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Shutdown, Panic, or Trauma?: Disentangling Rejection Sensitivity, Autistic Shutdowns, and C-PTSD for AuDHD Individuals
Paperback
Series: Tell Them Apart, Book 1
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD-ADHD)Autism Spectrum DisordersSelf-Help
ISBN13: 9781923646162
Publisher: Neurodiverse Ways Press
Published: Nov 7 2025
Pages: 148
Weight: 0.46
Height: 0.32 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
I can't tell if I'm being rejected, shutting down, or triggered-and I don't know what to do about any of it.
If you're autistic AND have ADHD (AuDHD), you know that overwhelming emotional responses are part of daily life. But here's what nobody tells you: what you're experiencing isn't one thing-it's three completely different nervous system responses that require three completely different solutions.
This book solves the problem that's been making you feel like you're failing at emotional regulation.
You'll discover how to identify:
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) - the unbearable emotional pain from perceived criticism that comes with ADHD, hitting you instantly and making you want to disappear or rage
Autistic Shutdowns - your nervous system's emergency shutdown when sensory, social, or cognitive overload becomes too much, leaving you nonverbal and exhausted
Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) - trauma responses from a lifetime of invalidation, bullying, masking, and marginalization that most neurodivergent people carry without realizing it
Why this matters: Using the wrong recovery strategy makes things worse. Treating RSD like a shutdown extends your suffering. Treating a shutdown like RSD prevents your system from protecting itself. Treating trauma like either one leaves you stuck in cycles that never resolve.
Inside you'll find:
✓ The Three-Question Rapid Assessment for identifying what's happening in real time
✓ Physical sensation mapping guides (where you feel it in your body reveals what it is)
✓ Decision trees for common scenarios: boss criticism, crowded parties, cancelled plans, partner conflicts
✓ Specific recovery protocols for each experience (what actually works, not generic advice)
✓ How RSD creates trauma vulnerability and how trauma amplifies RSD (the vicious cycle explained)
✓ Why autistic shutdowns happen during RSD episodes and trauma flashbacks
✓ The stress bucket concept and why your bucket fills faster than neurotypical peers
✓ Scripts for explaining your needs to employers, partners, healthcare providers, and friends
✓ Accommodation requests that work for each type of experience
✓ Treatment hierarchy: what to address first when you have all three
✓ Building a life designed for your actual nervous system, not the one you wish you had
This book is for you if:
You've been told you have emotional dysregulation but that label explains nothing
Every emotional response feels like a crisis and you can't tell what kind
Therapy hasn't worked because nobody understood your AuDHD experience
You're exhausted from trying to manage overwhelming feelings with tools that don't work
You want practical, evidence-based strategies backed by research, not just try mindfulness
What makes this different:
This is the ONLY book that specifically addresses the intersection of RSD, autistic shutdowns, and C-PTSD for the AuDHD population. Most books cover autism OR ADHD-not both. Most lump all emotional overwhelm together under dysregulation. This book gives you the diagnostic clarity and targeted tools you've been missing.
The science behind it:
Research shows that approximately 60% of autistic adults have probable PTSD (compared to 4.5% of the general population), up to 99% of people with ADHD experience rejection sensitivity, and autistic nervous systems are fundamentally more reactive and less flexible. You're not too sensitive-you're dealing with real neurological differences that require specific interventions.
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