Autistic burnout: Symptoms and solutions
I’d like to comment briefly on this article
The article begins by noting that the effort autistic people make to fit into social norms can cause exhaustion. With autistic burnout we are looking at something more than exhaustion, for which rest can bring recovery naturally. Autistic burnout is something quite different. Those who have suffered from the pressures of work have experienced the loss of motivation, listlessness, and chronic fatigue that can often result. Autistic burnout stems from having to meet the demands of everyday life. Despite the fact that autistic people have spoken about the phenomenon of autistic burnout, little research has been done. In terms of objective scientific knowledge, little is known about autistic burnout; in terms of subjective, experiential knowledge, plenty is known – just ask autistic people.
Francesca Happé, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at King’s College London, has this to say in the article: “We know anecdotally that autistic burnout is a state of exhaustion,” when the demands of the environment outstrip capacity, and there’s insufficient support. For autistic people the sensory world can be overwhelming,” as can everyday social demands.
The word “anecdotally” here rather diminishes the importance of autistic testimony – there is such a thing as innate knowledge, not least with respect to autism, a condition which is not objective in any medical sense but behavioural. Listen to what autistic people have to say!
Autistic adults describe the primary characteristics of autistic burnout as:
Chronic exhaustion;
Loss of skills;
Reduced tolerance to stimulus.
A study conducted by the Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education described autistic burnout as “having all of your internal resources exhausted beyond measure and being left with no clean-up crew.”
Even before normal pressures of education and employment – the need to strive in order to take one’s place in society - autistic people have to work incredibly hard to navigate the encounters, expectations, and requirements of a society that functions in ways that can be confusing and challenging. Processing information differently, without internal editors and filters, autistic people can experience the world as immediately present in all respects. They are therefore tasked with managing information by “masking,” using intellect to learn and practise social rules where others use instinct and intuition. Social interactions and exchanges that come naturally to most people can be both daunting and draining for autistic people. Even when such encounters go well – without the all-too frequent misunderstandings – it can take an autistic person a lot of time to recover. An autistic person trying to operate in society is akin to a non-human animal without instincts trying to survive in a jungle - they have to think their way through the countless transactions of social encounter. The brain is high-maintenance, accounting for about 20% of the body's energy consumption, despite only representing 2% of its weight. The autistic person’s brain is therefore tasked with having to an extra-ordinary amount of work, and over a period of time the effect can be exhausting, especially where there is little or no opportunity to recharge and re-energise.
Whereas neurotypical people feel comfortable in social encounter, for autistic people conversation can be like social chess, with every move being planned, anticipated, monitored, an endless micro-analysing of words, thoughts, requests, cues, facial expressions, body language etc.
Then there is the constant going over of every detail in the aftermath.
It is little wonder that autistic people will seek to limit contacts, lines of communication, and social encounters. Overthinking every detail in your social life is exhausting and comes with the constant danger of burnout.
The difference between normal burnout and autistic burnout is that the former arises from the pressures of work whilst the latter arises from having to cope with the ordinary pressures of social life with social and sensory stressors. Add pressures of education and/or employment, and the problem is apparent.
Autistic burnout is a descriptive term rather than a diagnosis, and applies to those who have reached a point of exhaustion and burnout of their energy.
Symptoms of autistic burnout include:
A constant and chronic feeling of exhaustion, which no amount of rest or sleep alleviates;
Withdrawal from social contact;
Difficulty speaking or moving;
Lethargy, slowness in movements.
Each of these traits feed on themselves and signal a retreat from people and the world, in turn feeding a feeling of listlessness. In effect, those suffering from autistic burnout with withdraw from activities and encounters that could – in the right circumstances – be energy-giving. It is a paradoxical condition in that whilst activity and encounter can deplete energy, it can also restore it. Exhaustion causes people to stop doing the things they need to do to boost energy and resilience and keep spirits high. In extreme cases, those suffering with autistic burnout can find it difficult to get out of bed and get moving – they become stuck physically as well as socially.
It is easy to see how an autistic person suffering burnout can become trapped. The constant bombardment of the senses causes an overwhelm which has a person seeking to avoid certain environments. The sensory input is too great to be able to cope with. When the whole outing or encounter has become too much, there is a natural tendency to withdraw. This, in turn, leads to real problems in social life, work-related and otherwise.
What is to be done?
