Recovering from Burnout: Steps Toward Healing
I’ve said it 100x before, and I’ll keep saying it until I’m burned out from saying it. Autistic burnout isn’t just being tired.
It’s the kind of soul-level depletion that makes it hard to function, feel, think, or care, even about your own well-being. It’s when brushing your teeth feels like a chore. When answering a text message feels like a trap. When your brain says "Nope, we’re done here" — and means it.
If you’re neurodivergent, this probably isn’t your first burnout, even if it’s just the first time you recognize it for what it is. And unfortunately, it probably won’t be your last. But it can get easier to recognize earlier. And more importantly, it can be healed.
Let’s talk about what recovery actually looks like.
Step 1: Name It Without Shame
You can’t recover from what you’re still trying to outwork, rationalize, or minimize. So, first things first: name it.
Say it out loud. “I’m in burnout.”
This isn’t you being lazy. Or failing. Or weak. This is what happens when you push a nervous system past capacity for too long, without the rest, support, or accommodations you need. Especially when you’ve been masking or white-knuckling your way through life just to “seem fine.”
Burnout isn’t your fault. But it is your body’s way of begging you to stop pretending you’re not struggling.
Step 2: Prioritize Nervous System Safety
Your brain is a garden. Burnout is the drought. And recovery? Recovery means water, shade, and pulling the weeds of “should.”
This is the time for:
Canceling everything that isn’t essential
Eating snacks that feel safe and doable
Wearing the soft shirt, the comfy pants, the sensory hoodie
Choosing silence instead of explanation
Letting your nervous system just be, without new demands (this is the hardest part for me, but it is essential when I’m clawing my way out of the burnout basement)
If you’ve got my Sensory Reset Toolkit, this is a good time to lean on it. Create a ritual. A decompression corner. A go-to comfort routine that grounds you and says, “You’re safe now.”
Step 3: Check for Burnout Triggers (They’re Sneaky)
What pushed you into burnout? You don’t have to do a deep analysis right away, but it is helpful to take note of what’s been draining you.
Some common culprits:
Constant masking (more on that in this post)
Sensory overwhelm (remember our Fire Swamp metaphor?)
Too many yeses, not enough boundaries
Overworking in environments not built for your brain
Emotional labor. SO much emotional labor.
Identifying your “burnout recipe” is the first step to rewriting it and remember, everyone’s combination is different.
Step 4: Add Back the Right Things—Slowly
Once your nervous system feels safe-ish again, the next phase is gentle re-engagement.
Not a full return to normal. Not hustle culture in disguise. Just… small and easy yeses.
What’s one thing that helps you feel connected, curious, or comforted?
Drawing with no pressure to make it “good”
Going outside and staring at clouds
Audio journaling
Talking to someone who gets it (without needing to perform)
And if you’re not sure what to add back yet? That’s okay too. The stillness is an enormous part of the healing.
Step 5: Ask For Support (Without Apologizing)…I mean it. STOP apologizing for just being.
You don’t have to do this alone.
Burnout thrives in silence and isolation. Recovery thrives in connection.
If you have safe people in your life, reach out. If you don’t, I’ve got you. I coach neurodivergent adults through burnout and identity recovery because I’ve lived it. I built my coaching practice specifically for people who are tired of pretending, tired of powering through, and ready for a different way.
Book a free intro call here. You’re not too much. You’re not damaged goods. You’re just burned out. And we can rebuild from that.
Final Thoughts
Burnout doesn’t get healed through shame or spreadsheets or pushing through the pain. It heals through patience, pacing, and radical honesty.
If you’ve been burned out for a long time, please know:
You will feel like yourself again.
You’re not lazy—you’re overloaded.
You deserve support that doesn’t require a meltdown to qualify.
This isn’t the end of the story, even if it feels that way. It’s the part where you start coming home to yourself.
Follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn for visuals and bite-sized insights from this piece. And if this resonated, share it with someone else gets it.
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About the Author
Gal is an autistic artist, late-diagnosed at 49, and the creator of AuRTistic Expressions—a space where neurodivergent truth meets creative survival. Through blog posts, printables, courses, and the “This Might Get Messy” podcast, Gal explores what it means to unmask safely, communicate authentically, and make art that doesn’t ask for permission. Stick around—there’s plenty more where this came from.
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