This session explores the unique experience of neurodivergent burnout and how it can lead to a breakdown in body awareness, making it harder to stay connected to internal cues and needs. We'll focus on the perspectives and patterns often seen in autistic individuals, ADHDers, and people with looping or persistent thinking styles.

Together, we'll unpack how neurodivergent burnout differs from more generalized or occupational burnout, and why it’s often misunderstood or missed. We'll also look at how chronic stress, emotional dysregulation, and sensory overwhelm can shift eating patterns and disconnect us from cues related to rest, nourishment, and embodiment.

Key areas we'll explore:

• Why neurodivergent individuals are more vulnerable to burnout—and how it presents differently.

• How burnout can disrupt interoception, appetite, and body signals.

• The impact of chronic exhaustion on sleep, nourishment, and quality of life.

• How food-related stress can intensify sensory sensitivities during periods of burnout

• Barriers to early identification of neurodivergent burnout.

• Why mainstream approaches often fall short for neurodivergent clients—and what more affirming care can look like.

This session offers strategies to support neurodivergent individuals in reconnecting with their bodies, nourishing themselves with more ease, and making sustainable progress.

We’ll explore how to build trust in body cues, reduce food-related self-doubt, and move away from rigid expectations around “right” or “perfect” eating—which can lead to added stress and put people at risk for burnout. Through the lens of accommodation and self-compassion, we’ll look at how to support clients in developing more flexible eating approaches that respect their capacity, sensory needs, and the importance of rest.

Key topics include:

• Exploring flexible eating patterns using the Accommodation Wheel, with a focus on honouring capacity and supporting sensory health.

• Strategies to decrease food worry, reduce self-doubt, and promote more easeful, self-compassionate eating.

• Supporting interoceptive awareness and helping clients better understand and respond to their body’s cues.

• Supporting eating that feels safe and steady by weaving in rest and radical self-honoring.

• Addressing experiences that can impact nourishment, such as:

  • Perfectionism & overcompensation

  • Hyper-responsibility & guilt

  • Masking & social exhaustion

• Case studies to illustrate real-life application and clinical relevance.