By Emily Linder, LPCC-S | Calibrations Counseling & Consultation I said yes to hosting Thanksgiving dinner even though the thought made my stomach turn. Yes to a networking event I knew would leave me depleted for days. Yes to taking on an extra project at work when I was already drowning. And then I went home and cried in my closet because I couldn't figure out why I kept doing this to myself. This was three years into knowing I was autistic and had ADHD. I'd done therapy. I

For a lot of neurodivergent people, the world asks more than it gives back. Masking in social situations, managing sensory overload, navigating environments built for neurotypical brains, compensating for executive dysfunction. All of it requires effort that most people around you don't see and wouldn't know to account for. Over time, that effort accumulates. And at some point, it becomes too much. That's neurodivergent burnout. And it's not the kind of tired that a good week