ADHD burnout is often something a little deeper. It refers to the cycle of overcommitting and overextending that leads to fatigue in people with ADHD. It involves taking on too many tasks and commitments, and then the subsequent exhaustion that happens when we're unable to fulfill all of our obligations.
It is often characterized by feelings of overwhelming fatigue, reduced productivity, and a sense of hopelessness or despair. Those experiencing ADHD burnout may find it even more challenging than usual to initiate and complete tasks, maintain focus and attention, and regulate their emotions.
Autistic And ADHD burnout is characterized by pervasive, long-term (typically 3+ months) exhaustion, loss of function, and reduced tolerance to stimulus. (Raymaker et al., 2021).
Differences in emotions in people with ADHD can lead to 'shutdowns', where someone is so overwhelmed with emotions that they space out, may find it hard to speak or move and may struggle to articulate what they are feeling until they can process their emotions.
Causes of ADHD and tiredness
This low sense of motivation can feel similar to fatigue, especially if a person feels unable to keep up with their responsibilities. Additionally, the stress that ADHD may cause can feel exhausting, especially if a person's symptoms are not well controlled.
Some people with ADHD can get overwhelmed with too much sensory information. This can be why they cannot handle the same amount of sensory inputs as well as others. As a result, numerous things might cause them to feel exhausted and they may become affected by these events more quickly than other people.
Certain life changes can ignite burnout – especially if you're untreated, Goodman says. In college, for example, “academic demands are increasing but so are social distractions. Plus your time management skills are already poor.” Other problems specific to people with ADHD also add fuel to burnout.
With ADHD, a child or teen may have rapid or impulsive speech, physical restlessness, trouble focusing, irritability, and, sometimes, defiant or oppositional behavior.
When people with ADHD are activated, they are often plagued by self-sabotaging, negative internal talk that prevents them from believing they can do things. It can be conscious or unconscious and can keep folks from setting, working towards, and reaching goals. It holds them back from doing what they want to do.
In fact, emerging research shows that one of the most prevalent symptoms of ADHD is not excess energy but the lack of it in the form of mental fatigue.
People suffering from ADHD have a propensity to lose interest easily and have a difficult time in maintaining focus for a lengthy period. The majority of the time, they give up their hobbies in favor of something else. Be it sports, fantasy books, musical instruments, photography, or video games.
For many adults living with ADHD, overwhelm can shut them down and keep them from moving forward.
Engage in activities that promote relaxation: Incorporating yoga and other activities that activate the parasympathetic nervous system can be especially helpful for recovering from ADHD burnout. Other activities that can help include meditation, deep breathing exercises, or spending time in nature.
These symptoms are usually seen by the time a child is four years old and typically increase over the next three to four years. The symptoms may peak in severity when the child is seven to eight years of age, after which they often begin to decline.
However, some research suggests that ADHD symptoms may peak at a certain age. One review study published in the journal Neuropediatrics indicated that peak prevalence of ADHD may be higher in certain age groups, such as among 9-year-old boys. 7 In contrast, the prevalence of ADHD in adults was estimated at 2.8%.
Usually by the time a child with ADHD reaches age 7 years, his parents have already become aware that their child's inattentiveness, level of activity, or impulsiveness is greater than is typical.
Meltdowns, especially for people with ADHD, can be in the form of impulsive and explosive ADHD-related behaviors. They can happen when a person has too much pressure, stress, anger, anxiety or other strong emotions. During meltdown mode, a person may feel out of control and be unable to stop and think straight.
First, jobs that require a lot of repetitive tasks or strict attention to detail may be difficult for individuals with ADHD. These types of jobs are best to avoid because they can be tedious and may not provide the stimulation that individuals with ADHD need to stay focused and engaged.
“Nobody has perfect memory… but for [people with ADHD], it's extreme. They feel like they're lost all the time,” Almagor said. He believes this is why people don't take ADHD seriously. “I think that's why some people don't respect the severity of what [a person with ADHD] can experience,” he said.
Brain MRI is a new and experimental tool in the world of ADHD research. Though brain scans cannot yet reliably diagnose ADHD, some scientists are using them to identify environmental and prenatal factors that affect symptoms, and to better understand how stimulant medications trigger symptom control vs. side effects.
Studies have also discovered that in people with ADHD, there is an unusually high level of functional connectivity between the brain regions that form part of a mechanism called the “selective visual attention system.” This system allows us to determine what's important to notice or pay attention to in the moment.
What Is Time Blindness? A good sense of time is one critical executive function. It involves knowing what time it is now, how much time is left, and how quickly time is passing. People with ADHD tend to be "time blind," meaning they aren't aware of the ticking of time.