What does burnout mean to you?

[Misty Avich]

I think even NTs can get burnout if they're under enough pressure or stress in their lives, but people like us might be more likely to get burnout from, for example, doing a typical 9-5 work day. It would be in my case.

I'm not sure if I get burnout or not, or if burnout is different for everyone. With me burnout affects my executive functioning and makes me feel "oh my God I really can't be bothered" and I get brain fog and lethargy. I also find it hard to motivate myself to get up in the morning.
But burnout doesn't affect me socially. In fact when I get burnout I just want to sit around and talk rather than do any work. I can also get easily depressed and anxious. I know this will happen if I ever had to work full-time.

Does this sound like burnout? Or does burnout mean withdrawal? I don't really withdrawal, I just get lazy and everything becomes an effort, but it's not intentional.
I do worry about what will become of me if I ever have to work full-time. I feel like being stuck at work 8-10 hours a day with only one or two days off each week and only 3-4 weeks off a year will be too much for me and I will have burnout. I mean, doing the same thing every day just panics me. NTs are so lucky they can shrug it off as "well I have to do the same routine day after day, week after week, year after year, to pay the bills". That logic won't stop me from getting burnout.

 

[Misty Avich]

I don't go a lot on the "eat, sleep, work, repeat" lifestyle. It panics me. I don't know why. Maybe I'm just lazy and stupid. Lol

 

[vergil96]

With me burnout affects my executive functioning and makes me feel "oh my God I really can't be bothered" and I get brain fog and lethargy. I also find it hard to motivate myself to get up in the morning.

Same, but there is no deep sadness and catastrophic thinking like in depression.

But burnout doesn't affect me socially. In fact when I get burnout I just want to sit around and talk rather than do any work. I can also get easily depressed and anxious. I know this will happen if I ever had to work full-time.

It does affect me socially. But it likely stems from the fact that I find some things about interacting with other people challenging in the first place and I need a fresh mind to keep up with them, for example, I don't hear very well, I mean, I hear very quiet sounds and they're very annoying for me, but it is to the detriment of hearing speech if there is anything going on in the background or if it's via phone. Speaking isn't an easy task for me either, especially about emotional or other vague or uninteresting topics. For some reason all the eye contact, facial expression and body language stuff becomes more difficult too, but I also have to think hard about movement and the sequence of movements to perform "easy" tasks... Eye contact is the first thing that goes away when I get tired, I just don't keep up with it and try to focus on hearing what is being said - choose the most important thing. And I become irritable when burnt out, so I just want to sit in a quiet room alone and not bothered. Every single sensory issue becomes worse.

I feel like being stuck at work 8-10 hours a day with only one or two days off each week and only 3-4 weeks off a year will be too much for me and I will have burnout.

I don't know how it will go for me honestly. I have still a few months of university. I worked and studied at the same time, but it was hard. But the routine and zero multitasking at work worked in my favour and I was less tired than I thought I would be. I surprised myself that I wasn't even that tired working even more than 8 hours a day if I didn't have to task switch so much and I had a comfortable workplace. However, I always got sick at school a lot and it contributed to many absences and I skipped classes whenever I could. Teachers let me do that during high school in order to study for math and science competitions, I was ahead of the curriculum anyway and went to the library to solve problems and asked the teachers questions when I wanted to.

Some of my family members also have worked part time their whole lives due to getting health problems from full time work, so I expect it could be similar for me. I also don't think the concept of a 9-5 job is necessarily what human bodies are built for - before the invention of electricity, there was no work e.g. in farming after the sunset, so you had 12 hours for not only work but also housework and other responsibilities. There was also no commuting. People took a break at midday. So before the invention of electricity so for most of human history, people didn't work the 8 hours a day + commute. Human bodies aren't built for that.

 

[Neri]

Sometimes, when it's severe, my brain feels swollen, especially the frontal lobes and I get migraines. My eyes hurt too and light is soooo bright and glaring. It feels like "soggy, dirty cotton wool" in my head.

I am in burn out at the moment and I'm so exhausted I can hardly do anything. I am a little better than I was with the social battery being completely flat; my social battery has recharged so I'm not craving alone time, but my executive function is out the window. I'm lucky if I can feed myself or make a meal. But today I cooked twice, and that is all I managed to do.

Sometimes I have to sleep throughout the day, because my sleep cycle is particularly messed up in burn out. I've had really chronic burn out these last couple of years but, that was due to the burn outs being combined with covid, a couple of times and a huge amount of family pressure with me having to be available for various family members in crisis. That hit me hard, in the brain. So so exhausted in the head.

