The Blog
Hyperfocus Isn’t a Superpower When You Can’t Stop
This article challenges the popular idea of hyperfocus as a superpower by exploring its often painful and compulsive aspects, especially for AuDHD individuals. It highlights how hyperfocus can lead to dissociation, neglect of basic needs, and difficulty stopping, even when the task becomes harmful or exhausting. The piece calls for more compassionate understanding and practical support to help neurodivergent people navigate hyperfocus in ways that honor both their brilliance and their well-being.
Task Initiation Is a Trauma Site: Why AuDHD People Freeze Where Others Begin
This article explores how task initiation challenges for AuDHD individuals are often rooted in trauma, nervous system overwhelm, and a history of shame and misunderstanding. It reframes the freeze that happens before starting a task as a protective response rather than a lack of motivation or discipline. The piece calls for greater compassion, flexible support, and a shift away from judgment toward environments that honor neurodivergent ways of beginning.
We’re Not Lazy. We’re Exhausted: AuDHD Burnout as Chronic, Cyclical, and Misunderstood
This article explores the chronic, cyclical nature of AuDHD burnout and how it is often misinterpreted as laziness or lack of motivation. It highlights the invisible labor of masking, the neurological tug-of-war between autistic and ADHD traits, and the long recovery times that are rarely understood or accommodated. The piece calls for a shift from blame to compassion, emphasizing the need for supportive environments that respect neurodivergent rhythms and make space for real rest.
The Neurodivergent Sabbatical: What It Means to Step Away to Save Yourself
This article explores the concept of a neurodivergent sabbatical as a vital act of self-preservation for autistic and ADHD adults facing burnout from masking, overwork, and systemic inaccessibility. It distinguishes the sabbatical from a vacation, describing it as a necessary pause that often arises from collapse rather than choice, allowing space for unmasking, rest, and reconnection with self. The piece challenges productivity culture and calls for a collective reimagining of rest as resistance, care, and a reclaiming of worth outside of output.
Beyond the Diagnosis: Navigating Internalized Pathology After Labels
This article explores the ongoing process neurodivergent adults face after receiving a diagnosis, particularly the challenge of unlearning internalized shame and pathology. While a diagnosis can be validating, it does not erase years of being misunderstood, punished, or framed as broken by systems rooted in deficit-based thinking. True healing begins when neurodivergent people move beyond clinical labels to reclaim their identities, unmask safely, and build affirming narratives rooted in community, authenticity, and self-acceptance.
Burnout vs. Depression: How Misdiagnosis Hurts Neurodivergent People
This article explains the critical differences between clinical depression and neurodivergent burnout, highlighting how the two are often confused in autistic and ADHD adults. While depression is typically an internal mood disorder, burnout stems from chronic masking, sensory overwhelm, and environmental mismatch. Misdiagnosis can lead to ineffective treatment and delay true recovery, making accurate recognition essential for healing and self-understanding.
Autistic Burnout Recovery 2.0: Beyond Rest—What’s Next?
Autistic burnout recovery goes far beyond rest; it involves rebuilding a life that honors our neurodivergent needs, energy limits, and authentic selves. Recovery requires examining the systems, environments, and expectations that led to burnout in the first place, while gently reintroducing structure, connection, and joy. With support, self-compassion, and a shift toward sustainable living, we can move beyond mere survival and begin to thrive in ways that feel aligned and restorative.
Masking Is Not a Social Skill—It’s a Survival Mechanism
Masking is not a social skill but a survival mechanism that autistic and ADHD individuals develop to navigate a world that does not accommodate their natural ways of being. While masking helps avoid rejection and punishment, it comes at a significant cost to mental health, identity, and relationships, often leading to chronic burnout, anxiety, and a sense of disconnection from oneself. Unmasking is a gradual process of self-acceptance, setting boundaries, and finding spaces where authenticity is safe, allowing neurodivergent individuals to build lives that align with who they truly are rather than who they are expected to be.
The Reality of Burnout for Autistic and ADHD Adults (And Why Rest Is Not Enough)
Autistic and ADHD burnout is a deep, long-term exhaustion that goes beyond typical stress, often resulting from years of masking, unmet needs, and constant overexertion in a world that does not accommodate neurodivergent people. While rest is important, it is not enough to recover fully, as true healing requires reducing demands, unmasking, setting boundaries, and making lasting lifestyle changes. Recognizing burnout, advocating for support, and redefining success on neurodivergent terms are essential steps toward sustainable well-being.
How Hyperfocus and Burnout Exist on the Same Spectrum
Hyperfocus, a common experience for autistic and ADHD individuals, allows for deep concentration and bursts of productivity but often leads to burnout when unmanaged. Because hyperfocus does not come with built-in regulation, many neurodivergent people push themselves past their limits, leading to exhaustion, shutdowns, and difficulty sustaining long-term productivity. Understanding that hyperfocus and burnout exist on the same spectrum can help neurodivergent individuals develop strategies to balance deep engagement with necessary rest, allowing for a more sustainable and fulfilling approach to work and creativity.