Burnout: What It Is, Why It Happens, and How ADHD Makes It Worse

Andrew Brawner
3 days ago
3 min read

Feeling drained, unmotivated, or like your tank is running on empty, even after a full night’s sleep? That kind of exhaustion isn’t just stress, and it’s not a personal failure.

For many adults, especially those with ADHD, it’s a sign of burnout: a state of deep mental, emotional, and physical depletion that builds up over time. It often shows up after weeks, months, or even years of overextending yourself without enough rest, support, or control.

If you’ve been running on fumes and wondering why nothing seems to help, burnout could be the missing piece. Understanding how it works (and why ADHD can make it more likely) is a powerful first step toward protecting your energy and getting back in balance.

July 2025, Andrew Brawner, ADHD Coach @ Agave Health

Seven burnt matches in a row, with the eighth disintegrated into ashes, rest on a white background, showing a progression from whole to burnt.

What Is Burnout?

Burnout is a state of chronic physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, especially related to work or caregiving roles. It’s more than just being tired — it’s a depletion of energy, motivation, and capacity to cope.

Burnout was formally recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an occupational phenomenon with three core dimensions:

Emotional exhaustion – Feeling drained and depleted.
Depersonalization or cynicism – Detachment, irritability, or a “numb” attitude toward work or people.
Reduced personal efficacy – Feeling incompetent, ineffective, or hopeless about achieving goals.

Common Causes of Burnout

Burnout isn’t just about working “too much”; it’s usually the result of a mismatch between demands and resources. Here are the top contributors, backed by research from Christina Maslach, a leading burnout researcher:

1. Work Overload

Unrealistic expectations or long hours
Too many responsibilities without enough support

2. Lack of Control

Feeling micromanaged or powerless
Little say over schedules, priorities, or workflow

3. Insufficient Reward

Inadequate recognition, pay, or feedback
Emotional labor without emotional return

4. Breakdown in Community

Toxic team dynamics, isolation, or lack of trust
Poor communication or emotional disconnection

5. Lack of Fairness

Perceived inequity in workload, promotions, or treatment
Feeling undervalued or discriminated against

6. Values Conflict

Doing work that clashes with your ethics or sense of purpose
Feeling like your work doesn’t matter or has no positive impact

Burnout vs. Stress

Stress and burnout are often lumped together, but they’re not the same. Stress usually involves doing too much — burnout is what happens when you’ve been running on empty for too long. Here’s how to tell the difference.

Stress	Burnout
Over-engaged	Disengaged
Reactive emotions	Blunted or numb emotions
Still trying to keep up	Feels like giving up
Often temporary	Chronic and cumulative
Can lead to burnout if unmanaged	Is a deeper breakdown of energy and meaning

💡 Other Contributing Factors

Perfectionism
Unclear boundaries between work and life (especially in remote/hybrid settings)
Chronic caregiving (common in medical, ministry, or activist roles)
Unprocessed trauma or moral injury
Underemployment or job insecurity (burnout can stem from feeling stagnant, not just overworked)

Why ADHD Makes You More Vulnerable to Burnout

People with ADHD are often more susceptible to burnout; not because they’re doing less, but because they’re doing more mental and emotional labor just to keep up.

Here’s why burnout can sneak up on ADHDers:

Executive dysfunction makes planning, prioritizing, and switching tasks more mentally taxing.
Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) heightens emotional intensity, especially around feedback or conflict.
Perfectionism and people-pleasing are common ADHD coping strategies that lead to overwork and emotional drain.
Masking symptoms or pushing to appear “neurotypical” takes a serious toll over time.
Many ADHDers work in environments that don’t support neurodiversity — so they end up compensating constantly just to stay afloat.

If you’ve ever wondered why rest doesn’t recharge you or why your to-do list feels heavier than it should, burnout might be part of the story.

Burnout Is a Signal — And Support Makes a Difference

Burnout is your brain and body asking for change, not more effort, but a better strategy. For people with ADHD, that often means finding support that understands how your brain works.

At Agave Health, we offer ADHD-informed coaching and therapy to help you rebuild routines, set boundaries, and manage overwhelm before it becomes burnout. Our approach is designed for real life — flexible, supportive, and rooted in what actually works for ADHD brains.

👉 Feeling burned out? Get started with coaching or therapy and take the first step toward feeling like yourself again.