Blog
The 3 Stages of Autistic Burnout
Despite trying to reduce the exhaustion that I experience at work, I still experience many meltdowns anyways. My experience trying to navigate this brutally flawed system that is life.
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I Tracked My Energy for Months. It Wasn't Just Burnout.
My experience tracking my energy while in autistic burnout, including the c-PTSD layer I didn't realized slowed my recovery significantly.
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Why I Stopped Explaining My Autism to People Who Won't Listen
After constantly explaining about my autism to family, friends, and managers at work, I just stopped trying at this point, and feared any attempts of doing it in the future.
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I Smell Laundry Detergent Before I Can Start a Task
I like smelling laundry detergent before starting a task. Not because I planned to — because my brain figured out it regulates me before I did. Written by an autistic adult in burnout.
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Asking for Help Drains Me More Than Just Doing It Myself
I prefer to handle tasks alone since the cost to mask and deal with small talk is too unbearable, far more than the physical demands of the task itself ever would be. Written by an autistic adult.
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I Run Before Sunrise and the Car Glare Still Gets Me
I run before sunrise to avoid sensory overload — and still can't escape it. My brain literally cannot filter out car glare no matter what I do. Written by an autistic adult.
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I Forget to Eat at Work Until I Crash
My body doesn't send hunger signals at work — so I don't eat. I only find out hours later when I crash. Written by an autistic adult in burnout.
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Why I Shower Every Other Day in Burnout
The tasking switching costs of getting in then getting out, pressure from my family about me showering too little or too long. I can't handle cold showers most of the time and choose to take them every other day instead.
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Why I Switched to a Flip Phone in Burnout
Most days my energy baseline is already gone before noon. I switched to a flip phone to stop hemorrhaging what little I had left on constant task switching. Written by an autistic adult in burnout
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The Friendship Math Has Never Worked Out for Me
I go in eager every time. Most friendships still end — blocked, faded, or just gone. The masking cost hits either way.
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Recalculating Whether I Can Afford Toothpaste
I make $2,100 a month. After rideshare, groceries, and essentials, the financial stress alone costs more energy than the work that earned it. Written by an autistic adult in burnout.
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Burnout Made Me Quit My Software Engineering Degree
I chose software engineering for the remote work and the special interest. A year in, burnout had already taken both. So I quit.
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Family Dinners Are a Performance I Didn't Audition For
Every family dinner is a performance I didn't audition for. I exert everything I have — not because I want to, but because my family expects it. Written by an autistic adult in burnout.
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I've Quit Most Jobs Within a Month — It Was Never the Work
Customer service. Grocery stores. Warehouses. Every job has been more mentally crushing than physically demanding. Written by an autistic adult in burnout.
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They Laughed at My Smile at the DMV. I Stopped Smiling.
I figured I could just go to the DMV and take my photo and get it over with. With the expectations to smile, I was drained very quickly, as well as laughed at for my efforts despite trying.
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Door Slams Still Spike My Nervous System Through Headphones
I lose most of my energy from door slams even with headphones on. The volume isn’t the problem. The unpredictability is.
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I Stopped Hiding My Stimming — It's How I Recover
I bite my nails. I stand on tippy-toes. I swipe my smartwatch over and over. All three of these help recover my energy while I'm burnout mode.
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The Crawling Feeling on My Skin Won't Stop Until I Go Inside
Once I start sweating on a run, something crawling on me won't stop. I rub my shoulder every 15–40 seconds until I go inside. Something usually regulates me is now draining me instead.
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I Check My To-Do List 6 Times and Still Forget the Task
I'll read 'pack lunch,' walk downstairs, on my to do list app then immediately forget why I'm downstairs. I built my routine to compensate for low energy days, but those are the exact days executing them is hard to begin with.
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On Low-Energy Days, Here's What I Cut First
When I'm operating on low energy and can barely handle anything else, I strip away anything that isn't crucial for me to do, and leave the non-negotiable tasks intact and leave them to the evening instead of doing them all in the morning.
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Most of My Meltdowns Are Silent. No One Notices.
Sudden abrupt and rigid periods to be completely alone, and nearly on the brink of tears. Written by an autistic adults who's experienced many meltdowns on a weekly basis.
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After 20 Minutes in the Cold, I Can't Use My Hands
During cold periods outside or even in my mom's house, my hands feel very cold where it's physically painful to grab, touch, or interact with anything, even rubbing my own hands.
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Learning to Code in Burnout: Days per Concept, Then I Forget
Learning to code while in burnout means days per concept. I only code for 1-2 hours on a daily basis, and end up forgetting the material I learn days later regardless.
