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Burnout, Allostatic Overload, and the Neurodivergent Triad
While many neurodivergent individuals successfully manage their cognitive load, navigating a neuronormative world carries a high baseline metabolic cost. When these coping mechanisms are exceeded, the resulting fatigue and functional symptoms rarely stem from a single source. Instead, they emerge from allostatic overload—the cumulative biological wear and tear on the brain and body caused by ongoing adaptation to stress. This state of allostatic overload is often triggered by one or a combination of compounding factors: In this broader context, clinical burnout is just one aspect of the overall picture. While frameworks like Nick Petrie’s “Three Degrees of Burn”—where an individual moves from Overwhelm (First-Degree) to Survival Mode (Second-Degree) and finally…

