I am a Machine Running on an Empty Battery

Understanding Burnout

The concept of burnout was first described in the 1970s by a German-American psychologist, who described it as "a state of physical and mental exhaustion caused by professional life." In 2015, burnout became a clinical disorder listed in the DSM-10: characterized by an excessive workload, micromanagement, unfair treatment, and a lack of recognition or appreciation. Although burnout is most commonly used in the context of employment, it comes in many forms.

Autistic burnout is a syndrome characterized by chronic, long-term exhaustion, loss of function or skills, and reduced tolerance to stimuli. It results from social demands, social masking, and lack of adequate supports, and differs from classical burnout in that autistic burnout is a social phenomenon rather than employment-related stress. For an autistic person, surviving in a society catered to neurotypicals creates many situations that can result in fatigue and, subsequently, burnout. These include sensory overload, lack of support or accommodation, an abundance of social obligations, failing to meet society's expectations, and the suppression of autistic traits (known as masking).

Although anyone has the possibility of experiencing burnout, there are unique characteristics of autistic burnout such as regression, difficulty performing self-care tasks, emotional dysregulation, executive dysfunction, increased meltdowns or shutdowns, loss of speech, and heightened sensory sensitivities. This can persist for months or years, with potentially permanent effects. In many cases, burnout is mistaken for depression, as many of the same symptoms manifest: lack of motivation, overwhelming fatigue, general apathy, withdrawal. Understanding burnout is important because it helps us understand the underlying causes of burnout, how to determine the type of burnout we are experiencing, and how to recover.

Reduction and Prevention

Many autistic people do not have the support and resources needed to function in a way that is expected of them. There is little understanding about autism and the ways in which it manifests - and a lack of understanding means a lack of accommodation. Recovering from employment related burnout includes strategies such as setting more boundaries, seeking support from community, prioritizing rest and self-care, or speaking to a professional. In this regard, general burnout can typically be recovered from more quickly and easily than autistic burnout.

Because autism leads to a deficit in social competency and a reduced tolerance to sensory input, recovery from autistic burnout requires a longer and more specialized approach. Often, professional support is needed to learn management techniques. Recognizing the warning signs of autistic burnout is crucial in reducing it. It's often like trying to use a computer that's overheated. It does its best, but there's too much going on, and if the computer doesn't get a chance to take a break, it will eventually shut itself down.

Recently I created a calm down bag, or a sensory bag: whatever you want to call it. It's just a backpack, filled with things like sensory sand, fidget toys, headphones, squishy balls, and sunglasses. I often go weeks or months feeling as though I have put so much energy into simple survival that there is no energy left for anything else. Once autistic burnout is recognized, there are several coping strategies that can help with management and recovery.

01. Reduce sensory input by creating a calm, comforting environment: a place to retreat when outside stimulus and demands become overwhelming.

02. Implement a consistent routine to provide structure. Uncertainty and spontaneity are stressful. Last-minute plans often send me into a whirlwind of anxiety and irrational irritation.

03. Allow for increased downtime or solitary activities. In the hustle of society, it's sometimes hard to find time for ourselves. Self-care is an essential human need that very often gets overlooked in favour of social or career obligations.

04. Practice advocacy and communicating needs to others. This is much easier said than done, and I fear it's a skill I will never fully grasp. In times of overwhelming stress or anxiety, I always find I forget how to communicate at all.

05. Engage in preferred special interests or stimming behaviours to self-regulate.

Burnout, Meltdowns, and Shutdowns

Among other factors, long-term unmanaged autistic burnout can progress into a shutdown. A shutdown isn't anything unusual or shameful, even though society often says otherwise. Social exhaustion is frequent, and society is impatient and hostile, so it's inevitable that most autistic people will experience a shutdown at least once in their life. It's not a conscious reaction, but a subconscious escape and reset in response to a long period of overwhelming stimuli. In other words, a shutdown is a coping mechanism to circumvent meltdowns and protect a person's mental health.

Autism exists on a spectrum, which means it doesn't look the same in everyone. Despite the variations in manifestation, shutdowns usually share several of the same qualities. There's often a sense of feeling detached from oneself: a disconnection from the environment or the body. There's often a reduced ability to speak, or even the inability to speak at all. Situational mutism is, for me, one of the trademark symptoms of a shutdown. It's also the most frustrating. In today's world, we are expected to communicate openly and often. It is assumed by neurotypical people that those who fail to speak do so on purpose.

In my case, a shutdown is accompanied by a feeling of depersonalization: I am a robot, fashioned by the hands of a human engineer, watching my body move on its own. I like to joke about this sometimes, being a robot. It's not something that makes sense to most people. I am frozen in place, staring into space, fading into the background like a ghost. The first time I experienced dissociation, it was frightening. After a while, it becomes second nature.

In autistic people, unmanaged burnout can also lead to more frequent meltdowns. A meltdown is, in simple terms, the external counterpart to a shutdown. It is an uncontrollable and unconscious reaction to an over-abundance of stimuli - but it differs from a shutdown in that it is an outward reaction rather than an internal retreat. Frequent meltdowns or shutdowns can have long-term detriments on physical and mental health, so it's important to practice self-care and establish a safe space to retreat when overstimulated.

Sources & Further Reading

https://embrace-autism.com/burnout-vs-autistic-burnout/

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/autistic-fatigue/autistic-adults

https://neurolaunch.com/autistic-burnout-vs-regular-burnout/

https://soyoureautistic.com/meltdown-shutdown-burnout/

https://neurolaunch.com/autistic-burnout-recovery/

https://neurolaunch.com/which-two-needs-are-affected-by-burnout/

https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/mental-health/spoon-theory

https://www.thebraincharity.org.uk/whats-spoon-theory/

https://mysoulbalm.blog/2022/01/11/autistic-shutdowns-guide-for-neurodivergent-adults/

https://autismspectrumnews.org/navigating-autistic-burnout-as-an-autistic-parent/

https://neurolaunch.com/autistic-shutdown-vs-dissociation/

https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/i-am-a-pdaer/resources/self-help-and-coping-strategies/