Does social burnout ever improve?

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As I've gotten older, my burnout has increased.

I spend more and more of my energy just fitting into my job and maintaining my health that I have no energy to put up the mask that NTs expect/require beyond that.

Also, in any social situation, my brain is processing way more than what a typical NT brain will process. I'll frequently notice and become aware of environmental details that NTs will not, all while having a conversation. That adds to the drain, and has not waned as I've gotten older.

The style of humor I worked so hard to develop over the years to relate to people and smooth over my quirks (in their eyes) has also begun to show its age, and I can no longer use it. Again, additional drain.

I have learned over the decades that conversations with people I don't know well will yield absolutely nothing I need or value. I can honestly substitute a conversation with a person for reading a book or article, I will learn as much or more, minus the judgement.

This of course makes me even more reluctant to put energy into socializing.

tiring because we try to do it by logic, not by feeling.

thoughts I find helpful (I send these to myself by email every day to remind myself);

do not impress or unimpress

no exchange of power takes place

NO ANALYSIS AFTERWARDS!

don't get too stuck in to any particular conversation. be light. walking across universe, disappearing.

expect very little. turn the filters down.

YES!! It does. I promise! Have faith and believe.
Sometimes targeting the issue (like socializing) and focusing on it in different settings helps - like, for noise of people, go to a mall (for a set period, then, leave), a coffee shop, a busy street... Set small goals that focus on different aspects of socializing, and then occasionally push yourself. It's like training for a marathon.

yes it's interesting that research shows meditators (see good live thread on WP) 'hear' their pain, but don't create narratives around it - and hence are much less hurt by it overall.
So maybe, as you say, if we accept and 'hear' the pain, it becomes less frightening and more acceptable.

Useful. I get lost in creating rules/guidelines like this for myself, so I threw all mine out, but maybe it's time for a reminder. It's all just ripples on the water, anyway, just puffs of air.

Bingo! I don't mind communicating with others, and having discussions, etc. but I'd rather do it through the written word where I can think out my responses without having to worry about whether or not I'm staring or fidgeting or using the wrong tone of voice and all that noise. Socializing for me is downright exhausting, and that has NOT improved with age. What has improved with age is that I can pick and choose the social situations that warrant my time and attention and those for which I can take a pass.

I also think with time and age our internal "traffic cop" - the frontal lobe of the brain- gets a little more lax and doesn't always do as good a job at keeping the things we think, but probably shouldn't say, at bay. I've been known to make some crass commentary and then realize just how rude or inappropriate it was AFTER it slipped out of my mouth.

For me, no.

After spending time with people, i need some alonetime to calm down from their constant chattering and activitites.