What do you think of when you hear the term burn out? I immediately think of computers automatically shutting down, unable to continue going due to lack of power. In reality, the exact same thing can happen to our brains.
A common issue faced by individuals on the Autism Spectrum (besides sensory overload and meltdowns) is autistic burn out, also referred to as autistic shutdown. This is a time when an autistic person’s brain is so overwhelmed or depleted of energy that it can’t function very well, especially in certain cognitive areas.
For me, burnout starts with my head aching, my body growing so heavy, it feels a chore to move around. At this point, I’m in no mood for conversation, even with my own fiance. Mentally, I feel a strange sort of pain that builds the longer I try to keep using my brain, body- you get the picture. It feels as though my brain is swelling.
The only thing that helps is to immediately retreat to a dark, quiet place and sleep until the effects have faded. I’ve also found that ice lollies are a godsend to reduce the weird swelling feeling.
A common issue faced by individuals on the Autism Spectrum (besides sensory overload and meltdowns) is autistic burn out, also referred to as autistic shutdown. This is a time when an autistic person’s brain is so overwhelmed or depleted of energy that it can’t function very well, especially in certain cognitive areas.
For me, burnout starts with my head aching, my body growing so heavy, it feels a chore to move around. At this point, I’m in no mood for conversation, even with my own fiance. Mentally, I feel a strange sort of pain that builds the longer I try to keep using my brain, body- you get the picture. It feels as though my brain is swelling.
The only thing that helps is to immediately retreat to a dark, quiet place and sleep until the effects have faded. I’ve also found that ice lollies are a godsend to reduce the weird swelling feeling.
During burn out, my senses feel increasingly heightened, particularly sight, sound, and touch. It becomes difficult to focus on anything but the mental pain and exhaustion. I feel as if I need to immediately go and ‘recharge,’ so to speak.
It’s a hard experience to describe, for sure. To be honest, I’m not sure if any of this will make any sense to you, but I hope it does. I hope that someone-else, somewhere, knows exactly what I’m talking about and that this post helps them to feel less alone than before.
Being Autistic, to me, is a great gift: I think as an individual and can come up with all sorts of out of the box style solutions to different issues. But, as with anything that seems like a gift, it is something that comes with many daily struggles.
If your brain is experiencing burn out, the best thing to do is to take some time to rest a moment. After all, we are human beings, not human doings.
