Psychology
What does Autistic burnout mean?
A lasting exhaustion after masking and overload: skills drop, the body asks for seclusion.
Definition
Autistic burnout is not a bad week. Communities describe months in which speech, work and sensory tolerance regress. It often follows stretches of a high mask. It is not laziness and it is not only depression, though they can coexist. The word exists to ask for a cut in demand, not a pep talk about willpower.
Origin
English from autistic communities, community research in the 2010s–2020s.
History
From blogs to papers and to TikTok. The term crossed clinics that did not yet use it.
How it emerged
The drop after performance needed a name that was not moral failure.
Usage examples
After the semester, autistic burnout came.
Resting from masking is not aesthetic holiday.
Translations
- pt autistic burnout / exaustão autista
- en autistic burnout
- es autistic burnout / agotamiento autista
Synonyms
- autistic exhaustion
- post-mask drop
- camouflage burnout
Related terms
Questions
What is autistic burnout?
A lasting state of exhaustion and lost capacity after overload and masking.
Is it depression?
They can coexist. Community speech insists on the link with sensory and social demand.
What helps?
Cutting demand. This site does not treat.