Autistic Burnout · ADHD & Autism Action Group

Autistic Burnout

Bit of a long post this one, but I'd like to get y'all's thoughts (specially ladies here on the Autism spectrum)...

My wife has days where she does not want to talk to me (usually we text because she finds it hard to verbalize her emotions).

She only engages in conversation with our children, mainly because she has to, but not anyone else. I usually give her space and time to clear her head before she is ready to talk again.

Last few days, she has completely shutdown. She will not communicate verbally or by texts, has made zero eye-contact and wants to be in bed all day. Basically, giving me the silent treatment and not functioning. So naturally, I am worried. She would not answer any questions about her situation, and I could not figure out what was bothering her. I was going through all past situations to figure out if maybe I did something to upset her.

Finally, in an exasperated (and a bit angry) state, I demanded to know what was going on with her (via text, as she will not speak). So she sent my a checklist (attached below).

Apparently, she is COMPLETELY Burnt Out...

So my question is....has it or does this happen to you as well? Did you ever get so burnt out that you completely shutdown and blackball/ disregard your partner? What got you out of that state and what are some of the things a spouse can do to help?

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