OT Autistic burnout

[Road Ratt]

I have been meaning to make this thread for sometime now. But my head just cleared from extreme sensory processing issues about 2 months ago. I am mostly thinking clearly now, with some issues still needing time to resolve themselves.

I now understand that I have been in an extreme autistic burnout for at least 2 1/2 years. I was only diagnosed 7 years ago, so I had never been through it that I know of. So I had no way to understand how it affects you.


One day about a year ago I was eating dinner when I had to stop and lay down. The feelings I was having were overwhelming, but in a way I had never quite felt before. Afterwards I posted what I felt on an autistic website that I use. They told me what as going on. It has taken a year to almost fully recover. I am sure it would have gone quicker if it hadn't been for the pandemic keeping the stress going.

Sorry for the videos, but they will explain better than I, or any text, ever could.

 

[Road Ratt]

What is Executive Functioning?



At it's worse I was literally talking to myself in the kitchen, to keep myself on track of my current task. Everyday tasks became much harder to accomplish.

 

[ABM]

Thanks for sharing this. I have a limited understanding of autism. In this instance, I'm glad there is a better description than regression. Despite the current condition, this sounds like hope, of sorts.

 

[Road Ratt]

What is Sensory Processing Disorder?



These are just 3 of the most problematic issues that I found. Most of the stuff that was going on, I had never even heard of before.

At it's worse I couldn't take a shower anymore. The water didn't feel right, at all. Baths had to be quick.

My sense of touch was off. I had difficulty sensing that my food may be too hot, I burned my mouth several times, bit my tongue, side of my mouth, etc. . Along with my sensory processing issues skewing my ability to process what I was feeling. I had a double whammy going on. It was quite the experience.

 

[ABM]

What is Sensory Processing Disorder?

Something julius suffers from?

 

[Hoopguru]

I have been meaning to make this thread for sometime now. But my head just cleared from extreme sensory processing issues about 2 months ago. I am mostly thinking clearly now, with some issues still needing time to resolve themselves.

I now understand that I have been in an extreme autistic burnout for at least 2 1/2 years. I was only diagnosed 7 years ago, so I had never been through it that I know of. So I had no way to understand how it affects you.


One day about a year ago I was eating dinner when I had to stop and lay down. The feelings I was having were overwhelming, but in a way I had never quite felt before. Afterwards I posted what I felt on an autistic website that I use. They told me what as going on. It has taken a year to almost fully recover. I am sure it would have gone quicker if it hadn't been for the pandemic keeping the stress going.

Sorry for the videos, but they will explain better than I, or any text, ever could.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[donkiez]

Yes thanks for sharing. This is a reminder that everyone is fighting a battle that the rest of us know nothing about.

Stay strong friend.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

What is Sensory Processing Disorder?



These are just 3 of the most problematic issues that I found. Most of the stuff that was going on, I had never even heard of before.

At it's worse I couldn't take a shower anymore. The water didn't feel right, at all. Baths had to be quick.

My sense of touch was off. I had difficulty sensing that my food may be too hot, I burned my mouth several times, bit my tongue, side of my mouth, etc. . Along with my sensory processing issues skewing my ability to process what I was feeling. I had a double whammy going on. It was quite the experience.

Wow, that just sounds miserable. We are so dependent on our senses, I just can't imagine what it would be like to have them just start malfunctioning on you like that, and even worse have nobody around who could really understand what was going on.

 

[julius]

My nephew has executive function disorder, but his parents (mostly his dad) refuses to believe it's related to ASD so instead of helping him they pretty much treat him like he's just lazy, etc.

I watched a video (I don't have the link to it handy) where it described trying to "appear typical", and how that explains how someone on the spectrum could appear tired or exhausted after doing something typically considered "minor". I.e., working a 2-3 hour job vs an 8 hour day. It was kind of a mind opener for me, in that having to put on a front (or act, whatever the lingo you want to use) all the time to appear as though you're typical, or the energy it takes to cope with things that bother you/upset you/impact your life (that most of us don't really even worry about), has to be tiring.

