Understanding ADHD and Stress
Navigating the Silent Struggles of ADHD
I know I’m about to burn out when I can’t drive.
The lights blur. The world slows down. And I realise my brain has gone offline, again.
The Unseen Chaos of ADHD
Two weeks of being unwell threw me completely off track. Antibiotics, pain, exhaustion, the kind that fogs your mind and convinces you that everything is too much.
The first day back to work, I sat at my desk and stared at the inbox. My head said, “You’ve got this.”
My body said, “No chance.”
That’s the part most people don’t see about ADHD and stress. It’s not chaos. It’s silence.
It’s sitting perfectly still while your brain hums like a computer stuck on 98% load.
You know what needs doing, but every step feels like wading through glue.
Even sending a few emails felt impossible. So, I did what I always do when my brain won’t move, I found a way to cheat it.
I took screenshots of my emails, uploaded them into ChatGPT, and said, “Write the replies.”
Ten minutes later, the inbox was empty. It wasn’t about motivation. It was about making it easy enough that I could start.
When the executive function drops, you stop trusting yourself. You tell yourself you’re lazy. You spiral.
That’s the real damage stress does to an ADHD brain, it doesn’t just drain your energy. It steals your self-belief.
Finding Creative Solutions
Overcoming Overwhelm with Innovation
A few days later, my grandson came over. I was still foggy, exhausted, and stuck in that post-burnout limbo.
So, we did something random, gutted the kitchen cupboards.
There were Play-Doh fingerprints on the pans, tins all over the floor, dustbins full of clutter.
But for the first time in weeks, I felt present.
He was my body double. My little dose of dopamine.
That’s how ADHD brains recover, not by resting harder, but by engaging differently.
It reminded me how much we rely on dopamine, novelty, and connection to reset our stress levels.
Because when ADHD stress hits, we don’t freeze because we don’t care, we freeze because we care too much, and our brain can’t handle one more thing.
I see it in my clients, too. The moment stress takes over, they stop eating.
Not out of vanity or neglect, but because deciding what to eat feels like climbing Everest.
That’s why I keep protein shakes and “grab-and-go” foods everywhere. Not as a diet trick, as survival.
Because if I don’t eat, my blood sugar drops, my focus disappears, and my nervous system panics.
The Role of Dopamine in Recovery
Harnessing Novelty and Connection
ADHD stress isn’t about weakness. It’s a body response to overload.
Your system floods with cortisol, your dopamine crashes, and suddenly, the smallest thing, a broken sauna, an unread email, feels like a landslide.
Here’s what helps when the slide starts:
➔ Start with something tiny, a 10-minute task, one cupboard, one kettle’s worth of time.
➔ Fuel first, if you can’t eat a meal, drink a shake.
➔ Body-double, have someone nearby, even if they’re doing their own thing.
➔ Reset with movement, I went back to the gym shaking with anxiety, but walked out lighter.
➔ Drop perfection, good enough is the new goal.
And boundaries? They’re not optional.
I’ve stopped saying yes to every invite, every Christmas party, every “you should.”
Because for an ADHD brain, stress doesn’t need noise, lights, or small talk.
It needs calm, rhythm, and honest self-permission to say no.
Listening to Your Body
Building a Life That Fits Your Nervous System
If you’ve ever sat frozen at your desk, convinced you’re failing, you’re not alone.
You’re not lazy, your brain is just protecting you in the only way it knows how.
Stress in ADHD isn’t always explosive.
Sometimes it’s quiet, frozen, invisible.
But once you start understanding the language your body speaks, the signals, the shutdowns, the surges- you can finally build a life that fits your nervous system instead of fighting it.
That’s where recovery starts.
Transform Your Journey with ADHD-Informed Therapy
Becky Stone
I’m Becky Stone, a qualified eating disorder and neurodiversity-informed therapist based in Canterbury. Alongside supporting clients in recovery, I live with ADHD myself, so I understand what it’s like when your brain runs at full speed one day and completely crashes the next. My work focuses on helping people rebuild trust in their bodies, create routines that actually fit their brains, and find calm within the chaos. Whether it’s eating patterns, burnout, or that quiet “I can’t do this anymore” moment, I believe recovery starts when we stop shaming ourselves and start working with how our minds truly work.
