autistic burnout : triggers, early warning signs, and recovery tips
When I experienced several periods of intense exhaustion in my twenties, I didn’t stop. I went to see the doctor, but they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. Even though I worked with a counsellor back then, I was still a high-masking, so she didn’t pick up the signs or even consider it as a possibility. And as a first-generation Chinese immigrant, I felt compelled to do well academically and then in my workplace, despite how I felt. Until one day my brain shut down at work and my body felt nothing but an all-encompassing exhaustion for weeks. I didn’t understand what was going on with myself, and coping with my random shutdowns was scary. Each time I’d struggle with letting time pass as I recovered, hoping that the world would stop until I could breath in all the air I needed, until I could catch up to where everyone else was at.
I understand this exhaustion as autistic burnout now. And I wish I knew about it back then so I knew how to better take care of myself. As a counsellor I always seem to notice burnout as a theme in my work with autistic — and other neurodiverse folks — of all genders and age. I’ve come to conclude that burnout isn’t a binary concept of healthy versus completely exhausted. Clients usually start to show subtle internal and external signs before they had to go into full recovery mode. And because the recovery stage hits hard and can lead to long lasting damage like depression and other chronic health problems, early identification as prevention is key.
Here’s what you’ll learn
What autistic burnout looks like and how it is different from normal exhaustion
What causes autistic burnout and common risk factors for burning out
How to help those who are currently experiencing autistic burnout and how to prevent relapse
What does autistic burnout look like?
Autistic burnout is experienced as when personal demands and the associated mental strain exceeds personal resources and capacity for well-being. Autistic burnout is different from “normal” burnout as it not only involves a pervasive sense of exhaustion, but also reduced functioning level in every area of life as opposed to only affecting occupation-related functioning. Regular burnout doesn’t involve the total dysregulation of the nervous system whereas autistic burnout does. Autistic people describe burnout as the depletion of internal resources, resulting in chronic exhaustion, the loss of skills including activities for daily living, and reduced stimulus tolerance resulting in constant overstimulation¹.
Autistic burnout is the result of existing in a sensory and social world adapted for allistic needs rather than autistic needs. Autistics often do not notice that they are headed towards burnout, especially if they are not diagnosed, as while burnout can occur from significant life changes or intense and prolonged stress, it can also be triggered by chronic sensory overload, excessive social demands, and long periods of uncertainty requiring constant changes to routine.
Early burnout is marked by energy demands slowly outstripping the autistic person’s energy reservoir.
stimuli sensitivity increases, leading to more frequent episodes of emotional distress and cognitive fatigue
emotional distress may not diminish when the source of distressing stimuli is removed
social situations now demand more energy, and the autistic person shows less flexibility with sudden plan switches
recovery from socializing and masking take a significantly longer time
at the end of this stage, the autistic person may choose to avoid socializing in order to preserve their energy levels
engagement with self-care and special interests/hobbies become inconsistent
the autistic person experiences more pain, their fatigue levels may be detected by outsiders by the end of this stage as depression-like symptoms
most emotional experiences are now negative rather than neutral or positive, to the casual observer the autistic person seems “cranky”
the autistic person experiences significantly more cognitive slowness, including brain fog, inertia, and forgetfulness
Sometimes those symptoms can be rather subtle, and many people may not even notice that they’re struggling until they’re overwhelmed by fatigue. But even with overwhelming evidence sometimes people are still dismissive of their own needs, they may still hold hope that they can adjust somehow and power through everything without resting or proper care. They may be successful and power through for small periods of time at first until they burn out, be forced to rest, recover, and repeat the cycle again.
What triggers autistic burnout?
Autistic burnout can be triggered by a variety of experiences. Some experiences are typically harder for allistic bystanders to notice, as they do not perceive the same kind of sensory overstimulation or social interaction barriers. This usually involves anything that causes long periods of uncertainty, social stress, or sensory overload. Triggers can vary depending on person, but are all factors that are typically outside of the autistic person’s control and increases their daily energy demands.
Triggers for children may look like transition into a new school, such as graduating from Middle School to High school. This transition may involve the loss of familiar environments and friend groups which were helpful for the child’s capacity to emotionally regulate. Some children may find it harder to go to a school farther away if the commute means less sleep or exposure to stimuli.
