Integrating Into An Autistic Life, Part Three - Recovering From Burnout

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“Autism is an identity but the discovery of autism late in life is an identity crisis - at least for a while. The tower of false identity is toppled over, but is the true self in the rubble, or elsewhere? Do we rebuild out of these broken pieces, or do we metaphysically migrate elsewhere to erect a new structure? Do we even have the foggiest clue who we are, or could be? How much of it is tangled up in the mask, the self-hatred, trauma, anguish? Can we be untethered from this mess? 

Burnout itself is what leads to many diagnoses. We just…can’t anymore. This is what happened to me. It was a long, arduous road to self-discovery but I got there, eventually, at age 37.  

Truly, my fleeting existence on this miraculous planet has now been divided into two chapters: pre-diagnosis, and post. The quest for truth, and the truth. So let’s dive in now to the truths about autism.” ~ excerpt from my upcoming memoir.

Now onto what is burnout, and how do we recover from it?