I remember as a kid in grade school, I'd have times when I would experience weird sensations coursing through me. It was kind of like an adrenaline rush maybe, I don't know. Anyway, I would get it during tests, or when I would kind of be in a stressful (or sometimes not even stressful) setting. My sense of touch was amplified, clothing felt really brittle and rough, and it felt like I was massively stronger than I was before (picking up stuff felt easier, etc). Noises would really be an issue, as things would get much much louder and grating on my ears. thankfully, these didn't last long and I haven't had one of them since I was probably in the 4th or 5th grade (almost 37-40 years ago now). But I imagine if that is similar to what some people on the ASD feel, I could totally understand why it is that they can have burnout, etc.

 

[riverman]

I want to thank you for sharing ....I will take time to watch each of these videos and try to gain more understanding...I hope you find you comfort zone and get through the tougher issues you face and find that balance you need ...if you ever need someone to listen I'm here for you my friend....in my career as a teacher I watched a remarkable young man who struggled with autism become one of the brightest students to ever graduate..he got a full academic scholarship and was a balanced and adjusted young man last I saw him....in my view a complete success story....warmed my heart to watch him grow up in my community and achieve his dreams..thank you again for opening up and sharing

 

[dviss1]

Something julius suffers from?

What a weird disrespectful thing to say about somebody... Fuck is wrong with these conservatives...

Y'all greased the skids for ignoring mental healthcare in this country and have the nerve to say shit like this... I'd say shameful but y'all are shameless...

 

[ABM]

What a weird disrespectful thing to say about somebody... Fuck is wrong with these conservatives...

Y'all greased the skids for ignoring mental healthcare in this country and have the nerve to say shit like this... I'd say shameful but y'all are shameless...

Aww, shuckins, I was only joking. Lighten up.

 

[julius]

What a weird disrespectful thing to say about somebody... Fuck is wrong with these conservatives...

Y'all greased the skids for ignoring mental healthcare in this country and have the nerve to say shit like this... I'd say shameful but y'all are shameless...

I appreciate the effort, but it's better to let him dig the hole deeper. Every time he say's he's not something, he just sticks his foot in his mouth even further. So him deciding that making a joke about someone by implying they're autistic or on the spectrum says a whole lot more about him than it does about me or anyone else.

Apparently he thinks it's fine to make fun of people who have a disability. Not a good luck, I'll grant you that, but it's his true colors.

 

[dviss1]

Aww, shuckins, I was only joking. Lighten up.

You're joking about a problem that has gone uncared for since Reagan.

Y'all continuously complain about the mental health of these mass shooters but don't make ANY actual effort to take guns out of their hands.

Conservatives have NO ROOM to joke about this shit and y'all need to stop.

It's. Not. Funny...

I don't need to lighten up.

Y'all are the same MFs to complain about our unhoused community without understanding that a full 35-40% of them suffer from mental illness.

Y'all need to help fix the problem y'all exacerbated...

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I have been meaning to make this thread for sometime now. But my head just cleared from extreme sensory processing issues about 2 months ago. I am mostly thinking clearly now, with some issues still needing time to resolve themselves.

I now understand that I have been in an extreme autistic burnout for at least 2 1/2 years. I was only diagnosed 7 years ago, so I had never been through it that I know of. So I had no way to understand how it affects you.


One day about a year ago I was eating dinner when I had to stop and lay down. The feelings I was having were overwhelming, but in a way I had never quite felt before. Afterwards I posted what I felt on an autistic website that I use. They told me what as going on. It has taken a year to almost fully recover. I am sure it would have gone quicker if it hadn't been for the pandemic keeping the stress going.

Sorry for the videos, but they will explain better than I, or any text, ever could.

I think you may have blocked me, but if you haven't, I really recommend a gluten-free diet. The more they're discovering about the gut-brain link, the less wacky this seems. Trust me, it makes a big difference.

 

[ABM]

I appreciate the effort, but it's better to let him dig the hole deeper. Every time he say's he's not something, he just sticks his foot in his mouth even further. So him deciding that making a joke about someone by implying they're autistic or on the spectrum says a whole lot more about him than it does about me or anyone else.

Apparently he thinks it's fine to make fun of people who have a disability. Not a good luck, I'll grant you that, but it's his true colors.

It's fine, but I'm on completely level ground. I didn't realize you had suffered from such. My apologies, indeed. As to @Road Ratt, I applaud his/her courageousness and candor in the fight. I think he/she realizes that. But, I'll let he/she make that call and I'll respond accordingly.

