic community. A meltdown could be someone going silent, as well as someone yelling at whoever is near them. It varies from person to person. I have experienced both of these types of meltdowns. Autistic people tend to experience meltdowns after sensory overload. A lot of people on the outside witness the aftermath, but they do not understand what causes a meltdown. I wanted to share some triggers that could lead to meltdowns. It is not the same for everyone, but these are some that I have experienced, as well as some people I know.
1. Sensory
Loud noises and bright lights are one of the most common autistic triggers. It is also common to not realize these are triggers until later in life. I used to get very nervous at events with loud music and flashing lights, but I never really understood why. I just knew these events were stressful. I hated fireworks as a kid because of the noise. It bothered me when my family left the lights on in the house at night because I could see the light through the crack of my door in the bedroom. These little things seemed to bother me so much more than those around me and I never understood why. Lights and noises are physically painful for a lot of us with autism. It hurts my ears when I have to listen to them. This can cause an autistic person a lot of stress and lead to meltdowns. Being picky with food can be another sensory issue. I still do not like my food touching and will not eat any sauces. I am extremely picky about texture. I will not eat anything too crispy and when I was younger I would not eat the skin on any meat. I cannot explain this one in depth because I don't know the exact cause, but I can say when I see my food touching it gives me anxiety and I don't want to eat it. This can be a trigger for those of us who are picky about our food. Being touched in general can also be a trigger for an autistic person. I do not like when people touch me. I have never been much of a hugger. Being touched makes me feel like I am not in control of my body. It feels like someone is taking over my control and it scares me at times. There are some autistic people who enjoy being touched or just need a lot of pressure. This varies from person to person, but I personally do not like the feeling. I am only okay with it if it is someone I am in a relationship with. Touching can cause an autistic person a meltdown if it is unexpected. Another sensory trigger that I feel like doesn't get talked about enough is temperature. I do not like it too hot or cold. I personally have always hated the beach because it's hot and the sand sticks to me. I have always felt uncomfortable when it is either really hot or really cold. I like a perfect temperature, which I know is unrealistic, but sometimes it's hard for those of us with autism to snap into reality. There is not an exact cause as to why these bother me so much, but they have caused me to get very upset in the past. Sensory problems are one of the most common autistic triggers, but not every autistic person can explain why they are such strong triggers. It is hard to express these to people because most of them are an internal feeling we get. Noise canceling headphones are an autistic person's best friend. They help massively in loud situations. If you are trying to prevent loud noises from being a trigger try getting noise canceling headphones if you haven't. Sleep masks have also helped me when the lights are on at night. They might help others too.
2. Time management, Planning, and Routine
These are probably three of my biggest triggers personally. I can't stand people being late. I don't understand how people do it. I get severe anxiety even if I'm right on time to appointments or to work. I have to be at least 20 minutes early to everything. I am always around people who are running late and I usually end up getting frustrated because I get nervous we are going to be late to wherever we need to go. When my friends are late to hang out somewhere, I have to rearrange the time in my mind to get there at the same time as them. So, if we planned to meet at 5:00 and they tell me they will not be there until 5:30, I have to plan to be there later, so that I feel like I'm on time. I hope that makes sense. It's a struggle for those of us who are autistic because the time feels wrong when a plan changes. Autistic people also like a plan, which is why being late is annoying. If we planned to meet at 5:00 and you can't be there at 5:00, you just changed our plan and that bothers me a lot personally. My mom used to take us on vacations a lot and I never wanted to go if we didn't have a plan. I would always ask what we are doing, how long we will be there, and what time we will be there and back. I hated traveling because we never had a set schedule. She had to start writing me a list of what exactly was going to happen on the trip, but it was never exact, so it didn't help much. Routine was another issue for me. I do the exact same thing every morning. I wake up, use the bathroom, brush my teeth, shower, eat, take my medicine, get dressed, then leave for work at exactly the same time every day in that order. When we went on trips my routine got thrown off, so it was frustrating. I would always have to plan around when other people are doing things and had to sleep in a new bed. It was very uncomfortable. I think the best thing you can do to help this not become a trigger is plan in detail. Make sure you are on time, give the autistic person an exact schedule if possible. This includes the date of the event, time of the event, and how long the event will last. I know it is difficult to have that exact of a schedule, but do the best you can with it. Also trying to let them keep their routine is important. Let them finish their shower or whatever it is they do at the same time they always do it instead of making them work around your time. It may cause them less stress and prevent meltdowns. I wish my family would have been able to give me more exact answers growing up, so try to do this for someone you may know.
