Autism Burnout

I'm really struggling.  I'm heading to the place I was in a few years ago. I had to take time off work. I don't know if it's the 'spergers, anxiety or post viral fatigue from covid. I think it's a mixture. The fatigue is making everything worse. I cant focus and its all consuming. I can't reduce my workload anymore.

I've got a referral to the long covid clinic but I don't know if it's long covid or mental health and neither does the doctor. I've got a massive questionnaire to fill in.

My body is telling me to stop but I am not listening.  I keep powering through. I don't know where to turn. The local mental health place isn't helping, I'm on a generic online CBT programme. They're ringing me this week for a review. They didnt listen to me in the first instance and they talk too fast. I've referred myself to Acess for work but still waiting on that as applications are behind. I've contacted the Autism and ADHD centre (which has been recommended to me by the mental health team) to chase up the waiting list and was told that I'll get a letter when they get round to my name. They cant tell me when this will be, if it's next week or next month or in 6 months because "everything is in a mess". The place I had my private assessment haven't got any capacity at the moment.

I'm trying to help myself. My partner and i are trying to problem solve to hrlp reduce demands. I'm fed up of going round in circles.I find it difficult to ask for help or saying I'm not right (to friends or colleagues and to the professionals), and difficult to articulate what exactly is wrong and sometimes my point is lost.  I'm trying to seek help but not being able to get anywhere.

I feel like my body cannot carry on. It's telling me to stop.

I'm a fully grown adult with a professional job.

I really hope you manage to find some more support. I actually also had long Covid as well and that was a very tough time for me (especially as I was trying to write up a Master thesis at the time and could not focus at all). What I found hardest to deal with is that noone could tell me how long it takes for people with long Covid to improve and indeed it was unclear if full recovery happened at all. I remember searching the internet, trying to find accounts of people that did recover from long Covid. If it makes you feel any better, I did actually improve a lot and I would say I probably fully recovered (hard to say if it was 100% back to 'normal' as that is impossible to judge and as a lot of other issues were going on)- I only started seeing noticable improvements after 6 months though. I don't know if this gives you some hope- I know this is only one anecdotal case of recovery from Long Covid ... 

Can you possibly take a break from work to give yourself some time to rest and regain some energy?  

I really hope you manage to find some more support. I actually also had long Covid as well and that was a very tough time for me (especially as I was trying to write up a Master thesis at the time and could not focus at all). What I found hardest to deal with is that noone could tell me how long it takes for people with long Covid to improve and indeed it was unclear if full recovery happened at all. I remember searching the internet, trying to find accounts of people that did recover from long Covid. If it makes you feel any better, I did actually improve a lot and I would say I probably fully recovered (hard to say if it was 100% back to 'normal' as that is impossible to judge and as a lot of other issues were going on)- I only started seeing noticable improvements after 6 months though. I don't know if this gives you some hope- I know this is only one anecdotal case of recovery from Long Covid ... 

Can you possibly take a break from work to give yourself some time to rest and regain some energy?  

There are so many people struggling with their mental health at the moment and I wonder to what extent many are connected to Covid - either through having the infection or through other aspects of the pandemic (or possibly even the vaccine). There are so many ways that the pandemic has messed with people lives and their heads (and bodies of course). I’m also recovering from Covid and have wondered if my current severe levels of anxiety are partly due to having had Covid. It’s quite hard to separate all these things out - and in a way it perhaps doesn’t make sense to attempt to see them as separate issues because they do all connect in many ways. I just want to feel better and the strategies I’m using (that I’ve used in the past) don’t seem to be working very well at all. I found this Audiobook meditation thing on Apple Books last night called ‘Calm’  by someone called Linda Hall and even though I was a bit sceptical about it it did actually help me to relax and go to sleep. Not much does at the moment so it was a relief. She talks in an extremely slooooooow voice :) 

Thank you. It's been about 6 months now myself sInce covid. I know it varies between people. I wasn't hospitalised but it wiped me out and was quite scary. You usually know yourself a timeline when you get a cold or flu but this was unknown.

A few months before getting covid I was having fatigue due to low iron but that was mostly sorted altho I didn't feel I was back 100% before getting covid. It's hard to see what is the cause of the fatigue but all bloods and levels have come back ok this time.

It's difficult because this academic year I took on extra hours in a different department. They are supportive but it still gives me anxiety. I got covid just before we went back in September and I started the additional hours. The timing also coincides with lockdown ending.  I don't want to get on the wrong side of them being new there as they ve done a lot for me but equally I don't know where i stand a lot of the time and i get conflicting information abut things. They are supportive but don't seem to understand I need clear instruction.

My usual mgr is also very supportive and more direct with communication. I had my workload and hours reduced from when I went off with anxiety a few years ago so I can't really shave much more off.

A couple of weeks ago the fatigue lifted but its now come back. I had quite a busy weekend and coukd feel the band over my head descending late on Sunday. I have difficulty getting past how I feel in the moment. So past few weeks I've been feeling ok and that I didn't need a break. But it's come back. I sometimes have difficulty seeing the bigger picture.

I'm not saying this is autistic burnout but I feel the physical fatigue makes things more difficult to deal with. And I was just after some understanding from others :-)