According to statistics, 61% of Singaporeans are experiencing burnout. What does this mean for those who are neurodivergent?

Unlocking ADHD’s latest webinar on ADHD burnout covers topics like what burnout is, coping strategies, and why ADHDers are more prone to burnout. The two panelists invited were Dr. Nate Page, a counseling psychologist who supports individuals with ADHD and healthcare professionals, and Serene Seng, an executive coach who works with those in corporate. Unlocking ADHD volunteer, Davita Ang, shares keynotes from the webinar in this article.

What is Burnout? (The Battery Analogy)

According to Dr Nate, burnout is an injury or “a bruise to the soul”. It happens when chronic stress outpaces our ability to recover. The battery metaphor is often used to describe burnout. A battery has burnt out when no matter how much charge it receives, it bleeds energy constantly. Similarly, we hit burnout when no matter how much rest we get, we never feel energised. It is when the fatigue goes deeper than mere exhaustion. 

ADHDers tend to hit burnout quicker. With stress coming from both internal and external sources, the mental load on ADHDers is heavier to deal with. Furthermore, a lack of understanding from those around us adds to the chronic stress.

5 Stages of Burnout

Dr. Nate described the 5 stages of burnout in detail:

1. Honeymoon (2 to 3 weeks)
   • Started something new which is exciting and full of novelty
   • Easy to fall into hyperfocus
   • Not sustainable
   • ADHDers are at higher risk of entering the honeymoon stage because of hyperfocus and the novelty of things feeding off each other
2. Awakening (Very short)
   • Realisation that the current state isn’t sustainable
   • Important to reduce stress at this stage to prevent sliding
   • Most tend to enter the third stage for a variety of reasons (e.g. cultural expectation to push through, unaware, etc.)
3. Slow Down (Months, even years)
   • Exhaustion builds and never reduces
   • Building cynicism and pessimism
   • A self-fulfilling prophecy of lower productivity leading to inefficacy
   • Shame for feeling this way
   • Still able to make changes to avoid the last stage, but difficult
4. Hitting the Wall
   • Body gives out
   • People quit jobs
5. Phoenix Rebirth
   • Recovery from burnout
   • A lot of healing needed before starting something new

Causes of Burnout

There are 6 contributing factors of burnout and Serene explains how it affects ADHDers in particular.

1. Workload
   • It isn’t just the regular workload ADHDers need to cope with
   • The mental workload ADHDers bear is heavier when factoring in masking, coping, accommodating, etc. 
2. Control
   • Involves our autonomy at work 
   • How empowering the work is
   • For ADHDers, factors like emotional dysregulation also play into how much control we feel we have
3. Reward
   • ADHDers have lower dopamine so the typical rewards will not be felt as strongly
4. Community
   • Feeling isolated at work because colleagues don’t understand your challenges
5. Fairness
   • Living and working in a system that isn’t designed for us
6. Values
   • What we value
   • Neurodiversity is still not spoken about much on the DEI level

READ: A Coping Strategy

A coping strategy Serene introduced is called READ which stands for Redefine, Eliminate, Automate, and Delegate. 

1. We begin by identifying the stressors, then redefining what is necessary. 
2. We explore what stressors we can eliminate.
3. Automate what we can.
4. Delegate what we don’t have to personally do.

Reach Out

Wrapping up the webinar, the common sentiment shared by both Dr. Nate and Serene was to reach out for help when you feel like you’re hitting the wall. Be kind to yourself, and seek help when you need it.