Author: Kiki Fehling

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Am I Experiencing Autistic Burnout? Know the Signs and Symptoms: Dr. Kiki Fehling

If you’re autistic, you face unique challenges as a neurodivergent person in a society designed for neurotypical people. When you’re forced to navigate these challenges day-in and day-out, you may eventually reach a point when you feel totally overwhelmed and unable to take care of your normal responsibilities. 

This point is “autistic burnout.” Learning more about autistic burnout can help you better understand how to recover if you’re struggling now, and how you can reduce the likelihood of autistic burnout in the future.

What Is Autistic Burnout?

Autistic burnout is a state of intense physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion experienced by autistic people, leading to social withdrawal and reduced functioning1. It often results from prolonged stress, sensory overload, and the effort to mask autistic characteristics in order to fit neurotypical expectations.

“Autistic burnout” is not a medical diagnosis, but it’s a common lived experience that autistic people have long discussed. Luckily, researchers have recently started to validate the topic. While the exact definition is still being explored, it’s clear that autistic burnout is a real (and very painful) phenomenon.

Importantly, autistic people and researchers describe autistic burnout as distinct from both depression and “typical” occupational burnout. For example, one study found that autistic burnout was not associated with whether or not a person was working3. Rather than being limited to sadness or anhedonia, and rather than being limited to overwhelm or resentment at work, autistic burnout is an all-encompassing fatigue and strain. Its distinct nature requires unique strategies to address.

Signs and Symptoms of Autistic Burnout

Although autistic burnout does not yet have “official” diagnostic criteria, there are some symptoms that autistic people and researchers repeatedly identify.

Physical and Mental Exhaustion

First and foremost, autistic burnout is experienced as complete exhaustion4. You may feel chronically physically tired and mentally fatigued, with very limited energy to spend on daily activities. In one research study, an autistic person described autistic burnout as “having all of your internal resources exhausted beyond measure and being left with no clean-up crew.5”

Social Withdrawal

Another common experience in autistic burnout is interpersonal withdrawal.1,4 You may ignore texts and phone calls, decline invitations to see your friends, or avoid conversations at work or school. In order to cope with exhaustion, you may self-isolate and avoid social interactions as much as feasibly possible.

Cognitive Symptoms

Cognitive difficulties are another sign of autistic burnout. You may have trouble concentrating, planning, making decisions, or remembering things. You may even experience intense confusion, dissociation6, or dream-like states. Relatedly, you may struggle with mental health symptoms, like irritability, emotional overwhelm, or emotional numbness. 

Intensified Autistic Experiences

During burnout, autistic people often notice their autistic characteristics intensify. For example, you may be more sensitive to sensory triggers, finding it more difficult to tolerate bright lights, loud noises, aversive smells, or particularly stimulating environments—including things that don’t usually overwhelm you. You may need to stim7 significantly more than usual. You may experience shutdowns or meltdowns8 more easily. 

Causes of Autistic Burnout

At its core, autistic burnout is viewed as a consequence of autistic people living in a world designed for allistic (non-autistic) and neurotypical people. While the exact causes differ from person to person, there are some common risk factors.

Chronic Stress and Lack of Support

Autistic people are likely to struggle with “normal” stressors (e.g., relationship conflicts, deadlines at work or school, health problems, etc) in a variety of ways. For example, most people are stressed by graduating, starting new jobs, moving, or becoming parents. For autistic people who have the autistic trait of thriving with routine and consistent structure, however, these life transitions can be incredibly challenging and precede burnout.

Autistic people often have unique communication styles, or they may struggle to understand allistic nonverbal communication. These differences can lead to more frequent conflict or rejection. Even when conflicts are avoided, autistic people often face repeated, daily social misunderstandings which are stressful and draining.

Notably, most schools, jobs, public spaces, and social events are catered to neurotypical people. Autistic people may need to work harder than others in order to meet occupational or social expectations. Furthermore, autistic people may not notice when they have exceeded their limits, because they are more likely to have alexithymia9 (difficulties recognizing, identifying, and understanding emotions) or difficulties with interoception10 (the ability to recognize and understand internal body sensations).

Sensory Overload

Autistic people usually have sensory sensitivities that make it easier for them to reach sensory overload11 (overwhelm caused by sensory over-stimulation). Many “normal” environments and daily activities require autistic people to be surrounded by noise, bright lights, or crowded spaces. They may not have time or space to regulate or recover after being sensorily overloaded, causing further stress and fatigue.

Prolonged Masking and Lack of Support

Many autistic people regularly engage in masking12, consciously or unconsciously hiding or suppressing their natural autistic traits in order to fit in. For example, they may conceal their sensory sensitivities, change their natural communication style, or socialize in ways that they hate. This masking is inherently draining, contributing to the fatigue of meeting neurotypical expectations.

