Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
I was diagnosed late last year at the age of 27. I’m struggling with what feels like a constant burnout! I just feel like I need someone to talk to who understands what I’m going through :/
Welcome to the community.
Autistic burnout can be very debilitating, take years to recover from and in some cases result in permanent regression of abilities. Yet there is so little recognition of it outside the autistic community.
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/professional-practice/autistic-burnout
This link might be helpful for you to know that others understand what you are going through. It is a collection of writings and blog quotes, mainly from autistic people who have been through it. Warning though you can easily get lost in there for many hours, especially if you start exploring further links
https://stimpunks.org/burnout/
Autonomistic said:Yet there is so little recognition of it outside the autistic community.
I think that NT's presume that a burnout is a "nervous breakdown" (apologies if my 1970's terminology no longer applies.)
I contacted a GP about burnout and they jumped straight to depression.
@autonomistic kindly posted a reply to me about burnout which included helpful links. I shared that with family, and for the first time I really got the sense they understood.
It’s difficult! I was I had a doctor that specialised in asd and could really help me
I’m sorry to hear that, I’m here if you want to talk :) I definitely feel comfortable here and I’m so grateful to have people to talk to
My experience of being put on antidepressants was horrendous. I experienced no benefits from them at all and the side effects nearly killed me (no exaggeration).
They do help some people but from comments I have read here and elsewhere autistic people often have more atypical reactions to them. They simply have not been tested on autistic people.
Oh no! I'm sorry. I'm in the same position although I lost them all because I did something really stupid.
I hope you're able to utilise this forum for that, it'll definitely help you to have something resembling a support network. You're quite early on in your journey so I can understand the struggles but I hope things ease for you.
I was diagnosed 17 years ago and I'm still struggling although I definitely understand myself a bit better than I did, and I do have therapy to thank for that.
I don’t have any friends! Not even one I have family I can talk to but they don’t understand
Do you have a family member/friends/partner who you feel comfortable confiding in or do you feel like they would struggle to understand? I can understand how isolating that must feel if so.
That’s what I want! I feel like I just need some support, just someone who knows what I’m going through to talk to me when I’m struggling:( this world just isn’t build for us and it’s so scary to me
I tried antidepressants for a while but I felt the side effects more strongly than any benefits.
The main aim for me was getting autism specific support, which is admittedly hard to come by. Even if you live in a major city like I do.