#adhd burnout recovery

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Hi everyone,

I found another article about ADHD burnout from WebMD. This will be another long excerpt, so I apologize:

ADHD Burnout

What Is Burnout?

Burnout can affect your home, work, and social life, says David Goodman, MD, assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, director of the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Center of Maryland, and an expert with CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder).

Goodman describes burnout this way:

You no longer take interest or pleasure in your normal activities.

You see allies (like co-workers) as enemies who are burdening you with more and more work.

You withdraw because you believe it’s impossible to get things done.

Why Can ADHD Make Burnout Worse?

The symptoms of ADHD – like not being organized, trouble paying attention, and poor time management – add to burnout.

ADHD burnout is a specific kind of burnout, says Amber Meeks, who has ADHD and is a mental health advocate from Murfreesboro, TN. Part of the problem is that “people with ADHD work harder to do the things most people do with little effort.”

Imagine yourself on an interactive exercise bicycle, Goodman says. You pedal faster and faster to try to keep up with others, your heart rate hits its peak and you can’t pedal any harder. But, even your best isn’t good enough and you fall behind the standard of others.

How Do You Know You're Burned Out?

Look for these ADHD burnout symptoms:

Lack of motivation:

“If you like working out 5 days a week, you’re probably not going to be doing that. Or, if you enjoy playing with your kids you’ll do less of that,” Goodman says.

Exhaustion

“You feel tired all the time no matter how much rest you get,” Meeks says.

Poor Performance

You may not be able to focus on the work at hand. “It may feel impossible to do anything, even when it’s really important,” Meeks says.

Pain

Stress also can trigger things like stomachaches and headaches.

Irritability

You snap at people. You yell at the kids because they spilled milk on the floor. Or you get mad at your spouse because they forgot something at the grocery store.

Troubled Emotions

You withdraw or can’t smile at people, Goodman says. “I tend to get weepy and sad when I’m burned out,” Meeks says.

Negativity or Pessimism

It can feel almost impossible to be positive about anything, Meeks says. This is especially true in the areas that are causing your burnout – whether it’s school, work, or home life.

How Do You Break the Burnout Cycle and Recover?

The first step is recognizing and accepting that you are burned out. “If your friends and loved ones say you aren’t doing well, don’t take it as a criticism,” Goodman says. Educate yourself about burnout and then get some help from a mental health professional.

Here’s what else you can do:

Know your limits

Some people think they can pile it all on their plate and carry it even though it’s dripping off the plate, Goodman says. You need to face the fact that your expectations sometimes go beyond what you can actually do. This is where therapy can help you see that you need to balance expectations with reality.

Learn to prioritize

“You won’t be able to juggle 12 balls at once,” Goodman says. You need to pick six that you can juggle well and the other six need to be put to the side until you have more time for them. Setting priorities is difficult for people with ADHD. “It’s either I need to do it now or if it’s not due yesterday it doesn’t need to be done until tomorrow. The problem is something comes up tomorrow that’s urgent and that’s how things mount up.”

Just say “no.”

People with ADHD often are people pleasers, have a hard time saying no, and overcommit themselves, Meeks says. “Practice saying no and not feeling guilty about it. The people in our lives should be understanding of the need to keep ourselves safe and healthy,” she adds.

Get some rest

Don’t feel guilty about taking a breather. People with ADHD spend their whole lives being told that they aren’t trying hard enough. As a result, they often push themselves as hard as possible, Meeks says. “Resting feels ‘lazy,’ a word that has been used against us like a weapon for most of our lives.”

If it’s broken, fix it

If your ADHD symptoms seem out of control, talk to your doctor. You may need to add or change medication or learn better organization and time-management skills. This can help you get through your days with fewer stumbling blocks and more confidence.

The full article will be linked down below as always. I hope many of you found this helpful and educational.

[thisisnot-yourgrave]

What I learned about my brain and routines as a person with ADHD and autism:

The number one strategy that I've been implementing is

Eliminate any and all decisions to avoid being burnt out by 10 am

My partner turns on the radio as soon as he leaves for work, so I'm not met with the decision of putting on a podcast or music as soon as I wake up

I have the same breakfast every day and this might change, the basic concept here is, that it doesn't require any fresh ingredients so that I always have breakfast available even if I forgot to get groceries because I take my meds in the morning

Moving to the bathroom is a little tricky sometimes but when I'm there, I can do everything I need to do to get ready in one room and in sight so I remember to actually do them (including my clothes because I undress anyways to shower)

I simplified my wardrobe so every shirt goes with every pair of pants so it doesn't really matter what I pick, it will always look (somewhat) put together

Also, dressing to be comfortable instead of dressing to look nice was a huge thing for me. That simple mindset shift truly eliminated so many decisions I was making and that were truly tiring me out

What also really helped, is, that I stopped tying my routine to a certain time. Now, I realize that this is a privilege because I don't work at the moment but this truly changed things for me because it became a lot less daunting once I eliminated a lot of decisions. I don't have to mentally prepare myself to get ready anymore and I consider that a huge win because I have a lot more energy throughout the day.

