Have you been diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication by a physician, but question whether you actually have it? Burnout can look similar to ADHD, especially on paper. I’ve seen physicians diagnose several accomplished, high-functioning professionals in my practice with ADHD when the real issue was burnout. I’m Dr. Patricia Turner, a Registered Psychologist in […]
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Burnout: Do You Work Late to Avoid Going Home?
Do you work long hours to avoid going home? People typically think that burnout is caused by carrying a heavy workload, but they seldom stop to consider what drives people to work so hard. In my clinical work, I see some clients whose burnout is driven by chronic tension in their relationships. They put in […]
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How Can Burnout Be Mistaken For ADHD?
Have you been diagnosed with ADHD, but did the symptoms gradually show up only after years of overwork and exhaustion? Burnout can look remarkably similar to ADHD, particularly on self-report symptom checklists that focus on attention, organization, memory, and follow-through. Exhausted, cognitively depleted people can screen positive for ADHD even when they have no developmental […]
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How to Recover From Burnout When You Can’t Take Time Off
Many highly accomplished professionals are in burnout but continue to work full-time, because taking medical leave to recover could cost them their position. A senior executive who steps away for six months may not step back into the same job. If this describes you, the advice to take a leave, recover, and return when you […]
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Burnout: What It Is, Why It Happens, And How Recovery Begins
Burnout is more than stress or exhaustion—it is a state of physical, cognitive, and emotional collapse that develops when high demands persist without adequate recovery. This article explains what burnout is, how it develops over time, why it is often misunderstood or misdiagnosed, and what meaningful recovery actually involves. It also outlines when medical leave […]
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Why Burnout Makes You Score High on an ADHD Checklist
Have you filled out an ADHD checklist at your doctor’s office, scored high, and wondered whether the result actually fits you? It might not. Burnout and ADHD draw such similar responses on these questionnaires that a person who is exhausted — and who does not have ADHD — can plausibly answer every scored item the […]
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Burnout Leave: Are You Rushing Yourself Back to Work?
Signs You’re Not Ready to Return to Work After Burnout Are you counting down the days until you can go back to work — even though part of you isn’t sure you’re ready? In my experience, the majority of people don’t return to work before they are ready. Sometimes, however, people chomp at the bit […]
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Burnout: Tips for Teachers
Improve your personal boundaries. I work with teachers that are in burnout in my private practice as a psychologist. They arrive saying their jobs are too big. That the demands placed on them aren’t reasonable. That what they’re asked to do in a day isn’t reasonable. The demands on teachers are huge Teachers I work […]
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Burnout: You Must Exercise Regularly
Sounds straightforward, but you must create the time. I meet with a lot of people that are in burnout. They say they used to exercise. Some tell me they were triathletes before they got a demanding job, but that they don’t have the time required to stay fit today.When we discuss their burnout, they realize […]
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Burnout: Do You Put Off Emptying Your Bladder?
Are you so used to pushing through discomfort that you’ve stopped noticing your body’s warning signs altogether? Burnout doesn’t just wear down your mind — it can quietly erode basic self-care habits, including ones as simple as responding to your body’s signal that it’s time to empty your bladder. This might sound like an odd […]
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