Self Esteem And Confidence Hanging On.........

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I don't know why for us Aspies it is so hard for us to keep up? for example how come at my job in Burger King some people can pull off 13 hour days and management can at times do 20 hour days? yet for me 28 hours a week is a big deal my adrenals burn out my anxiety exhausts me and so on and I can't keep up, and what is this mindset where everything is work work work certain people don't except or comprehend brain differences,adrenals and so forth

I think most of the problem is probably the type of job you have. Working at a fast food restaurant would be really hard for most Aspies. I’d be overstimulated from the noise and chaos. It also requires a lot socially. Maybe as you gain more work experience you can find a more appropriate job for you.

Is there any way you could get training for something else?

I am sorry about the late reply I have not been feeling well I was looking at Dunkin Donuts or Petco at the moment

Others have suggested a different type of work, but I can attest that there may be limits to the hours you can work without harming yourself, no matter what type of work it is. Don't compare yourself to more high-energy people, as you will probably always lose in those comparisons.

If you have a disability, you may be always limited in gainful activity, and that doesn't mean you are a slacker or lazy. If you find yourself harmed by an eight hour day, then that's how you are.

One of the best things a young-ish autistic person can do is develop an in-demand skill (such as translating languages or writing computer code) and use that to leverage good working conditions. Low-skilled jobs such as fast food and retail therefore do not develop any chance of a real career. You might do better working with a vocational rehabilitation agency to learn a skill.

It does not matter what kind of job I do. I can only work a maximum of 20 to 25 hours a week. Even at those limited hours, I am pushing myself really hard and cannot recover well. As Autistics, our brains are dealing with so much more all the time than neurotypical brains have to deal with so we don't have as many resources as they do. This affects our stamina and our ability to do things. That is why it is so hard to keep up.

Some Aspies are able to work very long hours. I was working over 9 hour days not counting an hour lunch break, & working 6 days a week averaging over 55 hours a week & I sometimes even came in hours earlier or stayed hours later if I was needed. This was at a retail job when we were really shorthanded & allowed to make overtime. I was dealing with getting over a bad depression & working was sort of like a distraction obsession. That said I can understand why lots of Aspies may have problems working longer or even standard hours compared to NTs. We don't handle lots of tasks too well & we don't handle stress well either. For some of us it's a matter of finding the rite type of job that's more suited for our strengths & weaknesses. Some others thou cant handle many hours with any job.

When I was 19 I had my first real job and worked 18 hour days five days a week. But that was before a lot of the sensory stimuli I am sensitive to had been invented. There were no boom boom stereos back then. I also did not have the adult responsibilities that I have now of keeping a home and paying my own bills. I also only had to work with one boss who really liked me and my staff that I had under me was only a couple of people. It was a small ice cream shop and a lot of times I worked completely alone. There was also no music in the shop at all except for a piano which I could play whenever I wanted. But even then I did not realize the damage that that was doing to me and it all catches up after a couple of decades.

I honestly don't mind working because it funds my special interests but what is annoying me is trying to explain to NT management that I have alot going on personally and family wise, I am just getting annoyed with this mindset of if you can't work 40 hours or more you are weak or lazy or this machismo culture, I feel as if I am talking to programmed people with a set chip, it just seems if you are deep creative or intellectual for a man than you are a b****