Do you feel like you become "autistic" when you lack of sleep?

FreezeYouOut

FreezeYouOut

Four
MBTI
INFJ
Have you ever noticed that after a long day, a stressful week, or intense social interactions, the way you exist and interact with the world changes dramatically? Personally, I feel like my fatigue doesn't just manifest as a need for sleep, but as a kind of "autistic-like withdrawal."
Here are a few things I've identified, and I'd love to know if this resonates with you:
  • Increased sensory overload: Normally, I can handle a certain amount of noise, light, and general commotion. But when I'm tired, everything becomes aggressive. The hum of the fridge, a nearby conversation, bright lights... it all overwhelms me, and I have a visceral need to isolate myself in silence and darkness.
  • Communication difficulties and social withdrawal: My ability to "read between the lines," understand social cues, and maintain a smooth conversation collapses. I might come across as distant or cold, and I no longer have the energy to feign interest. "Social masking," that constant effort to fit in with social norms, becomes impossible to sustain, as if my social brain completely shuts down.
    Loss of skills and "meltdown/shutdown": In moments of extreme fatigue, I feel like I lose skills that I've otherwise mastered. I might become non-verbal ("shutdown") or, conversely, have disproportionate emotional reactions ("meltdown") to minor frustrations, simply because I'm at my breaking point.

As INFJs, we have a natural tendency for introspection and high sensitivity. Our dominant function (Ni) keeps us in our inner world, and our auxiliary function (Fe) connects us deeply to the emotions of others, which can be incredibly draining. It's no surprise, then, that we are prone to "social fatigue."
What I'm describing isn't autism, but a state of exhaustion so profound that our nervous system, in order to protect itself, adopts survival strategies that resemble certain autistic traits. This is what is known as "autistic burnout" in the autistic community, but I believe a similar mechanism can exist for highly sensitive neurotypicals
 
From what I've observed from various jobs over the years is that sensors tend to be more sensitive to lack of sleep both in an general sense as well to disruption in their sleep cycle. In short they don't do well for long when they don't get enough or having to change when they sleep. As for NFs in general a lot of us are not neurotypical in some ways if not obviously so vs most of the population out there.

For me communication is the first thing to fail and then comes the small mistakes but I start pacing tasks to avoid anything major. I don't have the energy that most sensors have so I'll pace regardless but when it is very low I'll hold back so that I can at least safely drive home as I black out for a few seconds one time so I learned my lesson.
 
Roses In The Vineyard said:
From what I've observed from various jobs over the years is that sensors tend to be more sensitive to lack of sleep both in an general sense as well to disruption in their sleep cycle. In short they don't do well for long when they don't get enough or having to change when they sleep. As for NFs in general a lot of us are not neurotypical in some ways if not obviously so vs most of the population out there.

For me communication is the first thing to fail and then comes the small mistakes but I start pacing tasks to avoid anything major. I don't have the energy that most sensors have so I'll pace regardless but when it is very low I'll hold back so that I can at least safely drive home as I black out for a few seconds one time so I learned my lesson.
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I feel the same way. I have the impression that as soon as I switch to power-saving mode, the first thing it impacts is everything related to verbal communication.
 
There is definitely a perceived correlation between the NF and ND, though I can't say how much of it is autism. There are also traits that span across autism and BPD. Correlations in this particular area for many NFs can be quite personal as it seems to be very personal emotionally and physically. In many ways it has shaped lives and limited connections in a variety of ways in different individuals.

The reason I say this, is because it has been explored deeply within many [across NF's - especially on this forum] and can easily be taken personally if approached in a manner that's exploratory within a limited perspective. I can appreciate your desire to better understand but I encourage you to explore the attributes in depth prior to making threads that draw correlations with minimal assumptions.

I say this with the deepest of respect if you are exploring your own connection to some of these attributes because I'm new to understanding it myself, and though I feel like I may be emersed within the spectrum far deeper than I've realized [across a significant part of my life], I have found that many people here have a much greater understanding than I.

If you feel like many others - that have been involved in these topics within this forum - you could simply be trying to understand a part of yourself that is very easily both complicated and misunderstood. I know there can be pain within this exploration so I encourage you to continue in your quest.

I do find that what your exploring to be of great importance but I also understand and appreciate the sensitivity of others (including myself) that have suffered in many ways as a result of being different to neurotypicals.

I hope this give a little perspective on perception.
 
I felt like that when I smoked weed. I actually used to describe it as self-induced autism.

When I lack sleep, I just get "low" -- depressed and lethargic. I've learned to ruminate on nothing until I've gotten rest.

I'm also not an INFJ.
 
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We need sleep and rest.

Many people have time schedules, while some people rest and/or sleep when they can and find it quite alright.

If I don't sleep tonight, I know I'll sleep some tomorrow or tomorrow night: knock on wood.
 
@FreezeYouOut I think that it’s misleading to describe grippy INFJ states in terms of autism. There are INFJs who are also at the milder end of the autism spectrum and to conflate how they are with grippy behaviour masks and can invalidate them. These states are very different things as far as I can see. The grippiness is a bit like having a bad back or a migrane headache by analogy. The milder end of autism as far as I can see is just a different way of relating to the world.
 
I think you mean more in the pejorative sense of the word autistic rather than actual autism
 
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