Here we come to the in/famous ‘coping strategies.’
I write ‘infamous’ for a reason. A life spent in survival mode is a life that falls far short of the flourishing well that each and every one of us deserve. Survival has to be survival for something otherwise, at some point, the exhaustion that you seek to stave off engulfs you anyway, as soon as you realise the sheer pointlessness of it all. Living on the destinationless voyage imposes too onerous a burden.
I hesitate to offer a list of coping strategies – for the reason that most autistic people will already know them and will have been putting them into action without instruction. I did, decades before I was diagnosed. But, yes, make sure to build those sensory activities into your every day that are calming and energising in a positive way. It’s all about habits – forming good ones and checking bad ones. Whatever activity that helps you rebalance and feel good will do the job. You will know yourself the things you enjoy doing – do them! These are the things that will restore energy and raise your spirits. Music, rambling in nature, exercise, favourite comedies, films etc.
Be aware of the things that deplete your energy and protect yourself against them. If you can. IF. That’s the big ‘if.’ Because the problem is that it is either not possible to avoid energy-depleting activities and remain a ‘functioning’ member of society, or it is but only by withdrawing from the company of others. Your choices in the matter are never free; they are always socially constrained. You can withdraw, but it will come at a massive social cost, storing up even bigger problems in the future. Contact with others can deplete energy but can also restore energy – it depends on the others. Unfortunately, having withdrawn on many occasions in the past, autistic people can find themselves in conditions of social isolation when socialisation may be the thing they need the most. As social beings, human beings need others in order to be themselves. And yet … people can be exhausting. People can be inconstant and inconsistent when autistic people crave constancy and consistency.
The advice is to monitor your energy stocks, check the things that deplete them, do the things that restore them. If you can. And if amenable others are available and amenable …
For further information, check the NAS pages.
Professional help? I can't comment - except to say I don't want to hear of medication and CBT ever again! Not for me. I prefer a good hike in the hills or a game of football (if I can find enough footballers who have what it takes to keep up with my fancy footwork. That's the problem with life - there's not enough footballers! People are too busy on their screens watching instead of actually playing. Rant over).
Learn to help yourself. It beats being at cross-purposes with various authorities. Seek ‘reasonable adjustments,’ and be prepared to be most ‘unreasonable’ when you see how few adjustments can be made. Personally, I’ve found the biggest help coming by way of contact with fellow ‘odds,’ even if a lot of time it has involved sharing frustrations and commiserations – it’s a form of consolation, I suppose. And at least you learn that you are alone.
The take-home is this:
Draw up a list of the things that deplete your energy and a list of the things you enjoy doing that restore your energy. Try to avoid or check the former as best you can; make a point of doing the latter, even and especially when you may not feel like doing any of it – it has restorative powers and will increase you willingness to be more proactive in the future.
Better still, know that list by heart, and learn to identify the warning signs and make a point of doing the things you enjoy. And stop masking and accommodating just to fit. You'll attract the people who like you as you are.
Autistic burnout stems from chronic unmet needs.
It’s more than just being tired. It’s more than exhaustion. It’s about trying to survive in a world that continually frustrates the needs of autistic people, leading to sensory overload and loss of skills.
How do we navigate a society that contributes to burnout?
Often, the best care is self-care. Too often, it is the only care. The best self-care an autistic person can do is to immerse yourself in a special interest for a while and shut out and switch off the entire world. I wouldn’t recommend doing it for ten years or so, mind. It could become ‘difficult’ to coax people back to harsh reality.
Reduce tasks. Whatever needs to be done will be done. Whatever is left undone doesn’t need to be done.
Take it easy.
Immerse yourself in your passions and indulge your pleasures.
Cut out the noise.
You don’t have to cut out people: people can dissipate your energies; people can rejuvenate your energies. Choose the latter over the former.
Do without rather than waste energy making-do.
Take time out.
Relax indoors.
Enjoy the outdoors – time spent in nature is a psychic investment.
Do things in your own time at your own pace.
Stabilize - avoid the inconstant and the irregular.
At the same time, look to come out of survival mode.
Stay in survival mode for any length of time and you’ll lose the lust for life, which is the most energising thing of all.
Thanks to Lil Penguin Studios for this image. There's something in there for everyone. I switch my speaker on and sing Elvis songs to myself. I do requests (for songs, not for silence).
