Burnout & ADHD: Knowing The Signs

Burnout & ADHD: Knowing the Signs

I didn’t realise I was burnt out until it was too late.

It was Easter. I’d taken a short break after a long stretch, hoping to recharge. But as the days started counting down, the dread crept in. My chest got tighter, I couldn't sleep, and on the day I tried to open my laptop, I just burst into tears.

EVEN THEN I DOUBTED MYSELF!!!

Am I just being weak?

Is this in my head?

It took a GP sitting across from me and saying, “Your nervous system is fried,” for me to believe it wasn’t all my fault.

That moment kicked off the hardest and most transformative year of my life.

What Burnout Looked Like That I Totally Missed

Here’s the thing about burnout when you have ADHD, the warning signs don’t always look like just being tired. For me, they looked like:

• Insomnia so bad I forgot what a full night’s sleep felt like

• Constant rumination. Thoughts about work on repeat that I couldn't switch off

• An overwhelming fear of failure (Standard ADHD experience)

• Months of gut issues and feeling physically unwell

• Brain fog and skill regression that made me question my intelligence

• Zero passion for life

• A libido that vanished

• Dopamine-chasing in the most extreme ways (impulse spending, eating, scrolling)

• Weight gain and isolation

But the worst part? I blamed myself.

ADHD had me convinced that I was the problem and not my workload, not the environment, not the expectations. Just me.

That’s how ADHD works. We mask. We overachieve. We people-please.

Until one day, the mask slips, and there’s nothing left underneath but exhaustion.

How ADHD Made It Worse

Burnout and ADHD are closely linked, and I’m not just saying that because I lived it.

Studies highlight that people with ADHD are far more vulnerable to stress, emotional exhaustion, and work burnout. One paper found that emotional dysregulation and executive dysfunction (time blindness and perfectionism) significantly increase the risk. For the nerds like me out there give them a read:

Executive Function Deficits and Job Burnout

Stress and Work-Related Mental Health in Adults with ADHD

Emotion Dysregulation as a Core Symptom of Adult ADHD

Especially in late-diagnosed adults (like me), burnout often shows up before the ADHD diagnosis. We’ve been masking for so long, performing to survive in neurotypical systems, that we don’t notice the damage until it’s too late .

A Year of Recovery (That Hasn't Ended)

It’s been a full year since that breakdown. And I’m only just starting to feel like I can focus again for more than a day at a time.

But I’m still exhausted by the end of each week. I still have limits I didn’t used to have.

And I’ve finally accepted: I’ll never be able to work the way I used to. I’m just not built for the traditional 9–5 grind.

So I stopped fighting it. I left my job. I took extended sick leave. I went to therapy. I rebuilt how I live and work from the ground up.

And that’s how SortMySh!t was born.

The Silver Lining I Never Expected

Burnout broke me, but it also gave me a second chance.

It forced me to:

• Respect my nervous system

• Understand how I work best (not how others think I should)

• Accept my limitations instead of shaming myself for them

• Lean into my ADHD strengths instead of constantly fighting them

And maybe most importantly, it gave me a mission.

Because I don’t want others like me to have to hit rock bottom before they get help.

A Note on Culture: Why I Never Saw This Coming

Back home in New Zealand, we get 10 sick days a year. Mental health isn’t talked about. Burnout wasn’t something that “existed” in my world.

It wasn’t until moving to Europe that I even heard the term being taken seriously. And even then, I had to crash to get help.

If that’s you too amd you’re in a place where you feel like you’re barely holding it together…know this:

You’re not lazy.

You’re not broken.

You’re likely just burnt out.

And if you have ADHD you’re more at risk than most.

Let’s Chat

If any of this hit home, if you’re burning out, masking, or just not sure where to start, DM me on @sort.my.shit or book a free intro session.

I get it, because I’ve lived it.

No pressure. No shame. Just real talk with someone who’s been there.

Let’s sort your sh!t before your sh!t sorts you.