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Disability And Nuerodivergent Definitions
Body Doubling
Body doubling is having another person present to support focus and task completion, and is common among ADHDers.
Body doubling is a strategy where another person is physically or virtually present while you work. Their role isn’t to supervise or direct, but simply to be there — an accompanying presence that can support focus, motivation, and task completion.
For many neurodivergent people, especially ADHDers, another person’s presence can act as an anchor. It can make starting tasks feel less overwhelming, interrupt cycles of distraction, and help mundane activities feel more doable. Body doubling might look like working beside a friend at a coffee shop, having a coworker on Zoom while you each focus on separate tasks, or joining a virtual coworking space where others are doing the same.
Body doubling is sometimes misunderstood as a crutch. In reality, it reflects how interdependent people are. Rather than pushing through alone, it recognizes that many nervous systems feel more supported and regulated in connection with others.
Brain Fog
A state of mental clouding that can affect focus, memory, and clarity, often tied to overload or fatigue.
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Brain fog refers to periods of mental sluggishness or confusion, when focus, memory, and clarity feel harder to access. It’s often triggered by cognitive overload, stress, or exhaustion. Brain fog isn’t a clinical diagnosis, but a widely used term for experiences like difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, slowed thinking, or feeling mentally disoriented.
Brain fog is commonly reported during or after neurodivergent burnout, executive functionoverwhelm, or sensory overstimulation. It’s also described in connection with a range of medical conditions, including:
• Long COVID
• Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)
• Fibromyalgia
• Hormonal fluctuations (e.g. perimenopause)
• Side effects of medication or sleep deprivation
Episodes may last minutes, hours, or days, and can interfere with work, communication, and daily functioning. Brain fog often overlaps with fatigue and deserves attention, especially when it becomes chronic or persistent.
Burnout
A state of nervous system burnout that develops from chronic overload and ongoing mismatch between neurology and environment.
Neurodivergent burnout is a state of chronic nervous system exhaustion that develops after prolonged cognitive, emotional, and sensory overload — especially in environments that don’t align with a person’s neurological needs.
It often grows out of masking, over-adapting, and the ongoing effort of navigating systems rarely designed with neurodivergent brains in mind. This isn’t just feeling tired. It’s a more global collapse of capacity, affecting the body, mind, and nervous system.
Burnout typically involves three overlapping clusters of experience:
Fatigue — a deep exhaustion that rest alone doesn’t resolve
Sensory overload — heightened sensitivity to sound, light, touch, and other input
Loss of skills — reduced capacity for communication, executive functioning, or daily tasks
Burnout often includes brain fog, increased sensory meltdowns or Sensory Shutdown, speech difficulties, and a decreased ability to mask. For some people, this is when underlying neurodivergence first becomes visible, leading to identification as Autistic or ADHD.
While neurodivergent people are especially vulnerable because of ongoing environmental mismatch, burnout is becoming more common across the population. In a culture that undervalues rest, regulation, and natural rhythms, neurodivergent people often act as the “canaries in the coal mine,” showing what happens when systems push beyond human limits.
Recovery usually requires more than rest alone. It involves nervous system repair, sensory regulation, supportive environments, reduced demands, and a deeper alignment with one’s actual needs.
