Atypical burnout: when burnout doesn’t look “burnt out”
By Helen Edgar and David Gray-Hammond · From the Re-Storying Autism workbook, Module 5
Not all Autistic burnout looks like withdrawal or exhaustion. For some, particularly those who may be AuDHD burnout can manifest as: - Mania-like states of hyperactivity - Heightened sensory defensiveness - Increased impulsivity - Emotional flooding - Potential episodes of psychosis - Cognitive fragmentation - Constantly seeking ways to regulate through play, fast talking or high-impact physical activity (lots of jumping, climbing etc!)
Atypical burnout challenges the stereotype that burnout is always quiet, withdrawn, or depressive in nature. Sometimes Autistic burnout is chaotic, anxious, and overflowing; because the person is trying to keep functioning in a world that is tearing them in too many directions at once. We all only have a finite amount of energy and attentional resources and when in burnout, those resources will be redirected into survival mode or as Tanya Adkin describes, ‘meerkat mode’ - always being on high alert and in a state of hyper arousal. It may therefore appear that a person is experiencing a regression in skills or an increase in dysregulated behaviour as their attentional resources are being redirected in an attempt to regain balance and flow.
Keep going in the course
This is a short extract. The full lesson in Module 5: Burnout, Overload and Connection includes the video teaching, the rest of the workbook text, reflection questions for parents, carers and Autistic people, and progress tracking.