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Anyone else notice how prevalent burnout is these days? Burnout affects many of us, especially those with ADHD. If you’ve felt overwhelmed, exhausted, and like your brain just can’t handle what’s in front of you, you’re not alone. We’re going to delve deep into this issue, examining why it happens, how it manifests, and most importantly, how we can break the cycle.
By the way, I created a simple productivity program to help ADHD’ers implement strategies into their daily life. It might help if you struggle with overwhelm to burnout cycles. Now on with the article.
Burnout: A Recognized Syndrome
The world health organization (WHO) recognizes burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed. It’s characterized by energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy.
Personally, I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion that burnout is only an occupational thing. Who hasn’t felt burned out in the last few years due to the pandemic, global travesties, zoom happy hours, and just life in general? We’ve all experienced burnout at some point. So, how does burnout happen, and what do we do about it?
The Burnout Lifecycle
I have found that the ADHD burnout cycle starts with overcommitment, progresses into overextension, leads to overwhelm, and culminates in burnout. Each time we go through these cycles, we lose trust in our ability to manage life effectively. So, burnout is not just about exhaustion. It’s also a cycle of shame, disappointments, and broken promises to others.
Let’s break down each stage:
ADHD + Overcommitting – Why Do We Do It?
First, we overcommit. Why? Because we’re people pleasers. We struggle with setting boundaries, and saying no is hard. We’re time blind, with everything either happening ‘now’ or ‘not now.’ And, most commonly, we want to do ALL THE THINGS!
Our brain’s priority system is like a set of shelves. Neurotypicals are great at putting things on the appropriate shelf, whether they’re interesting or not. But those of us with ADHD have a different system. All interesting things go on the top shelf, and everything else is on the floor. And we either don’t notice or forget the other two shelves.
The reason for this, is that prioritization is an executive function – which is something that we struggle with as ADHDers.
Overextension – The Result of Overcommitment
Because we’re inherently kind and typically optimistic, we genuinely try to do ALL THE THINGS. We feel thrilled when we manage to keep all the balls in the air, often ignoring our own needs in the process. But when we start ignoring our own needs, overwhelm begins to creep in.
This compounds the issue of not knowing where and what to prioritize, so we just try to do everything all the time, all at once. Sound familiar? Yes, me too. It’s also very exhausting.
The Overwhelm Creeps In
As we continue to push and push, our bodies start to revolt, particularly when we ignore our needs. We push onward, trying to tend to our needs in those brief moments when all the balls are in the air. But it’s impossible, and those balls start dropping, one by one. Eventually, our body wins, either by overstimulating our nervous system into ‘freeze’ mode or making us sick physically, emotionally, or both.
Breaking the Burnout Cycle
So, how do we stop this burnout cycle? It starts with addressing overcommitting. We need to prioritize and create practices to avoid knee-jerk reactions.
Prioritize
Personally, I had to create a rule for myself to NEVER say yes in the moment. I would give myself at least 12 hours to digest the ask and see if I could say yes, or if I even wanted to!
I’m also VERY clear on my values and needs. This helps me to anchor my priorities to something tangible. I think this is an important step that we often miss. If you don’t know what’s important to you, how on earth can you prioritize all your interests and commitments?
Planning
Three years ago, I got into the habit of planning my week and it changed my life. While I’m not good with rigid schedules, blocking off time for the big things I need to get done gave me a visual of how much time is left for me to do extra things, including doing things for myself and others.
Self-Care
But time is not the only factor here. The other piece is energy, which is often even less available than time. We can’t plan for energy, but we can optimize for it by prioritizing our self-care. The more you prioritize your self-care, the more you’ll be able to show up for the things you say yes to.
How to Stop ADHD Burnout For Good?
Now that you know how this cycle starts and grows, it’s time to make changes to the way you manage your commitments, time and energy.
So, what’s your next step? Take an inventory of everything you’re doing right now, start doing some simple time tracking exercises so you know exactly how much time they take, and start reprioritizing your top-shelf life priorities based on your schedule.
Also take some time to assess your needs and values. This will help you anchor yourself to what’s most important in your life (not everyone else’s).
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