My ADHD Brain Won’t Shut Off and It’s Wearing Me Out

by Mayre Flores 

My constant state? Tired. I can sleep through the night, drink coffee in the morning, and sit in the sun for optimal vitamin D absorption. But even after my midday coffee and my prescribed stimulant medication that helps me focus, I’m still tired.

Typically, I get a boost of energy in the morning and can go on working (nonstop) for hours. But once midday hits, that energy is gone. And it feels debilitating. While “tiredness” doesn’t typically fall under the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, so many people — like me — have reported experiencing fatigue.

Researchers have found that stress caused by ADHD can be exhausting. Based on my own experiences, I’m not surprised by these findings.

My brain is always on “go.” It works overtime. There’s always something to stress over, to remember to take care of later, or to keep in mind while I’m going about my day. Here’s my reality: I’m tired because my brain is always working.

So, I’ve worked (there’s that word again) to find ways to help my always on “go” brain.

I make lists, now, of everything I have to do. Then I think of solutions in case things don’t go as planned. For example, I had to schedule coverage at my job one day so that I could take my cat to the vet. I asked around and found someone to cover for me, and I got that request approved.

Next, I had to plan to pick up our cat by the end of the clinic’s workday. So, I found the last client appointment they typically schedule, and I estimated the time it would take to complete a routine checkup. To my relief, I picked up my cat well before their closing time.

This may not seem like a major undertaking. But for me, the whole affair was exhausting because it required coordination, scheduling, and communicating with the right people. Still, I got it done.

Staying mentally organized and structured is a challenge, and it can deplete me of so much energy. 

As a neurodivergent individual, I have to give double (sometimes even triple) the mental energy to get through my day. And yet, because that’s not always obvious, people don’t understand why I’m always tired.

Life events and transitions can easily put my routines and structures out of whack. And reestablishing those routines takes a lot of energy, so that’s tiring, too. I put in a lot of work to function the way others do effortlessly.

So when I’m asked about why I’m so tired from even the simplest tasks, I respond with the honest truth: “Getting through each day with ADHD is exhausting.”

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Thank you Mayre for giving us permission to share your writing.