Also, I'm in perimenopause and that's part of this cycle of burn out as the estrogen dip affects dopamine and with my ADHD that's very affected executive function,; very bad executive function. I get more irritable. I have a lot of meltdowns. And it's probably underpining my agoraphobia, that and stupid, trauma-brain nastiness.

I've finally organised some help for myself though, and I'm very optimistic that things will improve, now that I finally have my diagnosis.

Oh and speech can get harder, but, not all the time. It comes and goes. I also overshare without realizing, as well as having difficulty being verbal. Oh and loud noises make me angry. And all I want to do is consume content from autistic content creators, because it's soothing to know I'm not alone in this stuff.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Yes, autistic brains are far more susceptible to "fatigue" and "burnout". Why? Our brains are different. How different? Some of the science behind it:

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2021.673600/full
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02079-y
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.813304/full

 

[Forest Cat]

This:

 

[Neonatal RRT]

We have a "condition". It just happens to affect our brain. The brain is an organ, like a kidney, heart, liver, pancreas, etc. We have to learn about these differences, take extra precautions, and learn how to take care of our brains in order to maintain its health.

We are not "just" neurodivergent. It's on a whole other level.

 

[Outdated]

When I'm burnt out I lose the ability to concentrate on anything, I sit in a darkened room and attempt to watch a TV show or read a book or play a video game but can't really focus on any of them. There's also the laziness and weariness, my place is a mess at the moment but I don't think I'll be cleaning anything up today either.

I tend to be fairly reclusive at most times anyway, I can socialise well enough when I need to but it's not all that often I'll go seeking company. I don't work and I have no close family though so that makes life easier, I really can retreat when I want to.

 

[autism-and-autotune]

I think even NTs can get burnout if they're under enough pressure or stress in their lives, but people like us might be more likely to get burnout from, for example, doing a typical 9-5 work day. It would be in my case.

I'm not sure if I get burnout or not, or if burnout is different for everyone. With me burnout affects my executive functioning and makes me feel "oh my God I really can't be bothered" and I get brain fog and lethargy. I also find it hard to motivate myself to get up in the morning.
But burnout doesn't affect me socially. In fact when I get burnout I just want to sit around and talk rather than do any work. I can also get easily depressed and anxious. I know this will happen if I ever had to work full-time.

Does this sound like burnout? Or does burnout mean withdrawal? I don't really withdrawal, I just get lazy and everything becomes an effort, but it's not intentional.
I do worry about what will become of me if I ever have to work full-time. I feel like being stuck at work 8-10 hours a day with only one or two days off each week and only 3-4 weeks off a year will be too much for me and I will have burnout. I mean, doing the same thing every day just panics me. NTs are so lucky they can shrug it off as "well I have to do the same routine day after day, week after week, year after year, to pay the bills". That logic won't stop me from getting burnout.

Burnout for me turns my mental state just downward. I don't have the energy to do anything much, let alone think of doing anything much. Everything becomes a chore. Burnout brings out the worst of my PDA, I think. And yes, I agree with your point about executive function; I just cannot if I am in burnout.

I disagree with what you call 'lazy'; while I have yet to read the book Laziness does not Exist from what I've gathered online is that being 'lazy' just means that our energy levels are barely away from being empty, and we cannot do much that requires too much energy aside from necessary--absolutely necessary things, but nothing else. When I'm in burnout, my spoons are zero. Taking away from them and going into the negatives for for days is rough, because soon I'm at -100 spoons. It's exhausting to be exhausted all the time.

 

[Au Naturel]

ometimes, when it's severe, my brain feels swollen, especially the frontal lobes and I get migraines. My eyes hurt too and light is soooo bright and glaring. It feels like "soggy, dirty cotton wool" in my head.

That's possibly a migraine. Have you seen a doctor about it? I take Sumatriptan (Imitrex) at the first sign of one. None of the other migraine meds and pain meds even touched my migraines.

https://www.healthgrades.com/right-...che/12-drugs-commonly-prescribed-for-migraine

 

[All-Rounder]

Yes, autistic brains are far more susceptible to "fatigue" and "burnout". Why? Our brains are different. How different? Some of the science behind it:

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2021.673600/full
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02079-y
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.813304/full

Interesting. I've been dealing with kidney sand and joint problems, possibly have high uric acid. Treatments for gout can decrease uric acid build up in the organism.

I wonder what treatments would prevent the oxidative stress at blood-brain barrier level and could they deal with so many dysfunctions.

