The Universal Guide For An Apsie!

Melt downs...

Okay, soooo I don't like to beat around the bush so here it is: I going to talk about an aspect of melt downs. Now this one is gonna be about what may cause a melt down and how it feels. I might even throw some things about how to calm down if you are having a melt down.

Causes:

So, a melt down can have lots of causes, but it is usually as simple as a sensory overload. To put it another way, it is like running 14 volts of power through a 6 volt light bulb: it just isn't gonna happen, so the bulb's fuse melts. This is what happens during a melt down, you just short circuit because it is too much at once. 

What I mean by a sensory overload is hard to explain. Some people with Aspergers, and autism in general, can be over sensitive to stimuli (i.e. Sounds, touch, smells, surroundings, people and so on and so forth...) or at the other end of the scale, under sensitive. For example, as far as I can tell, I am over sensitive to sounds and under sensitive to temperature. I never know if I'm running hot with a fever, or if the washing up water has cooled yet. I must say it is a little frustrating, but while everyone else is shivering in the rain I'm dancing like a BOSS! (F.y.i. I LOVE the rain!) Now, sound is a bit tricky because I happen to be in the noisiest class in my school. To try and keep my sanity, or what's left of it, I take noise cancelling ear phones with me. Sadly, it's impossible to wear them 24/7, so a melt down is bound to happen. Ahhh, you see what I've done here, a nice smooth transition....

The Melt Down:

....that leads me into my next section. Neat, right? Well, for this bit I'm going to use my last melt down as an example. Now lucky for me, these don't happen often, however not so luckily they always seem to happen when there are lots of people. This was the case with my last melting session: it was after school, in the Music room. About 100 of us were gathered to learn a new song for the play we are doing. I was sat with some of the older boys because they were fun to talk to. My head phones were on the table in front of me, my bag under my chair. The teacher told the students to go sit to one side if they were in a specific section of the play. I am not in this part so I go sit somewhere else. There is only space at the back next to a curly haired guy who I think is strange in the best way (we had met by arguing about who was weirder, I won). Directly in front of me is the school drum kit and lots of kids moving. My leg was bouncing a lot because I was excited.

Then someone knocked the symbol of it's stand. It made a really loud, high noise, I wasn't expecting it. I covered my ears really fast and hunched over in my seat. People started laughing at the accident but then went back to chatting. I know I was breathing really fast, and I knew that it should have just been a fright but then I started crying very quietly. It felt like the noise was still in my head, it didn't necessarily hurt but it didn't not hurt. I don't know if that makes sense but that's how it felt, like getting a slap to the brain if you will. At the time of writing this, it had been two weeks since the incident. It may have only lasted around two minutes, but it was still scary as all hell because I had no control over the situation.

Calming Down:

This can be difficult to do, for me I just take deep breaths and maybe think about a song I like can help, but usually I just wait it out. My tip is to find what works for you; now that can mean tapping the floor, bringing a toy with you or just finding a quiet space. Whatever makes you happy or calm or both will work.

However, there are negative ways of dealing with a meld down. For instance, I have the extremely bad habit of biting myself when things become too stressful: Do not do this. Though I have never done permanent damage, I know this is an unhealthy habit and have been trying to stop. Biting, hitting, tugging hair and otherwise are not good because, although they may calm you down, hurting your self is never the answer. Instead, use a stress ball or let rip on a punching bag (maybe don't tell your parents I suggested the last one though ;3 ). These may sound stupid, but let me tell you that my mum's punching bag has saved me many a time over the years.

So, there are ways for outsiders to help, but I'll save that for another date. I hope this helps any one reading; what I have to say may not apply to every one, so if you have advice or stories or whatever of your own, do share. But without further adu, 'Go forth, and READ!'