Hyperfocusing a cure for burnout?

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So, I've hit a pretty rough period of burnout in my life lately. For the last 18 months or so (and maybe even longer) I had been staving it off and kind of just functioning at the minimum. In the last 6 months or so it's gotten much worse, and I've hit a horrible mental wall and have been unable to really focus on much. This leads to a terrible loss of executive function and it's really crippling!

The one thing I have been craving is to be alone and pursue the things I find interesting. I have a child, so being alone is not always possible, but for the last few days my husband has taken her for the evenings and during the day once and I was actually able to dedicate a whole day to just drawing and reading. It was wonderful!

I was afraid it would sap my resources, but it did the opposite it feels like! I sat down to work on something (I work part time writing for a magazine) and that horrible mental wall wasn't there. I could actually focus and get my work done!

Of course, getting that work done sapped me again (it seems my energy reserves are much less than they used to be) but I am going to make an evening of drawing in my sketchpad again and see if it has the same recharging effect.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? (I know there are a few threads on burnout here, but I just thought I'd make a post. I was so excited to finally be feeling better! I hope this is not a temporary fluke.)

I'm glad that it's working for you!

I definitely need solitude in order to recharge – and what better way to spend your time alone, than by obsessing over your special interest? So it makes complete sense to me!

And yes, hyperfocusing feels exciting and stimulating while you're doing it, but it can leave you feeling drained afterward, because of the intense mental focus. (And also I tend to get physically tense, and forget to eat, or drink, until I'm weak and dizzy... Oops!)

But if it's making you feel happier overall, and less burned out, that is a good thing!

I am experiencing that right now. I don't work and I spend almost all of my time alone. I basically go through my obsessive routines. I am way more happy and energized than I was when I was working. I also noticed that my job at a factory did not drain me like my job as a counselor. That is because the job at the factory did not require a lot of social interaction (we couldn't interact much because it was so loud and had to wear earplugs). I am kind of reluctant to go back to work because I love my solitude so much and social interaction is so draining.

Yes, that is the way it is for me right now also. I just recently talked with my therapist about this very thing.

For the last several months I have been in a burn-out doldrum from a traumatic 2013. I dislike it. Basic executive functioning is not good right now.

I recently discovered that if I can spend some time hyper focusing on something, I leave that experience mentally recharged and more interested and motivated to take care of real-world stuff. For example, if I can hyper focus on art or something for a few hours, I am thereafter much more likely to do laundry or clean house.

Unfortunately, at the moment I can't find something on which to focus. I have a ton of interests, and ready access to all the materials I need to pursue them, but no motivation to pursue them. The good news is that I think that I am still just in a recovery phase from last year, and I am hopeful that things will soon turn around.

Glad you found something that's working.

I've noticed I have a "cycle of activity" that I need to respect, or my body will eventually do it for me. Starting from the active/work phase, I go into a down phase (hyperfocussing not beneficial there), then to what I call a grow phase. Hyperfocussing is extremely beneficial in the grow phase--but is of an uncontrollable sort. I am imagining your desire to draw being in this grow phase and your work in the active phase.

I think detoxing your body is a cure for burnout. I've been detoxing and my executive function is way better now. I could do laundry, clean my room and take a shower this morning. I didn't even struggle to do that. Most mornings it's a huge struggle to even shower.

Same here, and for me that includes my now being willing to accept my no longer being physically, mentally or circumstantially able to just ignore everything else so I can do only one thing all the way through to completion.

Thank you for all your comments! It really helps to know I'm not alone and my need for solitude isn't just me being crazy.

So last night after my daughter went to bed, I spent 4 more hours sketching (instead of doing any dishes or laundry) and I felt recharged and good enough in the morning to get out of bed, shower, get dressed and we all went to the zoo for a couple of hours! If I had done housework, I don't know that I would have had the energy to do any of that stuff today. To an outsider, it probably looks like I'm being lazy and selfish, but this is what seems to be working.

Yes, same here for what both of you said! Only I CAN ignore everything else when I'm in my special interest "zone" which is why I can't do that if I'm watching my daughter, because I can't just ignore her of course.




I'm curious as to what you mean by detoxing. Do you mean eating healthier and avoiding chemicals and whatnot? Last summer, I cleaned up my diet considerably and cut out processed food and started eating mostly organic. (We all did as a family.) I had bloodwork done and it revealed that my vitamin D, B12 and iron were all very low, so I've been taking vitamins and eating foods rich in those. Physically, I have never felt better. It's like my brain and body aren't in sync with other. My body is saying, "hey, let's go for an 8 mile jog" while my brain just wants to be alone to sleep and pursue only what it finds interesting. Drawing and making art in general is relaxing to my brain; I think in pictures and feelings, and when I draw, it's like my brain is in its natural state, no translation of anything needed. When I do anything else, (especially if it involves talking/writing, social interaction) my brain has to take the extra step of translating everything into words and it's incredibly draining in this burned-out state.




I find this super interesting! And really helpful too! You are not the first person I've heard say something like this. I read someone else's comment on here (forget exactly where, but it was another thread pertaining to burnout) about how NTs need R and R (rest and relaxation) after working, but ASD folks need R, R and R (rest, relaxation, recharging). So, rest and relaxation = down phase, recharging = grow phase, then work = work/active phase of course.

What has worked best for mental detoxing is drinking apple cider vinegar. It tastes horrible at first, but you get used to it. It really improves my executive functioning and processing speed.

Oh wow, it's interesting you say that! I actually was doing that a few months ago in conjunction with more probiotics (was having digestive issues) and it helped. I will start drinking it again.

This might be going off on a tangent, but I suppose it is related to burnout now that I'm really thinking about it... I had been reading about leaky gut syndrome and yeast/beneficial bacteria balance in the digestive system, and after a physical with my doc (where I also found out I was low in the vitamins mentioned above) my doc suggested I up my probiotic intake as she thought it seemed like I had a yeast imbalance. (Symptoms include bloating, feeling very tired and foggy, acne breakouts, itchy ears, inflammatory conditions worsening (like arthritis, menstrual cramps, achey joints in general)). Sugar, processed foods and breads containing yeast feed yeast, while apple cider vinegar eats yeast and promotes healthy gut bacteria.

Anyway, after that appointment, I began reading a lot, and it seems ASD people are especially prone to gut issues, with leaky gut syndrome and yeast imbalances being the most prevalent. When I started eating better (which includes cutting out most sugar and processed foods) my face cleared up completely (I'd get a breakout every so often) and I just felt overall better (no bloating, no indigestion, no cramps). That was over the summer and into autumn, (when I was "staving off" the impending burnout that is now happening) but a relative of mine passed away in November, and I had taken on more obligations with work, and while I was still eating fairly well, I stopped with the vinegar and probiotics as much. So, I suppose my burnout crash probably really came about from all the stress and not taking the vinegar anymore only accelerated it.

Thanks. I will see if drinking it again helps too.

Another thing that helps is sleeping before and after difficult housework.