Slow, Exhausted, Hot, Can't Function... ?

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Hi everybody

I have always had major problems with trying to function "normally" and keep on track and I'd be interested to work out what's going on with me and have you experienced anything similar ?

I am not particularly good at understanding myself or picking up on warning signs when my brain is frazzled or I am feeling too hot for example. It's a sort of vicious circle. I work flat out trying to keep on top of my work duties - although I always do things the long way, being thorough and taking ages over writing an email. As a result I feel burnt out and end up feeling like a zombie drowned in inertia, zoned out and unable to say very much.

When I'm exhausted I feel either just flat or grumpy, my body feels all clumsy and my voice goes really monotone and quiet. Also I am physically slowed down and I can't muster the brainpower to do simple tasks. Even the thought of speaking to someone seems like a superhuman effort.

All of these symptoms and feelings are made a lot worse if I am too hot. I don't like the heat or bright light at all (no vampire jokes!), I start feeling really agitated and a bit panicky and the first thing I do is I have to take my shoes off and when I get home the socks as well. The heat can feel like a personal attack.

In this state I feel overwhelmed by any mess like my messy desk at work but I lose the brainpower to do simple things like tidy up or decide what to do next. Oh, if I have several things in my pockets like bits of paper, even that can irritate the hell out of me.

Anyone experiencing anything like this ?

Yes, something like that. "Tired and cranky" usually go together, even in NT adults.

Yes, the way it was explained to me personally by a psychiatrist is that you (editorial) have to work harder to process simple things because of executive functioning problems. The simplest things are exhausting for me. I'm a morning person but after a few hours I feel like I've been up for 2 days. When I can I take a quick nap or just lie there and drowse for a half hour and I'm rejuvenated. Perhaps on your lunch break you can find a quiet place to just sit and empty your mind for a while. BTW try this site, it's not all for relaxation.
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I overheat easily but it is the side effect of 2 of my medications.

couldn't agree more. I remember distinctly a kid at school saying their favourite thing to do was sleeping and I thought how true

LOL! I teach ESL to Korean students who study through almost all of their waking hours. Often when I ask students, "What is your hobby?" they say "Sleeping." Also, when I ask them, "What do you want to do?" many say, "I want to sleep." I told them sleeping isn't a hobby, but for many of them, the only free time they have in when they sleep (which is only 5-6 hours a day.) I used to think that students were falling asleep in class because my class was boring, but my co-teacher assured me that this happens all the time.

Back to the topic though, I can completely relate to feeling tired, zoned out and burnt out most of the time. Part of that is probably due to trying (in vain) to manage 20 classes of about 30 middle school students a week (of course, my co-teachers help me a lot. I'm usually so focussed on teaching the lesson that I don't see much of what the students are up to. Probably related to AS) It's also partly due to living in a terribly crowded country surrounded by people with no concept of personal space and privacy. Another factor is, as was mentioned, processing things differently than NTs. On top of that, I'm carrying around extra body weight and feel too self-conscious in this appearance-obsessed no-privacy culture to go the gym and be gawked at. So it could be the onset of diabetes, as I seem to have picked up a lot of the symptoms lately such as excessive thirst. Having zero energy and brain fog are also listed as warning signs of diabetes. You might want to look into that as well.

I can definitely relate. I spent most of my life highly focused on and energized by my interests. I made it a point to align my career(s) with my interests, so reasonable success followed in that regard.

But now that I elder-age, everything takes almost exhausting effort - so much so that I am now on disability. And even though I surround myself with things that pertain to what have always been my most keen interests, I only very seldom care about them.

I am also quite sensitive to heat. I become almost catatonic when it get above generally accepted comfort ranges.

My situation my have worsened in recent years due to cardio vascular disease. The blood thinners and what-not may be reducing oxygen levels in my brain or something. I dunno - whatever.

So… I find that I can be reasonably content so long as I let go of those inner voices that tell me I should be a dynamo of productivity, and instead focus on acceptance and exploring ways I can be useful to myself (first) and others (second) within my present circumstances.

yes, this is not an uncommon observation amongst AS people.

Tiredness and fatigue- plenty of effort and little focus.

I find that people with AS tend to do well when they are told what to do. Unable to plan and prepare this extends to their diet and ability to look after themselves.

Plenty of AS eat and drink plenty of stimulants as pseudo self medication- coke, chocolate and smoking, all the " enes" Caffeine, nicotine.

I find amongst plenty of AS people is plenty of effort with little focus and direction- they will focus on one task and forget to eat, sleep or drink, some can do this but many just get tired.

Some meds can help, but it is something that needs to be managed and recognised.

Oh boy - me and my love/hate affair with chocolate. It's like my security blanket. At least I switched to dark chocolate so that I can rationalize that it's good for me.

Yah, I'll forget to eat, drink, sleep when I'm focused on something and I end up crashing or burning out. I've been told by my MD to dial it down, take it easy, take better care of myself (I was really ill for 2013 and this may have been a part of it).

Im trying. I find Monday's really tough and often come home after work on Monday with a migraine or the beginnings of one.