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| ADHD |
ADHD Social Burnout: Why You Need a “Dopamine Fast” (Without Becoming a Hermit)
Social burnout is real for ADHD. Learn how stimulation overload, performance pressure, and digital noise drain you—and how to recover without disappearing.
Key Takeaways
1. Social burnout doesn’t mean you “don’t like people”; it means the nervous system of someone with ADHD is being bombarded by input from people, chats, social media, and expectations until it’s too exhausted to cope.
If you never reduce that load, you’ll eventually start to hate everything that looks like “social”, even though what’s really happening is that you’re stuck in overload mode.
2. A dopamine fast is about temporarily reducing high-intensity input; it’s not about banning fun or banning social media for life.
The goal is to turn down the volume of everything that’s constantly grabbing your brain, so your nervous system can rest and reset.
3. If you don’t have replacement activities (low-stim alternatives), an ADHD brain will snap straight back into doom-scrolling and repeat the same loop automatically.
Preparing a “brain-rest menu” in advance makes stepping away from social media actually doable, instead of just a nice idea you say but never follow through on.
4. A re-entry plan is more important than disappearing, because it helps you return to social life gradually—without squeezing yourself dry and burning out again.
Deciding who you’ll reply to first, what your notification rules are, and how much social you’ll allow at a time helps keep your nervous system from collapsing a second round.
5. If your RSD is intense, every interaction becomes a lottery: “Will they see me negatively, hate me, or leave me?”—which makes socializing many times more draining.
This layer needs to be cared for separately (and linked to your RSD hub), because the stronger the RSD, the faster social burnout will hit you again.
ADHD and social burnout: The need for a "Dopamine Fast"
How is social burnout different from introvert recharge?
When someone with ADHD says, “I don’t want to talk to anyone right now, I’m exhausted by people,” the default response they often get is:
“Oh, you’re just an introvert. You just need some alone time.”
That sounds understanding, but in reality, social burnout, especially in people with ADHD, is much deeper and more intense than that—and it’s not just about whether you like people or not.
Let’s compare them point by point.
1) Starting point: introvert needs “quiet recharge,” social burnout = “system crash”
Introvert recharge
The starting point is: “I’ve spent a lot of energy being around people and now I feel drained.”
Rest means “stepping back to be with myself” so they feel recharged again.
Once they get quiet time and solo activities (reading, listening to music, walking, etc.) for a while, they often feel: “Okay, I’m ready to be around people again.”
Put simply:
An introvert spends a lot of energy on people, but the overall system is still functioning normally.
Social burnout (especially in people with ADHD)
The starting point usually isn’t just “I’ve seen too many people,” but being hit with input from all directions at once: real people, chats, social media, drama, expectations, responsibilities, roles.
It’s not just “tired”—the brain starts misfiring:
- You can’t think straight, even about simple things.
- You can’t process other people’s emotions anymore.
- Every notification feels like more weight being dumped on you.
The feeling isn’t just “I want to be alone,” it’s more like:
- “Please, no one talk to me at all.”
- “Why does everyone need something from me all the time?”
- “One more message and I swear I’m turning everything off.”
To say it bluntly:
Social burnout isn’t “low energy,” it’s the nervous system in full overload, on the verge of short-circuiting.
2) Level of nervous system fatigue, not just emotional tiredness
When an introvert is tired, they might feel: “Yeah… I’ve talked to a lot of people today, my social battery is low.”
But most of the time they can still:
- Think in a structured way
- Reply to important messages
- Handle tasks that require a medium level of focus
In contrast, during social burnout, especially layered with ADHD, it looks more like this:
- Brain fog: you can’t speak, can’t find words, even though normally you write or talk just fine
- The worst part: “replying to messages” becomes a huge task, so you keep avoiding it
- Just seeing the notification icon feels like someone put a brick on your chest
The difference in fatigue level is:
Introvert recharge = “energy tank is low” → rest → refill slowlySocial burnout = “nervous system has been bombarded until signals are scrambled” → you must reduce input first before you can refill anything
3) Roles + expectations = a burden introverts don’t always deal with
Another big difference is role load.
In social burnout with ADHD, there’s usually more layered on top than just “hanging out with friends,” for example:
- You have to be the one who listens to everyone’s problems
- You have to be the one who keeps the mood light and comfortable
- You have to be the one replying in the team chat for work
- You have to maintain the image of being “friendly / charming / capable and organized” all the time
Every role like this means each interaction isn’t just talking; it’s performance.
The brain has to manage multiple things at once:
- Did I say that okay?
- Will they misunderstand?
- Do I seem cold if I reply too briefly?
- Am I going to accidentally say something rude?
Result:
- Every social interaction = a full “work shift”
- After it’s over = it feels more like getting off a night shift than just casually hanging out
Meanwhile, some introverts (not all) might only struggle with:
- Too many people, too loud, too much sensory input
But they don’t necessarily have the same performance pressure + masking + constant fear of others’ reactions that someone with ADHD + RSD does.
4) The “looking back” pattern is different, too
Look at the thought patterns after social events.
Introvert after spending time with lots of people:
- “That was fun, but I’m so tired. I need a day or two to turn off social mode.”
- “Glad I went, but now I just want some quiet.”
Social burnout in ADHD / heavy social overload:
- “Why does my life consist of everyone needing something from me all the time?”
- “Just trying to reply to everyone feels like being strangled.”
- “I’m starting to hate every single notification on this planet.”
- “If one more person messages me, I’m deleting every app.”
The emotional tone afterwards isn’t just “tired,” it turns into:
- Fed up with people
- Irritated by social life in general
- A strong urge to vanish completely from everyone’s radar
This is the point where it starts as social burnout and spirals into:
- Replying less and less
- Dropping out of group chats
- Leaving all messages unread because you don’t even have the energy to open them
5) Recovery time: introvert = recharge battery / social burnout = repair the system
Introvert recharge
- Mode: quiet, solo activities they enjoy (gaming, reading, watching movies)
- Time: a few hours to 1–2 days
- Result: they feel “full” and ready to see people again
Social burnout
For many people with ADHD who’ve been pushed beyond their input limit:
- They can go silent for weeks or even months
- It’s not because they “like isolation” but because the brain literally has no bandwidth left to connect with others
- Just thinking about replying to all the messages they’ve left hanging feels like climbing a mountain
So we can say:
- Introvert recharge = just refilling the battery
- Social burnout recovery = you have to:
- Shut down input load for a while
- Repair how you feel about yourself (because you often feel guilty for disappearing)
- Rebuild a structure for how you’ll return to social life without collapsing again
It’s not “sleep on it and you’ll be fine tomorrow.”
