ADHD & Autism Burnout: Why “Trying Harder” Isn’t the Answer 2025

Welcome to SelfHelp4Wellness, where healing means learning how to work with your brain—not against it.

In this episode, we explore How to Be You by neurodiversity advocate Ellie Middleton, a refreshingly honest and compassionate guide for anyone who’s ever felt broken, lazy, or “not good enough” for struggling with everyday life.

This book is built on a liberating truth:

👉 You are not failing at life—life is often failing to accommodate your brain.

Rather than offering rigid routines or productivity hacks, How to Be You introduces 40 simple, flexible strategies designed to support executive functioning—including emotional regulation, planning, task initiation, organization, and flexibility—without shame, masking, or toxic productivity

Ellie Middleton - How to be You

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Ellie openly shares her lived experience as an autistic ADHDer and dismantles the harmful myths that:

productivity equals worth

there is “one right way” to function

struggling means you’re not trying hard enough

This episode also explores how ableism, capitalism, patriarchy, and neuronormative systems shape what we’re told we “should” be—and how letting go of those expectations can radically improve mental health and self-acceptance.

✨ In this episode, you’ll learn:

What executive functioning actually is (and why it’s misunderstood)

Why “shoulds” create shame and burnout

How to work with a busy or neurodivergent brain

Why there is no one-size-fits-all productivity system

How tiny, flexible changes create real relief

Why your worth has nothing to do with output

How to stop masking and start supporting yourself

This episode is especially meaningful if you:
feel chronically overwhelmed, struggle to “keep up,” were late-diagnosed (or self-identified), feel guilty for resting, or are tired of self-help advice that wasn’t made for your brain.

If you’re interested in ADHD, autism, neurodiversity, burnout recovery, self-acceptance, executive dysfunction, or self-help books, this episode is for you.

👉 Subscribe to SelfHelp4Wellness for podcast-style deep dives into:
Self-help books • Psychology • Neurodiversity • Emotional healing • Real-life wellness

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You don’t need to become someone else.
You need support to be you.