How To Recover From Overload

How to recover from overload. If you have autism or ADHD you might find you become overloaded often. In this video I'm exploring what overload is, why it happens and some ideas for how to recover from and avoid overload.
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[@geraldinegranger9186]

I appreciate this video. Here in the U.S. just taking a break is very difficult (from work or social activities) and is definitely frowned upon. We’re supposed to be able to do it all … with a smile … and I’m about done with meeting those expectations. I am going to allow myself to take a step back when needed, and hopefully this will give others permission to do so as well.

[@christineh86]

I got ulcers from trying to fit in to the American way of being. So successful etc.. always positive and smiling. I moved back to Sweden where it’s ok to be grumpy and scared of strangers 😂! But American culture has its positive sides. I’m very talkative and I feel like Americans talk a lot more and faster than Nordic people do, so I appeared to have less adhd in the US! Many people there talked fast and a lot and laughed loudly when they felt like it, which was very freeing. Those things are considered weird and “too much” here. Also voicing strong opinions is considered a no no here, but a bit less so in the US I feel. So both countries/parts of the world has their positives.

[@s.b200]

Thank you Ella. Im autistic, living at a bare minimum of input and still feel overloaded. I live alone, just have the most necessary things (no car or TV at the moment), no kids, no friends (self chosen) though I do have a boyfriend living in another country. Family lives in another country too. I work as a PhD student right now and it is taking up almost all my energy, leaving me on the brink of burnout... my last burnout was one year ago. For fun I play video games, walk in nature and take photos. I live in the Arctic which I chose myself because I love the cold....a bit like the real life Elsa perhaps:) But despite my efforts I still get overloaded by everything I do, and Im not sure if Ill be able to finish my PhD. Sigh...I love life but it's such a suffering. Hoping to find a balance one day with a job that isnt too much.

[@pilgrimlearning9530]

Wow the Arctic! That's amazing! I truly hope you find balance somehow, something I struggle with myself.

[@s.b200]

@@pilgrimlearning9530 Thank you very much

[@OliviaWood14]

Hi, fellow PhD student here. I have also been trying to cut out as much as possible and it didn't seem to get better. Lately I've been trying to add in more things that bring me sensory joy (esp things related to the senses that overload me the most) and that has been helping at least a bit, so maybe worth trying :)

[@hyperfocus1963]

Cutting down (or out) social media is another idea for reducing overload. And then replacing that time with special interests!

[@annesutherlin4653]

I'm a couple years past menopause and found my hot flashes and joint aches were substantially reduced with cutting out sugars. I realize that is easier said than done, but set a small goal of no sugars except fruit for 3 days and see how you feel. Unloading that source of inflammation in your brain and body feels so much better! Good luck! And remember menopause doesn't last forever.

[@DaariaaB]

Thanks for sharing. Mine disappeared completely when I cut out dairy. I already don't eat very much sugar tho. It makes me tired.

[@CamTechBricks]

I've just subscribed at age 37 trying to manage my symptoms. Your videos are great to listen to. It's so true and most people can't imagien it. The best I can do for now is just stay home and avoid driving. I make Lego models and have to wear noise cancelling a lot. And you have the Lego Bonzai tree 10281 !

[@jimwilliams3816]

Good to know about the algorithm part. I’ll send KZbin a comment, which I know will cause them to change their ways, LOL! For what it’s worth, I actually shy away from the stuff with the most extravagant claims, since no one actually has all the answers. Your honest, not-over- the- top style is how I found you and why I am here. I’m going to try to solve a few things so I can join. Menopause is tough, which is weird for me to say, but I watched it dysregulate my mother...the hormones around menstruation always threw her way off, and sadly I think menopause was more of the same not less. I started to struggle more around menopause age myself, and it doesn’t seem like that could apply. But I have a feeling my own hormonal shifts do affect my dysregulation...but I don’t know for sure or how to judge it. Nor am I sure if I am experiencing burnout, but I do know functioning has been much more of a struggle for some years now. It would actually be nice if I were a bit more expendable at the job I have now, but that’s gotten worse not better.

[@OliviaWood14]

I'm the same with avoiding videos with over-the-top titles! They just feel like click-bait

[@onlyinsomniac]

Thank you for sharing this! I also find that my threshhold for overload is GREATLY reduced when I have too many projects due at work and/or home. I become increasingly prone to emotional overload. Last night, I came home and just lied on my bed in the dark while listening to a favorite KZbin video. I wish it were easier and more common to take time off work to rest, but there's always so much to do...

[@dianahiggins9385]

Same here! Do one thing at a time in the big picture of life; example: keep one major life event at a time: avoid a job change and at the same time moving house. My doctor once listed all the things I was trying to achieve in a space of months (marriage, move country, change job, achieve a new qualification) and he explained that unless I slowed down my health was not going to hold me up. This is my rule of life and I experience less burn outs than in my 20s.

