What Triggers- Part 1

What can be triggers

• Unexpected/ Sudden Changes
  • Of plans over something we have been looking forward to
  • To routines
  • In surrounding environments
  • Unknown/Unplanned visitors
• Overwhelmness/ Stress
  • Too much information at once
  • Pushed to the limit by others
  • Too much expected from us
  • New places
  • Short/Closer Deadlines
  • No Breaks
• Sensory Overload
  • Crowding Places
  • Music in public
  • Lights
  • Loud noises
  • Other children’s shrieks
  • Smelly plug ins
  • Over stimulated shower heads
• Tiredness
• Over Worrying
  • Paying bills on time
• Social Interaction
  • Personal Conflict
• Masking
• Hungry/ Thirsty
• Frustration
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Demands
  • Personal 
  • Professional
• Technology issues
  • Slow internet
  • Internet crashing
  • No internet
  • Low Battery

 

Anonymous:

For myself – unexpected changes of routine or being overloaded and pushed to the limit by others. I am generally tolerant but at times it can take one minor infraction or irritation and I will snap.

For my eldest daughter- Frustration at not getting what she wants straight away or if there is something either in her environment or an internal trigger that she cannot explain.

 

Anonymous:

I have two neurodivergent children. My eldest is autistic and ADHD, for her the biggest triggers in her life have always been change of routine, new people and transitional anxiety. So this can be things like getting a taxi to school although this is part of her routine the anxiety of going from one place to the next is a lot for her, at times when this becomes overwhelming she can shutdown and refuse school altogether, also lock herself in her room. Any changes in routine need to be planned carefully to avoid meltdowns, things like including her in the change explaining everything to her and making sure we are open to all questions she has.

With my son, changes in routine can cause massive meltdowns and can cause him to shutdown even simple things like bedtime being off by an hour, so we have to have a very strict routine in place to help. Noise and crowds are very overwhelming to him, so he needs frequent breaks to allow him to stim and calm himself down in a quieter environment. But he can sometimes mask, so it won’t fully show until he’s home and then he will stop making all sounds and go into a silent shutdown/burnout. This can take hours to gently bring him round. Smaller things for him are textures of clothing objects around him. These can all trigger overstimulation if they don’t feel right, food can again texture and consistency of food is a big one and he can ultimately end up refusing food. He doesn’t like waiting in his pushchair, so this has to be carefully managed to avoid meltdowns through toy distraction methods and sometimes just pacing up and down constantly.

 

Anonymous

I try to set boundaries and accommodate myself to avoid getting overwhelmed and then burnt out but often different things will affect me at different times. Sometimes its the time of year: Christmas with lights and lot’s of pressure and social expectations can be difficult. The same with summer because the long days and warm weather aren’t regulating for me.

I used to find it much easier to mask and push through when I was younger but with more responsibilities I have as an adult, I find it’s a lot harder to stay cantered. Many things will build up and I don’t always know if I’m approaching a big burn out or how to help myself with in the thick of it. I’m always learning about my needs. As I grow and change as a person, my own sensory needs are changing too. 

Social burn out is a big one for me, sometimes just a conversation in person where I cannot take a break between replies or have time to process can be massively exhausting. When I have more social engagements, personally work or otherwise, I end up shut down a lot quicker. I need a lot of time to process and regulate myself between things. It’s like a domino effect for, without too much space the first things to overwhelm me will knock forwards, even if they’re not things that will affect me as much as others.

 

If you would like to know more about meltdowns, burnouts and shutdowns, why not check out these previous blogs

The difference between Meltdowns, Burnouts and Shutdowns Part 1 – JaimeGraceUK’s World (jaimegraceuksworld.co.uk)

The difference between Meltdowns, Burnouts and Shutdowns Part 2 (jaimegraceuksworld.co.uk)