10/06/2026
I'm in the post-project collapse right now, in that precarious space between big projects while also staring down a new deadline. It has me thinking again about the hyperfocus-fueled burnout cycle I often fall into. Each time I run through it, I learn a bit more about how to navigate it next time.
For many ADHD and AuDHD people, interest is what gets us going. It helps us start tasks and stay engaged, and it's often what makes life feel nourishing. One of the harder parts of the depletion after a long stretch of hyperfocus is that I struggle to access my curiosity and interest, which are the things that usually refuel me.
Deadlines don't necessarily stop, though, so I notice my work shifting from passion that comes from enjoying the process (what I think of as clean energy) into something more obsessive and compulsive, energy that gets me through but leaves me more drained.
Since a lot of my work right now is running on that obsessive energy, here are a few things I'm leaning into as I become more aware of these cycles and work to soften them a bit:
-protecting sleep, nutrition, and other bio basics while I'm still in the hyperfocus (hard, but slowly learning)
-slowly learning to trust my body when it's told me enough, and actually stopping before the sickness and aches set in
-reminding myself that another wave of interest WILL eventually come, so I don't have to hold on so tightly to the one I'm on
The full article on ADHD burnout recovery is linked in comments.
