Published on 12, July, 2020
I was diagnosed with high functioning autism earlier this year at age thirty-seven, after a very, very long process of trying to get an accurate diagnosis. I've spent all my adult life struggling with mental illness. My depression significantly subsided after my ASD diagnosis. I stopped seeing myself as a neurotypical who fails at things for no reason and instead as an autistic person who has the challenges that go with that. It basically gave me permission not to beat myself up for my struggles, which was a relief.
I'm still learning to find my place in the world. I've never worked full-time. I currently work part-time, not in the type of job I thought I would have and am trained to have. It's a practical struggle (to earn money) as well as a more emotional one (to do something I enjoy). I also struggle a lot with fatigue, particularly around work, and I'm trying to find more information about autistic burnout and autistic fatigue.
Luftmentsch (Sky person?), Welcome friend.
You are a lion(ess). We are not a failed NTs, but battling NDs. You have fought this far alone. Be proud. And we are here. :-)
Luftmentsch is Yiddish. It does literally translate as 'sky person,' but means someone with their head in the air, not necessarily rooted to things in the world.
Thank you!
I had heard of spoon theory, but mainly as a retroactive thing, to explain why I've crashed to others. I haven't tried to use it to maintain energy levels proactively.
Hello Dawn, please excuse me cutting in...
I know this as 'spoon theory' ...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_theory
If you have a busy day it really can help, but you need to be quite focussed, I learned about it from a friend with a physical disability who simply needed to pace herself. You just visualise spoons, each one being a unit of energy. It takes a little bit of self-discipline but many use it successfully. However, be aware, it is far too easy to forget about it until you are already in deficit.
Ben
It's not an exact science and I can see that it works at some points in life better than others. When my lad was little, between work the commute and his dizzy round of social whatnot, I'm not sure where I'd have found all this restorative time for 'deposits'.
Now that I'm middle aged and can work from home, it's easier because I suppose I'm more time rich. If I want to go to a social function, I make sure I've a day off before or after. If I have to travel anywhere, I choose the mode that "costs" me least and think about what opportunities I'll have to recuperate from the sensory bombardment.
I had heard of energy accounting, but I'm not sure how to assign values to different activities. Plus, how draining an activity is seems to depend on lots of different factors, it's not always the same. I will try to find the YouTube video.
Ah! Thank you. That's fascinating.
Re the fatigue btw there is a concept called energy accounting which might help. Purple Ella has a good you tube video on that.
Basically, you treat your energy reserves like a bank account. If you are going to have 'spend' some on one thing, you need some energy 'income' to replenish the account.
I guess we all do that with our food intake. If you are going to run a marathon, you need lots of carbs cos you're going to burn the calories. But this is more about rest and alone time and hobbies to give the energy 'deposits' to spend later.