Have you ever felt exhausted, foggy, overstimulated, or overwhelmed, but struggled to identify exactly why?
Burnout is more than just mental fatigue; it often speaks through the body in subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways. These physical signs and symptoms are your body’s way of sounding the alarm.
This article explores burnout, its physical manifestations, and why neurodivergent individuals may experience burnout differently. We’ll then end by exploring ways to tune into your body’s signals.
Click here for the TL;DR summary.
Science Behind Burnout
Burnout is a state of ongoing mental and physical exhaustion caused by long-term stress. It often happens when there is a mismatch between a person and their school, work, or home environment. Burnout is more likely when expectations are high, control is limited, and the effort someone puts in doesn’t match the recognition or support they receive. While it may look similar to depression, burnout is a distinct condition with its own set of causes and symptoms. It commonly leads to emotional exhaustion, a sense of detachment from others, and a reduced feeling of accomplishment.
How Burnout Affects the Brain and Body
Burnout doesn’t just affect how you feel, it changes how your brain and body function. Neuroimaging studies show that burnout weakens the link between your brain’s emotion area (amygdala) and thinking area (prefrontal cortex). This makes it harder to manage emotions and stress. Burnout can also affect memory, attention, and decision-making, all crucial executive functioning skills!
Over time, these brain changes can lead to serious effects on your body, mind, and overall well-being:
- Body: Chronic fatigue, sleep problems, a weakened immune system, and increased risk of illness and heart problems.
- Mind: Trouble with focus, emotional outbursts, poor stress tolerance, and planning difficulties.
- Well-Being: Loss of motivation, pulling away from others, and reduced satisfaction with school, work, or life.
Physical Symptoms of Burnout
Your body often gives you signs that you’re under too much stress, even before you realize it. Physical signs of stress can include headaches, dizziness, or feeling very tired. Some people may feel tense, experiencing symptoms such as clenching their jaw, grinding their teeth, or experiencing pain in the shoulders, neck, or back. Stress can affect your body in ways that feel intense or overwhelming, such as chest tightness, racing heart, or shortness of breath. People often have trouble sleeping or sleeping more than normal. Stomach problems, life nausea, diarrhea, or constipation are also common. Over time, stress can weaken your immune system and increase your susceptibility to sickness. These are all ways your body tries to warn you that it needs a break or support.
How Burnout Impacts Executive Functioning Skills
In addition to draining your energy, burnout can interfere with your brain’s ability to manage everyday tasks. Executive functioning skills like memory, attention, and decision-making are especially vulnerable to chronic stress and exhaustion. Here are some ways in which these areas can be impacted:
- Working Memory – Burnout can make it harder to recall important details or have the capacity to learn new information. For example, someone might forget appointments, lose track of deadlines, or struggle to remember what they did the previous day at work or school.
- Attentional Control – Burnout often results in difficulty concentrating, sensory overwhelm, or feeling stuck in a ‘mental fog.’” You might find yourself zoning out during conversations or meetings, even when you’re trying to focus.
- Decision-Making – When burned out, people often feel overwhelmed by making even small choices. This is also known as decision fatigue. A student might feel paralyzed when deciding which assignment to start first, or an employee might avoid making decisions altogether, which further contributes to chronic stress.
The Six Areas of Worklife
The six areas of worklife help identify which parts of your job cause stress, so you don’t blame yourself (p. 95-100). If you can identify mismatches in any of the areas below, this can help you make healthier and more sustainable work and school environments for yourself.
1. Workload
Workload refers to the amount of work that someone has and whether it is manageable to complete within the time and energy available. If a person has too much to do and not enough time or support, they can begin to feel exhausted, like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how much effort is put in.
2. Control
Control means how much freedom and decision-making power someone has in their job. If a worker can’t make choices or feels pulled in opposite directions by different bosses, they may feel stressed and helpless.
3. Reward
Reward refers to how well someone’s work is recognized through pay, praise, or a sense of pride in what they do. When people feel appreciated for doing a good job, they’re more likely to stay motivated and enjoy their work.
4. Community
Community is the sense of connection, support, and teamwork among coworkers. A friendly, respectful team makes work feel more enjoyable, while conflict or distrust makes it stressful.
5. Fairness
Fairness means people feel they’re treated equally and with respect in decisions and opportunities. If one person consistently receives better shifts or rewards for no apparent reason, others may start to feel frustrated or disengaged.
6. Values
Values include the personal beliefs and goals that help people feel like their work is meaningful. When a job goes against someone’s values, like being told to lie to a customer, it can make them feel guilty and upset.
