Burnout, Overwhelm, and Masking—Support for capacity collapse, executive strain, and the cost of masking.

Looking for something different? If you want a sense of pacing and emotional safety first, see Common Issues for Neurodivergent Adults — My Style.

Burnout in neurodivergent adults is often a systems crash: prolonged masking, high demand, sensory/social load, and executive strain finally exceed capacity. It can look like anxiety, depression, irritability, shutdown, loss of motivation, or the feeling that your life is made of tasks you can’t start. A key therapy question becomes: what reduces friction

and protects recovery time — in the real world you live in?

Common search terms people use

burnout, overwhelm, masking, autistic burnout, ADHD burnout, executive dysfunction, anxiety, depression, high functioning anxiety.

What you can expect to get from therapy

• A recovery plan that respects your actual capacity and nervous system.
• Tools for anxiety/rumination and depressive shutdown that fit neurodivergent wiring.
• Boundary design: how to say no, reduce masking load, and protect recovery time.
• Relationship support around misunderstandings, repair, and realistic expectations.
• Optional structured reflection tools when useful (clinician-guided, always optional).