Stress , anxiety, and burnout are affecting a lot of people currently, and neurodivergents especially are facing a hard time. Neurodivergents are people whose thoughts and minds simply work differently than the majority of people. These types of minds are more creative, intelligent, and often more productive; but, they are also more sensitive to negative affects like stress, anxiety, fear, worry, compulsive, and obsessive thoughts.
What is Neurodivergence?
Learn all about what neurodiversity is and entails in our complete guide HERE >>
What Is “Mental Burnout?”
“Mental Burnout” is a condition that happens when an overworked brain has hit its processing compacity. Just like an over-worked muscle suffers cramping and other physical ailments from overwork, an over-worked brain also displays negative or painful symptoms. Headaches, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, and even seizures can occur in extreme cases of mental burnout. Every person can get mental burnout regardless of whether they are neurodivergent.
Herbert Freudenberger coined the term “burnout” in 1974, defining it as: “the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where one’s devotion to a cause or relationship fails to produce the desired results.”
Why Do Neurodivergents Get “Burned Out?”
Neurodivergents are more likely to get mental burnout, because their minds are more sensitive and tend to work at high speeds anyway. Those with ADD, ADHD, and attention or focus problems are not only more susceptible to burnout and “crashing” after long periods of focus/obsession. Those with autism and neurodivergents that also suffer from learning or mental challenges can get burned out in times of frustration, or if they are pushed harder than they are ready-for.
Creative neurodivergents can also go on long spells of creative burnout, artist’s block, and loss of motivation. Neurodivergents tend to have extreme highs and lows in their motivations, like those with Bipolar Disorder (BPD), although a neurodivergent person as a bit more control over the swings (in-that they push the high times to an extreme to where burnout and crash occurs).
Obsessive Thoughts and Mental Burnout
Even those who are not neurodivergent know that thinking of the same thing over and over again tires your mind. When your mind is tired, a whole lot of other negative mental and physical symptoms follow. Obsessive thoughts can wear out your mind and put you into a state of burnout. This is common in non-neurodivergents that experience trauma, shock, and extremely stressful situations.
It is important to unwind your mind, and learn to stop obsessive thoughts before they cause burnout. Burnout prevention techniques can be learned with the help of a therapist.
What Are The Symptoms of Burnout?
Prolonged stress will cause a burnout in any time of person: neurodivergents and non-neurodivergents. It is important to know and recognize the symptoms of burnout if you are going through a extended length of time of stress and anxiety.
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- Fatigue
- Loss of Interest
- Loss of Pleasure
- Concentration and Focus Issues
- Depression, Sadness, Melancholia
- Chronic Headaches
- Sleeplessness and Sleep Issues
- Gastrointestinal Issues
- High Blood Pressure
- Nightmares
- Feelings of Worthlessness
When you are feeling exhausted, hate your job, can’t stand your day-to-day life, and feel like you are not performing well at anything anymore, you have burnout.
Neurodivergent Anxiety
Those categorized as “Neurodivergent” are usually more prone to generalized anxiety and panic attacks. Neurodivergents often need more time to “get over” something stressful that has happened. They need to process what happened and debrief themselves multiple times until their minds are satisfied. In times of chronic stress and anxiety — when a neurodivergent has less time to process between stressors — burnout is more likely to occur.
Preventing Burnout in Neurodivergent Children
This is extremely important for parents of neurodivergent children to understand; neurodivergents need time to process stress, and should not be overloaded with more stress when they are struggling already. This will lead to burnout, and — during the adolescent years — can hamper a child’s future.
High School Burnout and Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity states that each mind learns and processes information differently, and that neurodivergents’ minds work in a way that is very different from what society defines as “normal.” High School is much like a “normalcy test” for teens, as it pushes a bunch of different-shaped teens through a square hole.
Those with neurodiversity often struggle during high school, as they feel they simply do not fit in, or are different. The stress from this and other stressors of high school and adolescense often become too much, and many high schoolers suffer from burnout. Burnout and hopelessness is the number 1 reason given for dropping out of high school, and can be avoided by avoiding high school burnout.
Therapy for Stress and Burnout
Now that we know how burnout occurs, how do you reverse it? How can someone unwind all the tiny stressors that have them wound into a tight ball of anxiety? You are your own best therapist in many cases, but burnout is not one of them. Burnout is past the “point of no return” when you need to seek help from another to start putting things in order. Life coaches are great at getting you out of the rut that burnout causes and into a better, healthier lifestyle where you can deal with your own problems again.
Therapists that treat stress and burnout attack your problems like a tight knot, slowly unwinding your stress until you feel relieved and can start to think and concentrate again.
Therapy for Burnout in Mesa, AZ
The Arizona Relationship Institute offers individual therapy, couples therapy, and family therapy, and find that chronic stress and burnout is a core problem affecting many people. Burnout can be the “root” of all your problems if you cannot deal with it yourself. We implore those that are feeling burned out and have lost their motivation and passion for life to contact AZRI or a local certified therapist and counselor for help.
