Maybe you feel lifeless. You wake up exhausted even after a full night’s sleep. You find yourself getting irritated and overwhelmed so much more easily (have the lights always been this bright?), and while you want to take part in the things you love, you just can’t find the energy to do much more than plop on the couch to scroll TikTok.
This experience is incredibly common in autistic people, and it has a name — autistic burnout. However, it can feel incredibly isolating and confusing.
Many autistic people don’t even know they’re autistic until they hit this profound state of burnout, and it can take months or even years to figure out what’s going on. Especially when autistic burnout is only just starting to be researched and discussed more frequently in the medical community, and it can present so similarly to classic symptoms of depression, even though the two conditions are distinct and need to be treated differently.
Fortunately, these feelings don’t have to last forever. Knowing more about autistic burnout and its causes, as well as some potential strategies for burnout management, can help you gain the tools you need to recover. Let’s look more into what autistic burnout is, signs you might be in burnout, and some potential solutions for getting out of a burnout state.
What Is Autistic Burnout?
Autistic burnout is a phenomenon that as many as 80% of autistic people experience due to the everyday demands of living in a world not designed for us. Navigating societal norms that we might not understand, as well as the sensory demands that take a toll on us every day, can cause autistic people to run out of energy, and when we continue to push ourselves through our lack of energy, we can hit a breaking point.
Think of your body as a car that needs enough gas (energy) to get through the day. Interacting with the neurotypical world and all that it entails — like the misunderstandings, bright lights, loud noises, and confusing social rules — takes a lot of gas out of your tank and can mean you’re ending the day with your gas tank empty.
If you don’t give yourself enough time to recover and “refuel,” you’ll wake up the next day with only a partial tank of gas to run on. If you keep running your gas tank down again and again every day without significant time to build it back up, your car could take significant damage and refuse to work at all. In the same way, our bodies in autistic burnout have been running on empty again and again, causing us to hit a breaking point.
Autistic burnout can last weeks, months, or years if left untreated. Fortunately, burnout doesn’t have to last forever. Knowing the symptoms, causes, and treatment strategies can help you overcome burnout and identify triggers in the future that could cause potential burnout if gone untreated.
Am I in Autistic Burnout? 17 Common Symptoms
Autistic burnout can look different depending on the person. However, many autistic people say their burnout feels like all the energy they used to have is gone completely. You may feel a deep desire to engage in your usual activities and interests but have no energy left to do so.
Some of the most commonly talked about symptoms of autistic burnout include:
- Chronic exhaustion
- Heightened feelings of depression and anxiety
- Loss of executive functioning skills
- Social withdrawal
- Increased sensory overwhelm
- Increased meltdowns and shutdowns
- Loss of acquired skills
- Low motivation
- Inability to mask or suppress autistic traits
- Increased suicidal ideation
- Increased stimming
- Reduced eye contact
- Decreased self care
- Emotional dysregulation
- Irritability
- Memory issues
- Lack of energy to take part in activities that bring enjoyment such as special interests
Many autistic adults only find out they are autistic when these symptoms of burnout appear and they are no longer able to work as hard as they used to at appearing neurotypical.
4 Causes of Autistic Burnout
So why does autistic burnout happen?
First, it’s important to note that autistic burnout is not caused by being autistic. You won’t find autistic burnout in the DSM-5, and it’s not a requirement of an autism diagnosis. Instead, autistic burnout is caused by the environments and attitudes that make it so hard to be an autistic person in a world designed by non-autistic people.
Some of the most common causes of autistic burnout include the following.
1. Ongoing Masking
As children, many autistic people — particularly those who might on the outside look to be “high-functioning” to a non-autistic person — learn that they might be made fun of or looked at differently when they display autistic behavior. To fit in and make friends with their neurotypical peers, autistic people might start to “mask” their autistic traits. We might force ourselves to stim less, or we might make ourselves maintain eye contact that makes us feel uncomfortable.
Masking is an absolutely exhausting process. One of the most validating things that I was told in my diagnostic journey was from my workplace’s HR rep who was helping me navigate an extended time off for autistic burnout. I had explained how hard it had been to maintain conversations and run meetings all while constantly analyzing myself and how others were perceiving me. She pointed out, “You’ve really been doing two full-time jobs this whole time for years. You’ve been giving 110% in your actual role while also giving all of yourself to monitoring how you’re coming across.
