meltdown

1. (informal) A tantrum or emotional outburst.Examples: "I had a major meltdown at work today. After being instructed one more time about additional work that I was to delegate to my direct reports, I snapped, but in a very polite manner."Synonyms: tantrumcountableinformaluncountable

2. (psychology) An autistic response to stress or sensory overload, in which the person is overwhelmed by intense, seemingly disproportionate emotions, behaving erratically and becoming unable to mask.Examples: "Now if I am really anxious, I can take a moment to think about what is making me anxious and what to do about it; before I would just spiral into a meltdown really quickly, with no understanding of why."; "However, if the accumulation of stress chemicals, stimulation and/or demands are occurring too fast or are too intense to block out, then a meltdown is probable."; "If you're experiencing challenges that are extremely stressful and may lead you to being overwhelmed, or set off a meltdown in the workplace, this may be very concerning to your work colleagues."countableuncountable