autisticburnout

Hey @autistics can you please chip in with reasons why CBT is bad for Autistics? I have a follow-on appointment today (edit: in a couple of hours!) to talk about alternatives to CBT, because I had an NHS "Talking Therapy" phone appointment yesterday about my ongoing #AutisticBurnout due to work stress. The lady was very nice, but told me that essentially what they offer is CBT, to which I said "no way", but I now feel I need a bit more information to be able to defend my decision. #ActuallyAutistic

UPDATE: Thanks for all the input. After discussing further, they have referred me to some Autistic-specific services, I think mainly because CBT is the only thing they can do. Going to follow up with their recommends and see where it leads.

Ello sweet and lovely Friendos

Another Toot that goes out especially to my #NeuroSpicy 🌶️ #ActuallyAutistic Friendos!

Yesterday I shared a bit of info on Autistic Burnout, as I realized that I am currently struggling with it... 😔 I got some very sweet replies, fankoos for that! and I noticed the Toot getting some likes and boosts.

For those who aren't familiar with #AutisticBurnout, I found some info that I'll share here, with the link to the original source.

> Recognizing the signs of autistic burnout is the first step towards recovery. Some common indicators include:

1. Increased difficulty with social interaction and communication
2. Heightened sensory sensitivities
3. Extreme fatigue that doesn’t improve with rest
4. Loss of executive functioning skills (e.g., planning, organizing, decision-making)
5. Increased meltdowns or shutdowns
6. Difficulty performing tasks that were previously manageable
7. Increased need for alone time or reduced tolerance for social situations
8. Feelings of overwhelm, hopelessness, or being “stuck”

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

There are many tips on this page on how to deal with the burnout in the "best way". There are many tips for different types of situations, and they could help you to find a way to recovery (or help you to find help for recovery).

Hope this helps a bit to those that, like me, feel like they're "not doing well" at the moment...

Much 💜 🫂 in your journey to recovery...

@autistics

Measuring autistic burnout: A psychometric validation of the AASPIRE Autistic Burnout Measure in autistic adults. Autism, 30(1), 20-36. 2026.

Autistic people have described autistic burnout as an intense experience of physical, emotional, mental and social exhaustion impacting their ability to complete everyday tasks and contributing to poorer well-being. To identify and measure autistic burnout in practice and research, we need a self-report measure that gives accurate and consistent results.

The Autistic Burnout Measure was found to be reliable and valid. Autistic adults reporting greater autistic burnout also reported more camouflaging, autistic traits and greater general burnout, depression, and anxiety.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13623613251355255

@autistics #ActuallyAutistic #Autism #ASD #AutisticBurnout #Burnout

I just invented the verb 'aut' in a comment on TikTok. "I aut like mad...". Is this a neologism?

#Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic

Since the topic of autistic burnout came up again recently I republished my Autistic Burnout Mitigation post in case it's useful to people.

I wrote this post more than a year ago ago on another blog. I’m reposting mostly unchanged it now since I still think it’s relevant, and other than my current status that I don’t consider myself to be in burnout anymore, the mitigation list is the things I keep doing to varying degrees to avoid going back into burnout.

https://hiiamsamantha.xyz/posts/2025/11/autistic-burnout-mitigation/

#ActuallyAutistic #AutisticBurnout #Burnout @autistics

The past week with the heat, and now last night with sporadic thunder and smoke from the fires and the house still being hot has been bloody awful. Nothing compared to what people in the fire zones are experiencing, but still grim.
#vicpol #auspol #climate ##Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic

I just finished 'Is this Autism? A guide for clinicians and everyone else'. It's really good and if autism is a special interest of yours, like it is for me, you'll love it. I would also strongly recommend it for any healthcare professionals.
#Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic

ALT

@autistics

Well that's it. Just resigned from my job, for better or worse. Still in #AutisticBurnout (caused by work stress) after a total of nearly 4 months off sick. I went back in the autumn, after 2 months off, thinking I'd got better, but despite explaining I needed accommodations in communications, nothing improved, and after about 5 weeks I fell back down the hole and had to go off sick again. Prior to this, I had not taken ANY sick leave for over 10 years, and have never had this long off.

About 5 other people in my department have left the company during those months, so I'm not the only one feeling that the company is a hostile environment.