It’s more like resetting the entire nervous system plus renegotiating some relationships at the same time.
6) For people with ADHD: social burnout = introvert traits + masking + RSD + digital overload combined
To paint the picture clearly for someone with ADHD:
Social burnout doesn’t mean you’re “just an introvert who wants to be alone.”
It’s the sum total of:
- Personality (how much you naturally like people)
- Nervous system limits (how much input you can handle before you crash)
- Roles you have to play (masking, performance)
- Fear of rejection (RSD)
- Input from social media / chats / endless drama with no off-switch
Think of it this way:
- If you’re “just introvert” → you rest so you can feel comfortable seeing people again
- If you’re in social burnout → you rest to “stop yourself from growing to hate social life entirely,” and to keep your nervous system functioning in other life areas (work, family, basic self-care)
Short summary of this section (which you can separate into a highlight box on your site if you want):
- Introvert recharge = being around people drains your battery → you take alone time → battery refills → you go back to social life.
- Social burnout = the nervous system has been bombarded with input → brain is exhausted, can’t even reply to messages, hates notifications → you need to seriously reduce input + redesign how you re-enter social life.
In people with ADHD, social burnout usually comes with masking, performance pressure, RSD, and digital overload—not just “liking solitude.”
If you’re reading this and thinking, “Okay, I’m not just introvert, I’m definitely socially burnt out,”
that’s your sign that the next section (dopamine fast) is going to be something you actually use. ð
Why ADHD burns out from people / chats / social media so fast
When you tell a neurotypical person, “Just replying to chats and being in group convos exhausts me,” they often assume you’re being dramatic or “just don’t want to talk.”
But from the perspective of the ADHD brain and nervous system, input from people + messages + social media is not a small thing.
It’s like forcing your brain to run multiple processes in real time, nonstop, with no pause button.
Let’s break it down into layers:
- Layer 1: The brain has to process information – who said what, what’s the content, how should you respond
- Layer 2: Self-management – don’t type too harshly, don’t reply too late, don’t forget to answer this person or that person, don’t read and then ghost
- Layer 3: Scanning the atmosphere – will they misunderstand, are they upset, are we still okay?
- Layer 4: The existing ADHD background – noise in your head, side thoughts, unfinished tasks, lingering worries
The ADHD brain already runs like a browser with every tab open.
Once you add social into it, it becomes:
Not just “replying to messages”
but juggling 4–5 layers of information and emotion at the same time.
Do that all day and you burn out fast—even if you never leave the house.
1) Just “read–think–reply” already burns a lot of energy in ADHD
Most people feel like chatting is a low-effort activity. For ADHD, it’s not that simple:
- Reading long messages = you have to extract the main point and stop your brain from zoning out
- Thinking of a reply = you have to choose wording that’s not “too much / too little / wrong tone”
- Hitting send = you have to not forget to send, not change your mind and delete, not leave them hanging
Behind the scenes, the brain has to:
- Pull in working memory: what were we talking about, what did they say before this?
- Switch focus between multiple screens (chatting with A, message from B pops up, group C notifications come in)
- Use executive function to make continuous micro-decisions:
- Should I reply now or later?
- What tone should I use?
- Will this sentence make them overthink?
For a calm brain, these micro-decisions are like small steps.
For ADHD, it’s like “light jogging all day”—you don’t collapse instantly, but your energy erodes until you do.
2) The ADHD brain is sensitive to “task switching” + “noise”
Modern social life doesn’t come in one stream; it hits like a machine gun:
- Notification sounds
- Feed updates
- Messages in multiple chats at once
- Work, friends, and drama all blended together
For an ADHD brain, this rapid context switching is enemy number one because:
- Every switch = energy cost
- Every notification = a chance to get pulled away from what you were doing, then you have to spend more energy to drag yourself back
Result:
- Your brain feels like it’s being pulled in every direction all day long
- At some point, you just stop wanting to perceive anything at all—even messages you normally want to answer
This leads to a very familiar ADHD pattern:
- At first you reply fast, it’s fun → a few hours or days later → you suddenly vanish from every chat because you finally accept “I can’t handle this anymore,” while others are confused: “It’s just talking, how is that so tiring?”
3) Reading emotional tone in text = heavy processing work
In chats and on social media, most messages don’t have facial expressions or tone of voice. The brain has to guess more.
For someone with ADHD + rejection sensitivity (RSD), that guessing multiplies the workload:
- What did they really mean by that?
- Is this message cold, or am I overthinking?
- Did their tone change, or are they just typing quickly?
So:
- A 1–2 line message can occupy your mind for 10–30 minutes, replaying it over and over.
- Your brain spends more time interpreting than engaging with what was actually said.
Every time you do that, your “reserve energy” is drained a bit more.
Eventually, one more notification sound feels like a hammer blow.
4) Pressure to “reply well” / “not disappear” = hidden load no one sees
Another major drain is your own internal standards, which people with ADHD often set way too high, like:
- “If I reply too short, they’ll think I don’t care.”
- “If I reply too late, they’ll think I don’t value them.”
- “If I don’t explain enough, there will be misunderstandings later.”
So:
- One reply = you try to craft something elegant, smooth, and thorough.
- If you feel you “don’t have enough energy to reply properly,” you postpone it.
- The longer you postpone → the more guilty you feel → more pressure → even harder to start replying.
Do this repeatedly and it’s no surprise that, one day, your brain flips into:
“I don’t want anyone to message me at all. I just want everything quiet.”
That’s social burnout in the form of being drained by chats / social media / conversations over time.
5) Most people don’t realize “living in chats all day” can cause burnout—but for ADHD, it can
The biggest misunderstanding is this mental picture:
- Burnout = working too hard, going out a lot, constant meetings, being around people outside all day
- Staying home + chatting = “just using your phone, why would that be exhausting?”
But for the ADHD brain:
- Multiple chat threads = multiple parallel “meetings” stretched across the whole day
- Social media = a constantly updating room of news, drama, and opinions you need to process
- Notifications = someone knocking on the door of your brain every 5–10 minutes
Think of it like this:
- Other people might work 8 hours and socialize 2–3 hours.
- Many ADHD people “work 5–6 hours + mentally think about people / chats / social media for another 5–6 hours” in their head without anyone realizing.
The clock time looks the same, but the mental workload is way higher.
Masking, RSD vigilance, stimulation load
This section is about the three core culprits that make people with ADHD burn out from people / chats / social media much faster than others.
