Burnout

A place to talk about your experience of living with Dyspraxia

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mp13
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Burnout

Post by mp13 »

Is there such a thing as dyspraxic burnout? I mean like there is for autistic people - Aspie burnout. I'm getting dyspraxia symptoms that I've never had before.
Tom fod
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Re: Burnout

Post by Tom fod »

We too are sensitive to sensory overload. I think being big picture thinkers we see the whole lot and forget we need to break things down and tackle one task at a time not panicking amd trying to do them all at once.
Tom
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Andrew_S_Hatton
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Re: Burnout

Post by Andrew_S_Hatton »

mp13 wrote: Fri Dec 28, 2018 4:02 pm Is there such a thing as dyspraxic burnout? I mean like there is for autistic people - Aspie burnout. I'm getting dyspraxia symptoms that I've never had before.
I do not like the term "burnout" although it does probably describe what happened to me when I was at work - I think after nearly thirty years it was more a case of worn-out and needed to change what I was doing - I am not sure it is directly caused by Dyspraxia but more a case of trying to "fight" the symptoms rather than live with them.
allesandro
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Re: Burnout

Post by allesandro »

I've often wondered that myself. Wish I could be of more help in answering the question
chull
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Re: Burnout

Post by chull »

I was only officially diagnosed with dyspraxia yesterday but I can definitely relate to this. I started university in September 2017 and the experience has been very intense and exhausting and I've never been badder in my life at getting enough sleep and I do feel like my dyspraxia symptoms have got worse. When I spoke to the assessor, she asked me about getting my words muddled and I said I often get my words coming out of my mouth in the wrong order but it was something I had only noticed since being at uni and I think has only been a symptom of mine since starting uni.
Tom fod
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Re: Burnout

Post by Tom fod »

I think we have to be really careful to look after ourselves as we will so very often push ourselves to insane extremes and be overly hard on ourselves through comparing ourselves to others and forgetting to look at things objectively. We can be very driven, though that can be 100mph up the motorway in the wrong direction

Often the more stressed unhappy we are, the worse the effect and related difficulties.
Tom
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With a foot full of bullets I tried to run faster but I just hobbled on to the next disaster.
(from Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Foot Full of Bullets)
EnigmaticLila
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Re: Burnout

Post by EnigmaticLila »

There is definitely burn out with dyspraxia. You have to try so much harder than the average person to do things so you will get tired a lot more easily and this is made worse if you also have sensory processing problems. You will need a lot more breaks and more sleep especially if you expect to just "be normal" day to day. Something like cleaning/tidying a room is using maximum brain power for someone with dyspraxia. It seems simple but is near impossible when mental reserves are low. Be aware that some "easy" things are using a lot more brain power than you'd think.

I was getting frustrated that my memory was disappearing entirely. I then found out that I was using everything up remembering where and how to walk without bashing into people, remembering things like posture and looking for body language cues that I would otherwise miss, how to operate doors and when putting stuff down to make sure it was not hanging off the edge of the table. So much of my load was concerned with avoiding being clumsy that I forget what day it was! Sometimes its better to just be clumsy than end up beyond exhausted for something as trivial as not walking exactly in a straight line.

Once you know what saps your energy, you can find ways around those things, accept that you won't be perfect at things other people find natural or you could possibly use devices to assist you. Calendars, reminders, lists and maps are amazing at taking off some mental loads. Occupational therapy and CBT can also help in the long run.
Ram
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Re: Burnout

Post by Ram »

EnigmaticLila wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 8:27 am There is definitely burn out with dyspraxia. You have to try so much harder than the average person to do things so you will get tired a lot more easily and this is made worse if you also have sensory processing problems. You will need a lot more breaks and more sleep especially if you expect to just "be normal" day to day. Something like cleaning/tidying a room is using maximum brain power for someone with dyspraxia. It seems simple but is near impossible when mental reserves are low. Be aware that some "easy" things are using a lot more brain power than you'd think.

I was getting frustrated that my memory was disappearing entirely. I then found out that I was using everything up remembering where and how to walk without bashing into people, remembering things like posture and looking for body language cues that I would otherwise miss, how to operate doors and when putting stuff down to make sure it was not hanging off the edge of the table. So much of my load was concerned with avoiding being clumsy that I forget what day it was! Sometimes its better to just be clumsy than end up beyond exhausted for something as trivial as not walking exactly in a straight line.

