Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
So feel a bit weird being here. I have not been diagnosed with Autism, but recently got referred to my GPs mental health consultant and after my assessment he indicated that I had strong Autistic traits. I am not sure what that means, he didn't really elaborate, and I am a recluse and was under so much stress being out and down the doctors surgery that I just couldn't think of anything other than getting out of there.
I originally went down there because I have bounced out of work again, struggling to be functional. It is something I have been through before, but this time seems worse, I can't seem to work around it like I normally do. I'm used to 'pretending to be normal' but right now that ability seems to have abandoned me. I naturally did some reading, and came across the phrase Autistic Burnout on here. This sound exactly like what I go through, but I am also aware it is easy to feel affinity for symptoms and it just be coincidence.
There doesn't seem to be any help forth coming in the short term, but without work I will be homeless in 10 months (I will run out of money and my tenancy ends). It is just me, so there is no one to help out. I need to start working the problem, and at this point I am willing to try anything. It might turn out to be a mis-diagnosis but I would be interested what people here do to combat and recover from Autistic Burnout. I thought a little trial and error might at least eliminate some things. Getting a bit desperate now, so any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks
Hi Moon Scribe and welcome to the community!
The NAS has a great article about this, which includes:
You might find some of the advice helpful: NAS - Autistic fatigue - a guide for autistic adults
Given what you've been told by your GP's mental health consultant, you might also want to explore whether you feel an autism assessment could be relevant and helpful for you. There's some great advice here, including signs of autism, deciding whether to get assessed, and how to request an assessment:
NAS - Before diagnosis
As part of this, you could also complete some tests online. The AQ-10 and AQ-50 are commonly used by GPs and assessment centres when screening for referrals. RAADS-R might also be useful for you. They can be completed online, and you can print off your results to discuss with your GP or consultant:
Embrace Autism - tests
Hi Bunny, sorry for the delay getting back, I am trying to not spend too much time parked in front of my computer. I'll have a read through that article. Work is my main concern, I can juggle other things in my life, but without that everything is going to be quickly problematic. I do have problems avoiding excessive work loads. One of the things about being 'neuro-diverse' is that it is both a super-power and a curse. In my line of work if you are highly capable you quickly end up buried as there are always a million things to do, and most of the other people lack the skills to do the work (the industry ballooned and the skills base didn't have time to keep up). Despite being very upfront about my boundaries, it never seems to work. It is always just one more thing, then one more, and as I don't like confrontation I tend to get manipulated into doing it. I think there is a degree of human nature at work. Despite people knowing I tend to crumple if they lean on me too hard they just can't quite help themselves. They can give me the task and it gets done, and works, or they can hand it out elsewhere and it takes 10 times longer, causes lots of hassle, and often still fails and I end up doing it anyway. I know I should say no more, but that invites a conversation about why, and my social anxiety kicks in and I agree to things to avoid it. It is stupid, I know it is, but right there in the moment all I want to do is escape.
Not really sure about the Autism assessment as I am not sure what difference it would make? I tend to weigh things up and avoid anything that causes anxiety that doesn't have any real benefit. Would it help? What do you think the positives of doing so are? The GP/Consultant was a little weird about it. He did an initial assessment, asked me a load of questions, then said I had strong Autistic traits. Then asked me how I felt about it? I wasn't really sure how to answer that, he seemed to want something from me, but I have no idea what. He kept asking what I wanted to do, which feels a bit back to front as I went there because I ran out of ideas and was looking for a professional opinion.
Sorry to jump in here....but I think your questions in the second paragraph above, are SO resonant with my soul and understanding of my world, that it would be unreasonable for me to ignore them, without a quick #metoo - whether that be misappropriation, or not. As always, I am ALWAYS interested to see what others think about matters that interest or impact me too.
Fwiw.....I am a "professional" (not in the field to which this matter relates)....but I note that, without reserve, I consistently, and repeatedly note that....."so-called-professionals" in my field, are OFTEN far less able/competent than the average "bright" human that I might meet on the street.
Accordingly, I tend not to "judge" people, whether "professional" or not....in their respective fields. Personally, I tend to simply "judge the person" based on how they choose to interact with me....whether that be in my field.....or not.
Thank you for maintaining a buoyancy to my sense of presence, here.
Kind regards
Number.
I think specifically software development is like Mathematics. It takes a certain mind to grasp the underlying patterns and logic. Everyone can do some maths, but if you put most people in for a maths degree they'd just not be able to do it, it isn't really a matter of intelligence, they may be exceptional in other subjects, it is a way of thinking that requires a neural affinity for that type of information processing. Unfortunately software development requires far more people as an industry than are available with that natural affinity. An order of magnitude more. So it has a lot of people struggling to output anything reasonable because they can't 'see it' and are relying on something akin to brute force and dogmatic formula to try and get things working.
I don't hold it against them. It is what it is, and I have met some people far more intelligent than me who just couldn't grasp the complexities. I have the ability to track and visualize millions of lines of code and see how it all fits together like the moving gears in a pocket watch. It took me a while to realize that most people can't do this, and that it isn't normal. So I also don't judge. I have a dysfunction that has a use, but I'd give it up in a heart beat to get rid of all the other things that come with it.