It's almost like we navigated the first few chapters of life reasonably well (naturally battle-scarred) but generally intact. The one day, for whatever reason, life becomes untenable and a nuclear-scale burnout occurs. Everything that you could do before seems practically impossible now -- skills are lost, even the will is lost. We grind to a standstill as we realize that there is no more coal to fuel the engine.

— The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy by Steph Jones (Page 24)