By Hillary Counseling

Burnout isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it sneaks in quietly—through the missed texts, the half-eaten meals, the rising anxiety you can’t quite name. While burnout is often associated with high-stress jobs or caregiving roles, we’re seeing it show up just as intensely in people with ADHD and other neurodivergent identities.

ADHD brains are uniquely wired, which also means burnout can look—and feel—different. If you live with ADHD, you may be more sensitive to overstimulation, emotional dysregulation, or dopamine depletion. And when those systems start to crash, the result isn’t just “being tired”—it’s a total depletion of physical, emotional, and mental energy.

Here are some signs that your ADHD may be signaling burnout:

1. You’re Withdrawing from Everyone

Responding to a simple text can feel like a chore. Socializing? Overwhelming. Even when you crave connection, it may feel easier to go silent. That’s not laziness—it’s self-preservation. When you’re low on energy, your brain naturally tries to conserve it. Unfortunately, that often means disappearing from people you care about.

If your unread messages are stacking up or you find yourself dreading every ping and notification, this could be your brain’s way of saying “I need a break.”

2. Everyday Sensory Input Feels Like Too Much

Suddenly, your clothes feel itchy. Every sound seems louder. The texture of your favorite snack makes you cringe. This kind of sensory overload happens when your brain no longer has the capacity to filter information the way it usually does.

This is a big red flag that your system is maxed out. When your environment feels unbearable, your body may be trying to tell you it’s time to slow down.

3. You’re Over-Apologizing or People-Pleasing

When you’re burned out, emotional regulation becomes harder. Your ability to talk yourself out of anxious thoughts takes a hit. That little piece of feedback at work? It suddenly feels catastrophic. A text without a smiley face? It sends you spiraling.

This is where rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD) often kicks in, leading to over-apologizing or trying too hard to appease others—just to avoid even the perception of conflict. If you’re constantly adapting or apologizing to prevent discomfort, that’s not people-pleasing—it’s burnout behavior.

4. You’re Craving Sugar, Caffeine, or Comfort Foods

Your body is incredibly smart. When it senses energy depletion, it seeks quick dopamine—often through sugar, caffeine, or even nicotine. If you’ve found yourself standing in front of the fridge at odd hours or relying heavily on coffee to power through the day, your system may be trying to refill its tank.

While these cravings make sense in the short term, they’re not a long-term solution. What your body really needs is rest, not a dopamine hit.

5. Your ADHD Symptoms Are More Intense Than Usual

When burnout hits, your executive functioning takes a nosedive. You may find it harder to focus, stay on task, follow through on deadlines, or even start simple routines. This isn’t a character flaw—it’s a signal that your brain is running low on the energy it needs to regulate itself.

This is the moment when many people start to spiral—sleepless nights, impulsive decisions, or emotional shutdowns aren’t far behind. Catching these signs early can prevent a full-on crash.

So What Can You Do?

Here’s how to start repairing your system gently and intentionally:

✅ Clear your plate: Cut anything from your schedule that isn’t essential to your basic functioning. If it’s not directly related to survival—like eating, resting, or getting to work—it can wait.

✅ Listen to your body: Eat simple, nourishing meals. Drink water. Sleep when you’re tired—even if it’s earlier than usual. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be enough.

✅ Give yourself permission to rest: Burnout creates a vicious cycle where we feel too overwhelmed to start anything but too guilty to rest. Break the cycle. Choose rest—even if the to-do list isn’t done.

✅ Ask for help: Burnout and ADHD make prioritizing hard. Let someone you trust help you get grounded—a friend, a therapist, or even a written plan for the next few days.

✅ Redefine success: You don’t have to do it all. And you definitely don’t have to do it perfectly. If you’re doing your best with the energy you have, that’s success.

You are not broken. Your brain is not the problem.

Burnout is not a failure—it’s a signal. At Hillary Counseling, we help clients with ADHD learn to work with their brains instead of constantly pushing against them.

If this resonates with you, you’re not alone—and you don’t have to figure it out alone, either. Reach out to our team to learn more about therapy for ADHD, burnout, or neurodivergent care.

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Other Services Offered with Hillary Counseling

Our holistic therapists are here to help you when it comes to your mental health! We offer a variety of mental health services to support individuals and couples based in Milwaukee (or who live in Wisconsin). Sessions are available both in-person at our office in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, as well as virtually for anyone in the state. We offer anxiety treatment, teen therapy, grief counseling, online therapy, couples counseling, eating disorders, trauma, OCD therapy, therapy for college students, men’s issues, neurodivergent affirming therapy, and LGBTQ+ therapy.