When Autistic Burnout Meets Ho-Ho-Ho: Understanding Autistic Burnout During the “Most Wonderful Time of the Year”

If you arrived at this holiday season already running on empty, you’re not alone. Between economic uncertainty, political turmoil, increasing workplace demands, and the accumulated weight of the past few years post-Covid, many of us showed up for the holidays in a state of profound exhaustion. Even many people for whom this is their favorite time of year are feeling drained and anxious as 2025 draws (staggers? sputters?) to a close.

And if you’re neurodivergent – autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, PDA, and so on – the holidays can hit especially hard. When complex trauma enters the mix, especially relational trauma connected to the very people we’re expected to spend time with over the holidays, this time of year can be anything but jolly.