Masking is exactly that — maintaining a full-time job on top of the work you’re already doing in the workplace or school, at home, and anywhere else you go. No wonder chronic masking can lead to such intense and long bouts of burnout for autistic people.
2. Social Challenges
It’s not uncommon for autistic people to only realize after hitting autistic burnout that they’ve been pushing themselves too far for too long, particularly in the amount and intensity of their social interactions.
To give another example from my own burnout journey, I joined the workforce in my early 20s with every intention of starting fresh after struggling to make and maintain friends throughout school and college. I was the first to sign up for any team-building event, company party, or group gathering. Through these, I found a small group of friends from work that I put every effort into spending all my free time with. It wasn’t uncommon for me to spend most weeknights attending company gatherings or inviting people to my house to hang out.
It wasn’t until four years of this behavior that I realized how exhausting these interactions were. Most of the time I could only stand these gatherings if I was intoxicated enough to not feel awkward. Otherwise, I’d start to feel exhausted, and I noticed myself being the first to leave every event and the last to join in the discussions. Afterwards, I’d experience what I now know to be a meltdown and cry myself to sleep without knowing why.
Regularly pushing yourself into social situations this way can be a huge reason for autistic burnout. Likewise, other types of ongoing social challenges such as continual bullying or social pressures put onto you by yourself or others can also be major contributors of burnout.
3. Executive Dysfunction Challenges
Autistic people commonly experience challenges with executive functioning skills — things like memorizing, concentrating, planning, and organizing. Continually putting yourself in situations where your executive functioning skills are challenged is another main contributor to autistic burnout.
School can be a traumatizing experience for an autistic child with executive functioning challenges. In an environment where they face daily pressure to memorize facts, organize lockers and backpacks, concentrate on lectures or when taking tests — all while receiving little or no help with these challenges — executive dysfunction can start to take a physical toll.
The transition to independent living can uncover hidden executive functioning challenges as well. Suddenly needing to plan college courses and living arrangements, or receiving less support to complete self-care tasks like cooking, can feel debilitating. Suddenly going from receiving the support of parents or caregivers to having no sense of routine or structure is another common time for burnout in autistic people.
4. External Circumstances
Changes in your external environment or ongoing trauma can be some of the hardest times in life for anyone, but particularly for an autistic person.
Many autistic people are notably uncomfortable with change, as listed in the DSM-5 criteria. We are also at an increased risk of developing PTSD symptoms from interpersonal traumas and a lack of social support.
Some of the many external circumstances and life events that can be traumatic to autistic people and cause autistic burnout include:
- The death of a loved one
- A breakup or divorce
- Abuse or assault
- Bullying
- Life transitions
- Unpredictability in day-to-day life
Further, not receiving the support we need from loved ones and medical professionals when experiencing external stressors can make autistic burnout even more likely.
7 Strategies for Managing Autistic Burnout
If you’ve identified autistic burnout, the first thing to know is that it is not your fault. You have been managing your life the best way you’ve known how with the tools you have available.
With that, adding more tools to your autistic burnout toolbox can help you manage your burnout and prevent you from experiencing the same level of burnout in the future. While none of these strategies are a magic wand that will cure your autistic burnout, adding these supports can make the journey out of burnout that much more manageable.
1. Create New Boundaries
As an autistic person, the picture you have in your mind of what life “should” look like is often driven by neurotypical standards. Autistic people push themselves to their breaking point trying to appear “normal” to the outside world. But pushing yourself in this way will only lead to prolonged burnout that seems impossible to recover from.
Instead, rethink your boundaries in light of your autistic brain. For example, maybe you currently get together with a group of friends once a week — ask to get together once a month instead. Or maybe you spend five days a week attending various classes, clubs, and groups. Decide which of these are the most important to you and how much time you’re willing to spend at each.
Sometimes, setting new limits for yourself can be as big as reimagining your career path. Many autistic people change careers or workplaces after diagnosis. I, for example, was a manager at a mid-sized firm when I was diagnosed. I recognized that spending all day talking to people and spearheading projects was contributing to a debilitating burnout and now had the vocabulary to express what was happening.
I moved from management to an individual role and set specific boundaries over how many meetings and social events I was willing to run in my new position. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have done this and recognize that not everyone has the ability to alter their career path, but this is just one of many examples of ways you can tailor your day-to-day to be more accommodating to your social needs.
