Autistic woman, productivity guilt, work from home

Hey, I'm 27 years of age and I've found out I'm autistic just a few months ago.

I work from home and I feel I'm not productive enough. I've been struggling with mild depression (I think mainly bc I need to go outside more lol) but I have always had this feeling of failure and that I can't keep it up in any job. Have you felt this way too? Any advice? Thank you for reading

autismgirl over 2 years ago

I feel like this a LOT as well! It's been worse at the moment (currently not working/hoping to study soon online). It's really hard! I think learning the differences between burnout and feeling depressed have been game changers for me. (and trying my best not to be hard on myself - currently a work in progress). Talking to yourself how you'd talk to a loved one is a good piece of advice I've been given as well. We're always the hardest on ourselves and SO self critical.
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Alicedance over 2 years ago

move slowly and do a small amount rather than over whelming yourself by wanting to do too much.slow and steady wins the race...
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🐝 Bees 🐝 (they/them) Autism resources in bio #stoptheshock #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs over 2 years ago

Hi Melissa just wanted to pop back in and give you a heads up, if you are using an alias and fake pic that's fine, but it is Rule 2 in the community rules that
" This Community forum is public, so do not post personal or identifying details. This includes, but is not limited to, full names, addresses, contact details, social media, or photographs of yourself.  "

it's a safeguarding thing to protect your identity/security etc.
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🐝 Bees 🐝 (they/them) Autism resources in bio #stoptheshock #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs over 2 years ago in reply to Melissa

No problem, you might also like a few autism specific channels like https://www.youtube.com/@YoSamdySam and https://www.youtube.com/@imautisticnowwhat both ladies with autism. :)
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Melissa over 2 years ago in reply to 🐝 Bees 🐝 (they/them) Autism resources in bio #stoptheshock #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

Thank you so much, I loved everything you said and I'm gonna be watching the videos you recommended me
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🐝 Bees 🐝 (they/them) Autism resources in bio #stoptheshock #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs over 2 years ago

It can be hard to tell depression /dysthymia apart from burnout, if you just found out a few months ago then no doubt for the longest time you've been comparing yourself to others, which is dangerous to do at the best of times as we often only see the carefully curated highlight reel of other people's lives.

I'm gonna pretend to be a doctor now and prescribe you to take a healthy dose of self acceptance, followed by a dose of self forgiveness, and a regimen of self love and self care to be taken at least once a day.
(Not real medical advice but it does wonders for almost everyone.) And to paraphrase a saying, if you learn how to rest more effectively you will need to quit less.

There's some videos that you might find helpful too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhC9B-XfKAs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kygTpVv3OA
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