Burnout

The Cycle

  • Yellow: What is happening.
  • Purple: What allies can do to help.
  • Orange: What you can change.

Circular infographic titled 'THE ADHD Burnout Cycle' by ADHD-ALIEN.com, with a yellow ring of orange arrows going clockwise through six stages, each with a cartoon character with yellow antennae. Center caption: 'Getting help breaks the cycle!' with a drawing of an older gray-haired person and a younger person in a pink heart. Stages: Hyperfixation, Routine & Procrastination, Self-medicating, Guilt and Neglect, Paralysis, Quitting. Hyperfixation box: 'Hyped to work'; 'Piles on more work because it's going well!' Tip 'Learn to say 'No'': 'Don't squeeze in more work because it's going well'; 'Take time off work even if it's fun'. Routine & Procrastination box: 'Hype fades and tasks become boring'; 'Procrastinates'; 'Starts missing deadlines'; 'Starts talking about switching jobs eventhough everything is going well'. Tip 'Make it interesting': 'Ask the other for closer deadlines'; 'Ask if switching tasks is possible'; 'Switch chores every week Incorporate your special interest'; 'Pomodoro challenge yourself'; 'Start the tasks with them and let them continue'. Self Medicating box: 'Consumes more coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, does more planning or workouts'; 'Starts being overenthusiastic about overworking'; 'Starts neglecting other areas in life to meet deadlines'; 'Stops accepting invites and going out'; ''I GOT THIS IF I JUST TRY HARDER''. Tip 'Plan in self-care time': 'Plan your day - plan breaks!'; 'Ask a friend to be a body double'; 'Pomodoro everything'; 'Consider ADHD Medication'; 'Sharing tasks is OK!'; 'Are their goals are overambitious?'; 'Praise them for taking breaks'. Guilt and Neglect box: 'Guilty about neglected chores'; 'Tasks are one big overwhelming mess'; 'Feels guilty when resting'; 'Starts blaming self / others'; 'Hard to get a hold of, stops answering'; 'Might joke more to mask'; 'Appearance and health routines suffer'. Tip 'Don't neglect yourself': 'Take dedicated 'no work' time'; 'Don't beat yourself up, it only makes you feel worse and less productive'; 'Write down 3 most important tasks and work from there each day'. Tip 'Offer Help:': ''Come to my house friday,let's do yoga!''; ''Should we do laundry together?''; ''I'll bring food, you want veggies?''; ''Yo, let me see what you're stuck with, talk it through with me''. Paralysis box: 'Overworked and ashamed'; 'Amount of jokes is through the roof'; 'Bad sleep, can't relax'; 'Has completely hidden away from friends'; 'Starts to doubt self in all areas of life 'If I can't even do this, how can I....''; 'Hasn't showered - neglects self care'; 'Talks about quitting job / dropping out / moving out'. Tip 'Stop the self beating': 'You've done all you could. Really.'; 'You have a neurological disorder.'; 'No judgements. What do you want?'; 'Do you need to shower?'; 'Vent to a friend.'; 'Break tasks into doable chunks'; 'Give lots of love and support'. Quitting box: 'Abandons goal / drops out /quits'; 'Huge weight is lifted from shoulders'; 'Shame of powerlessness lingers'; 'Pretends choice was out ofchoice to hide 'failing''; 'Changes careers'; 'Feels like a fraud'. Tip 'Prevent the next cycle': 'Arrange for therapy, medication coaching or a support group'; 'Don't ignore the symtpoms just because it's not urgent now'; 'Every ADHD coping strategy gives you power'; 'Accept that nothing more could have been done'. Box 'Absolutely Don't:': ''Why didn't you ... ?''; ''But ... could do it why can't you?''; ''You should't have been so lazy''; ''You just have to apply yourself''. Footer: 'ADHD-ALIEN.com'.

Prevention

Step 1: Know the Signs:

Are you experiencing any of these right now?

Infographic titled 'THE 12 STAGES OF BURNOUT' on a cream background, in a grid of twelve flame icons that shift in color from blue through green and yellow to red. Stage 1: 'You feel there is a strong need to prove yourself'. Stage 2: 'You keep working harder and harder to achieve this'. Stage 3: 'You begin to neglect your own needs more'. Stage 4: 'You are conflicted and blame others or the situation'. Stage 5: 'You change your values to focus on work more'. Stage 6: 'You deny the problems that arise due to work stress'. Stage 7: 'You withdraw from social life and your family as well'. Stage 8: 'Your behavior changes which upsets your loved ones'. Stage 9: 'Depersonalization happens, you do not feel like yourself'. Stage 10: 'You feel empty and numb, substance abuse can occur'. Stage 11: 'You feel depressed, lost and completely exhausted'. Stage 12: 'You mentally and physically collapse, full burnout'. Credit at the bottom: '@THEPRESENTPSYCHOLOGIST'.

Step 2: Respond to the Stage Appropriately

i.e. Learning to say no during the hyperfixation stage.

Step 3: Build Burnout Prevention Habits

  • Inemuri - Dr.Brigitte Steger describes it as “Sleeping while present… captures Japan’s approach to time, where it’s seen as possible to do multiple things simultaneously, if at a lower intensity. So you can get credit for attending that boring quarterly sales meeting while also dreaming of a beach vacation.”

Solutions

It may take at least six months to recover from burnout.

  • Meditation
  • Massotherapy
  • Stimming
  • Learning what to do differently next time