You’re sitting at your desk, a task in front of you. Someone is talking, the words are reaching you but somewhere between the sound and your attention, everything just drifts. You're not distracted by your phone or pulled away by a noise. You're just simply… gone. Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome (CDS) is a recently recognised attention-related condition characterised by mental fogginess, excessive daydreaming, and a kind of inward disconnection from what is happening around

There are some experiences that are incredibly difficult to explain unless you have lived them. The sudden overwhelm. The emotional flooding. The irritability that feels impossible to contain. Some describe it as emotions hijacking their bodies, others, a feeling like a tightness or a weight in the chest, and for others a complete and utter loss of hope and confidence. The exhaustion from trying so hard to keep everything together while feeling like your nervous system is con

There are times in life when people don’t just feel tired. They feel emotionally flat, mentally overloaded, disconnected from themselves and people around them, and unable to recover no matter how much they rest. This is often what burnout feels like. Burnout is not simply “being stressed.” It’s what can happen when stress becomes chronic, unresolved, and emotionally unfinished for too long. Many people try to cope by pushing harder, becoming more productive, or convincing th

Why Emotional Overwhelm Can Change the Way We Communicate, Connect, and Cope Usually, relationship issues don't begin because people have stopped caring about one another. Sometimes they begin because people have been overwhelmed for way too long. When stress becomes constant, whether it be from work, health or family, it slowly changes the way people communicate, respond emotionally, and cope within relationships and family life. Our patience becomes shorter. Small frustrati

The quiet exhaustion of functioning while overwhelmed. There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that doesn’t always look serious from the outside. It doesn’t always involve falling apart. It doesn’t always look like tears, missed work, or obvious crisis. Sometimes it looks like continuing to function. Showing up. Supporting everyone else. Getting through the day while quietly wondering why everything feels so heavy. Sometimes it looks like being the reliable one. The capable o

Has anyone ever told you that you are too sensitive? Too dramatic? Too intense? That you take things too personally, that you overreact, that you care too much? If you grew up hearing those words, and you also happen to have ADHD, there is a good chance that what others labelled as a personality flaw was actually your nervous system doing exactly what it is wired to do. You were not too much. You were undiagnosed, unsupported, and doing the best you could with a brain that pr

Getting an ADHD diagnosis later in life is often described as a relief. And for many people, it is… at first. Things start to make sense. There’s a name for what you’ve been experiencing. You can finally stop asking “what is wrong with me?” But then something else often shows up. Something quieter. Heavier. Harder to explain. Grief. Not the kind of grief we usually talk about. Not grief tied to losing someone. But grief for something just as real, the life that could have bee

You're in your forties. Your brain doesn't feel like your own anymore. You're forgetting things, struggling to concentrate, riding an emotional rollercoaster you can't seem to get off. Is this perimenopause? Is it ADHD? Is it both? The answer matters and it's more nuanced than most people realise. THE SHORT ANSWER ADHD and perimenopause share many of the same symptoms, brain fog, emotional dysregulation, poor concentration, and sleep disruption among them. The key difference

If the last few years have felt like your brain has stopped working, your emotions have become unmanageable, and you can't cope like you used to, you're not imagining it. And you're not alone. There's a neurological explanation for what's happening, and there is a way through it. THE SHORT ANSWER Yes. Perimenopause makes ADHD significantly worse for most women and the reason is neurological. Oestrogen regulates the same brain chemicals that ADHD disrupts, so when oestrogen f

Burnout in ADHD does not always look like overworking. Sometimes it looks like: Paralysis. Procrastination. Emotional shutdown. Task avoidance. Irritability. Shame spirals. Many adults with ADHD come to counselling saying, “I think I’m just lazy.” “I can’t keep up.” “I start strong and then crash.” “I feel exhausted, even when I haven’t done that much.” This is rarely laziness. It is often executive function burnout. What Is ADHD Burnout? ADHD burnout happens when the brain’s

Parental burnout is more than just exhaustion—it’s a deep, ongoing sense of overwhelm, emotional detachment, and self-doubt that many parents silently experience. This post explores what parental burnout looks like, why it happens, and practical, compassionate strategies to support recovery and reconnect with your role as a parent.