Many times, I am fighting the urge of my own bed. This can be a challenge for me as I use it as a position to retreat from my challenging intrusive negative thoughts. When in fact I could be doing many other things to entertain myself instead of using time with little or no benefit and be angry with doing so in the long run.

I do recognize the fact that there is such a thing as autistic burnout and indeed there are times that I am recognizing when it is appropriate to rest and recharge when the work or program flow has become too stressful for the autistic mind and it becomes necessary for me to recharge from being overloaded with too much sensory input.

It is recognizing that in moments of autistic burnout that naps are necessary to recharge the brain and body so that you feel better regulated. The fact is that the bed does not be the communal place of retreat when there is not a need to do so. This dysregulates the body clock and the understanding of day and night. Autistic people are more prone to sleep issues and having a better understanding of limiting the time in bed can ease the transitions from sleep and other modules of the day better.

Nothing is perfect and there needs to be a mutual understanding that autistic burnout is indeed a reality when the sensory palate becomes too overloaded in those that have challenges to sensory overload. Oftentimes when an autistic person has to go through the motions and then time to recharge is eliminated by the necessity of having to have multiple transitions, thus compiling the challenges until a breaking point is reached and there is a potential for bedtime to be too soon and this can result of not following the sleep regimen that one needs or not fulfilling other obligations within the household that need to be met like school, work or cleaning engagements.

I still in my independence have to understand that there is a separation that the bed is for the purpose of getting sleep, recharging or private activities. Other than that, it is essential to be engaged or relaxing on other furniture or in the space safest for the individual. There is a potential for being aware that there is a world beyond our bedrooms and that in fact there are things even in the outside world that we can potentially enjoy if we allow ourselves to be receptive to them.

It is in fact knowing that there has to be an understanding of having a proper sleeping regimen so that one can be recharged for the next day. Myself, and many other autistic individuals struggle in this regard and as specifically when I am not doing the right thing by setting a bedtime to make sure that there is ample time to get ready for going through the motions the next day, I am challenging the relationship with the bed by not being fully recharged to get through the day completely and mentally stable.

In knowing that there is a struggle with a relationship as the bed, it is recognizing the fact that I need to be more proactive with recognizing my triggers and flaws with them and actually take baby steps towards making the decisions for the better.