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Burnout

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Burnout resources

Understanding and recognising Autistic burnout is vital for wellbeing. These resources offer visual supports to help identify signs of burnout, explore recovery strategies, and develop personalised approaches to energy management. Designed for both individuals experiencing burnout and those supporting them in educational, home, and workplace environments.

  • Pink background. Text reads: Autistic Realms Recommendations to support recovery from burnout from AASpire study : • Time off from school (if you need support in this area contact IPSEA, Not Fine In School, or Define Fine) • Reduced self-expectations • Time stimming • Time with special interests • Sensory and/or social withdrawal • In general, time spent without the "mask" • Passage of time follow @autisticrealms

    AASPIRE Burnout Study

    Recommendations from the AASPIRE study to support recovery from burnout, including time off, time stimming and time without the mask.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Autistic burnout. Up arrow - increase sensory regulation. Down arrow - decrease demands

    Autistic Burnout

    A burnout infographic with two arrows: increase sensory regulation and decrease demands.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of hazy black dot Text: Autistic Burnout Reduce Recognise Reach out Rest Reset Recover Regulate Recharge Follow @autisticrealms

    Autistic Burnout 8 R’s

    The 8 R's of Autistic burnout: reduce, recognise, reach out, rest, reset, recover, regulate and recharge.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image: person sat looking down with question marks and tangle of thoughts above head Text: Autistic Burnout Anxiety You may feel a lot more anxious than usual. This can also make you experience more headaches, tummy aches or other physical symptoms.

    Autistic Burnout Anxiety

    An Autistic burnout graphic on how anxiety can rise, sometimes bringing headaches, tummy aches or other physical symptoms.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of a tap dripping into a bucket Text reads: Autistic Burnout. Think about how you can support your child to manage their emotional bucket

    Autistic Burnout Bucket

    The emotional bucket: thinking about how to support your child to manage what fills it, in Autistic burnout.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image two head with speech bubbles Text: Autistic Burnout Communicating It takes energy to communicate in the way people expect you to. You may find talking much more difficult and writing may feel more demanding too. If you normally use other forms of communication such as signing or AAC then that may feel much harder to communicate with too.

    Autistic Burnout Communicating

    Why communicating takes more energy in burnout, including for people who use signing or AAC.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image person thinking Text: Autistic Burnout Decisions It may be harder to choose what to eat, watch on TV or play with. Not being able to make choices can be stressful and may make you feel anxious.

    Autistic Burnout Decisions

    Why everyday choices, like what to eat or watch, can feel harder in Autistic burnout, adding to stress and anxiety.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image plate and cutlery Text: Autistic Burnout Diet Your diet and appetite may be affected, you may find that you are eating more or less than usual.

    Autistic Burnout Diet

    An Autistic burnout infographic: burnout can change your appetite, so you may eat more or less than usual.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of head with different facial expressions around it Text: Autistic Burnout Emotions You may be more emotional, more anxious, more tearful or angry but not really able to understand why.

    Autistic Burnout Emotions

    Feeling more emotional, anxious, tearful or angry in Autistic burnout, often without knowing why.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of people eating, dressing and cooking Text: Autistic Burnout Everyday tasks Everyday tasks and things you used to do easily may feel harder or more overwhelming

    Autistic Burnout Everyday tasks

    How everyday tasks that once felt easy, like dressing, washing and talking, can become harder in burnout.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of person looking sad with depleted battery above head Text: Autistic Burnout Exhaustion You may feel constantly exhausted, or you may feel a bit like you have too much energy and feel restless and agitated, everyone responds to burnout in their own way. This may also make you feel quite low and depressed.

    Autistic Burnout Exhaustion

    Autistic burnout explained: constant exhaustion or restless, agitated energy, and feeling low, shown with a low battery.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of white light emerging from grey background. Text: Autistic Burnout Follow @autisticrealms

    Autistic Burnout Glow

    A minimal Autistic burnout graphic: soft light glowing out of a grey-green background.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of hazy black dot Text: It helps to understand your Autistic identity so you can recognise signs of Autistic Burnout. If you are experiencing Autistic Burnout, you need time & space to rest, recover & recharge in your way. It may help to reduce demands & increase time spent nourishing your sensory system. Engaging in your special interests enables you to enter a monotropic flow state". This is considered a natural state for the Autistic mind and may help you regulate, recharge, recover re-set and reduce the severity & length of Autistic burnout. It may also help you to reach out to people that understand you for support. Follow @autisticrealms. Autistic Burnout * Murray, Dinah; Lesser, M.; Lawson, W (2005) Andy, McDonnell; Damian, Milton (2014)

    Autistic Burnout Info

    A graphic on Autistic burnout: understand your identity, rest on your terms, reduce demands, nourish your senses and use monotropic…

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  • Image: person with question marks over head Text: Autistic Burnout Memory You may be more forgetful and have difficulty remembering things people have told you, this can be really frustrating!

    Autistic Burnout Memory

    Why Autistic burnout can make you more forgetful and make it hard to remember what people have said.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image persons head with sensory symbols around it Text: Sensory "You may find that you are more sensitive (hyper-sensitive) or less sensitive (hypo-sensitive) to different sensations (sound, sights, smells, tastes, textures) around you. You may feel you need to move more or move less due to how sensitive your body is and how you respond. You may find it harder to plan and carry out activities." Quoted from Lisa Chapman @CommonSenseSLT, Follow @autisticrealms

    Autistic Burnout Sensory

    How burnout can make you more or less sensitive to sounds, sights, smells, touch and taste.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image: person sleeping Text: Autistic Burnout Sleep Your sleep may be affected, you may find that you are sleeping more or less than usual.