[@lllCTHULHUlll]

Hot flashes are awful. I'm going through perimenopause. I don't especially enjoy being hot in the first place, but the spontaneous heat really tests my patience. And I go from being so cold I've got a hoodie and a beanie on to being so warm I urgently have to take all of it off. I'm sorry you're overloaded right now! It's very relatable.

[@MLSSLGN]

Estrotone... Crystaline Sulfur from Canada... they don't kill the benefit by cooking it to death 👍😁

[@aleciamcs4960]

I like what you have done - you are relatable and give clear useful suggestions. I found your sight when I was looking at possibly having autism myself after my son’s diagnosis, then my own. I relate to much of managing family, late diagnosis both ASD and ADHD and now bereavement. Your examp,e was so like the way I handled my first close deaths but this time i have let myself shutdown and feel my grief. Thanks for making ASD less scary “normal” and a trait about you, rather than your whole life and that you can achieve and be not in the stereotypical way thank you

[@bethanythatsme]

Thank you Ella & the Purple People. You've helped so much through your shared experiences. I hope to one day again be in the place where I can join the channel, but until then I'll be liking, commenting, and sharing so that this info is more widely available 💜

[@rachelbutler3367]

Thank you for these videos. My 9 year old is on the spectrum and the rest of us are neurotypical. He loves to watch your videos and see a grown up who is more like him.

[@jerichoburg7065]

I got a lot out of this video - thank you! I seem to have avoided a lot of menopause symptoms, but I was unusually emotional for a few years, and this definitely added to my overload. It seems to have faded, finally. I appreciate how you went through the different sources of overload and talked about prioritizing. I'm trying to do the same, especially now that my child is chronically ill and work has gotten overwhelming, too. Definitely a lot to think about here.

[@joshingaboutwithjosh]

Sorry to hear its tough at moment me overload too words heavy thankyou for solidarity and solid pointers

[@DeborahAnnsuperversatile]

Thank you for the tips.

[@MrzRobloxz]

Thanks advice Ella!❤

[@ShannonTalksYarn]

Thanks for sharing your tips, it was helpful for me 😊

[@helenbuckley8883]

I have been experiencing a lot of anxiety later which is at a higher level then normal.

[@rainbowstarks]

Thank you for the side note about the title!! You don't know how much I appreciate that

[@KKHarrisCareerStrategist]

Very useful content.

[@Lightbody33]

Thank you for sharing about your challenges at the moment and I hope your ride gets smoother ...it does help a lot to understand how other older autistic women navigate their way through the sensory and emotional changes ....yes when the sensory stuff peaks out it has a domino effect with everything else for me too loud and too hot .will tip me over ..I have learnt to give myself the option to leave an event or activity early if I need to and to not give up as my capacity to manage a situation fluctuates what might be a challenge one week might be fine the next ...I have the noise cancelling earbuds and I also have over ear noise cancelling headphones which are the best but I don't always like being out in them ........ what are loops ... ? take care 🧚‍♀🦄🌻

[@MLSSLGN]

Tytyty for alll your lovingly given vids... the change... this effects us differently. I found myself hitting a temp of 104 over and over... turning purple... Ok... out of Canada, pure crystaline Sulfur... hugggge for our nd... and hormone regulation... and Estrotone... photo estrogens... blessing and prayers... one step at a time helps if I can pull it off💛

[@pilgrimlearning9530]

Hi Ella! I'm pregnant with my 3rd and the overload is real! First trimester tiredness and "morning" sickness is keeping me from so much of what I was normally capable of. Which is leading to some guilt as well because my children are at home with me. So definitely looking for ways to recover on a regular basis right now.

[@bigjagjim]

Im so glad i found your channel, im 50 and waiting to be assessed but most of what you say is like looking in a mirror

[@sarahgibbons9737]

I've taken to calling menopause Second Puberty 🙂 (I am going through younger than most) I have found help with a specific multi-supplement (it's £26 a month but can get it on 3 for 2) recommended specifically by my consultant. It's given me my life back, after a couple of months of building up. I have managed to save money so now I can afford to stop working or cut down on working but because work is my special interest I'm finding it so difficult. But I know I need to because I've been so close to overload (meaning full on months long burnout and having lots of overloading moments) I think partly because I've always pushed through there's an (unacceptable) acceptance that I'm going to feel like this because I've never known anything consistently different

[@jimwilliams3816]

Sarah, the work thing sounds so much like me! When I took my current job, I was impressed with the fact that I was able to handle levels of stress I didn't think I could, but I could tell it was costing me, and it has. I no longer do some of the most stressful parts, and I still like the job, but the amount I can work now before crashing and burning is highly variable, and sometimes not much at all. I can sense that there are ways I work that feel right and ways I work that don't, but figuring out which is which is tricky, and they all seem to involve overreliance on adrenaline, which has always been a big problem for me. I'm coping via a noradrenaline blocker, but I can tell there are corners of my brain that crave the adrenal hit, and other parts that can't function without it. (Yes, I have hypervigilance and some ADHD traits.)