It’s not just “you talk too much”; there are hidden background processes running all the time.
1) Masking: constantly playing the “acceptable version” of yourself
Masking is “performing” a version of yourself that’s easy to be around, easy to understand, not too much, not too weird, not too disruptive.
People with ADHD often start masking in childhood because they’re repeatedly told:
- “Don’t interrupt.”
- “Don’t talk so much.”
- “Don’t act weird like that.”
- “Don’t look spaced-out like you’re not listening.”
So when they’re actually in social mode, the brain runs scripts like:
- Self-checking:
- Am I talking too much?
- Am I talking too fast?
- Did I just change the subject too quickly?
- Monitoring others’ expressions:
- Are they getting bored?
- Do they look confused?
- Do they look irritated?
All of this = cognitive + emotional load that most people don’t see.
In chats and social media, masking looks like:
- Trying to type in the “right” way for that group: using the right memes, tone, reaction style
- Overthinking whether a word will trigger someone or be misunderstood
- Deleting messages you already typed because “that’s too much”
Every message you send has been filtered through multiple internal checks.
Do that all day and of course you burn out faster than someone who just types and hits send without a second thought.
2) RSD vigilance: constant “will they hate me?” surveillance mode
RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria)—extreme sensitivity to being rejected or seen negatively—makes the brain work like this:
- A short message that others read and shrug off → your brain expands into “What exactly did they mean by that?”
- Slow replies / read but no response → interpreted as “Do they not want to talk to me anymore?”
- Harsh jokes / teasing → becomes “Are they actually belittling me, or is this really just a joke?”
The word vigilance means continuous surveillance. The brain is:
- Constantly monitoring tone and subtext
- Scanning for signs: “Are we still okay?”
- Ready to get emotionally shocked by even tiny hints of rejection
Imagine:
- You’re talking with 3–4 people
- At the same time, your brain is also tracking who seems distant, who’s replying less, who’s interacting differently than before
You’re talking and acting as your own “emotional security guard” for every relationship at once.
The real effect of RSD vigilance:
- It’s not just “overthinking”; it’s your brain using high-level processing power to evaluate relational safety every second.
- Social interactions stop being just conversations—they become repeated tests of “Will I be abandoned or hated?”
Do that enough and social spaces become some of the most exhausting places in your life.
It’s not because you don’t love people—it’s because loving and being attached to people costs you enormous processing power.
3) Stimulation load: too much input + rapid mode switching = system failure
Finally, there’s stimulation load—how much stimulation the brain has to handle in today’s social + digital environment.
For ADHD:
- The brain is extra sensitive to anything attention-grabbing.
- Dopamine spikes easily with novelty, excitement, urgency, drama.
When you’re in an environment full of:
- Notifications from 3–5 apps
- Multiple group chats (work, friends, family)
- Feeds packed with short videos, intense news, hot drama, new memes
- Personal DMs that might be good news, bad news, urgent tasks, or emotionally loaded issues
It becomes:
Your brain is being hit with rapid-fire input all day long,
with almost no real downtime, even if you “just stay home.”
Example of stimulation load in just 10–15 minutes:
- Someone tags you in a drama post in a group
- A friend sends you a funny video
- A work chat pops up: “Can you review this file ASAP?”
- Another app notification appears
- A new comment shows up on your own post, waiting for a reply
Your brain has to:
- Jump modes from fun → serious → worried → amused → suspicious → problem-solving
- Change emotional gears more often than your nervous system can realistically handle
To an outsider, it looks like “just scrolling and chatting.”
To ADHD, it’s:
- Running up and down emotional stairs all day long.
Eventually, your body sends signals like:
- Headaches, heavy-headed
- Urge to throw your phone across the room
- Irritation at humanity for no clear immediate reason
- Shut down: don’t want to talk, reply, or process anything
That’s stimulation load—and it’s a big reason social burnout in ADHD is so intense and comes on so fast.
Short this section recap (good as a side-note box):
- Masking = constantly playing the version of yourself that “other people can handle” → high energy cost managing yourself + monitoring reactions.
- RSD vigilance = constant fear of being disliked or rejected → brain tracks tone, messages, expressions nonstop; much more draining than normal conversation.
- Stimulation load = overlapping input from people + chats + social media + drama coming in too fast → the nervous system fills up quickly and the brain goes into shut-down mode.
Put all three together and you get:
People with ADHD burn out from people / chats / social media much faster than most people realize—and this is why “just replying to messages” can completely wipe you out. ððą
A practical dopamine fast (without going monk-mode)
Online, “dopamine detox/fast” comes in every flavor—from mystical to self-torturing.
Some versions make it sound like you must cut off the world, avoid all pleasure, abandon your phone, and sit with emptiness before you’re allowed back.
For most people with ADHD, that approach is a guaranteed failure from day one.
A nervous system that’s used to heavy input tends to rebound even harder on day 2–3.
What this article calls a “dopamine fast” is not “removing dopamine from your life.”
It’s about organizing high-intensity input so your nervous system can breathe again—especially input from people + chats + social media + fast-paced content—and replacing it with calmer activities that still feel human, not like becoming a stone-monk.
The basic idea:
- We’re not trying to become digital monks.
- We’re not quitting social media forever.
- We’re creating a “nervous system rest zone” for ourselves, with clear rules about:
- What we’re reducing
- How much we’re reducing it
- For how long
- What we’ll do instead
So a real-life dopamine fast has to:
- Clearly define which input you’re reducing, not “everything in life.”
- Have a clear time frame – e.g., 24 hours / 72 hours / just the weekend.
- Include realistic replacements—otherwise the ADHD brain snaps back to doom-scrolling like a spring.
Think of it as a “nervous system care mode”, not a morality test.
If you can’t follow your plan 100% on some days, you don’t need to attack yourself.
Just restart with something gentler. That’s still much better than doing nothing.
Reduce input tiers (24h / 72h / weekend)
Instead of thinking “I have to shut everything off for a whole week,” which makes your brain quit before you even start, it’s more realistic to break it into levels of intensity that you can choose based on your current energy.
Overall we’re looking at three levels:
- 24 hours – a light reset on a workday or a busy day with lots of commitments
- 72 hours – a deeper recovery after heavy social overload (events, trips, big family gatherings, major drama)
- Weekend reset – a long-term maintenance system where you give your nervous system at least one day a week of lower external volume
Tier 1: 24 hours – micro reset when you still have responsibilities
This suits days when your social battery is clearly warning you, but you can’t escape work or obligations. You keep living your normal life, but you turn down the “volume of the world” as much as possible.
