Published on 12, July, 2020
Does anyone else out there find that symptoms of anxiety leading to exhaustion get worse as you get older? I am fifty years old, diagnosed with Asperger, and am finding it increasingly difficult to get up for work or even maintain an interest in my passion for woodturning? Is this an experience shared by others? I feel like I have hit burnout and finding it all rather depressing.
I'm 56 and in the last few years particularly I've struggled to maintain interest in hobbies that have absorbed me all my life. As these mostly involve collecting, maybe I've just reached saturation point and own everything that I really want. Also I have even less interest in going anywhere than I used to - sometimes I don't go outside the small town where I live for months. I was only diagnosed with Asperger's last September, so it's not a reaction to the diagnosis.
In my case it's hard to be sure of the cause as I've suffered from chronic insomnia for 16 years and increasing levels of depression. Both of these have a noticeable effect on my energy and interest levels. I'm less anxious than I used to be but that's because I avoid as many of the trigger situations as possible. But there's certainly an element of anxiety in the insomnia - usually it's anxiety about insomnia, which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, rather than external worries.
I know that in middle-age one should have regular physical check-ups to rule out other causes. Due to medical phobias, I haven't done that as thoroughly as I should but my blood pressure is normal and I'm only slightly overweight. I exercise for 30-40 minutes every day.
I haven't worked for years and only ever had a full-time job in my twenties. Even then I found it so exhausting I had to lie down as soon as I got home! In recent years, whenever I do go out for a few hours, say shopping in a city, I find it wipes me out for the rest of the day.