Shutdown and Meltdown.

When it’s too much. When your nervous system is overloaded. When the mismatch between demand and capacity is too great…Your brain says THAT’S IT. Tools down. Walking off the job. Your nervous system is claiming what it has been crying out for. What it rightfully deserves.

Meltdowns and shutdowns are your body’s form of communication.

Your nervous system may not be able to tell you with words. But it is telling you that it’s all too much using the only tools left in your system’s toolbox when overwhelm reaches critical mass.

Overwhelm is real. It doesn’t mean you’re less. It just means your neurodivergent nervous system isn’t getting what it needs. But that doesn’t mean it’s an insoluble problem. It means that you (and those around you) just need to get better at noticing when your nervous system is starting to reach its limit.

There are two things to look back upon…the first being the triggers. These are the demands on you that usually precede overwhelm. Think about what makes you twitchy. Is it one thing alone or a combination of things that add up and flood you? During a calm moment, take stock and see if you can notice any patterns. These patterns are data.

The other thing you can do is listen to what your nervous system telling you, particularly when it’s heading towards a cliff. Look back and see if you can notice any internal early warning signs. These are the first things your system does before a shut down or a melt down. It might be a clenching sensation in the fists or the jaw. It might be pressure around your forehead or butterflies in the stomach. Or rapid breathing or sweating. These are common signs of a nervous system under fire.

If you can reliably identify these, it’s like finding gold. Except easier (yes, truly!). And just as valuable as gold. What it is …is data. It’s information. Use these signs to hear what your nervous system is telling you. Most likely it’s saying that it’s struggling to keep up with the demands and it needs something. Like the car’s fuel warning light. Your nervous system might be begging for something. It might be more oxygen. It could be wanting processing time. Or space to process. Or movement, or hydration or nourishment. Or a combination of these. Your nervous system is a wonderful machine, but like any machine it requires the right sort of input to function. Sometimes it’s just a small reset to help it meet the demands being placed on it - and thereby circumvent the big melt down or shut down.

Be kind to your nervous system. Hear what it is telling you. Check in with patience and self-compassion. Slow down. Serve it and it will serve you.