autistic burnout?

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I think I may be experiencing this....

Lately I just have no energy. I feel exhausted the moment I'm off work, and spend a lot more time sleeping. I can't really handle much social interaction, even with friends. I want to lie in bed all the time, even sitting at my laptop feels too much, much of the time. I can't make myself do many tasks, even important ones.


My plate is not as full as most people's is, I think. Yet I'm still exhausted beyond measure.

Sounds like you are suffering from depression. Those are many of the symptoms of depression.

Your plate might be much smaller than others, in which case it likely is much closer to be full than you might realize.

At least that's what I discovered after years of struggling.

Burnout and depression present similarly but they're not the same thing.
Treating burnout like depression won't resolve it.

Yes, it's not stated what the OP's sleep is like, but insomnia can look like depression as well. And the medication and treatment for depression frequently makes insomnia worse.

And there's probably other possibilities as well. This is part of why professional mental health experts exist and why they use so many screening questionnaires.

I do have a seasonal depression diagnosis and we are heading into my "summer blues" season. But this isn't usually how it presents for me.

Idk. It's similar for sure, but the descriptions of burnout are just resonating w/ me more than depression is. One of the things it listed was "typically onset after period of high sensory & social demands", which definitely describes the past month or so.

I do plan on talking to my therapist & psychiatrist about it at next appointments.

I love this. ^



@colliegrace Take care of yourself the best you can. Try to find some sensory comforts rather than just avoiding sensory input. I hope you get a good rest, and you get the help you need if it persists.

Get checked out by a doctor too. Some medical conditions can cause lethargy and fatigue. I have a hypoactive thyroid and am occasionally anemic. Luckily, these are easy to detect with a blood test and easy to treat.

Could be, but being diabetic I get my blood checked quarterly and my thyroid, etc always comes back normal.

I'm at work as a supervisor today and I really don't want to do this. My head hurts, sensory s**t is horrible, and I'm already tired.

I wish I was allowed to sit down a little more. I already have complaints against me that I "spend as much time as possible [slacking off] in the office". When in actuality I do not, I spend 95% of my time out on the floor

When I hit burnout/breakdown I unloaded as many commitments and things as I could.

I really tried to get as much as I could as stress free as I could to recover!

The biggest changes (new responsibility at work, remodeling at work, and learning to drive) I can't do much about. So I guess I will do my best to cut off what I do at home. Even if it means becoming even more of a hermit for a while.

Now that I'm off work I suppose I'll get into my comfy clothes and spend the rest of my night in my comfy chair with my comfy blanket and comfort plushies

It could be burnout if you're only having those physical symptoms without emotional symptoms (such as sadness, numbness, and/or anger) that last 2 weeks or longer.

To complicate things, it seems reasonable that burnout can trigger depression.

In that case the burnout still needs to be addressed as the primary issue; addressing the depression without addressing what's triggering it won't lead to significant improvement because the burnout and one's emotional response to it will continue to cause depression.

Yeah, I'm not really sad overall. Maybe incidentally, or briefly.