Why High-Masking AuDHD & Autistic Burnout Seems So Sudden (And What to Try to Start Unmasking)

High masking autistic and ADHD burnout can show up like it arrived from nowhere, with no warning that you were heading there. Oof. In this episode I look at why that early signal often goes missing, and what low interoception has to do with it.

A lot of us run a constant neuro-normative performance, the masking, for most of our waking hours, often for safety. When your interoception runs low, the internal flag that is supposed to warn you before burnout can be faint, or it might not show up until you are already there. I talk through my own low interoception and a recent crisis where my body ran a full stress response while my head stayed calm and logical, and I get into why the common advice to just unmask is harder and more loaded than it sounds. Then I share the approach I actually use, borrowed from improv, for noticing when your body is handing you nothing to go on.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• Why high masking burnout can hit with no warning you could catch
• What low interoception is, and how it can hide the run-up to burnout
• Why "just unmask" is not the simple fix it gets sold as
• When unmasking can carry real risk, and how to think about safer spaces
• An improv move for noticing your state when your body goes quiet
• The hey buddy pal flag

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New Workshops: https://jendehaan.com/offscript

CHAPTERS:

0:00 Burnout that seems to arrive from nowhere

1:52 Masking as a constant neuro-normative performance

4:52 "You don't look autistic" and masking for safety

7:00 Low interoception and the signal you never get

8:09 When your body runs a stress response and your head misses it

12:40 How common this decoupling is across autistic and ADHD brains

14:20 The early-warning flag that shows up late or not at all

15:15 Why "just unmask" is not simple advice

16:40 Finding the mask is most of the work

21:25 When unmasking carries real risk

23:16 Borrowing an improv move to notice from outside your body

26:40 A simple way to practise it anywhere

30:30 A working theory: noticing can be enough on its own

32:47 Where the show goes from here

RESOURCES:

Separation between the body's stress response and conscious awareness in autistic people: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4303499/

Age masking often begins: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1750946723001320

Focused, logical functioning during crisis: https://www.additudemag.com/benefits-of-adhd-crisis

Research on repeated body check-ins being stressful and dysregulating: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11542822/

Interoception resources: https://youtu.be/VVzB0qQ9nmY and https://youtu.be/ZIVvkk6eMQI

About Audio and Video

This show is available as a video on YouTube. Some audio you are hearing is taken from the video versions that are recorded outside, and why there are some changes in the microphone quality.

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About

This podcast was created, written, and is hosted by Jen deHaan. Jen has certifications related to healthy communities (Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy), nervous system regulation, and she is a trauma-informed certified coach. She is working towards her board certified coach (BCC) credential, and has a BFA in teaching creative arts to adults. You can find her full bio here.

This podcast was made in British Columbia, Canada by Jen deHaan.

I respectfully acknowledge that I live and work on the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples, and honour the homelands of the Qualicum First Nation and the Snaw-naw-as First Nation, as well as the ties of the Snuneymuxw and K'ómoks First Nations. I would like to express gratitude to these and all First Nations for their continued stewardship of these lands and waters where I create these episodes.

DISCLAIMER:

Wired Divergent is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. If you're in crisis or need clinical support, please reach out to a qualified professional.

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