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90 Minutes of Small Talk Costs Me 48 Hours of Recovery
After a 90-minute hangout I can't respond to texts for two days. The masking, the eye contact, the unpredictability—it wipes me out. So I stay home and text most of the time instead.
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I Got Written Up for Kneeling. So I Stopped Asking for Help.
All I wanted was two things. To have a station to work entirely alone, and to allow use of my noise cancellation headphones and light sensivitity glasses. Both got ignored and downplayed entirely.
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My Eyelid Twitches and I Trip More: Burnout's Physical Side
From constantly tripping outside and at work, forgetting something nearly everyday seconds later, the physical symptoms of being in burnout has impacted my life just as much as it does mentally.
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I Fixed My Sleep and Still Wake Up Exhausted
From supplements, sleep masks every night, and even earplugs + white noise machine. I still barely recover most days despite doing everything I can think off. Written by an autistic adult.
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Shutdown vs Meltdown vs Burnout: How I Tell Them Apart
Meltdown: Minutes—Crying in the bathroom at a amily dinner meeting. Shutdown: days in bed while barely doing anything, including prepping meals much. Burnout: 5+ years. Written by an autistic adult who's experienced all 3.
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Apologizing For Nothing: My Autistic Burnout Warning Sign
'I'm sorry I don't talk to Grandad". I'm only doing so just preserve any energy reserves I have left, yet I still end up having to make phone calls anyways despite being in burnout.
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I Have to Text My Mom Before I Can Even Go for a Run
Before I have to run I have to text my mom. Before I wind down for bed, I'm asked to do something. Sudden expectations in periods when I'm trying to relax is unbearable for me.
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I Make 16 Sandwiches Every Sunday to Save Weekday Energy
I spend several hours once per week to make everything in advance. Despite the major energy cost now, the major upside in energy later is more than worth it. Written by an autistic adult currently dealing with burnout.
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I Order Groceries Online 98% of the Time
Intercoms, crowds, forced small talk. Even with headphones and light glasses at 8 AM, grocery stores still overwhelm me. So I order online 98% of the time.
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$500 a Month in Rideshares to a Job That Drains Me
I have to spend roughly a quarter of my income every month just to go to work, then deal with the sensory overload of said job. Rinse and repeat.
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I Loop the Same Clip 30 Times Until I Feel Regulated
I watch the same clips on Youtube over and over and find it immesely regulating despite my family thinking otherwise most of the time.
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Autistic Burnout for 5+ Years: What Helped Even a Little
5 years ago, I hit burnout. Mom yelling over forgotten chores. Pressure to socialize. Constant sensory overload from a house that never goes quiet. I'm still burned out now. Here's what actually helped—barely.
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Why Phone Calls Drain My Energy Before I Even Say a Word
Before I even pick up the phone, my heart rate is already spiking, I'm anticipating the drain of thinking of what to say, and monitoring my voice and tone the entire time.
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Earplugs and Headphones, and the Noise Still Gets Me
Despite wearing earplugs, sony xm6 headphones nearly every single day, I'm still exhausted the very next day, only to have to deal with the same exact exhausting noises over and over again.
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Getting Moved 8 Times a Shift: the Task-Switching Tax
From constantly being moved around at work, and expectations to do tasks and answer phones calls without a notice in advance, the cost compound easily and is very frustrating as an autistic adult.
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Why I Can Enjoy Something and Still Be Completely Drained
I enjoy Fortnite with my friends. But dealing with small talk just to play with them makes it more exhausting than the game itself.
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5 Years of Burnout, and Everything Still Feels Harder
I've been in autistic burnout for 5+ years. Small talk with others, motor precision, and navigating around others at home and at work is so demanding. 5 years in, I'm still extremely exhausted.
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Why I Am Still Exhausted Working Only 3 Days a Week
I only go to work 3 days a week, followed by 4 days off, yet I'm still in autistic burnout after 5 years later. My experience dealing with sensory overload on a daily bais.
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Why Are So Many Autism Apps Built for Kids, Not Adults?
I type in "Autism apps" and "Apps for Autistic Burnout" on the app store, only to be greeted with apps solely targeting kids. Why is there such a massive gap?
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Spoon Theory and Autism: Why Daily Life Drains Energy Faster
I have limited energy for daily tasks. Cleaning, laundry, cooking—they all cost me spoons. But as an autistic adult, I burn through them 2-3x faster doing the exact same things. Once nearly all of my spoons are gone, the desire to engage in nearly anything is gone. Nothing but silence.
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