Autistic overwhelm

[adotonthespectrum]

How do you work through it?

Life easily ‘stresses’ me and I find social interactions really tiring, particularly the masking part and having to remember how to make small talk - I end up feeling like I’ve stretched my brain/just finished an intensive exam, at the end of every single day. That’s the best way I can describe it, all spaced out for a bit. As a result I need plenty time to decompress after what would be most people’s normal day. If I don’t get this I feel irritable/very stressed and usually it results in me being unproductive and losing all energy ie for house work and other tasks. I’m not sensitive to noise as such but I think throughout the day the sensory input of bustling shops, busy public transport etc contributes to me feeling completely zoned out. I don’t know how to combat it!

I suspect I am neurodiverse and have thought this for a number of years but don’t have a diagnosis to confirm.

I work full time and have a nice house, good family network, a wonderful DH and a couple of lovely friends. We hope to have DC in the near future.

I saw a statistic which said only 20% of autistic people are in employment and I daresay this is skewed by number of diagnoses but it makes sense to me… I feel like my batteries for socialising and the outside world drain a lot faster than I hope they might!

If this is you, what helps? :) thank you

What do you get out of coming onto these threads and undermining peoples struggles? You've done it on multiple threads now.

Wow. It’s really inappropriate to suggest to anyone not to have kids when they have expressed they want them, but more so if you’re suggesting that just because they’re neurodiverse. The things you have mentioned could be curveballs thrown to anyone. I work with children and have lots of younger children in our extended family; we know what it’s like and that it can be relentless at times so my eyes are wide open on that one.

Not to make the same point as technot but I am much like you but late diagnosed with asd and ADHD. I have kids (pre diagnosis) but years prior of being challenged in the way you describe.

Life now finds me single parent with two ND sons. Life is very difficult, I can never prioritise my needs to decompress or rest as needed as someone always needs me for something. I can't choose to retire to bed early ever due to this.

Their issues trigger each other and quite often I've got two different autistic meltdowns going on at the same time. Regularly I feel like my head will explode. I have to work full time to pay the bills.

I'm not and wouldn't ever say don't have kids but do understand how it is in reality.
I wouldn't have done it differently in hindsight but it would be good to be forewarned.
Hope this doesn't offend

Afaik I am not neuro divergent but I feel the same OP. It's a lot worse at menopause but it feels completely overwhelming at times. By the time it gets to the evening I need to be alone, preferably in a darkened room! DH thinks I'm being antisocial but I just can't keep going and interacting with other people all day. Ds13 is the same whereas my other kids have no problem.

I work part time. I take time for myself during the day. I enjoy reading and going on my phone and find it takes me away from situations when I need it ( like a check out)

Apologies if this is how my post was understood. I wasn't advising you not to have children, and no, i wasn't suggesting that people who are neurodiverse shouldn't have children. I'm shocked to see my post deleted. I don't think it said that at all. Maybe I worded it poor but how it can be understood I said neurodiverse people should not have children.No way!
My sister is autistic and has found it a difficult journey and said she never considered not having children but wishes she had realised more about the reality.
My message was based on that society is patriarchal and that having children can sometimes feel like something we have to do without questioning it. I was not ever suggesting you are doing a mistake.