Core principles of a 24h fast:
- Reduce pressure to respond in real-time.
- Reduce unnecessary notification noise.
- Reduce drama consumption that doesn’t affect your actual life.
Examples of realistic 24h rules:
- Turn off notifications for every app except:
- Phone calls
- Chats from a few important people (chosen individually, not entire groups)
- Intentionally avoid:
- Comments / messages that are just small talk
- Drama / hot takes / pages you know will ruin your mood
- If you must use social media for work:
- Use a timer: 15–20 minutes per session
- Do what you need to do, then close it—don’t slide into aimless scrolling
Example of a 24h reset on a weekday:
- Morning: reply only to urgent work/family messages, then mute notifications.
- Midday: no feed scrolling during breaks—walk, play with pets, or listen to music instead.
- Evening: one social media session (30–40 minutes), reply to what you can, then shut it down.
The key isn’t “100% perfection,” but disrupting the pattern of constant instant replies and constant consumption, and giving your brain blocks of time with no one tugging at it.
Tier 2: 72 hours – recovery after heavy social overload
This mode is for after things like:
- A trip where you were around people all day for several days
- A seminar / training / camp / family gathering with nonstop socializing
- A heavy drama period with groups / family / friends / workplace
72 hours is ideal for cutting out nonessential social temporarily so your brain can return to a smaller, safer radius before expanding again.
Ideas for 72-hour rules:
- Within these 3 days:
- No purely social meet-ups (just for hanging out, not essential to survival)
- Avoid topics that always escalate or trigger (politics, family drama, old conflicts)
- Use social media with time limits (e.g., total under 1 hour per day)
- Briefly inform key people:
- “I’m switching to low-power mode for a few days. If I reply slowly don’t worry—if it’s urgent, just call.”
- Separate channels:
- Work: use email or official channels → check 1–2 times a day
- Personal: reply only to 2–3 safe-zone people
Things to watch out for during the 72 hours:
- You’ll get moments where you feel “empty,” and the brain will crave something intense to slam into (like hunting down online drama).
- Without good replacements, you’ll drift back to the old loop because the quiet feels “boring + restless,” not peaceful.
That’s why this 72-hour block must be paired with a low-stim activity menu (we’ll connect this with the next H3) or else the fast becomes just running away, only to dive back into even heavier input.
Tier 3: Weekend reset – weekly maintenance mode
This tier is about long-term care, not post-crash rescue. It’s like intentionally setting one day a week as a “bring your brain home” day, so your nervous system knows there’s at least one day when the outside world is noticeably softer.
Possible structure:
- Pick Saturday or Sunday as your “low-stim day” and set rules like:
- Don’t read drama comments / don’t visit pages you know will fire you up
- Delay non-urgent replies until the evening, then respond in one batch
- Limit total screen time (e.g., 2–3 hours max across everything)
- Focus on:
- Home, body, and real-world activities—simple cooking, tidying, plant care, walking
Example of a weekend reset:
- Morning: turn off all notifications, play soft music or a podcast while you tidy or make coffee.
- Late morning–afternoon: do hands-on or body-based activities more than screen activities—drawing, playing with pets, crafts.
- Evening: one big phone session to answer important messages and read what you want, but don’t drag yourself into content you know will tank your mood.
This teaches your nervous system:
“There’s not only Mon–Fri of constant input. There’s at least one day when the world is genuinely quieter.”
You don’t have to give up everything—just rearrange things so the volume isn’t maxed out.
Replacement menu (low-stim options)
A dopamine fast doesn’t work if all you have is “No, no, no,” with no answer to “Okay, so what do I do instead?”
The ADHD brain does not respond well to “don’t.”
It responds to “here’s what you can do right now.”
A “replacement menu” is a ready-made list of activities you prepare ahead of time. When you need a break from intense input, you don’t have to think from scratch with a tired brain—you just pick from the menu and go.
Principles for low-stim menu design:
- It doesn’t need to be productive.
- It doesn’t need to “improve” you.
- It doesn’t need to lead to a big finished result.
- It just needs to:
- Not spike dopamine up and down too violently
- Not force heavy rapid task-switching
- Not open doors to more drama or stress
1) Categorize activities so they’re easier to choose
To keep your menu from becoming chaos, group activities into categories and then fill each with options that suit you.
A. Hands-on – move the body, let the brain soften
- Watercolor / acrylics / colored pencils—no need for pretty art, scribbling is fine
- Jigsaw puzzles, LEGO, simple model kits
- Small crafts like paper folding, beading, peeling stickers into a journal
- Tidying a small area: one drawer, one section of a desk—not the entire room
B. Gentle body use – let your nervous system reset
- Walking around your house or neighborhood without listening to anything, or with soft music
- Simple stretching (5–10 poses), or a short, gentle yoga video—not intense workouts
- Playing with pets: stroking fur, brushing, giving them a bath
C. Comforting sensory input
- Taking a slow warm shower, deliberately noticing water and soap smell
- Making a small drink ritual: brewing tea, making coffee, or honey-lemon water and sipping quietly
- Playing rain sounds, ocean waves, or forest ambience instead of social media feeds for half an hour
D. Light-thinking – thinking but not problem-solving
- Reading books or fiction that aren’t dramatic, stressful, or info-heavy
- Listening to light podcasts you can enjoy without focusing on every detail
- Doing a brain dump on paper—writing out everything bothering you without needing to organize it
E. Low-stim social
If total solitude feels too lonely, 100% isolation may not be the best answer. Try gentle social options that don’t overload your system:
- Calling / video calling a very safe person for just 10–15 minutes
- Sitting quietly with someone at home, watching a light show together without needing to talk the whole time
2) Distinguish what is not low-stim (even if it looks like “rest”)
- Mindlessly scrolling TikTok/Shorts/Reels
- Playing fast-paced, high-alert games (shooters, intense action, ranked matches)
- Reading drama threads and comment wars
- Watching videos/movies with very intense emotional pull (super sad, super stressful, high suspense)
This doesn’t mean you can never do them. But during a dopamine fast we treat it like this:
If the activity makes your heart race, gets you hyped, angry, or pulls you into the screen for hours without you noticing → it does not count as low-stim.
You can absolutely do these on non-rest days.
Just don’t use them as “rest”, because they keep your nervous system working overtime.
3) How to build a “personal menu” you can grab instantly
For this menu to really help you, it has to be ready-to-use, not just a vague idea in your head.Steps:
- Pick 5–10 activities from the categories above that you can realistically do in your current life.