 

[julius]

What in the hell? I never said I 'suffered from such'. I related an issue I had as a kid which if being on the spectrum is anything like that, I totally can relate to how exhausting (etc) it would be. Do you really lack reading comprehension skills or something?

Ignoring the "suffering" from crack, do you ever think things through before you say them?

 

[dviss1]

It's fine, but I'm on completely level ground. I didn't realize you had suffered from such. My apologies, indeed. As to @Road Ratt, I applaud his/her courageousness and candor in the fight. I think he/she realizes that. But, I'll let he/she make that call and I'll respond accordingly.

Bottom line:

Instead of joking about this shit, you and your conservative buddies need to get your hands dirty fixing this shit.

 

[julius]

I think you may have blocked me, but if you haven't, I really recommend a gluten-free diet. The more they're discovering about the gut-brain link, the less wacky this seems. Trust me, it makes a big difference.

Diet can play a big role (not that it causes autism, which I know you aren't saying). I watched a video on how a change in diet can totally change how someone on the spectrum reacts to things, as corny as it sounds.

But it's true of people not on the spectrum too.

 

[Chris Craig]

Something julius suffers from?

My son has sensory processing disorder. It's not something to joke about.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Diet can play a big role (not that it causes autism, which I know you aren't saying). I watched a video on how a change in diet can totally change how someone on the spectrum reacts to things, as corny as it sounds.

But it's true of people not on the spectrum too.

i think diet affects many of our sensors. From sight, to touch, to pain resistence, to how quickly our minds can problem solve. To sleeping habits.
I think our doet os a much bigger factor in our stability than many realize.
(Not commenting or directing this towards autism one way or another)

and @Road Ratt hats off to you for having the strength and courage to be open with strangers about it.
Heck. Its probably the best way for the uninformed to get informed.

i dated a girl in hi-school for most of my time there and she had an autistic brother. We would take him with us almost all the time.

i got in a couple fights over him. Or should i say over the disgusting way some would treat him right to his face. Mocking him. Man. Getting all riled up just thinking about it now.

 

[ABM]

My son has sensory processing disorder. It's not something to joke about.

I'm sorry to hear that. I was hoping that Road Ratt would weigh in, but I stand corrected. My apologies.

 

[Road Ratt]

I didn't sleep well last night. I only had enough energy this morning to post what I did then have lunch before a nap. I will try to reply and add more when/as I can.

 

[Chris Craig]

I'm sorry to hear that. I was hoping that Road Ratt would weigh in, but I stand corrected. My apologies.

Yeah, it's not funny. It's made things hard for my son like going to school. He has auditory hypersensitivity which means he can be easily overwhelmed by lots of sound. Loud noises are painful and excruciating to his ears. To me and you a fire alarm is just loud and annoying. To him it is instantaneously overpowering and excruciating.

He has issues with coordination and often bumps into things because he doesn't have the normal sense of where his body is compared to his surroundings.

He struggles with writing though he has made strides there.

He has trouble staying on task.

He must sometimes be reminded to let his food cool down because it will burn his mouth.

He has trouble doing simple things like riding a bike.

He gets excruciating migranes that make him sick.

It's very tough to see him go through. It's even tougher for him to go through it.

So, I will say again, it's not something to joke about.

 

[Lanny]

I have been meaning to make this thread for sometime now. But my head just cleared from extreme sensory processing issues about 2 months ago. I am mostly thinking clearly now, with some issues still needing time to resolve themselves.

I now understand that I have been in an extreme autistic burnout for at least 2 1/2 years. I was only diagnosed 7 years ago, so I had never been through it that I know of. So I had no way to understand how it affects you.


One day about a year ago I was eating dinner when I had to stop and lay down. The feelings I was having were overwhelming, but in a way I had never quite felt before. Afterwards I posted what I felt on an autistic website that I use. They told me what as going on. It has taken a year to almost fully recover. I am sure it would have gone quicker if it hadn't been for the pandemic keeping the stress going.

Sorry for the videos, but they will explain better than I, or any text, ever could.

People in here always empathize with those who are suffering and you are no exception.