I realize that these things are not new in any ways, shape or form but I have a very hard time unlearning things I was thought as a child. Maybe seeing that other people do things "differently" helps someone else.

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

How do I recover from severe burnout with an overwhelmingly messy recovery space

How do I clean my overwhelmingly messy recovery space properly if I am severely burnt out

How do I recover from severe burnout if I’m constantly using all of my energy doing the bare minimum

How do I recover from severe burnout

How do I recover

[thevirgodoll]

sometimes, we have to have a day where we allow ourselves to do absolutely nothing because we are emotionally stuck. nothing seems right, and everything seems dreadfully mundane. you feel like you’re the only person on the planet (while also feeling like the world is spinning without you).

sometimes, distracting ourselves 24/7 with productivity stops us from realizing what we need. i hate that we have become a society where everything we do has to be commodified.

why can’t we be okay just doing “nothing” tasks? you don’t always have to be pursuing something. what happened to taking a few mins out to do that thing that feels like “nothing” but makes you happy? like what’s wrong with playing sims or taking a nap? what’s wrong with accepting that some days just don’t work and there’s nothing wrong with accepting that???

like…burnout is so real. ppl tell us to stay inspired and ~keep going~ but you have to have the energy and the presence to do so. like in all of us the spark is there, but we don’t have the capacity to nurse it.

better to let that fire burn organically (and light it again when you have time and energy…) as often as you can than to rush every second and not even know you’re at the end of the wick.

[rottenlittlefink]

Anyways, you’re not lazy, you’re fucking struggling

[astrologicalz]

Idk how to do anything other than sit and watch tv and scroll on my phone when in burnout. Any tips on low energy/ex function/motivation things to do?? Pls help x

[starblasterr]

Help your local disabled artist

(the bit about blue sky is for folks leaving instagram due to the AI bullshit)

[helenwhiteart-blog]

Life in the gap: coercing an AuDHD brain to work within the energy parameters of ME/CFS

There is simply no unpicking my AuDHD brain from the matter of this current (or any other) ME/CFS burnout and I am getting to meet a lot of AuDHD, and other versions of neurodivergent, individuals in the ME/CFS group forums of late. That the one factor is related to the other, in so many cases, is clear to me even though it may not be, singularly, causative. “A susceptibility” is how I would word…

[biology-jelly]

WHILE NOT STUDYING #2

Date: April 21th 2024

Topic: what i did lately to relax and rest

Started watching a new show "Ted" (2024) - i recommend watching shows that have stand-alone episodes as you're less likely to binge them;

Arranged the books on one shelf in my schools library in the alphabetical order - if you're planning to do this, ask the librarians first to make sure they don't have anything against it;

Started reading magazines on things that interest me - as an example National Geographic, I'm keen on biology so i find it really nice and relaxing;

Read, read and read - i might post book recommendations in the future currently i'm reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells;

This post took me 2 weeks to finish, first time I wrote it, i was not happy with how it turned out. I was also in a bit of a depression pit, but i'm better now.

Have a nice day

[5-htreuptakeinhibitor]

i love art, im very grateful for adderall for gifting me with the executive function, ease of prioritization, and clearness of thought <3

[my-adhd-obsessions]

That one ADHD goblin that follows you everywhere.

[maayanaonthemove]

Truth forthcoming

Imagine being so unrealistically

Real

Truthful

Forthcoming

Holding nothing back

Only to hear

We want to work with you

This is going to work

So well

What a great fit

You are

How excited

We are

Imagine being so unrealistically

Real

Truthful

Forthcoming

Only to hear

Let's ease

You

Back in

Lots of people get sick

Let's help you heal

Oh wow, you can do so many things

We need you

To join this

Team

How about

Part time

So you can still

Rest

References

All checked in

This is the role

For you

As you are

Right now

Approval received

Straight away

We are here

Come over.

You.

Are.

Needed.

Let's get back to work.

How great

You can

Start

Straight away.

Bring your

Truth

Be forthcoming

Bring you,

Let's go.

04 March 2024

[thisisnot-yourgrave]

My god, I just did my last presentation at uni before officially dropping out and this is going to sound so stupid but-

It sucks to be told you're super good at the thing that causes burnout.

Don't get me wrong, it's not actually studying art history that caused my burnout, but rather not being accommodated properly and me having insane expectations set for myself.

But it's just so heartbreaking when I get feedback because every time I think I can pull through and just do this because clearly I'm good at it, right? Maybe I am but what's not good is me running on two hours of sleep because my thoughts were racing, me not being able to retain a single thing inside my head so is this really worth it in the end?

Life is not meant to miserable and this hole is not my grave.

[ellenforest]

Did anyone else learn their entire personality from WikiHow

If Tik Tok has taught me anything, it is that there is no such thing as an original experience. I am genuinely wondering if any other late diagnosed (self or professionally) autistic adult women also did this. I would literally like read WikiHow articles on developing a personality to make people like you. I would like go through articles and cherry pick my personality from different "how to's" and then the next day I would practice and try to implement them.

[astrologicalz]

Ticking every box of autistic burnout but still trying to figure out whether I should go to work

[dogstarblues]

im currently reading 13 books at once and when i finish them all its over for my goodreads reading challenge