- Write them on paper/a note and stick it somewhere visible—by your desk, on the fridge, next to your bed.
- If you want more detail, divide them into:
- 5-minute menu
- 15-minute menu
- 30–60 minute menu
So you can choose based on how much time/energy you have in that moment.
Example real-life menu:
- 5 minutes: make tea + do 3 simple stretches / pet the dog or cat / wash 2–3 cups or dishes
- 15 minutes: walk around the house / doodle on one sheet of paper / read 1–2 pages of a novel
- 30–60 minutes: cook something simple / work on a jigsaw puzzle / tidy a corner of your desk
4) How to use the menu in real life (when you’re tired from people/chats/social)
Common situations:
- You’ve been scrolling your feed “for 10 minutes” and suddenly it’s been 40.
- Chats keep popping up until you want to throw your phone across the room.
- You just argued or got triggered in the comments and are about to keep scrolling, making yourself feel worse.
Use this short formula:
- Stop – put the phone down / close the screen / close all social tabs for a moment.
- Breathe – deliberately take 3–5 deep, conscious breaths.
- Pick from the menu – look at your menu note and pick one low-stim activity that fits the time you have right now.
- Set a time – tell yourself:
“I’m going to do this for 10–15 minutes, then decide whether I still want to go back to social.”
Just inserting a block of low-stim time in between rounds of social consumption already significantly reduces load on your nervous system—without forcing you to disappear from the world entirely.
5) Agreement with yourself: low-stim = rest, not productivity
A common trap in ADHD dopamine fasts is turning “rest time” into another self-improvement grind, for example:- “If I’m off social anyway, I might as well read a heavy self-help book.”
- “No games, no chats, so I’ll declutter the entire house in one day.”
In the end, your “rest mode” becomes “self-attack mode” instead—which does nothing for social burnout and only reinforces the idea that any downtime must be “optimized.”
When you use your replacement menu, stick to this rule:
- Today is for nervous system rest.
- If an activity makes you feel rushed, judged, or constantly evaluated, it’s not low-stim.
You do not need to come out of a dopamine fast with some big “achievement.”
It’s enough if you come out feeling like:
- You can breathe more easily.
- You don’t hate notifications as much as before.
- You still have some energy left for the next day.
That’s already a success—on a nervous system level.
Short box-style summary:
- A practical dopamine fast = temporarily reducing high-intensity social/digital input within a clear time frame, not cutting off the world.
- Reduce input tiers help you choose a realistic intensity: 24-hour light reset, 72-hour post-overload recovery, weekend reset as weekly maintenance.
- The replacement menu is the core. Without low-stim options, an ADHD brain will always snap back to doom-scrolling.
How to tell people “I need to go quiet” without just vanishing
One of the hardest parts of social burnout is this:
While your brain and nervous system are screaming:
“Turn everything off. I can’t handle this.”
RSD, guilt, and fear of being misunderstood are whispering:
- “If you go silent, will they think you don’t care?”
- “Will they think you’re being dramatic and running away from problems?”
- “What if they stop talking to you altogether? What if you lose them?”
So you end up either:
- Forcing yourself to keep replying even when you’re completely drained, or
- Disappearing without a word and then drowning in guilt afterwards.
Both options burn your nervous system out—one before and one after.
This section focuses on a middle path:
How to say “I need to be quiet / I’ll reply slowly” in a way that’s short, clear, direct, and doesn’t force you to give a TED talk about your brain every time.
1) The goal isn’t “make them fully understand,” it’s “set a frame so you can stay alive”
When you think about telling people, a lot of us fall into:
“I have to explain everything so they fully understand—
my ADHD, my RSD, my social burnout, my background, my whole history…”
That sounds nice in theory, but in practice it totally overloads you, especially when your brain is already burnt out from social.
Shift your mindset like this:
- The primary goal right now is
“protect my nervous system from collapsing further.”
- Communicating with others is
“setting boundaries so I can survive,”
not “presenting my entire mental health file for their immediate approval.”
Which means, in a social burnout phase:
- You’re allowed to use short sentences.
- You’re allowed not to give every detail.
- You’re allowed to decide how much context to share with which person.
If you want to share more when your brain is calmer, you can do that later.
You don’t need to do everything in one day.
2) Communication principles for “I need to be quiet” when you have RSD / fear of being hated
To stop your brain from overcomplicating it so much that you never say anything, use these 4 simple principles:
1. State your own status broadly
- No need to name every diagnosis.
- Use neutral words like “mentally tired,” “social battery is empty,” “low-power mode.”
2. Say what will happen in simple terms
- e.g., “If I reply slowly / go quiet sometimes, it’s not because I hate you or am running away.”
3. Offer a “fast channel” for emergencies
- e.g., “If it’s urgent, call me.”
- This lowers anxiety on both sides.
4. Don’t over-apologize
- One short apology is enough.
- Focus the rest on boundaries, not self-attack.
Example structure:
“Right now my brain is really tired from a lot of people/chats, so I might reply slowly.
If there’s something urgent, you can call me. I’m not ignoring you, just saving energy a bit.”
That’s usually more than enough for most people who already care about you.
3) Sample phrases for different types of relationships
3.1 Close friends / trusted people
With these people, you might want them to understand more so they can adjust around you long-term.
Examples:
“Lately I’ve been in really heavy social burnout. My brain is so tired I can’t do long chats right now. If I disappear sometimes, it just means I’m recharging—not that I’m mad at you ❤️”
“If you see me read and not reply right away, please assume my social battery is dead, not that I don’t want to talk. If it’s really urgent, just ping me again or call.”
“I need a 2–3 day break from long conversations. If I reply short or slow, don’t overthink it. Once my brain comes back online, I’ll come and gossip properly with you ð”
Notice:
- You’re honest about your condition without technical jargon.
- You clearly say “I’m not mad / not abandoning you.”
- You give them a panic-free emergency channel.
3.2 Acquaintances / friend groups / group chats
You might not want to share too deeply here, but you also don’t want to ghost and damage the group dynamic.
Examples for a group:
“My social battery is running out pretty fast right now. If I read and go quiet sometimes, don’t worry—I’m not disappearing, just on low-chat mode ð ”
“This week I’ll mostly be lurking, not replying much. Work + people have been overwhelming. If there’s something really important, tag me or DM me directly.”
If you need to leave a group that’s really triggering:
“I need to reduce my social input a bit, so I’m leaving some group chats to manage my energy. If you want to talk, DM me anytime—I’m not disappearing ð”
You don’t have to explain why that specific group is triggering. Just saying “I need to reduce input” is enough.
