Published on 12, July, 2020
This is the first year where I really feel I can recognise a few signs of burnout before being actually ‘in’ it. I know it’s not far off. At least I think so anyway.
For me, I feel like I become a little less articulate, seemingly simple tasks become pretty much impossible (an instance at work basically confirmed this today), inertia really sets in (I owe thanks to everyone who helped me learn more about this in a recent post), I tend to lose a bit of social fluency (I think I miss points of etiquette more often than usual) and I become very clumsy.
All of this is happening right now. It’s interesting to sort of sit back and observe it a little before it properly happens this time around.
Do you know your warning signs? Hopefully this isn’t a rude question. Genuinely curious.
Warning signs for me include:
There is a useful list of the common warning signs in this article. I can identify with pretty much every item mentioned:
https://theautisticadvocate.com/2018/05/an-autistic-burnout/
"The warning signs of Autistic Burnout are actually quite easy to spot if you know what to look for, either from an external point of view, as an observer, or loved one or internally, from an Autistic self’s point of view:
Autonomistic said:There is a useful list of the common warning signs in this article. I can identify with pretty much every item mentioned: https://theautisticadvocate.com/2018/05/an-autistic-burnout/
Hi Autonomistic
Thanks for sharing your personal experience and this link, it really resonates with me. How do you distinguish between low mood and autistic burnout?
Kieran Rose’s blogs are so informative!
I am trying to identify whether I am starting to feel burnt out, I think the difference for me is feeling overwhelmed and like I cannot get enough rest before a new day begins as opposed to feeling sad for no apparent reason.
Thanks! This is really helpful!
Thanks for this explanation, very useful!
Autonomistic said:I think it is enthusiasm for our interests that is the key distinguishing factor. We are so hugely motivated by our interests and losing that suggests something is very wrong.
Yes I completely understand, we have an interest based nervous system after all!
Ausomely Autistic said:How do you distinguish between low mood and autistic burnout?
I think it is enthusiasm for our interests that is the key distinguishing factor. We are so hugely motivated by our interests and losing that suggests something is very wrong.
If I'm still actively wanting to engage in my interests, even if I'm not able to do so due to the effects of burnout, then that suggests burnout rather than low mood.
Whereas if I start completely losing interest in the things I'm normally interested in, that suggests low mood.
As the article says it is possible for prolonged burnout to lead to a depressive state. That may be the result if we are unable to engage in our interests due to the symptoms of burnout.
That's obviously a huge oversimplification and people do experience burnout differently.