 

[Road Ratt]

I finally regained my abilities. Mostly. I am not fully recovered, but the severe sensory processing issues are now down to a more manageable level. And my ability to remember celebrity names returned just a couple of months ago, and has improved ever since. I lost my abilities for 3 years. I lost my ability to communicate well. To keep up with chores. To keep up with threads (like the Blazers game thread), conversations, etc. . Severe sensory processing issues caused so many problems that my equilibrium was off, so I had to walk slowly or maybe bump into the door jamb, or a wall. It affects literally everything you do, from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. It caused such severe problems that I should have been hospitalized. But not much is understood about autistic burnout by the medical community. So, without this knowledge, there is nothing they could have done for me anyway.

I understand now, that this all started due to extreme stress from health issues I was having back in late 2018 into early 2019. In early 2019 was when I noticed the first time that I lost my abilities. Of course I didn't know what happened at the time. I was too deep in autistic burnout, and lacked the information that I now have. In January of 2020 I was improving when the pandemic hit. This through me deeper into burnout. I have been recovering for a year and a half now. Since late 2020. That is when I found out about autistic burnout. There was/is more issues than just the sensory processing issue. But I won't bore you with them, I can't even remember the names of some of the stuff that I found out.

I have now come to see this as a 3 year medical emergency. When you lose your abilities this severely, normal life is no longer possible. Extreme autistic burnout is very debilitating. In the last year, I have never had this many problems sleeping. Constantly napping because I didn't sleep well, or I ran out of mental energy for the day. Which happened a lot. Dealing with severe sensory, as well as severe sensory processing issues, all day is taxing on your mental energy. I am sure my sleep will come back with more time, as I recover. But it may be months before I am at full abilities.

This is affecting my joining in threads. Coming up with words doesn't come easy anyway. But in my current situation, joining even a Rest In Peace thread is difficult to do. I keep wondering why I should say something about someone who... is already dead. Sort of autistic thinking I guess.

This experience has changed the way that I see everything. So I may not give the proper response that people are normally looking for. Maybe I will down the road, and maybe not ever. Only time will tell.

I will leave it here, as I have ran out of things to add for now.

Take it easy. RR

 

[tlongII]

I finally regained my abilities. Mostly. I am not fully recovered, but the severe sensory processing issues are now down to a more manageable level. And my ability to remember celebrity names returned just a couple of months ago, and has improved ever since. I lost my abilities for 3 years. I lost my ability to communicate well. To keep up with chores. To keep up with threads (like the Blazers game thread), conversations, etc. . Severe sensory processing issues caused so many problems that my equilibrium was off, so I had to walk slowly or maybe bump into the door jamb, or a wall. It affects literally everything you do, from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. It caused such severe problems that I should have been hospitalized. But not much is understood about autistic burnout by the medical community. So, without this knowledge, there is nothing they could have done for me anyway.

I understand now, that this all started due to extreme stress from health issues I was having back in late 2018 into early 2019. In early 2019 was when I noticed the first time that I lost my abilities. Of course I didn't know what happened at the time. I was too deep in autistic burnout, and lacked the information that I now have. In January of 2020 I was improving when the pandemic hit. This through me deeper into burnout. I have been recovering for a year and a half now. Since late 2020. That is when I found out about autistic burnout. There was/is more issues than just the sensory processing issue. But I won't bore you with them, I can't even remember the names of some of the stuff that I found out.

I have now come to see this as a 3 year medical emergency. When you lose your abilities this severely, normal life is no longer possible. Extreme autistic burnout is very debilitating. In the last year, I have never had this many problems sleeping. Constantly napping because I didn't sleep well, or I ran out of mental energy for the day. Which happened a lot. Dealing with severe sensory, as well as severe sensory processing issues, all day is taxing on your mental energy. I am sure my sleep will come back with more time, as I recover. But it may be months before I am at full abilities.

This is affecting my joining in threads. Coming up with words doesn't come easy anyway. But in my current situation, joining even a Rest In Peace thread is difficult to do. I keep wondering why I should say something about someone who... is already dead. Sort of autistic thinking I guess.

This experience has changed the way that I see everything. So I may not give the proper response that people are normally looking for. Maybe I will down the road, and maybe not ever. Only time will tell.

I will leave it here, as I have ran out of things to add for now.

Take it easy. RR

Sounds like a tough deal! I hope you get better soon!