School itself can also cause children to burnout. Autistic children may have a harder time with some subjects than others, and the pressure associated with certain subjects may dig deep into their energy reserves.
Adult triggers might look like policy changes at work which may potentially remove necessary social or emotional support, add exposure to unwanted stimuli, or add pressure to mask. Uncertainty levels can also increase with changes at work, and requirement for flexibility can potentially result in a load to daily emotional and cognitive demand.
Periods of transition and uncertainty is difficult for autistic people. Adaptation from set schedules or plans demand excess executive functioning resources, especially when there is an overabundance of choices present. Moving and adjusting into new environments can trigger burnout, especially if housing or other living arrangements remain unstable for long periods of time and a regular routine can’t be set due to external circumstances.
What are autistic burnout risk factors?
Masking is a major risk factor, as the effort to mask is highly demanding of cognitive capacity, and can also potentially take away stimming or spending time alone as coping strategies. Intense or long periods of social interactions can also lead to exhaustion and burnout. Autistics may find it harder to interact with groups of people, particularly with people whom they are unfamiliar with. Having to interact with many different people in a short period of time may trigger burnout symptoms.
Excess executive functioning demand is also a risk factor. As autistic children develop executive functioning at a slower pace than their peers, they have a harder time adjusting into academic environments that require more independence. Many skills that educators expects children to pick up naturally over time doesn’t happen for autistic children without direct instruction and practice. And unlike allistic children, autistic children will find some forms of schoolwork intensely more difficult than others and will need more help and guidance. Autistic adults can experience similar problems as autistic children in professional environments with regard to task organization and motivation.
Long periods of uncertainty is a risk factor, especially if frequent disruption to daily routine is involved. Autistic people need more energy to adapt to new situations, as they involve changing many pieces of their regular routine. Not knowing what life looks like for long periods of time can be very draining.
How can I help myself or someone else recover from burnout?
Burnout can last a long time without rest and proper support. Recovery isn’t just about rest, but also the necessary social support and removal from stress, overstimulation, and excess demands. Recovery can also be a slow and inconsistent process, and frustration is not an uncommon emotional experience during the recovery stage.
Helping those who’ve burnt out involves providing the opposite of the risk factors that caused burnout. If the cause is a long period of uncertainty, then providing a sense of certainty through structure, such as daily routines, can help reduce the amount of overwhelm associated with the transition. If the cause is the lack of executive functioning skills compared to environment demands, then recovery needs to involve not only helping the autistic person develop their executive functioning to adapt to the environment, but also by modifying the environment as much as possible so that the need for the autistic person to expend energy can be reduced to the minimum.
Autistic people in the process of recovering from burnout often experience many emotions themselves. They may often feel like their world is shrinking and that resting takes time away from all the things they want to do instead. Grief is a feeling that might come naturally to many.
For many autistics in the midst of burnout, finding the exact cause might be overwhelming. Counselling can often be a helpful starting point to help re-establish emotional regulation and coping. In my own experience counselling was helpful for processing the intense mixture of emotions I had. Many other autistics may feel the same about having to rest, especially in our busy, productivity driven world, and counselling helped me gain clarity with the feelings of guilt and grief that came my way as I made time for myself to rest.
In addition to finding triggers and providing a space for emotional processing and validation, counselling is also a space to gain new skills through establishing insight in how your executive functioning system works, or learn to navigate social situations to help empower yourself.
References
Raymaker DM, Teo AR, Steckler NA, et al. “Having All of Your Internal Resources Exhausted Beyond Measure and Being Left with No Clean-Up Crew”: Defining Autistic Burnout. Autism in Adulthood. 2020;2(2):132-143. doi:10.1089/aut.2019.0079
Hi, I’m Wren, a Registered Clinical Counsellor passionate about everything trauma, healing, and neurodivergence.
Learn more about my approach here ☞
Read about how counselling helps ADHD and autism here ☞
Schedule a consultation with me here ☞
Since you’re here, why not check out my other blog post for autism self-care → How decluttering helped me manage my Autism and ADHD
