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Never ending burnout

Spectora

Hello. I have ASD, and I also suffer with pretty intense anxiety and PTSD. Lately I have been suffering what I’m pretty sure is autistic burnout and fatigue, something that’s left me bedridden on some days. I get out of bed, do something, not even something major and I feel like I just run 5k! I end up feeling dizzy and like I haven’t slept in days.

I have seen the GP about these, bloods etc showed nothing of concern. Her advice is to rest when I need to and do little things when I can. But it feels like such a waste of life, I’m here, functioning, existing… but not really living. It’s a strange situation and one I have never experienced before. Reading through NAS’s advice & guidance pages I think it is burnout, sounds similar anyway and I’m aware for some as we get older – I’m 27 now – our symptoms of anxiety and the way autism can affect life can become increasingly more difficult to cope with.
The advice & guidance has been helpful but I thought I would ask here too in case anyone has been through this or is currently experiencing it and might have any advice on what I can do to help myself.

Any advice is welcomed and will be helpful. This burnout feels never ending and is affecting my life in so many negative ways.

TIA x.

Parents

  • Hi and welcome to the community.

    Spectora said:
    Lately I have been suffering what I’m pretty sure is autistic burnout and fatigue

    I'm very sorry to hear that you're struggling.

    In respect of resources that you might not yet have seen, there's some great (and free) advice here from Dr Megan Neff - a neurodivergent author (who's also a clinician and advocate):

    Autistic Burnout Recovery: How to Build a Recovery Plan

    I've also just received this new book of hers, which I'm finding to be very helpful - and refreshingly user-friendly:

    The Autistic Burnout Workbook: Your Guide to Your Personal Recovery Plan

    It sounds like you might have already read the strategies suggested in some or all of these NAS resources. I hope you won't mind me still popping these links here, as they might also be helpful for others who read your thread over time:

    NAS - Autistic fatigue and burnout

    NAS - Anxiety

    NAS - Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

  • in reply to Bunny

    Hello Bunny. Thank you, it’s so kind of you and greatly appreciated. Thanks for the links, it will probably do me some good to revisit some of the pages as I am bound to have forgotten some of the stuff I read. Retaining the things I’ve read is a big issue for me, makes reading things like books more difficult.

    Also, big thank yous for the link to Dr Megan Neff. I watch a lot of her YouTube videos and they have been such a great help to me since and before my diagnosis. She really knows her stuff and I’m glad she is out there spreading more awareness and helping people better understand what they are experiencing.

    I had no idea she was an author though! Thanks for telling me about her book, I’ll be buying that ASAP!!

    Enjoy your Saturday and thanks again.

  • in reply to Spectora

    I feel like Dr. Neff’s writings are some of the most Autism/ADHD friendly reading material I’ve ever read. The way she formats her ideas just makes sense to me. I read her “Self-Care for Autistic People” and couldn’t recommend it more. So if you want another book after the burnout one, check that one out.

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  • in reply to Spectora

    I feel like Dr. Neff’s writings are some of the most Autism/ADHD friendly reading material I’ve ever read. The way she formats her ideas just makes sense to me. I read her “Self-Care for Autistic People” and couldn’t recommend it more. So if you want another book after the burnout one, check that one out.

Children