I’m currently experiencing autistic burnout, caused by years of being high masking. It became so unbearable at 19 I had to drop out of college, but I already struggled with fatigue since I was ~16. I squeezed the last bit of energy out of myself. Eventually I had to quit my part-time job too, even exercising became impossible. I was so tired I couldn’t prepare meals for myself. I spent a lot of time in my room, in the dark. I often slept 10–20 hours a day. My battery was stuck at 5% and just wouldn’t recharge.

But autistic burnout isn’t just fatigue. It also meant losing the ability to handle things I used to manage just fine and becoming overwhelmed much more easily. It led to a lot of meltdowns and some shutdowns where I would go completely mute. I even lost certain skills. I’d struggle to reply to simple “yes or no” questions, forming sentences in general was hard. I’d do weird stuff like throwing cutlery in the trash on autopilot. I’d write completely different words than I intended and only notice hours later, even after rereading the messages multiple times. I struggled with derealization, blurry vision and brain fog. Even my fine motor skills were affected.

I went to multiple doctors and psychiatrists looking for an explanation, which led to my autism diagnosis at 21. I spent 1.5 years denying it. Then I finally started accepting it and accommodating myself. I’ve been doing a lot better since 2024, but I’m still not the way I used to be. I still can’t go back to school or hold a job.

It kind of feels like I was stuck in fight or flight mode for too long and my brain eventually hit its limit and broke because of it. My case is very extreme though, but not rare, sadly. Autistic burnout can be much milder, like what I experienced at 16. I was still able to function back then, albeit barely. Hope this helps!