3. Communication Deficits
Communication deficits can lead to a lot of misunderstandings. A lot of autistic people have their own form of communication. Many of us have what society would consider odd interests. I also have a hard time communicating my feelings at times. It's hard for me to explain what is bothering me sometimes and there are times that I don't realize something is bothering me. I think neurotypicals have a fairly good understanding of what is going on in their mind, but those of us with autism have a different brain structure. We can't always comprehend things as easily as a neurotypical might be able to. We also may take longer to comprehend information. I take longer than most people around me to finish things because I need things done a certain way. A lot of neurotypical people I know get things done different ways until they find the right way or the quickest way. For a lot of autistic people there isn't a right or wrong way. They just like things done their way. They do it one way and that is the only way they will ever want to do it. It's hard to understand how other people can change their image around people or do things differently. Autistic people prefer to be themselves no matter who their with or where they are. They also like things their way. We often like to feel in control of ourselves. We also don't always understand social rules. It would benefit a lot of us if neurotypical people tried to understand us or if they could explain to us why they act so differently than us. I would like to be able to understand neurotypicals as much as I want them to understand me.
4. Depression and Anxiety
It is common for people with autism to suffer from depression and anxiety. I recently witnessed someone telling another person that they should not be so depressed because they have things like a PlayStation, Xbox, and other electronics. These types of things do not fix depression. It is something that comes and goes with no explanation at times. Depression is often when people just do not feel like they deserve to live in this world. It is important not to assume that there is nothing going on behind the scenes of someone's life. They could be going through a lot more than they appear to be. I suffer from major depression and anxiety. Anxiety is another thing that can suddenly happen with no cause. I wake up with panic attacks fairly often that have no cause. It is hard for me to get anything done when I am in these episodes. I also suffer from paranoia, so I feel like people are always watching me or out to get me in some way. I don't mean that as in trying to hurt me physically, but more I believe people usually only want to talk to me to benefit themselves in some way. I also do have a fear of people breaking into my house or trying to hurt people around me. I worry about everything and that can lead to anger when I don't know how to cope. I am diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder, so these things might affect me more than others with autism. I wanted to share my experience because these are both common disorders among people with autism and they can lead to very overwhelming emotions at times.
5. Rejection
I feel like rejection is difficult for anyone, but I believe it can be more difficult for people with autism or any disability. It is hard enough to deal with rejection for neurotypicals, but people with autism act very different from the average person, so we are already rejected by several people. A lot of us feel like we don't fit in as it is, so when people don't listen to us or just ignore us it makes us feel worse. We want to be understood as much as possible. I know it's hard to understand since we are very different from the average person, but the world is hard enough to fit into, so it's appreciated even when people just try to understand even if you still can't. Asking questions is a really good way to understand someone who is autistic. If they are having difficulty explaining what's wrong, you can give them a few minutes, then ask what the cause of the meltdown was. They might not always have an answer, but they will know you cared enough to try. When people just assume we do not want to talk it can actually just feel like we are being ignored or the odd one out. Putting the effort in to understand each other is important and it goes both ways. We are trying to understand you as well.
A lot of these triggers can lead to meltdowns or sudden mood swings. It is important to understand that the cause of an autistic person having a meltdown can be an internal thing. It is not anyone's fault. I know I have talked about meltdowns before in an earlier post, so feel free to look at that post as well. I hope this helped in understanding autistic triggers. Everyone is different, but these are some of my biggest triggers and some I have personally experienced. If you would like to know more on a specific topic leave it in the comments below!
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