AS and Fatigue/Tiredness

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I recently purchased a book "Solutions for Adults with Asperger Syndrome" I thought something of interest was that many people with AS complain of tiredness, fatigue and muscle pain. I'll quote what it said:

" Many with AS describe their usual emotional state, especially when around others or in new situations, as consisting of fear, anxiety, and/or confusion. There is research that shows that autism spectrum disorders do seem to cause many people to live in a state of hyper-arousal --a sort of prepanic state that can be very deblilitating. And, in fact, many people with AS complain of tiredness and physical ailments such as chronic muscle pain. These symptoms are often associated with stress and may get in the way of individuals with AS doing the things that they want to do because they are always feeling fatigued."

I myself found this very interesting because I do feel myself that because of my problems with extreme fatigue that I don't do many of the things I'd like to. Like we're planning a trip to Yosemite in July and I'm already thinking "I don't know if I can do all that hiking" and it's not because I don't want to. But I can barely make it through the day with laying down and taking a nap in between because I feel so run down. I've considered asking the doctor to participate in a sleep study to see if I have an underlying sleep issue, wouldn't surprise me too much since I do wake up alot during the night. But still, I do think I have an enormous amount of anxiety and if indeed I do live in this supposed state of "hyper-arousal" then that could easily explain it too.

I never have much energy. Sleep disorders are considered co-morbid with AS as well. Along with anxiety/depression, which also saps our energy. And many of us have hypotonality, or low muscle tone, which also adds to the lack of strength/energy. Just do what you can, and don't judge your accomplishments by NT standards. If others call you lazy because you don't as much physically as they think you should, don't take it to heart. Remember they have a lot more energy than you do.

Yes, I'm like that. I understand the lack of stamina is associated with poor muscle tone which is very common in autism, I think it's called hypotonia or something like that. I find being around people or language exhausting, I'm running twice as fast as them just to keep up in that sort of situation. Just keeping myself clean, fed and out of trouble and keeping the bills paid is a full time job for me. I'm disabled, I can't do it all in the way others can.

I'm tired all the time. It's partly because of stress, and partly because I eat badly because of stress. But, I can hike all day, as long as I pace myself. I just nap more on the other days. Multi-day camping/hiking - don't know. But I think if I paced myself, I'd still be ok. Hiking is therapy. So I go for long hikes, wear myself out, have a good time. So maybe I get up late the next day. So what? (Actually, I often wake up early the next day. Because I slept better?)

And if I'm sore, I can work the soreness out by walking as relaxed as I can, and drinking lots of water.

The only thing is you need to work your way up to long hikes - get in shape with shorter ones first.

YES. I tire out so easily and feel fatigued, both mentally and physically, quite often. And it definitely has to do with stress, nervousness, and preoccupation in my case. Seemingly simple things are so huge for me, and I script out most everything I do. I have a hard time writing short messages in this forum, for example, and I'm a writing teacher.

Sometimes I wonder if this also has to do with perfectionism and the paranoia that surrounds social interactions, etc. I do things wrong so often (or perceive that I'm doing things wrong) that I grow paranoid and fearful about repeating those mistakes, to the point where I don't want to do or engage with anything. It can be kind of self-perpetuating and debilitating at times.

I'm usually tired, and to any other Aspies out there, here's a bit of a solution: Bici-Commuting. I bike to school and home, and to run errands and the like. I always feel so much more refreshed than if my mom dropped me off. I also noticed I'm not depressed whatsoever on a bike.

If only I could try that - I live in the inner city which is all hills - not nice little rises - the kind of hills that require you to take a break halfway just walking up them, to catch your breath. It's smoggy and rains often, even on hot days, and the traffic is terrifying, with no bike lanes.

I'm constantly stressed and exhausted because of the social aspect of my job. I sleep 12-14 hours a night where I can but that only helps for the next morning - by that evening I'm tired again. But I'm moving cities and jobs in 2 months, to one with little social interaction and lots of physical work *excited*. I'm going to take a break between jobs to see if I can recover from the exhaustion by the time I start. If I never quite recover, it could be a disaster - I'll get sick and be too weak to do a good job and get fired.

Seconded!
I think better on a bike too. Something about the repetitive motions helps to focus my thinking. Many people say that about walking and knitting too.
But yes any kind of exercise is a good remedy for fatigue, unless exercise is contraindicated by some underlying physical cause.

I do ok. Everything I do at work is timed, and the stress is to do it faster (lately it's also to see how much paperwork it can generate... I tend to walk really fast, lift a lot of computer equipment (and set it down again as well... 10 hours a day, 5 days a week.

This is what I feel like when I have to socialize, especially when it's with people I don't know. I call it "being on hyper alert." It takes a lot of energy and it's very tiring. Now I understand why I was so exhausted at the end of many work weeks. It wasn't the work, it was the environment.

OTOH, I have little problem with physical work if I'm alone. I did 2 to 4 hours of physical work almost everyday for 4 months this past fall/winter and I never felt that mind numbing tiredness that comes with socializing.

I have this as well. I am one of the thinnest people you will ever meet. I always knew that me being unbelievably lazy had something to do with AS.

I'm either on or off. There is no in-between. And I keep moving either way. My dad used to call me "Rotisserie butt" because of the way I kept moving all while being asleep.

Yes, that's it exactly: the prepanic state is exhausting. I never really thought of it like that. I know that after a full work week I need a whole day all by myself to recover. But even by myself I'm always in a prepanic state, even with medications. To not feel that way I have to be so zonked out on antianxiety meds that I pass out. What a drag it all is. Then you're so wired at night from stress you can't sleep, so it's a vicious circle.

i am always in pain, fatigued, tired, and have afew sleep disorders.

and they always say "its all in your head"



iv already said this in another thread

That must be why I find it so much harder doing hikes. I am in scouts and an activity i did recently called dragonskin almost killed me. I felt I was the slowest person there. it included a three day hike where you travel from activity to activity carrying all of your items on your back including tents. also my dad is in the army and expects me to keep up but I physicaly cant.

I am always in a constant state of fatigue exhuastion. Caused by:

1) lack of deep sleep
2) autoimmune hypothyroidism
3) autoimmune adrenal problems
4) stress - constantly experiencing that 'fight or flight' stress reaction that is really draining and might have contributed to my burnt out adrenals and burnt out thyroid
5) depression, everything is always so much more diffcult for me than it is for NT people and everything needs more analysing and takes longer
6) OCD

Venus