3.3 Workplace / colleagues
In work contexts, you usually want to be short, clear, and show that you’re still responsible—not dumping your personal issues on others.
Examples:
“Today I might be slower than usual replying to chats/emails. I’m focusing on some deep-work tasks. If something is urgent, please call.”
“I’ve been reorganizing how I manage my energy. If my replies outside work hours are slower, don’t worry. For urgent work items, please send them via [channel] instead.”
Principles at work:
- Emphasize managing focus/energy to do your job well, not personal emotional narrative.
- Give a clear alternative for urgent matters.
- Signal that you’re still responsible—you’re not disappearing from your role.
3.4 Social media / DMs / followers
If you run a page/content, you may get messages from fans, clients, or followers. You don’t owe everyone a deep personal explanation, but you might want them to know “no response ≠ I hate you.”
Examples for a public post / general note:
“I’m in slow-reply mode for a bit ð§ ðĪ If your DM/comment goes unanswered, it just means my brain is resting—not that I’m ignoring you. Thank you for understanding!”
“If I don’t respond to every message, please know I read them and appreciate them. I’m trying to balance creating content with taking care of my mental health ð”
This cuts down the pressure of “I must respond to every single person now,” and followers who genuinely respect you will understand.
4) Small techniques to reduce guilt + stop yourself from vanishing randomly
4.1 Use “template messages” instead of inventing new words every time
When you’re in social burnout, even forming simple sentences can feel hard. Having pre-written templates in your notes or memo app saves a lot of friction.
Example templates:
“My social battery is running out fast lately. If I reply slowly, don’t worry—I’m not avoiding you, just on chat-saver mode.”
“My brain is really tired from a lot of people right now. I need to go quiet and rest a bit. If there’s something urgent, please call.”
Once you have these, you just copy–paste and tweak them slightly instead of building every message from scratch.
4.2 Make a “who to tell” shortlist for days you’re about to go quiet
Before going into silent mode, ask yourself:
- Who would I feel really guilty about if I vanished without a word?
- Is there anyone who deserves a 1–2 line heads-up so they’re not blindsided?
Then:
- Send something only to those people (maybe 1–3 people).
- Let everyone else go. You don’t have to explain yourself to the entire population.
This stops your RSD from spiraling later into “I disappointed everyone,” when in reality, only a small circle actually needed to know.
4.3 Separate “taking a break” from “cutting people off”
Many of us hesitate to ask for quiet time because in our heads:
“If I pull back, they’ll think I’m cutting them out.”
Try adopting new self-talk:
- “I’m not removing them from my life; I’m removing input from my nervous system temporarily.”
- “A healthy relationship should survive me needing to recharge.”
You don’t need to be active on every platform, in every chat, in every relationship, all the time, to prove you care.
5) What if I say all this and they still don’t get it?
Some possibilities:
- Some people will understand instantly and support you fully.
- Some will be confused but try to adjust.
- Some will respond with “Just don’t overthink it,” or “It’s just chatting, how can that be so tiring?”
Here’s the blunt part:
People who refuse to understand at all, and make you feel guilty every time you care for yourself, are extra load on your social burnout.
You’re allowed to set distance with these people, even if they never fully “get it.”
If they insist on seeing you as “too much” after you’ve communicated kindly and clearly, that reflects their system, not your worth.
In the end:
- Protecting your nervous system and boundaries
sometimes means accepting that
“some people may never fully understand, and that’s okay.”
You don’t have to sacrifice your entire mental health just to preserve your image in everyone’s eyes.
Box-style summary of this section:
- Saying “I need to be quiet / slow to reply” isn’t running away; it’s protecting your nervous system.
- You don’t have to explain everything at once. Use a simple structure:
- Briefly state your status → say you’ll reply more slowly → emphasize you’re not abandoning them → give an emergency channel if needed.
- Use templates to reduce mental load when you’re burnt out.
- Prioritize communication with key people; you don’t have to explain to everyone in your life.
- If someone still doesn’t understand after you’ve been polite and honest, you’re allowed to create distance so you can survive long term.
Re-entering social life without relapsing: a re-entry plan
Taking a break from people, chats, and social media so your nervous system can breathe is only half the game.
The other half—which is just as hard—is getting back into social life without collapsing again.
Why? Because without a clear re-entry plan, one of these usually happens:
- You stay gone for so long that you start stressing: “Who do I reply to first?” → answer: no one → keep avoiding.
- You come back all at once, replying to everyone and accepting every invite until your social battery crashes a second time.
- You feel guilty for leaving people hanging, so you overcommit to “make up for it” → end up in the same burnout all over again.
This section is about building a structured re-entry plan so that returning to social life isn’t just throwing yourself back into the same cycle, but starting a new round with rules that are kinder to your nervous system.
1) Set a clear “re-entry point” – don’t let yourself drift endlessly
People with ADHD + RSD often get stuck in this loop:
Rest → disappear → feel guilty → guilt makes it harder to come back → longer silence → more stress → need more rest → repeat.
The solution isn’t forcing yourself to “go back right now,” but deciding your re-entry point in advance—a time or condition that still feels doable.
Examples:
- If you’re doing a 72-hour dopamine fast:
→ Tell yourself from the start:
“On the evening of day 4, I’ll start replying to chats in small batches.”
- If it’s a weekend reset:
→ Decide that:
“Monday morning/evening will be my intentional notification review time.”
This does two things:
- Prevents your break from quietly morphing into “I’ve run away forever.”
- Lowers the RSD voice saying, “You’ll never reply to anyone ever again,” because you have a concrete plan in hand.
2) Sort people/chats into “layers,” not one giant pile
Another trap is treating every notification as one huge obligation, such as:
- Work questions
- Friend hangout invites
- Long vent messages about life problems
- Jokes and memes
- Drama tags that have nothing to do with you
Then the ADHD brain packages it all together as:
“Wow, I have to reply to all of this… I’ll do it tomorrow.”
(Then “tomorrow” slides forward forever.)
The fix is to stop treating everyone equally in terms of reply priority (this is about reply order, not their worth as humans), and instead organize them into “necessity tiers” your brain can handle step by step.
Try something like:
- Inner circle (Priority 1)
- Family / partner / spouse
- Clients / work matters with deadlines
- People whose lives are actually impacted if you never respond
- Middle circle (Priority 2)
- Close friends and groups you really want to maintain
- People who energize you, but nothing is urgent
- Outer circle (Priority 3)
- Casual banter, fun links, nonessential chats
- Large group chats where your presence isn’t critical
- Distant acquaintances you can answer when you have spare capacity
When you’re ready to re-enter social mode:
- Start with inner circle slowly and mindfully.
