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Struggling

BlueHawk

I am struggling. I've been in autistic burnout for 3 years. I don't work, I'm not in education, I've tried volunteering but I can't keep going I get so exhausted. I have no friends or family. I live alone. My house is a mess, unhygienic. I just don't have the energy. I don't see the point. I go from one day to the next doing the bare minimum to get through. I don't know what to do. It's frustrating living like this. I'm just existing. 

I just wanted to vent but I'm open to suggestions or to hear from anyone who has been through similar.

Parents

  • What do you think it would take to get you into a headspace where you would be able to make a go of the things you really want to do?

    Would getting your house organised and clean be enough? 

    I personally find it helps to get a kick-start when I get into a rut such as you describe.

  • in reply to Iain

    Thanks for your reply. Changing my environment but unfortunately that is proving impossible. I do what I can to manage sensory input but it's not enough.

    It wouldn't be enough but it would help. It would be great if I could afford a cleaner.

    How do you manage your energy levels? I am exhausted from daily living. 

  • in reply to BlueHawk
    BlueHawk said:
    How do you manage your energy levels? I am exhausted from daily living. 

    I grew up in an era where it was a case of adapt or find yourself homeless - there was no real support available.

    Needing to work to be able to eat was a strong motivator to learn to compartmentalise sensory and mental struggles and getting a night shift work where I was working in a warehouse with minimal human contact enabled me to build my own version of mindfulness that allowed me to move on from manual work to getting into IT at a time when desktop PCs first appeared.

    I also learned a form of meditation early on and was able to learn assertiveness on a training course which completed the toolset that formed the basis of my survival skills for most of the rest of my career.

    Now there is a lot more info and advice available but the single most effective thing I can recommend is to get a psychotherapist who understands autism really well - they can teach you the skills to live a relatively full life even with your challenges.

    Now I have given up being an employee and am my own boss of my own construction business and work when I want to work (within reasonable limits) and this has massively improved my quality of life.

  • in reply to BlueHawk
    BlueHawk said:
    Autism isn't a mental health issue.

    I didn't say it was - I said the autistic traits caused stresses on my mental health, much like your autistic burnout is causing you.

    BlueHawk said:
    It isn't to do with motivation or something that I can think my way out of.

    I also didn't suggest you could think your way out of it. It takes learning and application of mental tools to be able to do this. If you are unable to do this then my advice is clearly not relevant to you, but you asked how I did it.

    BlueHawk said:
    Please read up on autism and autistic burnout before commenting again

    I have been studying autism for 5 years now, have studied a great many books on the subject and work helping autistic teenagers so I think you may have misjudged my level of experience.

  • in reply to Iain

    Autism isn't a mental health issue. It can impact on someone's mental health but isn't a mental health condition or illness or issue. It isn't to do with motivation or something that I can think my way out of. Please read up on autism and autistic burnout before commenting again. Thank you.

  • in reply to BlueHawk
    BlueHawk said:
    Is it more mental health than autism that you struggle with?

    It was the autistic traits that caused me to be tired and stressed on the whole - interactions with people, coping with sensory distress etc - these are all mental health issues as they stem from the mind.

Reply Children
  • in reply to BlueHawk
    BlueHawk said:
    Autism isn't a mental health issue.

    I didn't say it was - I said the autistic traits caused stresses on my mental health, much like your autistic burnout is causing you.

    BlueHawk said:
    It isn't to do with motivation or something that I can think my way out of.

    I also didn't suggest you could think your way out of it. It takes learning and application of mental tools to be able to do this. If you are unable to do this then my advice is clearly not relevant to you, but you asked how I did it.

    BlueHawk said:
    Please read up on autism and autistic burnout before commenting again

    I have been studying autism for 5 years now, have studied a great many books on the subject and work helping autistic teenagers so I think you may have misjudged my level of experience.

  • in reply to Iain

    Autism isn't a mental health issue. It can impact on someone's mental health but isn't a mental health condition or illness or issue. It isn't to do with motivation or something that I can think my way out of. Please read up on autism and autistic burnout before commenting again. Thank you.