Once you know what saps your energy, you can find ways around those things, accept that you won't be perfect at things other people find natural or you could possibly use devices to assist you. Calendars, reminders, lists and maps are amazing at taking off some mental loads. Occupational therapy and CBT can also help in the long run.
This is an excellent summary of the extra focus that we need for things which 'normal' people take for granted.
Allyh84
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Re: Burnout

Post by Allyh84 »

EnigmaticLila wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 8:27 am There is definitely burn out with dyspraxia. You have to try so much harder than the average person to do things so you will get tired a lot more easily and this is made worse if you also have sensory processing problems. You will need a lot more breaks and more sleep especially if you expect to just "be normal" day to day. Something like cleaning/tidying a room is using maximum brain power for someone with dyspraxia. It seems simple but is near impossible when mental reserves are low. Be aware that some "easy" things are using a lot more brain power than you'd think.

I was getting frustrated that my memory was disappearing entirely. I then found out that I was using everything up remembering where and how to walk without bashing into people, remembering things like posture and looking for body language cues that I would otherwise miss, how to operate doors and when putting stuff down to make sure it was not hanging off the edge of the table. So much of my load was concerned with avoiding being clumsy that I forget what day it was! Sometimes its better to just be clumsy than end up beyond exhausted for something as trivial as not walking exactly in a straight line.

Once you know what saps your energy, you can find ways around those things, accept that you won't be perfect at things other people find natural or you could possibly use devices to assist you. Calendars, reminders, lists and maps are amazing at taking off some mental loads. Occupational therapy and CBT can also help in the long run.
So much this. I feel like adequate sleep is crucial to succeeding through the working week if you're dyspraxic.
djgard27
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Re: Burnout

Post by djgard27 »

Dyspraxics definetly suffer from sensory overload again i think this can be attributed to discoordination. I think Mindfulness and meditation may help to unload even though I cant vizualise I feel this is a method of unloading my mind aswell as ensuring i get sufficient sleep.
Sprocket
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Re: Burnout

Post by Sprocket »

I have had several burn outs before I was diagnosed, trying to keep up with everyone else. Now I’m learning to pace myself.
HelenJ
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Re: Burnout

Post by HelenJ »

I experienced something like this a few weeks ago at work. I was putting too much pressure on myself and trying to do too much, comparing my ability to learn to everyone else's and so of course I was making silly mistakes. Then in my head the mistakes escalated into something that would potentially make me lose my job (it wasn't actually that bad), so I got anxious about that, and eventually I snapped. I sat at my desk one day just completely unable to do anything except cry. I'd been so hard on myself, thinking I was a failure and that I'd never be as good as my colleagues.

Luckily I have a very understanding manager who has helped me so much - she's been so supportive. Now I know that I can relax a bit, take a step back and just do as much as I can do. She's arranged for me to have counselling, extended weekly 1-2-1 meetings with her where I can talk in confidence to her about anything I want, free workshops for being more assertive and managing anxiety, and my employer has free online courses which have helped. This week I'm seeing an OT so I think I just need to know for certain if this is dyspraxia. It won't change anything, but it'll make sense of it.
Tom fod
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Re: Burnout

Post by Tom fod »

So nice to read that your employer /manager is being really helpful.

I've always been extra hard and demanding of myself, perhaps in the hope of other people not being able to find fault.

Additionally It can make it awkward if the colleagues you work with don't have such exacting standards. It's so important for us to learn to be kind to ourselves and accept we can have bad/less productive days.
Tom
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With a foot full of bullets I tried to run faster but I just hobbled on to the next disaster.
(from Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Foot Full of Bullets)
Dadam
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Re: Burnout

Post by Dadam »

I experience pretty intense burnout following stressful events or periods of time, one part of that can be difficult but not impossible to deal with is being incredibly fatigued but not getting restful sleep due to high levels of anxiety.

The way I treat this is by placing greater value in a good quality of sleep rather than in quantitiy. If I'm restless and anxious at night I'd rather stay up and take time to relax and get 3 or 4 hours of better sleep as a result than have 7 or 8 hours where I wake often in a panic and feel completely unrested when I need to get up.

That can mean I'm sleepy the next day sometimes but that often means I'll sleep better the following night. I had a big challenge with this last night as I was anxious and worried about a few things in the evening and wanted to stay up to distract myself and relax but I was so tired I couldn't stay awake and had to give in, sometimes weeks of that go by until the next day or weekend off which I spend some of napping or just doing very little.
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