- For middle circle – only reply to people/topics you have energy for.
- For outer circle – reply if and when you can, and sometimes “no reply” is acceptable if nothing truly important depends on it.
This breaks the giant notification mountain into small, manageable blocks.
3) Use “I’m back” messages as a bridge – don’t start from zero every time
A big ADHD problem: when you’ve been gone a while, your brain decides:
- “I have to come back with a really good explanation.”
- “My reply must be perfect, reasonable, detailed.”
The result: the bar in your head gets so high that you never actually start replying.
So prep some “I’m back” templates you can reuse with different people:
“Sorry I disappeared to rest my brain for a while. Social burnout hit me hard. I’m back now and would really love to keep talking if it’s not too late ð”
“My brain completely crashed from work + people, so I went quiet. Sorry for not saying anything earlier. I finally have some energy to come back and say hi.”
“Confession: I vanished because my social battery was literally dead ð I wasn’t running away—just needed a long recharge. I’m doing better now.”
Key points:
- Honestly admit you disappeared because you were exhausted.
- One short apology for courtesy.
- No need to list every diagnosis or brain mechanism.
- End by reopening the door to continue the conversation.
Then watch how they respond. If they’re fine, you probably don’t need to explain further.
4) Re-enter in levels, not 0 → 100 in one day
Going from dead silence to:
- Replying to everyone in one day
- Accepting every invite, meeting everyone
- Being fully active on every platform again
might feel like you’re “doing the right thing,” but to your nervous system it’s just a fresh round of social overload on max difficulty.
Think of re-entry more like physical therapy than a sprint test.
Rough levels:
- Phase 1 (days 1–3)
- Reply only to inner circle (Priority 1).
- Choose low-energy social: one-on-one chats, not big groups.
- No in-person meetups with lots of people yet.
- Phase 2 (days 4–7)
- Add middle circle (Priority 2) people you genuinely want to talk to.
- Start popping into groups, but don’t pressure yourself to be active all the time.
- If you schedule in-person social, pick one safe meetup only.
- Phase 3 (after that)
Gradually return to normal use of social media but with explicit “brakes” such as:
- No social apps after midnight
- No opening social media immediately upon waking
- Notice when your energy starts dropping and pull back before you crash.
The core idea:
Re-enter with awareness and limits,
not as a “debt repayment” exercise where you hand yourself over to everyone at once.
5) Build “small rules” to stop your nervous system from being crushed again
During your rest period, you probably noticed what you truly can’t tolerate, such as:
- Having to reply instantly to every message
- Being everyone’s emotional trash bin
- Staying in groups that are constantly dramatic and emotionally draining
A good re-entry plan includes small rules like:
Notification rules:
- Turn off notifications for everything except 1–2 primary channels.
- Or conversely: keep notifications on, but only check at set times (morning / afternoon / evening).
“Listening to problems” rules:
- If your mental state is fragile, don’t be a dumping ground for one person’s drama for more than X days in a row.
- If a message comes in that’s a very long emotional unload and you have no energy, you can say:
“My brain can only handle a bit right now. I can listen for about X minutes / or maybe you can give me the short version first?”
Drama group rules:
- If a group leaves you feeling heavy every time you open it → mute or leave.
- You’re allowed not to stay in spaces that repeatedly trash your nervous system.
Remember:
A re-entry without boundaries is basically a fast track back to social burnout.
6) Check in with yourself after you’ve been back for a while
Many people think “rest” = full reset.
Reality: after going back into social mode, your nervous system stays fragile for quite some time.
Set a self check-in day, e.g. one week after re-entry, and ask honestly:
- How do I feel now when I see notifications—neutral, tense, or instantly annoyed?
- Are there chats/people/groups that always leave me feeling half-drained after interacting?
- Is there someone whose messages make my heart sink because I know how much energy they require?
- Are the rules/boundaries I set still in place, or have I broken half of them already?
Then decide:
- Which rules are working → keep them.
- Which rules are too strict to maintain → loosen them but keep some structure.
- What new rules do I want to add, such as:
- “No long chats on Sundays.”
- “After 8 p.m. I only reply short and don’t talk about heavy topics.”
This turns your re-entry plan into a living system that adapts to your real life, not a rigid law.
7) Accept that “you will not be able to answer everyone” and that doesn’t make you a bad person
This might be the hardest pill for someone with RSD:
You will never be able to respond to every request from everyone
without sacrificing your mental health and nervous system.
In a world where every channel is open 24/7:
- Anyone can reach you.
- Everyone wants your most attentive, present version.
- Social media makes you feel guilty for not being constantly active.
But in reality:
- People who truly love you will understand when you need rest.
- People who expect instant access at all times may need to be moved further out in your orbit so you can survive.
A good re-entry plan isn’t about becoming someone who satisfies everyone. It’s about:
Returning as a version of yourself that
doesn’t vanish from the world,
and also doesn’t disappear from yourself.
Box summary for this section:
- A re-entry plan is the bridge between your rest phase and your return to social life. Without that bridge, you fall straight back into burnout.
- Start by setting a clear re-entry point → sort people/chats into tiers → use “I’m back” templates as bridges.
- Re-enter in phases, not 0 → 100 in one day.
- Create small rules to prevent overload: when to check chats, which groups you avoid, what types of conversations you skip when tired.
- Check in with yourself after a week and adjust the rules to reality.
- Accept that you don’t have to respond to everyone 100% to be “good enough.”
None of this is about “being special.”
It’s about caring for a nervous system that’s more sensitive to input and relationships than average, so you can stay in this world longer without collapsing every time you open an app.
Let's talk :
If you finished reading and thought,
“Yeah… this is literally my life,”
try this:
- Pick the lightest dopamine fast tier you can realistically do (24 hours) and test it sometime this week.
- Create your own low-stim activity menu, write it on sticky notes, and put it near your desk/bed so you don’t have to think from scratch when you’re exhausted from people.
- Then try reading more on:
- Masking in women/men with ADHD
- RSD and managing the fear of being hated
- Burnout in ADHD (full-life version, not just social)
Because taking care of your nervous system is not selfish.
It’s the foundation that lets you stay with the people you love longer—without burning out and vanishing from everything.
FAQ
1) How is social burnout different from “being sick of people” or “too lazy to reply”?
