Autistic burnout recovery: small steps that add up
Jasmine Lares, a late-identified autistic adult, shares her experience of severe burnout, skill loss, and the slow process of rebuilding. She describes losing abilities like writing, planning, and self-care, experiencing depression and physical breakdown, and grieving the loss of her legal career and athletic identity. Her recovery began with one small anchor: a morning check-in with an AI tool. From there, small habits grew into a sustainable rhythm. The article explores what autistic burnout actually feels like, why the boom-and-bust cycle happens, how to interrupt it, and why late identification offers permission to stop forcing yourself into unsustainable patterns. Recovery is not a return to who you were. It is building something different, at your own pace.