When our sympathetic nervous system has kicked into overdrive, and we still can't escape and feel impending death the dorsal vagal parasympathetic nervous system takes control. It causes freezing or shutdown, as a form of self preservation. (Think of someone who passes out under extreme stress.)
Shutting down emotions can be a normal part of human experience, as a coping strategy in stressful situations. Under high stress, it allows your body and brain to protect itself from perceived threats or harm.
Regular physical activity can help ease depression and anxiety by releasing feel-good endorphins. Focusing on the activity will also take your mind off your worries. Even small amounts of daily activity — as little as 10 to 15 minutes at a time — can make a tremendous difference in your emotional well being.
Becoming easily overwhelmed and distracted can sometimes be hallmark symptoms of ADHD. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, people with ADHD might experience symptoms like: restlessness. difficulty focusing.
We shut down to reduce anxiety
In the midst of this cyclical anxiety, our bodies have learned that shutting down completely is an effective way to disrupt the overwhelming stress we're experiencing (which, predictably, only makes the situation worse in the long-term).
Differences in emotions in people with ADHD can lead to 'shutdowns', where someone is so overwhelmed with emotions that they space out, may find it hard to speak or move and may struggle to articulate what they are feeling until they can process their emotions.
When trauma and chronic stress become overwhelming, our nervous system tends to move into a shutdown state. Counsellors often refer to it as dissociation, a common response to traumatic events.
Other common reasons for overwhelm are life changes that take time to process, such as going away to school, breakups or divorce, a new and challenging position at work, and bereavement. And of course we all have our limits over what we can and can't manage, time and energy wise.
Technology and Chronic Overwhelm
It pings and dings all day long, alerting you to text messages, emails, social media alerts, calendar appointments, and maybe even an actual phone call—or a dozen. Often, we feel we can't ignore any of these alerts, because many of us use our phones for personal and professional use.
Panic Disorder (Characterized by Anxiety or Panic Attacks)
If you suffer from panic attacks, you may have a panic disorder. This condition, which is often marked by extreme anxiety, may cause you to feel panicked about small things, and these feelings may escalate during times of stress.
“People often have very valid reasons to feel overwhelmed, but those terms imply that it's a personal weakness or failing, which it's not.” Instead, mental health issues are often the result of a mood disorder such as depression, an anxiety disorder or simply feeling overwhelmed by the stress of life.
People who have ADHD frequently experience emotions so deeply that they become overwhelmed or “flooded.” They may feel joy, anger, pain, or confusion in a given situation—and the intensity may precede impulsive behaviors they regret later.
Like with emotional detachment, mental detachment is simply a coping mechanism to extreme stress. Your mind and body are under such intense stress with panic attacks that your brain decides to simply shut everything down for a while. It's not dangerous nor does it mean anything about your mental health.
It may stem from an unwillingness or an inability to connect with others. There are two general types. In some cases, you may develop emotional detachment as a response to a difficult or stressful situation. In other cases, it may result from an underlying psychological condition.
The main reason they can't talk is they're too stressed, or their anxiety levels are too high in that social setting that no word comes out of their mouth. People with selective mutism literally can't speak in certain situations. The disorder literally means 'being mute in selective situations. '
Stress can trigger or intensify ADHD symptoms. At the same time, living with ADHD may cause a perpetual state of stress. This could be due to a variety of reasons. Research has shown that stress affects the prefrontal cortex, the same location of the brain affected by ADHD.
The cognitive impact of feeling perpetually overwhelmed can range from mental slowness, forgetfulness, confusion, difficulty concentrating or thinking logically, to a racing mind or an impaired ability to problem solve.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NIV) – Philippians 4:6-7.
But to be clear, it is normal to feel overwhelmed. Everyone feels overwhelmed sometimes, with varying causes. We all handle our feelings of overwhelming differently, but what counts is that we learn to recognize those feelings and manage them more effectively.
A precipitating stressor, an unexpected event, or poor mental health can cause you to feel overwhelmed, says Dr. Romanoff. She explains that you may also feel overwhelmed if a series of stressors accumulate and pile up on you. A lack of coping skills can also exacerbate symptoms.
Highly sensitive people (HSPs) tend to get overwhelmed or over-stimulated because they “process more information from their environment and from within than others do,” said Jean Fitzpatrick, LP, a psychotherapist who specializes in working with HSPs.
"Many individuals who are high in neuroticism become hypersensitive to situations that trigger strong emotions, such as sadness," he adds. In other words, those who have high neuroticism feel emotions very deeply, resulting in them crying more often.
Usually, signs of dissociation can be as subtle as unexpected lapses in attention, momentary avoidance of eye contact with no memory, staring into space for several moments while appearing to be in a daze, or repeated episodes of short-lived spells of apparent fainting.
The Shutdown Dissociation Scale (Shut-D) is a semi-structured interview, it was first published in 2011 to assess dissociative responses caused by reminders of traumatic stress .[1] The Shut-D Scale assesses biological symptoms associated with freeze, fight/flight, fright, and flag/faint responses, and is based on the ...