What is autistic burnout? And what can you do about it? |
Many autistic people face challenges in their daily life while navigating a world made for neurotypical people.
Think about a trip to your local cafe. You might have patrons crammed into small spaces, bright lights, strong odours and sounds of noisy coffee machines, scraping chairs on hard surface floors, and crockery and cutlery clattering.
This escalating cacophony can easily become overwhelming for someone with sensory processing sensitivities, which are a common characteristic of autism.
Social interactions can also be draining for autistic people. A simple conversation may require complex, rapid decision-making. They must work to interpret non-verbal cues, manage their own emotional expressions, and may feel they have to “mask” or “camouflage” their autism.
These stressors can mount up over time and result in fatigue or periods of “autistic burnout”.
A meltdown can occur when an autistic child or adult becomes overwhelmed and has an outpouring of energy that is relatively short-lived.
The person might first feel intense emotional dysregulation, irritation, frustration or sensory overload.
Some autistic people can be very literal. If they say “That music is just too loud, I feel sick, it’s too much, I need to get away”, they probably feel like they’re going to vomit or need to flee.
The meltdown might then involve crying, flapping or pacing, zoning out, lashing out or running away.........