Autistic Burnout: What You Need to Know and How to Cope
Overview: This article addresses the phenomenon of Autistic Burnout, including what causes it, its impact, and steps to manage the condition. Use the “Autistic Burnout Toolkit” to assist you in managing the condition. Download the toolkit at the end of this article.
Burnout is a concept most everyone is aware of because it can happen to most anyone—it happens to teachers, musicians, and parents, and no matter who it happens to there is one common theme – it is not fun! Autistic burnout, like neurotypical burnout, is exhaustion with day-to-day life. Autistic burnout, however, has deeper roots and is harder to remedy. Understanding, identifying, and managing autistic burnout can be a critical care component for the overall well-being of autistic individuals.
What is Autistic Burnout?
Autistic people live every day of their lives in a world that is not designed for them. The lights are too bright, the workday is too rigid, people talk too fast, and the subway smells too weird. This is just a small sample of the daily experiences that lead to autistic burnout. Put more academically, researcher Dora Raymaker defines autistic burnout as “a state of pervasive exhaustion, loss of function, increase in autistic traits, and withdrawal from life that results from continuously expending more resources than one has coping with activities and environments ill-suited to one’s abilities and needs” (Murray, 2019). Obviously, not an ideal state.
One of the most challenging aspects of autistic burnout is the universality of distress. Raymaker et al. (2020) describe how autistic burnout strikes from every corner of one’s life. A teacher suffering from burnout has school breaks to look forward to and a burned-out musician can reduce or cancel gigs. No such opportunity for recovery is available for autistic people. An autistic person suffering from burnout cannot simply retire to a magical autism-affirming world where their senses can recover and other’s expectations are recalibrated. They have no choice but to persevere or retreat inward. Although research into autism burnout is in its infancy, a quick scroll through social media is sure to show how #autisticburnout is indeed an overwhelming and insidious problem (Higgins et al., 2021).
What Causes Autistic Burnout?
Life Stressors:
Difficulties with relationships, jobs, money, life changes
Needing to navigate disability and/or autism resources in addition to all life’s other responsibilities
Having to consistently mask and modify one’s behaviors in order to fit into social systems
Barriers to Support
Lack of local resources
Dismissal of autism symptoms and difficulties
Difficulty advocating for accommodations
Cumulative Effects
No escape from autism symptoms in a neurotypical world
Expectations consistently outweighing abilities
Lack of societal recognition of autism’s challenges and strengths
How Does Autistic Burnout Affect Someone?
Chronic exhaustion
Physical, mental, emotional, and social exhaustion
Depletion of energy from overextension
Loss of skills
Difficulty thinking, remembering, creating and executing plans
Diminished vocational skills
Trouble socializing
Struggle to regulate emotions
Difficulty with independent living
Overwhelm
Reduced tolerance of stimuli
Increased instances of overstimulation
Meltdowns and shutdowns
Avoidance of stimulation
Depression symptoms
Hopelessness
Negative thinking
Isolation
Self-harm, Suicidal ideation, Suicide attempts
Recovering from and avoiding Autistic Burnout
The causes of autistic burnout are impossible to avoid, and the effects can be devastating. If burnout does occur, the recovery process can be difficult to navigate because of its highly individualized nature. This is not a cookie cutter condition. The causes and impacts of autism burnout are unique for each person and so too is the recovery process. That being said, there are steps that many people can take to recover from this seemingly recalcitrant state.
Early Detection – Being able to identify burnout early in the process is one of the keys to mitigating its impact. Regular reflections on daily activities and consideration of feedback from loved ones is a great way to determine if burnout is setting in.
Unmask – It might seem trivial, but it is important for autistic people to have places and times where they can unmask and not hide their autism. This can be in a relationship, a group setting, or while playing a game… it doesn’t matter where or what it is as long as the mask can come off and they can be themselves.
Reduce the Load – Similar to how a musician might skip part of their tour, an autistic person may need to skip an engagement or obligation. Taking mental health days, delegating work tasks to other people, and saying “no” when invited to a social engagement might seem like problems in the short-term, but doing so can help achieve long-term stability.
Acceptance and Social Support – Participate in social engagements centered on care and love. Research shows that genuine connection and care from an individual or community are critical to both identifying and controlling downward mental health spirals.
Self-advocacy – Burnout can be limited by advocating for better fitting environments. Asking for help, seeking accommodations, and setting boundaries at work and in one’s personal life can significantly reduce overwhelm and the resulting burnout.
Increase Autism Awareness – One of the biggest contributors to autistic burnout is having to consistently navigate a world where autism is unacknowledged or stigmatized. Sharing about autism and increasing other’s awareness should not be an autistic person’s job, but supporting autism awareness can help build acceptance and lessen the likelihood of burnout.
Autistic burnout is insidious and debilitating. It holds people back from being the best versions of themselves and from contributing to their community in a meaningful way. It is well established that autistic contributions make the world a brighter, more vibrant place, so mitigating burnout should be a goal of individuals and systems world-wide.
Autistic Burnout Toolkit
References
Higgins, J. M., Arnold, S. R., Weise, J., Pellicano, E., & Trollor, J. N. (2021). Defining autistic burnout through experts by lived experience: Grounded Delphi method investigating# Autistic Burnout. Autism, 25(8), 2356-2369.
Mantzalas, J., Richdale, A. L., Adikari, A., Lowe, J., & Dissanayake, C. (2022). What is autistic burnout? A thematic analysis of posts on two online platforms. Autism in Adulthood, 4(1), 52-65.
Murray, F. (2019). “Autistic Burnout: An Interview with Researcher Dora Raymaker.” Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism. Retrieved from: https://thinkingautismguide.com/2019/08/autistic-burnout-interview-with.html
Raymaker, D. M., Teo, A. R., Steckler, N. A., Lentz, B., Scharer, M., Delos Santos, 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 in adulthood, 2(2), 132-143.