2. Limit Physical and Social Demands
If you’ve read any articles about managing depression, you’ve probably heard it said that beating depression means pushing yourself to get out of your comfort space and socialize, even if you don’t feel like doing so. But taking this approach to manage autistic burnout can be detrimental.
Instead, autistic burnout recovery involves severely limiting demands on your time and mental energy. Say “no” to anything you can — even to things like certain types of lower-priority chores that aren’t necessary for sustaining your wellbeing — and prioritize rest and relaxation as a vital part of your recovery time.
3. Prioritize Rest
Again, because autistic burnout is a separate condition from depression, it must be treated differently. While common advice on battling depression says to avoid the urge to get too much extra sleep, the opposite is actually true for autistic burnout.
Your body has been in overdrive for so long, and it needs rest and recovery time in the same way you would need to recover after a physical injury. This need is complicated by the fact that autistic people are more likely to sleep in shorter bursts of time and experience lower-quality sleep to begin with, and burnout makes sleep even more challenging.
During this period, it’s essential to prioritize extra sleep and rest for a successful and sustainable recovery. Find ways to make this sustainable for you. Many people find that establishing a strong bedtime routine at a specific time each day is helpful for preparing their bodies for rest. Others rely on medication like melatonin supplements to fall asleep and stay asleep for an appropriate amount of time each night.
4. Enhance Sensory Management
Autistic burnout can make hypersensitivities far more intense than they might otherwise feel. Noises that didn’t bother you in the past may now feel debilitating, or the tags on your clothes that you may or may not have noticed before are now a main focus of your day.
Give yourself grace and the permission to manage intense sensory input as effectively as possible. Maybe this means treating yourself to a pair of noise canceling headphones and letting yourself wear them around the house or at the grocery store. Perhaps you can ask your partner to dim the lights in the living room while you’re relaxing together. Take note of the things that bother you and accommodate them versus brushing them off.
5. Lean on Support Systems
While it’s important to give yourself plenty of alone time to rest and recover, having a support system in place is still a necessary part of being human.
Different people thrive on different support systems. Maybe you have close family and friends that you trust to listen to your challenges and provide you support with things you’re unable to do in a state of burnout. Perhaps you’ve found an autism support group in your area where you feel you can be yourself. Maybe you book extra appointments with your therapist.
If you have a strong network of people you can trust, consider asking them to help you handle tasks you may find especially challenging as an autistic person, such as cooking or driving or keeping your living space clean. Taking these often overwhelming tasks off your plate can allow you to focus your mental energy on recovery.
Asking for help doesn’t have to be anything big — it may, for example, just look like asking your partner to watch the kids alone for a couple hours so you can engage in a special interest. You can start with small requests that help you prioritize self-care just a little bit better.
6. Set Routines
Many autistic people thrive on routine and can become severely dysregulated if their routine is altered. Many of us burn out because our routines have become significantly impaired for some reason for a long span of time. Major life events such as the birth of a child, the start of a new job, getting married, or moving can throw us off our routines and thus our sense of stability. Even relatively minor changes can add up over time, causing us to dysregulate.
Of course, life can throw big things our way that don’t allow us to follow the routines we’re used to. Still, as much as possible, try to build specific routines into your day where you can to reduce the amount of decision-making you need to manage.
7. Pursue Special Interests
Autistic people often have very intense or particular interests in specific topics. These interests can look different for each person and can range from things like books and games, to arts and crafting, to collecting, to educational topics like anatomy and psychology, and so much more.
These intense interests are not just “hobbies.” They provide a way for the autistic brain to regulate and self-soothe in a world that can often be confusing and chaotic. Intense interests are like a built-in coping mechanism that can make the difference between feeling calm and comfortable or dysregulated.
Take the time to figure out what your special interests are, and then be proactive about planning time for them. Treat them as you would any other activity you need to do for survival, setting aside time that you can explore your interests and regulate yourself through them.
Autistic Burnout Recovery Takes Time
Autistic burnout can be an incredibly challenging experience, as your body goes into survival mode after such a long period of not having your autistic needs met. But there is hope, and these feelings of burnout don’t have to last forever.
While I wish I could say the tips above will help you 100% recover from and avoid burnout for good, I know life isn’t that simple. However, understanding yourself and your body, as well as learning to accommodate yourself and your needs, is a powerful thing. Give yourself grace, and continue to learn more about your unique autistic self. Remember that this is an absolutely normal season of life, and recovery is possible.
The Everyday Autistic 
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