Even when autistic people don’t mask and decide to assert their needs to others, they’re often invalidated. Neurotypical people may dismiss their fatigue or difficulties as “normal,” or they may not be able to change the autistic person’s environment or responsibilities. Over time, autistic people can burn out because they do not receive the accommodations they need to reduce or recuperate from fatigue.

How Does Autistic Burnout Affect Daily Life?

Due to all of the above problems, autistic burnout can negatively impact most aspects of daily lives.

Trouble with Functioning

In burnout, autistic people often feel like they’ve lost the skills they use to function or to mask. They may have difficulties remembering what they need to do, getting things done, or doing things as well as they typically do. They may even struggle to engage in favorite hobbies or special interests. At its worst, some people may not be able to get out of bed, verbally speak, or otherwise care for basic needs.

Strain on Relationships

Autistic burnout often causes relationship problems. The need for social withdrawal may lead to failing to meet social expectations, and exhaustion can lead to neglecting caregiving or house-sharing responsibilities. Loved ones may be disappointed or frustrated by an autistic person’s change of behavior. Neurotypical friends and family may not understand the severity and validity of autistic burnout.

Impact on Mental and Physical Health

Accordingly, autistic burnout is often accompanied by a variety of mental and health struggles, such as loneliness, anxiety, depression. It may also exacerbate physical health problems, such as insomnia, chronic pain, or gastrointestinal issues. Autistic people in burnout may turn to harmful coping strategies, such as substance use, disordered eating, or self-harm.

Strategies for Managing and Recovering from Autistic Burnout

Luckily, if you’re suffering from autistic burnout, there are ways to get through it.

Rest and Gradual Recovery

To address exhaustion, rest. Reduce social and occupational commitments as much as possible. Keep in mind that autistic people may need more sleep, rest, and alone time than neurotypical people need! When returning to typical activities (even special interests), be sure to return slowly and gradually, practicing self-compassion.

Sensory Regulation

Recovery often includes better understanding and respecting your sensory processing and needs. Manage your sensory input by avoiding sensory triggers (e.g., using noise-canceling headphones) and by incorporating sensory self-soothing (e.g., using weighted blankets). Engaging more in stimming or with special interests can also be helpful for regulation.

Self-Advocacy

While very difficult during autistic burnout, asserting your needs can support recovery. Possible options: saying “no” to social engagements, taking time-off from work, requesting sensory accommodations, or expressing desires to unmask more within supportive relationships. 

Seek Professional Support

Seeing a mental health professional may be supportive, as long as they understand and respect neurodiversity. A neurodiversity-affirming therapist who specializes in helping autistic people will be able to help you learn new coping skills and (when you’re ready) problem-solve the causes of your burnout.

Build a Support Network

Connecting with other autistic people can be emotionally validating and tangibly helpful. Organizations like the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) or the Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network (AWN), or autistic online forums, offer resources, information, community, and social support that can aid recovery.

Preventing Autistic Burnout in the Future

Beyond recovery now, there are strategies that may help prevent autistic burnout.

Recognizing Early Warning Signs

Self-knowledge is powerful. Autistic people will likely benefit from identifying what it feels like for them when stress, over-stimulation, or fatigue are building up. An occupational therapist or psychotherapist can help determine triggers, and can address alexithymia or interoception limits if needed.

Balancing Activities, Rest, and Autistic Needs

Autistic people often benefit from purposefully including regular breaks or downtime into their days and weeks. Implementing “pacing systems13,” requesting accommodations when possible (e.g., asking a supervisor for more time for breaks between work meetings), and finding safe spaces where they can unmask are all useful options.

Developing Coping Mechanisms

Some therapies, such as dialectical behavior therapy, teach dozens of skills for coping with stress, overwhelm, and painful emotions. It’s also important that autistic people lean into the unique, autistic coping mechanisms they already have, and intentionally ensure their downtime includes sensory self-soothing, stimming, engaging in special interests, or ample alone time.

Conclusion

Autistic burnout is a real and very important mental health issue for autistic people. Learning the signs and symptoms, and the ways to recover, is essential for autistic mental health.

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Neurodiversity 101: 5 Essential Things To Know: Dr. Kiki Fehling

In recent years, there’s been a surge in conversations around neurodiversity. Many people are openly discussing autism, ADHD, neurodivergence, and neuroaffirmative therapy. But, in these conversations, many people are often confused about what these terms actually mean. In this article, you’ll learn 5 essential things to know about neurodiversity. Better understanding these topics can help you better support all of the people in your life, whether you or they are neurodivergent or neurotypical.

