Man sitting on floor cuddling with his dog

Burnout

“I see it as more of a withdrawal from the world. You’ve done so much, you can’t take it anymore.”

Burnout is a state of complete exhaustion or depletion, caused by extended periods of demand (e.g., from socializing) or inhibition (e.g., from holding in stims).

Watch a video on "Burnout"

A bit about burnout...

Burnout can reduce your ability to focus and do things. Burnout can last for days, weeks, or longer and interfere with important aspects of your life (e.g., work and relationships). Sometimes even having too many good things going on can cause burnout.

It can be hard to recognize when you are starting to burn out.

In a burnout state, you might feel the following...

Exhaustion
Your body feels tired and heavy
Loud voices felt on your skin
Trouble processing things you see
Difficulty processing what others say
Difficulty accessing your words to respond
Slowed response time

You might be sleeping a lot of the time
Heart rate increases
Inability to tolerate being around people who you are normally comfortable with
Headache
Eyes start to fill up / crying

This is how some autistic adults describe burnout...

[After working several consecutive days] “I just get through the end of it [the shift] on fumes, falling to pieces, barely functioning, tapping every last bit of reserve energy I can... The next day, I'm stuck…I just get lost in my head…and then like a couple of hours go by and I don't even realize what happened… And all the things I was going to do today [get groceries, clean the bathroom, go online and pay bills]… all those things didn't happen, and they often don't happen for months.”

What are the impacts of burnout?

Burnout can creep up on you suddenly, like a wave that leaves you feeling drained. Your brain might feel exhausted but also can’t seem to stop running through all the things you need to do. First, you may have trouble planning, organizing, and problem-solving (your executive functions). As a result, you might have difficulty responding to texts, doing projects, or checking your to-do list. And you might feel guilty.

If you continually push yourself to a burnout state, your body might decide to shut down and leave you no choice but to rest.

Watch a video explaining "Autistic Burnout"...

Download and create your own "Burnout" plan

We hope that working through this handout will help you understand your experience of burnout, make a coping plan, and feel more confident in advocating for yourself.

Download the handout

References

1. Phung, J., Penner, M., Pirlot, C., & Welch, C. (2021). What I Wish You Knew: Insights on Burnout, Inertia, Meltdown, and Shutdown From Autistic Youth. Frontiers in Psychology, 21. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741421

2. Raymaker, D. M., Teo, A. R., Steckler, N. A., Lentz, B., Scharer, M., Delos Santos, A., Kapp, S. K., Hunter, M., Joyce, A., & Nicolaidis, C. (2020). “Having all of your internal resources exhausted beyond measure and being left with no clean-up crew”: Defining autistic burnout. Autism Adulthood, 2(2),132-43. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2019.0079