Did you know that ADHD/Autism burnout exists? To be honest, we didn’t before we wrote our book. Burnout scholars generally agree on the 3 main symptoms of burnout. But when you consider other aspects of humanity – like gender or disability – we know you can get different kinds of burnout.
A person’s gender or disability can change how they experience burnout. This is also true for folks with ADHD/Autism burnout.
What is ADHD/Autism burnout?
Through our research, we learned that a person’s neurodivergence can mean they experience different symptoms of burnout. According to Megan Neff, Autistic and ADHD burnout is “characterized by pervasive, long-term (typically 3+ months) exhaustion, loss of function, and reduced tolerance to stimulus.”
The three primary symptoms of neurodivergent burnout include: chronic exhaustion, reduced tolerance to stimulus, and loss of skills such as thinking, remembering, performing basic self-care skills, and activities of daily living.
The challenges facing autistic folks with burnout
Folks with Autism or ADHD not only have different symptoms of burnout, but different causes as well. For neurodivergent folks, some of the most common causes are masking (pretending or appearing to not have autism), not having access to appropriate levels of support and accommodations, and loss of executive functioning due to a high number of stressors. For folks with autism, the cause and effect relationship to burnout is complicated.
We know that “autistic traits can amplify the conditions that lead to burnout, and burnout can cause these traits to worsen.” Neurodivergence and autism can often be invisible within the workplace. Therefore, we have to work even harder to ensure an inclusive culture. It’s not only the right thing to do, but it’s a major factor in burnout mitigation. If your autistic co-workers have the support and accommodations they need, then you can take positive steps toward reducing the potential for burnout.
If you want to learn more about different types of burnout, check out our book HERE.
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