Autistic Stress/Anxiety Disorder - And/or Burnout?

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I am interested in whether there is a type of anxiety or stress condition particular to autistics, and its relationship to autistic burnout.

This is from my own experiences with anxiety and stress issues which don't quite meet the usual diagnostic criteria. Instead my stress/anxiety issues seem to come in episodes related to dysregulation of my nervous system.

My body seems to get stuck for too long in a stressed state, or 'fight/flight' mode. Sometimes it gets so bad I lose my autism workarounds and can no longer control my anxious / impulsive / ruminative thoughts and behaviours. It can affect my digestion also. Sometimes I crash afterwards and suffer fatigue and depression, which wears off over time. (I think this may be a kind of autistic burnout).

I am interested to know how many of you have similar experiences?

Well all of them aside the last one of none of them applying applies to me, but not sure if it's all from the autism, cause I also have ptsd, generalized anxiety and chronic depression like even at my best times I still struggle with depression and I may have adhd to, but currently there is a shortage for those meds so not sure getting a daignoses at this point would be useful if I wouldn't even be able to get the meds to treat it. I am at a point where I want to experience life regardless of how horrible it can feel sometimes even though I can still struggle with also feeling like maybe I should just end it. I also just am not sure if I should tell my boyfriend that, like that I want to be alive and all that but like from time to time I get thoughtdos in my head about ending it. Like idk I had a bad interaction at work, just a coworker seeming kinda bitchy at me and so I ended up feeling bad all day at work, came home and just took a nap till my boyfriend got home. But like I told him that day upset me and whatever, but I didn't tell him that I had thoughts of ending it due to that.

I mean I am not planning on it or anything, but idk I probably should not hide from my boyfriend that sometimes I feel that way.I just don't want him to think its because of him, or worry that he'll come home to a dead girlfriend...cause yeah I wont actually it and also not even sure how to do so effectively like I am the dumbass that would probably try to grind 3 cherry pits in a blender and drink the slop because one time on the internet I heard 3 cherry pits has enough cyanide or whatever to kill a person. But yeah I wont try to kill myself, it's just in some stressful situations I consider it.

I think I know what you mean.
It's not exactly wanting to die but more just not having the energy and resources to keep on living?
I hope things improve for you.

The 1s I checked are
~Nervous system gets stuck in hyper mode and/or agitation
~Periods of intense rumination (repetitive thoughts) and/or anxiety
~Periods of emotional dysregulation and/or meltdowns
~Temporary regression to more autistic thoughts and/or behaviours
~Nervous system crashes and/or unusual levels of fatigue
~Periods of depression which ease up over time and/or cyclothymia
~Gut issues (may include food allergies, intolerances, frequent constipation or diarrhoea, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease)

I think my mental diagnoses should be autism/aspergers, panic anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety, OCD, depression, dyslexia, & ADD thou the ADD might be sluggish cognitive tempo instead or in addition to it.

The poll issues were alot worse when I was a kid, teen, & in my 20s. Some of it was because me & my mom had lots of fights. Mom cant relate to being disabled or struggling in school. She felt I was lazy & not trying & her methods of trying to push me to be more independent due to her worrying about me were not right for me. There shoulda been some services in place to help but the docs didn't diagnose some things till I was an adult, both my parents worked so we weren't majorly low income, & we lived in a ruralish area.

I got in my 1st relationship at 20 & Emily was the only person I had majorly connected with. She had some issues with drugs & alcohol was trying to quit. We were mostly long distance which was difficult for me & she started slipping into bad habits after a while. My OCD caused me to get thoughts stuck in my head about losing her that triggered sever panic attacks that gave me bad diarrhea. I became very controlling in a futile attempt of trying to protect & keep her safe to alleviate my worry which of coarse made things alot worse for both of us. I became highly unstable & took things out on her & will always hate myself for that. We broke up after being together about half a year.

