Explaining a Shutdown
A shutdown can reduce speech and action without removing awareness, care, or consent boundaries.
What may be happening
- Speech or movement becomes difficult
- Questions increase load
- The other person treats silence as punishment
What to do next
- 1Agree a low-language signal beforehand
- 2Reduce input and immediate decisions
- 3Return to the conversation at a named later point
Words you can use
“I can hear you. I can’t process more questions now. Please give me quiet and check at 7.”
General educational information, not medical, diagnostic, legal, or mental-health advice. Use the wording only when it fits your own boundaries.