Published on 12, July, 2020
This may seem like an obvious question. But is there a link between being tired/exhausted and traits being my prevalent? As an example, I often have auditory processing problems but I can normally get my head around what people are saying with little effort. I'm also normally ok with eye contact when talking to people. I do Brazilian jiu jitsu, and recently moved to a new gym where the sparring is a lot more intense than I've been used to. As a result, I regularly find myself exhausted, and I've noticed that after a round of sparring, I really struggle to understand what my training partner is saying to me. I also noticed today when talking to the coach that I was really struggling with eye contact. I'm not sure if there is a question here, or if this is just a "hey I noticed this thing", but I suppose the question would be, does anyone else experience this?
I definitely felt like this this week, going away for a short break trip with my family. After driving for over 4 hours, unregular meals, carrying luggage around to where we're staying and keeping children happy, I was still expected to be a good parent/partner even though I just wanted to stop and recharge, so the "mask" definitely fell off then!
Food and rest are helpful I think, if I've eaten enough and left to recover I could probably push through most things with some perseverance.
I agree with you Phill. I try to avoid other people when tired.
Ben
Wearing a mask is exhausting. Pretending to be "normal" becomes much harder when I am tired.
I would be really surprised if this is not true for everyone.
I get an untameable erection when I'm tired.
Seriously.
Just thought I'd share that WAY too much information!
I have felt worn out from work this past week, and my tolerances for things has gone down. Loud noises, things being out of place affected me more this week. I even flapped my hand because a glass in the cupboard was in the wrong place. I have never flapped before.
I'm pretty much the same when I'm tired or stressed. I think we all mask to a degree, even if it's on a subconscious level. When we're tired it takes more effort so it's not automatic anymore.
Absolutely for me. When I haven't slept properly then any sensory sensitivity I have is amplified by a factor of about 10. My brain also doesn't have the capacity/energy/spoons to make the efforts needed to counteract the issues.
Most of us lose inhibition when exhausted (or hungry). Children are a good example of what happens when humans get tired. I think we're taught to rationalise through exhaustion just like we're taught to reason through our emotions as an act of kindness to others and sometimes to ourselves. For some this might mean not being able to follow a conversation. Eye contact is a social kindness but an addition to focused listening, so it's good to notice what becomes more difficult for you. I definitely have more difficulty with words when tired.
I'm not sure if there is any official correlation between being tired/exhausted and autistic traits becoming more prevalent, but in my experience I think there is almost definitely a link.
In my case I started to suffer from extreme fatigue in 2021 following my 1st COVID vaccination. Back then I had no idea that I am autistic (diagnosed last year). I think that prior to 2021 I had the energy that enabled me to mask quite successfully, but once the fatigue set in I struggled to cope / continue to mask. Around that time I had additional stress whilst trying to get answers from the NHS and Mental Health services.
So, I think that you are correct to link tiredness to increased traits, but I'd also add in the stress / fight or flight mechanism. I'd imagine that sparring isn't only physically tiring, but also mentally exhausting due to the focus needed.