I've been debating whether or not I could go back at the end of my current "fit note", but was unsure how we would survive if I quit. Today we got a letter confirming we were awarded support for our #AuDHD 13YO, and that changes everything.

Not sure how it will unfold, but we will find out in good time.

I am so dissociated that I'm amazed I can even engage in brief conversations.
#Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic

Burnout as experienced by autistic people: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 122. 2025.

This systematic review thematically synthesised research on how autistic people understand and experience #burnout.

Characteristics:

- A Condition of Debilitating Exhaustion

- A Condition Where Loss of Existing Abilities Leads to (Increased) Disability

** Unable to Process Sensory Stimuli

** Unable to Process Emotions

** Unable to Think

** Unable to Take Part in Everyday Life

- A Chronic Condition, With Variable Durations, and Intermittent Acute Crises

Contributing Factors:

- Sensory and Social Stimuli Are Exhausting

- Camouflaging is Exhausting

- Ignorance and Stigma Are Exhausting

- Day-to-Day Life Is Exhausting

- Alexithymia Hides Exhaustion

Consequences:

- Adverse Impacts on Your Health and Wellbeing

- Adverse Impacts on Your Place in the Community

- Hard to Remain Hopeful

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735825001369

@autistics #ActuallyAutistic #Autism #ASD #AutisticBurnout

I have Prosopagnosia (face blindness) and worked with someone today (just us) for 8 hours. I was fairly sure (fortuitously I saw their log in name on a computer) that it wasn't a person who has the same name who I have known for years, and I generally recognise.
She told me some work history, which I think I'd heard before, but that isn't so embarrassing.
Having lots of people who look remarkably similar (same ethnic background, haircut- even personality) is challenging for people like me.
#Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic

I saw this 'autistic survival pipeline' explained on TikTok, and thought it was useful to share. It is described in detail on lots of websites.

#Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSuLGUADP/

ALT

This review of autistic burnout might be useful to people who experience it.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272735825001369?via%3Dihub

#Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic

I am finding the story of #JasonArday really tragic. It looks likely he was bullied into suicide by (mostly) the right wing UK press, despite the fact that autists are 9x more likely to kill themselves than the average person, and suicide is the second most common cause of death for autistics. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/14/jason-arday-found-dead-after-resigning-from-cambridge-over-plagiarism-claims?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other #Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic

Send complaints to all the 15 publications that hounded Jason Arday in one go. Also a IPSO complaint.
https://newscord.org/action/jason-arday-pile-on

#Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic

I just realised a stim I have. I very gently clack my front teeth together in time with car indicators when they're left on for more than 5 or so seconds.

#Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic

@autistics The overlap and differences between depression and Autistic burnout are, at least in my corner of the Fediverse, not discussed at all.

They can look incredibly similar:
- Overwhelming physical exhaustion
- Difficulty maintaining focus
- Restless sleep
- No longer finding enjoyment in things you once enjoyed
- Feeling disconnected from yourself or others

These traits are often used to describe burnout in online Autistic communities, usually combined with strategies for burnout recovery.

Indeed, Autistic burnout is sometimes described, in medical terms, as "medication-resistant depression."

The issue with depression being missing from the burnout conversation is that it can lead people to misdiagnose themselves. It's easy to simply think "I'm just burned out; I just need to rest and avoid triggers".

For those that struggle to find rest and avoid triggers and implement other recovery strategies, it seems like recovery from burnout is impossible. But what if some of those folks are actually experiencing depression and not burnout? Or both?

I'm not saying Autistic burnout isn't a thing. It absolutely is. What I'm saying is that we're doing the community a disservice by omitting depression from the conversation.

Maybe I'm the only one who spent years thinking I was burned out, and deploying all the burnout strategies, and not seeing any difference, only to discover that I was actually depressed that whole time. But if there's even a single person who reads this who has the same experience, I hope it helps.

#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #ADHD #Neurodivergent #BurnoutRecovery #AutisticBurnout #Depression

Since I have been diagnosed I find showering much more difficult. I used to wash virtually every day, now I basically do it twice a week, or maybe every 4 days,and only then from a sense of shame.
#Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic

I don't know if it's just me, but I like the benefit of wearing a mask to prevent inhaling airborne pathogens, but also to hide behind - it makes societally essential 'masking' easier. For example when I'm at work and interact with the public.
#Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic #N95 #COVID #influenza #flu