Heightened autistic traits

Yes! I think this is very common but don't know if the traits are worse or if my coping mechanisms are just more likely to fail when I am stressed / anxious.

It's helped me a lot to recognise this is what is happening and roll with it where I can, rather than trying to fight it. Can you schedule in some downtime - this would be lying on the sofa under a heavy blanket for me but you may have different strategies.

As the previous poster said, it's a pretty common experience, when we are getting more stressed by outside things, and there is plenty of that at the moment all around, it reflects in our ability to cope and get along with things.

Recognising it is a big step towards helping manage it before it get un-manageable again, by doing what you can to mitigate the stressors, or if you can't, finding your down time and "recharge your batteries"

Yes. Whether it's part of being autistic for me, or something else, I suffer from insomnia and it will periodically get worse in severe episodes that result in only an hour or two of sleep per night for weeks.

When that happens, all of my unhelpful traits get worse - sensory issues, ability to deal with people (mask) at work, inertia, lack of focus etc. That's in addition to the stuff that comes with being sleep-deprived, like making mistakes and lack of attention to detail, and all my strengths disappear too.

Usually, I try to take a day or two off work if it's practical, get some melatonin or Amitriptyline, and try to reset my sleep schedule. There really isn't anything else I can adopt as a coping strategy...I just need the world to bugger off while I sort myself out.

Yes, this type of thing happens to me, usually when I'm sleep deprived, or I've taken on too much work, or when I feel overloaded with 'things' I need to do (targets set by myself usually which is bloody stupid) and then I go into a tailspin when I don't achieve what I set myself. I can become quite chaotic, or just completely crash.

I'm sometimes often my own worst enemy.

To reset, I will plan my week, take time off work if possible, have a couple of days doing nothing, no targets, no pressure, catch up on sleep, go out for a walk and just generally be kinder to myself. The good thing is, I recognise when I'm going downhill.