Fatigue when Overwhelmed

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Does anyone else get tired when something overwhelming happens to them?

Yesterday, in the early afternoon, I got news from a close family member that, next month, they are going to get married to someone that they've been seeing for over a year. I like the person they are with and was happy for both of them. I said so, too.

Then, after I got off the phone, I felt tired and I crawled into bed for an hour and a half.

This is a common reaction that I've had when something overwhelming happens: be it good or bad.

An example I can think of for a negative event off the top of my head happened over a decade and a half ago: A pet dog, after being extremely sick for the last 24 hours and being sent home because we thought the worst had passed, died from internal bleeding early in the morning. While my siblings were crying and parents were trying to tend to the dog, I just felt exhausted and asked if, were I to go back to bed, they could wake me when they took it back to the vet. They woke me up an hour later and I was scared I'd been asleep for longer and they'd taken him without me knowing. I was miserable that he was gone. But it was like I couldn't feel anything until I slept.


Has anyone else experienced this type of reaction when they are overwhelmed? Is it normal?

it definitely takes a lot more energy and effort to do many things that are easy for NT folks. Don't feel guilty for taking time you need to rest up and recharge between bouts of doing life. Self care always first, no shame, no blame. You know what is best for you.

If it's a major change that I'm helpless to adapt to it over the things I cared enough, my head would 'spin' itself for an amount of time.
And it can be very energy draining. It's like two things fighting in my head all at once. It's a form of emotional processing.

Having not enough would really mean fatigue as outcome.


I have many drainers myself.
Receiving major life changing news that I cannot adapt to (or very hard to adapt to) is one of them.
And it's doesn't happen often because I really want to stay detached as much as possible; taking news as an information to adapt and take account to, than something impending like the world rearranged itself...

Then there are very subtle ones like shifting gears...
Less obvious than sensory based drainers would be suddenly receiving tasks delegated to me while I'm doing something else already, or suddenly receiving serious personal news while being busy with laid plans in mind...


Emotional processing itself is exhausting.
Not going through emotional processing can create a slower but growing drainer that may encumber someone until it's processed through...

And the need of emotional processing itself is annoying IMO, but like taking a dump, it had to be done.

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Yes I think I experience something like this. Recently I faced an overwhelming situation (major change to travel plans) and I needed to go into “screensaver” mode where I stared blankly at the TV for an hour or two, before I could process the information and start to make new plans.