Published on 12, July, 2020
Hey everyone, I was diagnosed with ASD at 29 only a couple of weeks ago, part of a two year long process.
Recently I've been juggling dating, work (still working from home) and having moved out of my parents and into a house with two friends. For the past few days I've been struggling with motivation. Even drawing or doing anything that's not just sitting there feels overwhelming. I used to go for a long walk and find a quiet beer garden to sit and draw with a drink for an hour or so but even that feels like an empty task.
I've felt burnt out before and I've had time off work but I generally thought it was just a term used in the tech industry.
What are some of the signs of "autistic burnout" especially in adults. Would love to get some clarification so I can start to piece together a kind of personal recovery / recharge plan.
Are you also struggling with the dating and work or just the drawing? Maybe you are bored of your hobbies. I have to go to hobby classes to motivate me, I would never bother to do those activities normally. Maybe talking on here will be your new hobby - learning about others - a bit of psychology for you. Don't be too hard on yourself about not achieving products like drawings all the time.
Dating and work are also proving really difficult at the moment. I honestly think that my motivation comes in waves, especially with work and dating, if there's a specific piece of design work I get allocated, or there's someone I'm speaking to who's bubbly and chatty then things flow a lot smoother. I think having the diagnosis and not taking some time to process it has taken the wind out of my sails a bit.