Identifying and Preventing Autistic Burnout

What are the RED FLAGS of Autistic Burnout? What are some Autistic Burnout symptoms and signs? What are the differences between autistic burnout vs depression?
Vera is the Founder of @HappyAutisticLady with her sister Ivi, which is a business offering resources, stickers, art, and speaking about Autism and Neurodiversity. Residing in the UK and the Czech Republic, Vera works with the Ambitious About Autism youth network and within Civil Services, where she looks at governmental papers, and trains Mental Health workers to understand Autism alongside the MIND charity.
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They start off by talking about the concept of accent switching or mirroring in social interactions, as well as sleep chronotypes and hustle culture, before chatting about the difficulties of managing a wide variety of business roles and introducing the topic… Autistic Burnout!
Vera goes through 6 main causes of burnout: Tiredness, Fairness, Control, Insufficient Reward, Lack Of Community, and Values. Thomas highlights some modern-day difficulties like atomisation, Vera mentions how lack of fairness is a difficulty for Autistic people in a neurotypical world.
Diving deeper into the specifics of Autistic burnout, how burnout impacts Autistic people differently, and the unique causes of Autistic burnout. In a larger conversation about Autistic masking, they highlight how masking can impact short-term energy/stress as well as long-term mental health. Sensory difficulties are a big issue for Autistic people in the workplace and out in the world due to our lack of habituation to sensory stimuli; Thomas highlights the importance of environmental adjustments and sensory supports in reducing overall stress.
Thomas adds that concepts like interoception and issues with sleep can also impact Autistic burnout; many individuals don't fulfill their hydration and food intake needs which are important to overall functioning and well-being, but struggling to wake/sleep due to melatonin differences can also impact energy levels and stress long term. It can be easy to think of psychology as a separate thing from our biology, but the brain is an organ, and exposure to cortisol and adrenaline has some real bodily effects. Cortisol impacts autistic people more strongly and takes longer to die down, and in our modern day, this can lead to chronic stress and impaired cognitive function.
Looking into Vera and Thomas' experiences with burnout, they talk about the concept of Spoon Theory and the importance of distinguishing capability from capacity... Vera uses the cupcake analogy to explain this.
Thomas and Vera list some common RED FLAGS for incoming Autistic burnout, some unhelpful coping strategies, and mentalities that stop you from managing burnout - Tics, social burnout, transition time differences, brute force problem solving, and leaning into anxiety are highlighted. They talk about how one can distinguish between mental health issues and Autistic burnout, before jumping into some useful analogies and strategies for preventing Autistic burnout in the future. The Three Legged Stool analogy was particularly impactful for Vera, which helped her understand the impact of task switching.
Stimming, safe foods, addressing internalised ableism, setting emotional boundaries, delegating or task prioritisation, and focusing on individual measures of success were all underscored as impact factors to consider when addressing Autistic burnout.
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[@Diverse_Interests]

Helpful. From what was talked about, i understand i was in burnout for months before this complete incapacitation happened. I was rather protected from this sort of thing before by others and have a greater appreciation for what they did to...i suppose help me self regulate. It is to be designed without a safety fuse in the circuting and no sensory warnings of burnout, i.e. my own body and emotional state. All my obvious tells popped out at work and public which has not happened in years (Gifted). Happily no one except a few rare people know what the traits mean, as it was an experience of being outed at work once before in which people were afraid of me and then just shunned me. When that happens, opportunstic people have called me a magic wand, for being capable of fixing complex problems. Whatever i am experiencing is slightly different from ASD, but close enough. I crash horribly but after such a long period of burnout. Glad to have a better understanding from this talk to be able to sort out what to do to heal/repair, that i actually have to pay attention to my capacity, and what i will have to design to give me better regulation so i do not end up semi useless in a crash. The mapping out what is normal and healthy as a base line is a good idea, and so was actually saying no to things more regularly. Thank you both.

[@turtleanton6539]

Oki😊😊😊

[@torrentialrage]

Really helpful convo. It's interesting how much excercise uses my battery in the short term but expands my battery in the long term.

[@Flopsi80]

Most of the stress I have is caused by myself. I now learn how to be nicer to myself. Thank you both so much for this episode!❤

[@emmaloulee]

I enjoy watching your content, its nice hearing other people's experiences

[@eviefittell2937]

Hi. 😊. I actually watch your videos on my TV. I don't know how to give them a thumbs up on my TV. So I do it on here sometimes. I've said it before, but I just want to say again..... I really enjoy all of your videos. I've watched a few different creator's now. I sincerely think that your videos really stand out as being exceptional in so many ways. I have learnt so much. I have a more positive view on Autism now. That might sound offensive. Sorry. But I was in relationships with a few Autistic guys. And I experienced so much darkness in those relationships. I'd been in long term relationships with neurotypical males before that. And the experiences I had with them were worlds apart. They were 8 and 9 yr relationships. The relationships with the Autistic males were very traumatising. And they both only lasted less than a year. Sorry if that sounds bad. I'm now scared that I may be on the spectrum myself. I know I haven't worded that very well either. But after watching you and some of the females and males that you collaborate with.... I see alot of qualities I really like and really value. Your style of videos is so calming, sensitive and inclusive. I find them so much better than alot of the other videos created by alot of other males. That's just the truth. Your videos actually relax me when I play them in the background as I work from home. I watch them properly too, when I'm not working. I just mean that I also replay them in the background, to help settle me down when I have to face work. You have amazing insight for someone so young. And your overall approach is so mature and kind in nature. I'm so glad U Tube brought up your videos as suggestions to watch. I watch your videos all the time now. I wish I had of seen them when I was alot younger. It would have made such a difference to my life and to my self understanding. Thanks alot for creating such excellent, empathetic, informative and entertaining videos. 💯👌💪😊.

[@laynahodgson4994]

Could not agree more with the previous posters comments about your personal style of helping Thomas ❤😊🎉

[@FMForward]

Thank you. So tired, unfortunately ❤

[@jesslm2448]

So does driving a car or truck cause burnout , like 4 example a long trip to an unfamiliar place , city. And I'm just exhausted sometimes, after.

[@KatjaTheAutiArtist]

❤

[@eternalloveliness]

🩵💙💜💖

[@BOTA_Sconzz]

Alot of frauds abusing asd. 2 examples on this video

[@su_om]

❤

[@jannewilhelm2866]

❤