Neurodivergence and Burnout
Burnout can look and feel different to neurodivergent individuals. For people with autism, ADHD, or other neurological differences. For neurodivergent individuals, burnout can involve unique experiences beyond typical chronic stress. Burnout is not just about feeling overly tired or stressed, it’s a much deeper level of physical, emotional, and cognitive exhaustion.
Neurodivergent burnout can also manifest in unique signs, such as heightened sensitivity to sounds or lights, increased forgetfulness, difficulty performing daily tasks, or even a loss of communication abilities in the moment. During burnout, everyday tasks can feel significantly more challenging, and reaching out for help might become more difficult than usual.
What is Interoception?
Interoception is the body’s ability to notice and understand signals from itself, like a racing heart, growling stomach, or tightness in the muscles. These sensations tell us that we need something to feel content. For example, a growling stomach tells us that we are hungry, while a racing heart might tell us we are stressed. When someone has strong interoception, they can better recognize the signs of stress in their body and take the necessary steps to calm down or ask for help.
However, when someone experiences differences in interoception, they might find it challenging to notice internal cues. If we miss these body signals, it’s hard to know how to meet our needs.
Interoception, Stress, and Burnout
Difficulties with interoceptive awareness become important to consider when supporting neurodivergent individuals in times of stress. Barriers to interoceptive awareness can make it very challenging to recognize that stress is building up, especially the kind that could lead to burnout. When you struggle to identify these body cues, taking the steps to problem-solve what you need, especially if the answer lies in work-life balance, can feel like an impossible barrier to overcome. As a result, stress may build up over time without warning signs being recognized, leading to a sudden shutdown or more intense burnout. Poor interoceptive awareness can also make it difficult to explain what is being felt or why someone is struggling, which can delay access to the right support.
Additional Tools and Resources
For more information on Interoceptive Awareness, check out Kelly Mahler’s website, which clearly defines and describes the neurodivergent experience of difficulties with interoception. She has also created excellent professional resources and curriculum that can be incorporated into a clinical or educational setting. Various free resources are available on her website to help kick-start your journey of learning more about interoception.
Many people experiencing burnout may need individualized support to feel better and get back on track toward their goals. For neurodivergent individuals, working with someone who understands their unique needs can make a big difference. Executive functioning coaching can be helpful for building routines, breaking tasks into smaller steps, and reducing feelings of overwhelm. Burnout can also take a toll on a person’s self-image and mental health, sometimes leading to symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. In these cases, support from a therapist may be a better fit (or helpful in combination) to process emotions and build confidence again.
TL;DR – (Too Long; Didn’t Read)
Burnout affects the body in real, noticeable ways. It’s a state of ongoing physical and emotional exhaustion caused by chronic stress. This occurs when demands are high, control is low, and recognition is lacking. Symptoms often show up physically before we realize it mentally. Headaches, fatigue, sleep difficulties, or stomach issues can be signs that your body is sounding the alarm. Burnout can change the way your brain works, affecting memory, focus, and emotional control. Over time, this stress can damage both mental health and overall well-being.
One way to explore your stress and make necessary changes at work or school is to reflect on the Six Areas of Worklife (Leiter & Maslach, 2003). Recognizing mismatches in your workload, control, community, or values can help you identify what is leading to burnout, which is the first step to making necessary changes.
Many neurodiverse individuals report difficulties with interoceptive awareness, which, when combined with the unique experiences of burnout, can make it incredibly hard to intervene before burnout sets in. Interoception is the body’s ability to notice internal signals like a racing heart or tight muscles. When someone has difficulty with interoception, they may not realize stress is building up until reaching a breaking point.
Further Reading
- Association for Psychological Science (2016) – Burnout and the Brain
- Kelly Mahler (2025) – Interoceptive Awareness: An Important Consideration for Neurodivergent Clients
- Leiter & Maslach (2003) – Areas of Worklife: A Structured Approach to Organizational Predictors of Job Burnout
- Maslach & Leiter (2016) – Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry
- Schulz & Vögele (2015) – Interoception and stress
- WebMD (2024) – Stress Symptoms
- Life Skills Advocate (2023) – Coaching vs. Therapy: Key Differences, Benefits, and How to Choose
- Life Skills Advocate (2020) – Every Parent’s Guide To Decision Fatigue (part 1)
- Life Skills Advocate (2021) – Executive Functioning 101: All About Attentional Control
- Life Skills Advocate (2021) – Executive Functioning Skills 101: Working Memory