Panic Attacks Many people think a meltdown and an anxiety attack are the same thing. My friend has a panic disorder and was told that one of most identifiable symptoms of a panic attack is the belief that you might be dying.įrom a psychological standpoint, the main difference is that panic attacks are a hormonal over-reaction to initiate intense response to danger, while a meltdown is a hormonal response to intense emotions that autistic brains are unable to process and/or regulate.īoth are extreme responses to stress, but panic attacks are a disproportionate reaction to a stimulus that the individual's brain should reasonably be able to handle, while meltdowns are a loss of control caused by an experience the autistic brain is resonably unable to handle. Understanding the difference between the two can help anyone who cares about person with Autism. Since you have experience with autism, you can offer help to that person in distress. I am incredibly overwhelmed during meltdowns and feel an intense general fear, but I've never been convinced that I was dying during one. Meltdowns can look like any of these actions: withdrawal (where the person zones out, stares into space, and/or has body parts do repetitive movements) or outward distress (crying uncontrollably, screaming, stomping, curling up into a ball, growling, etc.). Meltdown: this is when my shutdown gets bypassed this is when both mental and physical systems are as well past control instead of going to the more apt freeze response, it’s the explosion response (for me I dance out, or do similar practices that are helpful and exhaust the hulking out ). I actually just had a conversation about this with a friend! From what we could tell experience-wise, the main difference is that meltdowns lack a visceral sense of impending death.
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