[@bonkersbunnymum]

Please will you share what the supplement is that your consultant recommended for menopausal symptoms?

[@Dayglodaydreams]

The Reddit app. overloaded me.

[@Iamlynie1]

This all makes a lot of sense. Right now it's people that set me off. I would love to live on an island alone, not realistic but the way I feel. I never was much of a people person before Covid started, now I'm even worse. 😳

[@amziedragon6619]

I definitely relate to overload... currently I am not working but had two job offers and just getting phone calls related to them, sending emails and thinking about it makes me overwhelmed. Although I feel it will be okay ine I stop getting calls and get a routine in place. I think I can get overloaded and can get meltdowns from sensory input alone. I am sensitive to sound, light, touch, texture, temperature and potentially pain as I find it very difficult not to focus on my chronic nerve pain when I am feeling it. If I am around lots of people and there are lights on and suddenly I feel a radiator I can have a meltdown. Once I had one just from waking up with a migraine then noticing the radiators had been turned on because I'd had no choice but to interact with people all the the previous day since the place I live is my partner's parent's so they invited family around and I couldn't escape and I HATE the feeling of radiators and HATE the difference of going from hot to cold or cold to hot. When I'm warm it's like my whole skin and insides set on fire and itch everywhere and no amount of scratching till in red raw helps. I feel my veins throbbing as it burns and it just feels horrible. I dont even get flushes this is just the feeling of heat for me. In terms of light, looking our of windows on a regular, not too sunny day makes me eyes water and feel like someone is pressing into them. Sounds like tapping cutlery, cupboards shutting a bit fast, dogs barking etc cause me pain in mynears and head and I can instantly shut down or meltdown from hearing them. Continued noises like ticking clocks or fans cause me to feel permanently overstimulated and I get very exhausted from this. This is one of the factors that made me lose my job because they told me I needed to 'adapt' when I asked for reasonable adjustments because of this. The only clothing I feel comfy in is tagless, soft material vest tops and shorts. Leggings I wear because of the cold even though I feel uncomfortable in them all the time. Hoodies I wear for the security of feeling covered. I wear t shirts if I absolutely have to. I wore dresses for work but I hated this because of the sensory problems and the added hatred of looking feminine because I am AFAB but don't like being associated with femininity. Thanks for sharing and helping us all feel less alone 😊

[@KiwiKirsty1983]

You are beautiful. This video was informative and helpful. I'm not sure what you do when you can't get rid of the people that cause you the most stress/pain and seem to feed off the reactions when you are in sensory overload.

[@MrzRobloxz]

Yes true

[@bonkersbunnymum]

Thank you Ella for sharing your experiences and what you are trying. I’m still trying to figure out when I’m not able to tolerate things (light/noise sensitivity for example) if it is due to being autistic or the ME/CFS…. And then likewise when I’m having an ME/CFS flare up, perhaps it could be partly autistic burnout. Are you able to easily distinguish between the symptoms of your EDS & burnout? Or has that taken time to figure out? Oh and I’m menopausal too, the only thing that has helped the hot flushes is HRT. And thank goodness I don’t get as many night sweats now either…. I was getting them even during the day and needing to change my clothes and I just hate feeling all sweaty 🥵 I have a handheld rechargeable fan that goes everywhere with me, it’s quiet on the low setting and I don’t mind the noise on the high setting (preferable to feeling like I’m going to melt). I hope you find something to help you.

[@jaydenantonio2313]

ty

[@ornellarose4818]

How would someone know if this overload is caused by ADHD or autism? Since it appears in both I’ve found it quite hard to tell. I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD recently, and it’s brought back a lot of memories of when I was in high school and experiencing sensory overload but not having a clue what’s going on at the time. Now I’m university, recently been on medication and I feel so overwhelmed all over again that I shut down, zone out, or have a meltdown. It gets so bad that medication stops working, which makes me even more stimulated and anxious. I’ve not been diagnosed with autism, I don’t know if I have it but I related to every single thing in this video and had no idea what I’m going through is even a thing. Any insight would be much appreciated!

[@DeborahAnnsuperversatile]

Overload, burn out, shut down.

[@ornellarose4818]

How would someone know if this overload is caused by ADHD or autism? Since it appears in both I’ve found it quite hard to tell.

[@gamewrit0058]

💜💜💜

[@imaneel2043]

Can sensory overload last several days?

[@IloveGardensandteaparties]

Yes, it can even last for months if not managed well

[@41walmart]

i have autism what is overload

[@MrzRobloxz]

First