 

[All-Rounder]

Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Unique Abnormalities and Targeted Treatments

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1071909120300401
Q10 seems to address some of the issues we have neurologically so I looked it up.

 

[AuAL]

I have spent much of my career working in computational optimisation. I personally attribute some of my success in this field (and a lot of my creativity in finding solutions to various problems) to my “laziness”. If I can find a better way to do something that requires less effort, I need to expend less effort. Extrapolate this view of the world and an ability to find efficient solutions to problems - or any sort of solution that actual works - emerges. “Lazy” is as lazy seems.

Just to lighten the mood (I hasten to add, not to disrespect any of the experiences revealed here, of which I am very supportive, but the joke fits the topic.)

What’s the difference between an academic and a light bulb?

Spoiler

A light bulb stops working when it burns out.

 

[Outdated]

I personally attribute some of my success in this field (and a lot of my creativity in finding solutions to various problems) to my “laziness”. If I can find a better way to do something that requires less effort, I need to expend less effort. Extrapolate this view of the world and an ability to find efficient solutions to problems - or any sort of solution that actual works - emerges. “Lazy” is as lazy seems.

I was exactly the same. I even used to tell apprentices that the reason I was so good at what I do is because I'm the laziest man on earth. Getting a job right first time is so much easier and cheaper than having to reprint it.

 

[Misty Avich]

I think I have burnout now. Or is burnout just depression? Because at the moment going to my simple part-time job takes as much effort as climbing a mountain, except mentally instead of physically.

 

[Outdated]

I think I have burnout now. Or is burnout just depression? Because at the moment going to my simple part-time job takes as much effort as climbing a mountain, except mentally instead of physically.

For many of us what we get is emotional burnout from dealing with social situations at work. It wears you down, tires you out, exhausts you, and in the longer term it makes it a lot easier for you to fall in to depression. I don't have any advice on how to cope, I failed in that completely.

 

[Misty Avich]

For many of us what we get is emotional burnout from dealing with social situations at work. It wears you down, tires you out, exhausts you, and in the longer term it makes it a lot easier for you to fall in to depression. I don't have any advice on how to cope, I failed in that completely.

It's not the social side of work. In fact it's the lack thereof social interaction that can make me depressed. If I'm with colleagues chatting away I can feel happier and more motivated, but if I feel alone with my thoughts too much then I start becoming worried, stressed and depressed. Or if there's someone there who I don't really get on with or the workplace has a negative sort of atmosphere that can make me feel uncomfortable, I can get stressed. But it's doing things like thinking, remembering, organising, completing tasks, having demands put upon me at the last minute, that sort of thing, that makes me feel depressed. Also since my mother passed away I've been going in and out of depression. I don't think I will ever get over it, and I engage in coping strategies to help me, which does help. But I want to engage in coping strategies more than what I can get time for.

 

[Outdated]

It's not the social side of work. In fact it's the lack thereof social interaction that can make me depressed. If I'm with colleagues chatting away I can feel happier and more motivated, but if I feel alone with my thoughts too much then I start becoming worried, stressed and depressed.

I was exactly the opposite, I never understood some people's needs for constant companionship and it's something I'm not able to cope with. I have superb organisational and logistics skills and I never had any trouble working or achieving deadlines, but people wanting to be my friend and stand around chatting all the time drove me mental. Work hours are for work, time to chat is after the work is finished.

 

[jsilver256]

When I'm burnt out I lose the ability to concentrate on anything, I sit in a darkened room and attempt to watch a TV show or read a book or play a video game but can't really focus on any of them. There's also the laziness and weariness, my place is a mess at the moment but I don't think I'll be cleaning anything up today either.

I'd also add on - for me, autistic burnout specifically involves a loss of ability to mask. I can't get into the "squash all emotion and dress professional" mode now if I wanted to. If I attend an outing, it's going to be me wearing the exact same organic cotton outfit that I always wear and I'm going to stim a lot.

 

[Misty Avich]

I was exactly the opposite, I never understood some people's needs for constant companionship and it's something I'm not able to cope with. I have superb organisational and logistics skills and I never had any trouble working or achieving deadlines, but people wanting to be my friend and stand around chatting all the time drove me mental. Work hours are for work, time to chat is after the work is finished.

I feel the need to form companionships with my colleagues, as in emotional attachments. Then I can get really depressed when they're not there or if they leave, or if I don't like somebody there. Also I find myself getting sidetracked and not focusing on my work and then getting told off for talking. It makes me feel depressed and just wish I didn't have to work.