Currently, burnout is only recognized as a diagnosis in the form of occupational burnout, specifically in the ICD-11 diagnostic system. This means that, although recognized as a clinical reality, it is not a diagnosis we can set which can give any access to support. However, it can provide an explanation for the person experiencing burnout.
Burnout, as we understand it currently, is a response to profound long-term stress. It can come on slowly, with the person and their loved ones not recognizing it until long after it has begun to build, or symptoms can present very suddenly and come as a shock.
Burnout can result from long-term stress in any aspect of life, but is often seen to be connected with stress from work, school, dealing with government systems such as healthcare or disability services, and generally not having support needs accommodated in life. For autistic people, for example, being forced to live in environments that are not autism-friendly, can result in burnout.
Note that while most people think of burnout as something that happens to adults, we do unfortunately see children who suffer from burnout, as well.
People experiencing burnout report experiencing:
- Constant fatigue
- Feeling unable to cope with daily tasks
- Changes in mood or temper
- Increased sensitivity to stressful situations
- Loss of cognitive functions, such as poorer memory, recall, learning ability, etc.
- Difficulty regulating emotions
- Lack of energy to pursue previously enjoyable activities, including participating in social activities or spending time on hobbies.
- Significantly reduced capacity to perform at work or in education, in their social life, or in other aspects of life.
- Brain fog, a feeling of not being able to focus, feeling confused, losing your train of thought, or even your thoughts feeling ‘slow’.
- In children and adolescents, we often see school refusal as a critical warning sign.
- For those with pre-existing conditions or neurodivergence, they often see symptoms or traits associated with these increase, causing additional difficulties in their life.
- Loss of self-care and hygiene skills are commonly seen in neurodivergent people as well.
What should I do if I think I am experiencing burnout?
If you are going through burnout, it is important to recognize that recovery takes time, and to not attempt to ‘rush’ getting better. In fact, feeling stressed about wanting to get better faster, may be counterproductive and increase the amount of time recovery takes.
Your primary focus for recovery should be on:
- A varied and healthy diet
- Regular, moderate intensity exercise
- Your quantity and quality of sleep
- (Rebuilding) Your community and positive social interactions
- Reconsidering the demands daily life presents you with
In order to prevent future burnout, you will need to build an understanding of what lead to burnout in the first place, and restructure your life in order to avoid it.
Because this process can be very difficult in terms of dealing with a changing sense of identity, social expectations and potentially much more, we do recommend that you have someone to help you. Some people are able to enlist the aid of someone they know and trust in their personal life, but for many, it can be very useful to see a therapist or coach to get an outside perspective as well as the benefit of talking to someone who knows about lots of strategies and different methods to aid in your recovery and prevention of future burnout.
We recommend first reading the Energy Accounting book, as this can give you a framework to move forward with, even if you choose to see a therapist as well. It will be relevant even if you are not autistic, as Energy Accounting is not an autism-specific method.