Table 2.
Supplementary Quotes to Support the Study Themes and Subthemes
| Theme 1: Systemic and pervasive lack of autism awareness |
| Although I have gone to a therapist, my first one flat out told me she ‘didn't have the ability’ to help me, and after switching to a psychiatrist they treat and worry about my ADHD/Autism while my burnout and depression just drag me further and further down in exhaustion. (T289) |
| People who don't understand Autism are seeing behaviours that they assume are mental health problems. Confusing Burnout for depression, seeing meltdowns & only seeing it as inappropriate negative behaviour, not sensory overwhelm. Using restraints, drugs and ineffective therapy. (T290) |
| Subtheme 1.1: Discrimination and stigma |
| I'm #ActuallyAutistic and I view Autism as a mental health issue, but not a mental illness. Lack of accommodation, stigma, & burnout all affect my MH […] (T260) |
| […] they'll change your schedule suddenly, or ask you to do something you're not comfortable with and when you balk because you're just so stressed out you don't have the flexibility to adapt anymore, you'll get your first warning—then you'll know the end is in sight. […] You have to wait until they fire you for just being you […] (WP115) |
| Theme 2: A chronic or recurrent condition |
| In burnout now and going on Month 15. No end in sight. Experienced it maybe 4 times now. I crashed and burned hard. (T386) |
| A couple of years ago I had a full burnout that could have potentially actually killed me and that left me permanently changed and not for the better. (WP93) |
| Theme 3: Direct impact on health and well-being |
| […] It feels like my thoughts are encased in taffy.[…] (T443) |
| How will she stand? How will she carry on? How can she breathe? The weariness of her spirit can no longer be carried. Her fire has been extinguished. She searches for the peace of nothingness. Its quiet void echoes how she already feels. #AutisticBurnout (T432) |
| Theme 4: A life unlived |
| With an expectation that younger people will work until they are 70 before retiring it's […] important to understand the cumulative effect of repeated burnout on autistic people and develop preventive strategies […] (T75) |
| Theme 5: A blessing in disguise? |
| Burnout […] was huge. 39 months later and my life is very different but much more sustainable. (T476) |
| […] I need to get back into my #actuallyautistic skin and stop letting others separate me from my #autistic self. I died to get here. I must always remember that. (T400) |
| Theme 6: Self-awareness and personal control influence risk |
| […] the only thing that would help me is beyond my control […] I have nowhere to go where I'd avoid being overwhelmed. (WP98) |
| […] I want to do more hours, but I know this will lead to burnout for me […] (T349) |
| Theme 6.1: “You need enough balloons to manage the weight of the rocks” |
| Autism only gives me so much energy to work with and if I overstretch myself, I'll be prone to meltdown and burnout (T427) |
| Hoping to survive today with a lot of self-soothing and self-care […] (T432) |
| Theme 7: Masking: Damned if you do, damned if you don't |
| Masking is a tool that should be used to get things nothing less, nothing more. Like with anything in life overdoing it leads to problems. With masking they can be quite serious burnout, forgetting who you are, constant anxiety from fear of slipping and being exposed. […] (WP9) |
| I get told by everyone that I seem to be managing my autism well […] but the constant masking at work is exhausting and I ended up in burnout this weekend. (T349) |
| Two main problems […] (1) It can lead to a nasty case of burnout. (2) If people don't see the real you they can't love the real you. It alienates you from people; even as it seems your relationships with people are improving, the amount of joy you derive from it decreases. […] (WP108) |
| Theme 8: Ask the experts |
| The autistic community has been saying burnout is a medical problem forever […] (T90) |
| Theme 8.1: Stronger together |
| #AutisticBurnout is being talked about at last. It affects so many of us—who knew? Which is why the conversation matters. Thanks to you I recognised the signs, took care of myself, avoided total crisis (T353) |