1. Neurodiversity includes everyone.

Neurodiversity is a term for the natural variability of human minds. Every single person has a unique neurotype, or way their brain is wired to think, feel, process, learn, communicate, and experience the world. People naturally vary in their neurotype, exactly as they naturally vary in the color of their skin, their sex, and other characteristics. 

While the concept of neurodiversity was originally coined and discussed among Autistic adults and activists in the 1990s, neurodiversity includes everyone. And, the neurodiversity framework—which views the variation and diversity of human neurotypes as natural and valuable—applies to everyone, whether they’re Autistic, otherwise neurodivergent, or neurotypical.

2. Neurodiversity is not the same as neurodivergence.

Some people are neurotypical, meaning their neurotype falls within what is considered “typical” and “neuronormative” in their culture. For example, a neurotypical person may talk, walk, and reach other developmental milestones at ages determined normative or “appropriate” by their doctors and teachers. They may easily socialize and communicate with most people. Generally, a neurotypical person’s thinking and functioning are similar to those of those around them.

In contrast, neurodivergent is a term used to describe a person whose neurotype lands somewhere outside what’s considered normative. Their thinking or functioning will notably differ in some (or many) ways from most people around them. Autism is one example of neurodivergence. When a group of people includes individuals with different neurotypes, that group can be called neurodiverse. Neurodiversity includes all neurotypes and all people, both neurotypical and neurodivergent.

3. Neurodivergence is not limited to being Autistic or ADHD.

In conversations about neurodiversity, many people mistakenly believe “neurodivergent” means autistic and/or ADHD specifically. But neurodivergence includes many other neurological experiences. For example, neurodivergent people may experience dyslexia (difficulties with reading or writing), aphantasia (inability to visualize things in your mind), prosopagnosia (impaired ability to recognize faces), or synesthesia (when one sense experience triggers an involuntary and simultaneous experience of another sense, such as seeing colors when you listen to music). Some people believe that psychiatric diagnoses are forms of neurodivergence as well.

Neurodivergent is an identity for anyone who thinks, perceives, feels, communicates, socializes, or otherwise functions differently than the neurotypical majority. Importantly, neurodivergent is an identity that someone claims for themself; it is not a psychiatric or medical diagnosis.

4. Neurodivergent people experience their neurodivergence differently.

The same way every person has a unique neurotype, as does every neurodivergent person. Everyone has unique strengths, difficulties, preferences, and lived experiences.

For example, Autistic people commonly have sense experiences that differ from neurotypical people’s sense experience. But, one Autistic person may feel hyper-sensitive to sound, becoming easily overwhelmed by noises around them, while another Autistic person may be hypo-sensitive to sound, seeking out loud noises as a way to self-regulate. Autistic professor and advocate Dr. Stephen Shore has said, “if you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” This idea captures the fact that even two Autistic people can experience the world very differently.

Neurodivergent people can differ in a variety of ways. A person can have more than one neurodivergent neurotype (sometimes called “multiply neurodivergent”). For example, a person can be both Autistic and ADHD (sometimes called “AuDHD”). A person can be allistic (non-Autistic) and still be neurodivergent. Some neurodivergent people also identify as disabled, and some do not. Recognizing and respecting this diversity is what makes the Neurodiversity Movement important.

5. The Neurodiversity Movement aims to create a world that’s affirming for everyone.

Many modern cultures assume and reward neurotypicality, while stigmatizing and pathologizing neurodivergence. Neurodivergent people may experience more mental health struggles because of these neuronormative expectations. They may unnecessarily suffer from shame or stress around parts of themselves that are natural. Neuronormative expectations harm everyone, not just neurodivergent people. Assuming everyone thinks and functions the same can impede communication, teamwork, and collective functioning.

The Neurodiversity Movement fights against the marginalization of neurodivergent people. It advocates that there is no such thing as a “normal” brain, and that neurodivergent people should not be treated as if they are inherently flawed or disordered. In fact, the natural variability in human minds is arguably helpful for our communities. People with different neurotypes bring different perspectives and strengths to our shared problems. 

Of course, people with different neurotypes will experience different limits, needs, pains, and struggles as well. This diversity is why mental healthcare practitioners are starting to think more about how to make therapy more neuroaffirmative and respectful of neurodiversity. How can we provide people with the professional help they need for their mental health struggles, without pathologizing or invalidating the lived experiences related to their natural neurotypes? This question is not just relevant for neurodivergent people. Neuroaffirmative healthcare offers every person, whether neurodivergent or neurotypical, the autonomy and support to make decisions for themselves about what a healthy, joyful, and meaningful life looks like for them.

The Neurodiversity Movement hopes to create a world where everyone would be offered more opportunities to thrive according to their natural abilities and preferences, and every person would be offered more accommodations or support to cope with the experiences of their neurotype that cause pain or difficulty. In these ways, a deeper understanding of and appreciation for neurodiversity benefits everyone.