I was neurotic & I slipped into a psychotic depression. At times I wasn't quite sure what was real & what was made up in my own f#cked-up mind. I had some various minorish delusions. Also at times I was not sure if I was experiencing auditory hallucinations or if my bad anxiety was causing me to process & interpret sounds wrong.

I majorly HATED being single & was very lonely & hung-up on trying to find another girlfriend. I tried various ways to meet someone that I'm not gonna get into here. I also tried working on myself in various ways as well like~ Seeing a psychiatrist & taking psych meds. Trying counseling for a little bit. Joining an offline support group for people with depression, anxiety & bipolar disorder. Volunteering for a tiny bit. Getting a job & working lots of overtime when allowed. Trying to socialize with people at work. Posting about things a lot online. Trying to analyze myself & various things. Trying to reach out to others online who might could relate & understand including joining this great forum.

I managed to get in my 2nd relationship at 28 but after a while I started having a lot of the same negative behaviors as in my 1st. I realized my anxiety was a major factor & I researched meds to treat it. The psych meds I had been on before were mostly for depression(a few antidepressants), psychosis(a few antipsychotics), a mood stabilizer(Lithium), & for ADD/ADHD(Strattera). I got the med I wanted(Buspar) & started getting a bit better but the progress was too little too late & she broke up with me after being together about half a year. Some of the reason was due to our life circumstances & her being deponent on her parents to pay for college who wanted our relationship on their terms. She had a high desire to be independent whereas I was a lot more needy & dependent than she could handle.

I was hung up on things & obsessing about her & suddenly realized that OCD was a major factor I should try treating. I researched meds to treat it & got another med prescribed(Neurontin) in addition to staying on Buspar for my anxiety & the combo is working well for me 11 years later.

I got in my current relationship right after starting the Neurontin. Cass is more like me when it comes to being needy & clingy. We were able to move in together after about half a year. For the most part I've been a lot more stable these 10 & a half years than I ever was before that. I've had to make some psych med changes a few times but I have not changed my Buspar & Neurontin except for increasing the dose of Buspar. I still have some problems but for the most part I'm able to deal with things a lot better & let things go instead of acting extremely controlling or demanding. I tend to bite my tongue so to speak a lot more instead of getting/acting upset & verbally lashing out &/or starting a big fight. I'm a lot more laid back & easy going than I used to be.

Yes.

In a sense that burnouts can't explain it.

Anxiety can't explain it.
Because it even happens during happier times, not just negative ones -- really, who gets violent with sheer utter glee and willfully do so in reckless abandon, that I ended up being joyful for repeating the whole thing in my head?


Just stress and dysregulation. If not that, sleep and screwed breathing patterns.

And a lot of incongruence between what I feel and how I want to take it.
Even with certain positive emotions and reactions -- due to something distorted and wrong.

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I am so burned out and I don't even have full employment yet. I can't imagine having to deal with the fing bull s**t during the process of finding more employment.

I've been stuck in what I call "screaming brain mode" for about the last two and a half years. I can get the absolute basics of my life done, but nothing more. The tireder I get, the less I am able to relax.

Yeah, life is exhausting

I have been told that my OCD like behaviors/obsessive thoughts/rumination are symptomatic of my autism.

I definitely have mild OCD. Have had panic attacks. And severe autistic burnout and fatigue brought on by extended and excessive sensory input.

Quite likely.
I've heard of something called "pure OCD" which I believe meant you have OCD type thoughts but don't act in them (?maybe?) - that sounds a lot like the sort of rumination we get with autism.
I think OCD might be another neurodivergence, anyway.

I've noticed that for me at least, stress and burnout are linked to executive dysfunction, and the sheer amount of difficulty I have doing various bits of daily life. There's a vicious cycle where the more I get behind, the worse the condition of my brain and the harder it is to get caught up again.

I figured out a very simple test for OCD. You are having an anxiety attack. You hear the delivery of a shiny new toy at your door. What happens next?

Nothing stops OCD, not even a shiny new toy.