Social burnout is when your nervous system has been overwhelmed by people, chats, social media, and expectations to the point it can’t cope anymore. It’s not just “not wanting to talk” or “being lazy to reply.” Your brain goes foggy; just seeing a notification feels like another weight being added. If you keep pushing through, it often ends in a shut down or meltdown.2) If I’m friendly, talkative, and go out often, does that mean I can’t have social burnout?
Not at all. Many people with ADHD look very social and friendly from the outside and seem to get along with everyone, but behind the scenes they’re masking heavily—constantly adjusting their tone, watching their words, checking reactions. Once they’re home, their feeling is “battery at zero.” Social burnout is measured by how tired your nervous system is after socializing, not by how outgoing you look.3) Do I have to quit my phone/social media cold turkey for a dopamine fast to work?
No. In fact, for many people with ADHD, extreme all-or-nothing approaches backfire and lead to an even bigger doom-scroll rebound. What we’re focusing on is temporarily reducing high-intensity input: less time on feeds, fewer notifications, avoiding drama that doesn’t affect your real life—rather than swearing off your phone for 7 days and failing by day one.4) If I need social media for work, how do I do a dopamine fast?
Think of it as separating “work zone” from “energy-sucking zone.” You still do what’s necessary for work, but with clearer boundaries—like checking work channels in set blocks (morning / afternoon / evening), turning off non-work notifications, and avoiding mindless feed scrolling in between.After work hours, shift into full input-reduction mode: total social time limits and low-stim activities that really let your brain rest.
5) What counts as “low-stim” activities that truly help my nervous system rest?
Low-stim activities don’t blast you with intense input, don’t force rapid task-switching, and don’t yank your emotions up and down.Examples: light hand activities (doodling, coloring, puzzles), slow walks, music or nature sounds, making tea and sitting quietly, brain-dump journaling. That’s very different from doom-scrolling drama, competitive gaming, or emotionally intense content, which only exhaust your brain more.
6) What if I tell people “I need to be quiet / I’ll reply slowly” and they get upset?
Your job is to communicate politely, honestly, and clearly that you’re managing your energy:“My brain is really tired from lots of people right now, so I might reply slowly. If it’s urgent, please call.”
If someone refuses to understand and keeps pressuring you to be constantly online, you may need to adjust how close they are to you. People who truly care about you should want your nervous system to survive, not demand that you sacrifice your sanity for their comfort.
7) Why is a re-entry plan more important than just disappearing for a while?
Disappearing can help you survive in the short term, but without a re-entry plan, your system usually snaps in one of two ways:- You get so scared you never come back to reply at all, or
- You come back in a rush, reply to everyone, say yes to everything, and hit burnout again.
A re-entry plan makes returning gradual: you prioritize who to reply to, set social media rules, and set a ceiling on how much social you allow—aligned with what your nervous system can handle.
8) If my RSD is severe and every interaction feels like a “will they hate me?” gamble, where do I start?
First, acknowledge: “I’m exhausted by social because I’m scared of being hated” doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means your brain is carrying extra weight in every interaction. Then work on two tracks:- Nervous system: use dopamine fasts, low-stim activities, and a re-entry plan to reduce total input.
- Emotional/RSD: find content or therapy that focuses specifically on rejection sensitivity, and practice separating “thoughts in my head” from “what the other person actually did.”
Even small improvements in RSD can make social life significantly less exhausting.
READ : High-Functioning ADHD: When You’re Successful But Still Struggling (Quietly)
READ : RSD in ADHD: Symptoms, Triggers, and the Fastest Ways to Calm the Spiral
READ : ADHD Burnout: Symptoms, Stages, and How Long Recovery Really Takes
READ : ADHD + RSD in Relationships: Why Small Things Feel Huge (and How to Stop the Fight Loop)
READ : ADHD Oversharing: Why You Talk Too Much (and How to Stop Without Feeling Fake)
READ : How to Explain ADHD to an Older Parent Who Doesn’t Believe in It (Without Starting a War)
READ : ADHD Emotional Dysregulation: Why You Cry When Frustrated
READ : How to Explain ADHD Brain Fog to Your Partner (Without Sounding Like Excuses)
READ : ADHD Masking in Women: Signs You’re “Functioning” at a Cost
Suggested References
- McEwen, B. S. (1998). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine, 338(3), 171–179.
- McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: central role of the brain. Progress in Brain Research, 167, 3–18.
- Shaw, P., Stringaris, A., Nigg, J., & Leibenluft, E. (2014). Emotion dysregulation in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 171(3), 276–293.
- Hirsch, O. et al. (2018). Emotional dysregulation is a primary symptom in adult ADHD. Journal of Affective Disorders, 232, 41–47.
- Motamedi, M. et al. (2016). Rejection reactivity, executive function skills, and social behavior problems in children with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 20(8), 651–661.
- Cleveland Clinic. (2022). Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD): Symptoms & Treatment.
- Wicherkiewicz, F. et al. (2023). Relations between social camouflaging, life satisfaction, and depression symptoms in women with ADHD. Psychiatry Research.
- Verywell Mind. (2021). ADHD Masking: Examples, Impact, and Coping.
- Thriveworks. (2024). What Is Masking? Understanding Social Camouflaging and ADHD.
- Embrace Autism. (2023). AuDHD & Camouflaging.
- Halkett, A. et al. (2024). Problematic social Internet use and associations with ADHD symptoms. BMC Psychiatry, 24, 270.
- Ghiaccio, R. et al. (2025). Exploring the association between problematic Internet use, Internet gaming disorder and ADHD. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(4), 496.
- Children and Screens. (2023). ADHD Youth and Digital Media Use.
- University of Utah Health. (2024). Managing ADHD in the Age of Social Media.
- APA Monitor. (2024). Emotional dysregulation is part of ADHD. See how clinicians are helping people manage it.
- The Brain Workshop. (2024). The link between digital overload, “brain rot,” and ADHD.
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ADHD social burnout, ADHD masking, ADHD camouflaging, rejection sensitive dysphoria, RSD and social anxiety, ADHD emotional dysregulation, nervous system overload, allostatic load and burnout, dopamine fast, dopamine detox myths, low-stimulation activities, low-stim coping tools, ADHD and social media, digital overload ADHD, notification fatigue, social battery drain, introvert vs social burnout, ADHD and rejection sensitivity, social withdrawal ADHD, ADHD boundaries, ADHD communication scripts, ADHD and friendships, ADHD and online communities, safe dopamine, nervous system reset, ADHD self-care plan, ADHD re-entry plan, ADHD and doomscrolling, ADHD and screen time, ADHD and internet addiction
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