Burnout in neurodivergent people can be long, intense and truly exhausting.
Whilst burnout isn’t always completely avoidable, there are different techniques you can try to reduce the chances of this happening or to reduce the intensity when it does happen.
Energy Spending
The energy budget model suggests that everything costs energy- socialising, showering, making phone calls, working. It can be helpful to ask yourself daily, “What am I spending energy on that isn't’ required?”.
For example If my schedule for the day was:
7am- Wake up, shower, have breakfast, get ready
8am-12pm- Work in office
12pm-1pm- Lunch
1pm-5pm- Work (including meetings and phone calls)
5pm-6pm- Drive home, walk the dog, get ready
6pm- Dinner with friends
To try and minimise my energy expenditure I would try to have a shower the night before, or even just not shower that day. I could take noise cancelling headphones to work and I could see if I could make the phone calls another day or make the work environment easier to cope with by moving to a quiet room. This could also reduce my need to mask as I wouldn’t be surrounded by as many people and I would try to let my friends know that by the time we go out for dinner, it’s likely that I won’t be as talkative- this would reduce the anxiety of me appearing ‘rude’ and also reduces the pressure to mask when socialising.
Recovery Time
It can be helpful to recognise that after social events or times of high energy expenditure where you may mask more than normal, you will probably need time to recover. It can be useful to plan this time in as you would a meeting or appointment, to ensure that your recovery time is protected and to also let your brain know that it is valued and important. Recovery time looks very different for everyone, but will hopefully make you feel more grounded and give you a bit of breathing room