What is Autistic burnout?
Autistic burnout is a state of exhaustion that affects all aspects of an Autistic person’s life, including their health. It is much more than just feeling tired. Autistic burnout is caused by an accumulation of sensory stressors, social expectations, health problems, and executive functioning demands.
Common symptoms of Autistic burnout include:
- Feeling exhausted even after resting
- Having less interest in the things you usually enjoy
- Finding socialising more draining
- Needing more time alone
- Feeling physically stuck and unproductive
- Finding everyday tasks more difficult
- Being more sensitive to sensory inputs
- Becoming irritable
- Having more meltdowns or shutdowns
- Being more disorganised and forgetful
- Worsened sleep
- Worsened chronic health problems, including autoimmune diseases and pain
- An increase in headaches, migraines, stomach aches and digestive problems
Autistic burnout is often mistaken for depression, but the treatment approach is entirely different. To recover from Autistic burnout, you need to lower your expectations of yourself and others, reduce the demands on your executive functioning, alleviate sensory stressors, and advocate for your needs. Recovery can take months or even years. You may never be able to return to your previous level of productivity, as this was unsustainable, so the key is finding a new way to approach your life that better balances your needs.