Neurodivergent Burnout, the point of physical and emotional exhaustion, is often experienced when Autistic, ADHD or otherwise neurodivergent people have reached the point of overwhelm through prolonged periods of masking, sensory overload or emotional overwhelm. Not limited to those with ‘high stress’ jobs, burnout can often affect those who aren’t working, students, parents, and is extremely common in general amongst the neurodivergent community. Read on for tips on how to recognise, and prevent burnout.

Signs of Burnout

Signs of burnout can include:

• Tiredness and fatigue
• Inability to make decisions
• Heightened anxiety (more than is typical for you)
• Reduced ability to mask
• Reduced executive functioning skills
• Loss of speech

Burnout can also feel like a withdrawal from life activities and can often mimic depression. If you’re noticing any of these signs and starting to feel overwhelmed it could be burnout. It’s your body’s way of forcing you to slow down, it’s a survival mechanism to reduce the things you can do down to a minimum.

The Cycle of Burnout

The cycle of neurodivergent burnout is often perpetuated through the years by the constant demands of life for a neurodivergent person as my graphic below shows.

Many of these life demands require your to mask or perform in some ways which creates a constant level of fatigue. Then when we are self critical about not being able to cope like other seem to it increases our self blame and promotes more dysregulation in our system which perpetuates the cycle even more. Sign up to my mailing list here to get your free Neurodivergent Burnout Handout!

Read on for tips on how to reduce the likelihood of burnout:

1. Identify Patterns

When you are in burnout, this is survival mode. You are unlikely to be able to carry on life the way you’re used to, at least for a time while you recover.

Look at the Burnout cycle above and identify the patterns that have happened over your life. Try to view them through a neurodivergent lens – Perhaps you’ve thought you had depressive episodes in the past but looking back you can recognise that you were burnout. What happened just before this, how much were you having to mask at school, in work, or in relationships?

In order to reduce the likelihood of burnout happening you need to be able to identify when you’re on your way to this.

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2. Reduce Demands

The main way to help yourself spiral into burnout is to reduce the demands on yourself.

Of course things like having prolonged breaks from work, or taking holidays may not be accessible to you but think of all the demand that you might be able to reduce. Especially those that require a lot of masking.

Take a look at your calendar and really investigate which things are critical to keep in there. At a point where you’re headed for burnout, you need to prioritise yourself and your own needs. This can be really difficult for neurodivergent people when we’ve often suppressed our needs for so long.

Think about those events you feel duty bound to go to. If you know it will take a lot out of you or require you to mask the whole time, it may be prudent to thinks both ways you can compromise. Either entertain the idea of not going altogether, or perhaps you have an excuse to leave early, find a quiet space to retreat to, or have a friend on side that can help you regulate yourself.

If the situation can’t be avoided, see if accommodations can be made for you, or maybe think about scheduling a rest day after the event or activity in question.

Try to reduce the demands you put upon yourself too. If you have a perfectionist streak, you may well be used to having high expectations of yourself but this in itself can lead to burnout. You keep working and working, not giving yourself time to recharge.

If you’re working or at school, look at who can support you. Do you have to do everything yourself? Or can you share the load? Can you ask for more guidance, or turn to a friend for their opinions?

Think about what is realistic and set some limits around how long you spend on something, making sure you plan in breaks to enable you to stand back and be objective about your work.

 

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3. Just Say No!

Not being able to say no can be really tricky especially for neurodivergent people when you’re used to deferring to others’ needs.

To reduce the likelihood of burnout though you may need to increase your tolerance of saying no.

There are many ways to say no without actually saying no. A few examples below…

Say no to the little things first, like not going to an event you don’t want to. With practice, you can become used to speaking up about the bigger things and reducing your workload.

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4. Self Care

Self care can seem like an overused term these days. But actually, caring for yourself is so important in order to keep your life in balance.

Self care doesn’t have to mean bubble baths and spa days, it can just be getting enough food, listening to your favourite music, connecting with a friend, or doing some physical activity.

Knowing what you need (or don’t need) is equally important. Start by removing yourself from the stressful situation as soon as you can. Maybe you need time off to rest and recharge in a calmer setting. Reduce sensory stimulation if you can. Obviously time off is not going to be achievable for many but it is really important to acknowledge this is not *just* tiredness, this is all consuming burnout which takes time to recover from.

Being creative can also help calm the mind and reduce the stress your body is feeling. Engaging in your interests and passions is a rejuvenating thing. Even just spending some time outside can do wonders for your mood.

See my 5 Self Care Activities That Won’t Cost You A Penny for some low cost ideas to look after yourself.

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5. Mindfulness

Schedule in plenty of breaks in your day, and think about incorporating some form of mindfulness to really feel the benefits.

Mindfulness can feel tricky for neurodivergent people but remembering that it’s ok if you can’t keep your focus on something can be helpful. The more you do it, the easier it is can be as you’re training your brain to refocus.

Meditation is great for calming the mind and there are lots of guided meditations on apps such as “Insight Timer” to try like this one from my friend, Amy McMillan

But mindfulness doesn’t always have to be in the form of meditation, it can be used in short moments throughout your day in order to make the most of your breaks.

Take a look at my 3 Mindful Moments for ideas on ways to more mindful in your day.

By making sure you’re regularly checking in with what your body and mind needs, you’ll not only help prevent burnout, but you’ll be get better at recognising when something is out of kilter in your life.

So next coffee break, instead of reaching for your phone to scroll through social media, try some mindfulness to really give yourself time out and a little recharge before starting work again.

Get my FREE Neurodivergent Burnout Sheet by signing up to my mailing list here.

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Amy is a counsellor specialising in neurodivergence and the founder of Newglade Counselling. She has created a team of neurodivergent counsellors who work online and face to face around Canterbury, Kent. Amy also provides parent support sessions, clinical supervision and delivers training in therapy and neurodivergence. For more information about our services contact us here