Autistic Burnout

in bed with a tone of icecreams

I need time to myself; after a burnout day today.

Cancelled tomorrow morning's counselling session. Need time at home.

Ah thank you for that. You most certainly aren’t alone, I’m learning that each day I’m here. This community is full of people who can relate to, or at least understand, the many areas of challenge, as well as strengths, that autistic individuals face on a daily basis. After all, we are the ones experiencing it or having navigated it.

I would agree though, time is the thing here. Slow and steady wins the race so to speak. It’s hard to be patient with yourself in these moments, but I’m learning that it important in recovery to be.

I wish you all the best with it.

2nd part of video is about how badly it can be next time if you didn't recover properly https://youtu.be/2CXmdkPLrBA

Yes they definitely are two separate things but I do feel like if I could have a little less anxiety it would help how I feel. I started to realise I was in burnout when I felt exhausted, had stomach issues, couldn't sleep well and I couldn't complete tasks I usually am able to. My mind just couldn't work the same way it had before and my body was reacting too. This time around this all started around end of April and I started to feel a little better in May/June but it got really worse in July. I had to take several weeks off work and now I'm trying to be back at work but really struggling. Not sure if I can take more time off really.

I'm sorry to hear your burnout has been lasting so long, I do hope you're able to adapt and adjust things a bit more to support you to to get to enjoy life more rather than having to deal with burnout so consistently!

Thank you so much for replying! I've definitely tried to push myself to feel better and just ended up feeling worse. I do feel guilty taking time off work as I already have taken over a week in the spring and couple weeks recently. Definitely realising this will take much longer than that to recover from. It's hard when I know I could bounce back much easier before but this time around really struggling with it.

I know you're right and I definitely have tried to rush it and now I'm still here not feeling much better.

I understand anxiety and burnout as two separate things, albeit if you're anxiety has been running at a high for a while it can lead to burnout and you can have them both together.  Same with depression.  They can co-occur, but they aren't the same thing.

Burnout for me is an extreme exhaustion and lack of motivation, sometimes with some very strange muscle aches.  Anything on life's 'to do' list suddenly seems too confusing and too difficult.  There aren't any meds for it, only rest.  The advice to take it easy is right.  Set very few goals for the day and allow time to do the things that give you some pleasure and lots of sleep. It will just go in the end, but how long, for me anyway, depends on how deep the burn out goes.  In my younger day, a few days or a week.  Of late, I've been through a lot and when the burn out hit it has gone on a over a year...not quite shaken it yet.  

Mariusz said:

by rushing the recovery you'll only prolong it,  

I completely agree. Looking back, I think it was burnout and I went back to work earlier than I should have. 

Eli said:

I feel like I need to rush to feel better for work,

I was the same but believe me, it is not worth it. I think my "rushing to go bsck" and not recovered well enough has contributed to further health problems a few years later as I hadn't built reserves up enough before they were battered back down again. I don't think alexithymia helps though. When we don't know what we feel, we don't know if we are ok or not. Having a good support network, even if it's just one close person can help you identify better if you are ok or not.

I just think to myself "what would other people do in my situation? " they would have time off till they are better. 

However, I am off work at the moment and realised I was putting myself under huge pressure to be 100% better when I return, however this isn't realistic. It's a fine balancing act. 

Oakling said:

taking time to do relaxing thing that are enjoyable, with no elements of success or failure is helpful for me. E.g. finding time to listen to music or a podcast.

I really like this suggestion!  Also, don't feel guilty for taking time out. It isn't time wasted, you are still doing things because your body and mind are recovering so this time is still being productive even if it doesn't feel like it.

by rushing the recovery you'll only prolong it,  

take it easy,.as long as it takes,

because it can be worse, like unable to leave bed for 8 weeks

Thank you so much for this! The way you write is really clear and calming in some way! It is helpful to understand burnout better and hear other people's experiences and what helps them. And to know one isn't alone with it all. I feel like I need to rush to feel better for work, but I'm starting to realise this might take longer than I thought. 

Hello there.

I might not be of much assistance here, as I still don’t know what fully works for me yet. But I do know burn out and how hard it can hit. It’s a constant battle in autism (at least in my experiences anyway).

I think the best thing that happened to me was realising that it is a real thing. Before my diagnosis I never had the words to describe it, but it all became a lot easier to navigate when I realised I wasn’t alone in experiencing it.

By recognising the reality of burn out as an actual thing, I was able to take it a little easier on myself and adjust my expectations of what I can manage. Setting smaller goals in recognition of my reduced energy levels allows for a slow moving away from burn out by not using more energy than I have available. Returning to work is a good long term goal, but considering short term goals in order to get there slowly could be a good way to go about it. Rather than achieving 6 tasks in a day, as an example, what is 1 or 2 things I can comfortably achieve today, that won’t take it out of me tomorrow. This was I’m still achieving something, but it’s not too draining at the same time.

Also taking time to do relaxing thing that are enjoyable, with no elements of success or failure is helpful for me. E.g. finding time to listen to music or a podcast. Small things like this give me something to focus on, without demanding anything of myself. Gentle exercise can be good too, but only if energy levels allow for it.