This was written in response to a video (reel) by Claire Bowman, who presents personal experiences with ADHD and Autism as ADH-She. It can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1457049251509622
I’m peer reviewed AuDHD*; saving up for the proper diagnosis. It’s been 9 years since I was medicated for anxiety, in which time I’ve developed what works for me. I’m also self-employed which allows some scheduling freedoms, but means burnout affects much more than my mental health. It can, and has, severely impacted my livelihood.
As such, I have learnt to schedule-in my depression where possible. If I come off a particularly stressful contract, for instance, I lean into the depression and go full couch/book/TV binge mode.
Last week was a particularly bad week, and it got to Thursday and I was just done. I made the conscious decision to buy bad food and cancel all weekend plans. Then I stepped away from the world.
When this happens, Monday is usually the recovery day, doing admin or washing, basically reintroducing structures, generally while listening to a podcast or audiobook to distract my quick-fire thoughts. Tuesday, I’m back at work.
It doesn’t always work out like that, and takes practice, but overall, I’m more stable I was than 1 years ago, and far more than I was 9 years ago, when my burnout lasted a full year and a half.
*Peer reviewed AuDHD is a term I’ve co-opted. It originally meant someone who has done copious amounts of research into their conditions as to make formal diagnosis a formality. I use it in the sense of “a review of my peers”.