ADHD Burnout (and why I like counting spoons)

Living with an ADHD brain in a world that isn't built for us means constant extra effort, with masking, compensating and overriding our own needs to meet expectations that don't account for how our brains actually work

The NHS defines burnout as a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress that hasn't been successfully managed. Being neurodivergent increases your risk of it, something I didn't know when I burned out in 2023. I was head of art in a secondary school, and the signs were there months before, but I ignored them and waited until the summer holidays to recover - like I did every year.  It usually took a couple of weeks of rest to get my mojo back, but not this time. After four weeks of lying on the sofa crying, my partner encouraged me to call the doctor, who diagnosed me with clinical burnout and signed me off work for six months. Three years later, I am still recovering

Living with an ADHD brain in a world that isn't built for us means constant extra effort, with masking, compensating and overriding our own needs to meet expectations that don't account for how our brains actually work. A 2026 study by Jameson et al. found that employees with ADHD are consistently putting in additional effort that neurotypical employees don't have to. Socially, we're taught that pushing through is discipline, and that discipline is a virtue that demonstrates our worth and character. But at what cost? As an ADHD coach, I ask people to focus less on discipline and more on capacity, so not just whether you have the willpower to push through, but whether you actually have the resources, energy, and desire to do the thing at all. Discipline without capacity is a slippery slope to burnout.

Capacity is brilliantly illustrated by Spoon Theory, created by Christine Miserandino (2003) to describe her experience of Lupus to a friend. This theory describes the units of energy we have in a day as spoons, so every task, interaction or sensory or emotional effort costs us a spoon and once they're gone, they're gone. Many people wake up with a generous and never-ending supply, but living with ADHD means starting with fewer spoons and paying a higher price per task because we are masking and compensating in the background of everything we do. Research describes ADHD burnout as a profound level of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion driven by the daily demands of managing ADHD symptoms, not just work (Louk, 2024; Turjeman-Levi et al, 2024). It is a whole-body shutdown, so you can't think, regulate, or engage with things that used to bring you joy, and the loop of low energy, low mood and fatigue can feel endless. Burnout happens because you've been running on borrowed spoons for too long.

So what helps? Turjeman-Levi (2024) found clear links between a lack of awareness, accommodations and support at work and ADHD burnout, and Högstedt (2026) shows that flexibility and responsiveness in workplace practices are essential for long-term wellbeing. Employers can't support what they don't understand, but the responsibility for change shouldn't belong to the person already struggling. Louk (2024) describes ADHD burnout as a physiological state of nervous system exhaustion caused by chronic regulatory load and masking and broader burnout research (Abedini et al., 2018) points to similar findings and recommends: resolving what's causing the strain, nurturing your personal life, having your burnout recognised by professionals, connecting with people who understand, finding meaning again and redefining who you are outside the role that burned you out.

It took a year to realise recovery meant changing my lifestyle, not just resting. Six months off work got me back on my feet, but returning to the same demands within the education system didn't leave room for the accommodations I actually needed. After 25 years, I left teaching and retrained as an ADHD coach, which gave me the time and space to recover and hyperfocus on understanding what had happened to me. I'm not earning as much, but I live a less demanding life that has room to put back into my capacity pot and replenish my spoons, instead of constantly putting out without anything to put back in.

Photograph: Nataliya Vaitkevich

References:

Abedini, N. C., Stack, S. W., Goodman, J. L., & Steinberg, K. P. (2018). "It's not just time off": A framework for understanding factors promoting recovery from burnout among internal medicine residents. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 10(1), 26–32. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-17-00440.1

Högstedt, E., Igelström, K., Korhonen, L., Käcker, P., & Björk, M. (2026). Desired workplace support: Perspectives of adults with ADHD and/or autism. Neurodiversity.

Jameson, T. P., Grabarski, M. K., Morales Arana, M., & Santos, P. A. (2026). What makes work sustainable for adults with ADHD? Interpreting workplace strain and support through Reddit data. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, 1820248. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1820248

Louk, C. (2026, January 27). Reconceptualising ADHD burnout: A nervous system response to chronic regulatory load. Peace Humanistic Therapy. https://www.peacehumanistic.com/blog/reconceptualizing-adhd-burnout-a-nervous-system-response-to-chronic-regulatory-load

Miserandino, C. (2003). The spoon theory. But You Don't Look Sick. https://butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/

NHS. (n.d.). Work-related stress. Every Mind Matters. https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/lifes-challenges/work-related-stress/

Turjeman-Levi, Y., Itzchakov, G., & Engel-Yeger, B. (2024). Executive function deficits mediate the relationship between employees' ADHD and job burnout. AIMS Public Health, 11(1), 294–314. https://doi.org/10.3934/publichealth.2024015