    Autistic Burnout Sleep

    How Autistic burnout can affect sleep, so you may sleep more or less than usual.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image: groups of people talking Text: Autistic Burnout Socialising Burnout is exhausting and makes socialising harder. You may find you don't want to see your friends as much or your friendship groups may change. You will probably want to stay at home much more in your own space where you feel safe and are able to relax.

    Autistic Burnout Socialising

    How Autistic burnout can make socialising harder, and why wanting more time at home and apart from friends is okay.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of road through tunnel Text: Autistic Burnout Special interests Being Autistic means your mind is naturally monotropic (one channel of thought). If you are experiencing burnout, it will be much harder to juggle and split attention between different tasks and interests.

    Autistic Burnout Special interests

    Why monotropic minds find it harder to split attention in burnout, and why special interests matter.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of person with images of camera, gaming device, music and basket ball Text: Autistic Burnout Special interests In burnout you may find that you need to work harder to focus, you may feel like you want to spend all your time with your special interests, or you may lose interest in everything you once enjoyed as you may feel depressed or tired.

    Autistic Burnout Special Interests 2

    How Autistic burnout can change your relationship with special interests: more focus needed, all-consuming, or lost.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Title of ebook: Autistic Burnout: A Family Guide Developing understanding & opening up conversations to support children and young people through Autistic Burnout. Helen Edgar www.autisticrealms.com 2023 Image of child lying on blanket

    Autistic Burnout: A Family Guide

    A family guide to understanding Autistic burnout and supporting children and young people through it.

    £5.00
  • Image of swan. Text: Autistic Realms Autistic Masking is exhausting A swan appears graceful, yet under the surface is working really hard Follow @autisticrealms

    Autistic Masking Swan

    Like a swan gliding while paddling hard underneath, Autistic masking is exhausting.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of body scan Text reads: Autistic Realms Го1 L!J Body scans can support with grounding when you are anxious. If you understand your body sensations you can work out how you feel & what you need to do to regulate Follow @autisticrealms

    Body scan

    A graphic on how body scans can support grounding when you are anxious by helping you notice how you feel…

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of scales Text reads: Autistic Burnout 'demands of life exceeding a person's resources' (Judy Endow 2015)

    Burnout Balance Endow Quote

    Judy Endow's (2015) description of Autistic burnout as the demands of life exceeding a person's resources.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Burnout Dimmer switch with ideas for how to regulate: lower sensory input, lower demands, increase sensory output and stimming, increase time with interests

    Burnout Dimmer Switch

    The burnout dimmer switch: lower sensory input and demands, and increase stimming and time with interests.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Burnout Healing Journey Image of text in pastel bubbles reads: 1. Reduce as many demands & expectations as you can 2. Focus on what your sensory system 3. Take it moment by moment 4. Create your own sate space to rest 5. Be kind to yourself 6. Your mind and body are in a process of change 7. Give yourself time to heal follow @autisticrealms

    Burnout Healing Journey

    Gentle steps for a burnout healing journey, from lowering demands to taking things moment by moment.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Autistic Burnout info mind map: Easily mistaken for depression & there can be complex co-occurring symptoms, Affects communication, executive. Affects sensory and mental health, Result of masking and not enough time to meet authentic needs, Heightened sensitivity to sensory stimuli, Can be utterly disabling and cause confusion, anxiety and brain fog. Be kind to yourself Give yourself time to heal

    Burnout Info

    A burnout mind map showing how it differs from depression, how masking can contribute, and why self-kindness and time to…

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Burnout Info: Can be utterly disabling and cause confusion, anxiety and brain fog. Affects communication, executive functioning, sensory responses, physical and mental health, Result of masking and not enough recovery time, Easily mistaken for depression but it's more sensory and there can be complex co-occurring symptoms, Heightened sensitivity to sensory stimuli

    Burnout Info Speech Bubbles

    What Autistic burnout is and how it affects communication, executive functioning and the senses, with a reminder to be kind…

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image of blue hills Text: It takes time to move through Autistic Burnout It's a journey, You can't "recover" & pick up where you left off. Environment has to change. Follow @autisticrealms

    Burnout Journey

    A card on Autistic burnout as a journey: it takes time, you cannot just pick up where you left off,…

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Autistic Burnout Managing long term. Bubbles of writing a. reduce as many demands & expectations as you can 2. focus on what your sensory system needs 3. take it moment by moment & do what you need in that space to move forward to the next 4. create your own safe space to rest 5. Be kind to yourself time to heal 6. your mind and body are in a process of change

    Burnout Long Term

    Managing Autistic burnout long term: reduce demands, meet sensory needs, rest, be kind to yourself and give yourself time.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)
  • Image: Person sleeping Text: How to recover from Autistic burnout. Rest for as long as you need.

    Burnout Recovery

    A graphic on how to recover from Autistic burnout: rest for as long as you need.

    Suggested donation: £1.00 (optional, pay what you can)

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