284: Breaking Through Burnout w/ Brendan Mahan

About this episode

Aurora Remember Holtzman and Brendan Mahan discuss ADHD burnout, screen time, and the importance of rest in this insightful episode.

This week on the Embracing Intensity podcast, I'm thrilled to welcome back the always thoughtful and illuminating Brendan Mahan, founder of ADHD Essentials and creator of the Wall of Awful. In this free-flowing and deeply relatable conversation, we dive into the realities of ADHD burnout, navigating screen time, and what it really means to rest. Brendan and I both share personally about our own experiences with burnout and recovery, and how we're learning to work with our neurodivergent brains instead of against them. About Brendan Mahan: Brendan Mahan is a speaker, coach, and host of the ADHD Essentials Podcast. He specializes in helping families, educators, and individuals better understand ADHD through metaphor, structure, and compassion. Brendan is known for his "Wall of Awful" model—a powerful visual metaphor that helps people identify and move through the emotional blocks that make motivation so hard for those with ADHD. He's currently working on a book titled Overcoming the Wall of Awful, expected to release in 2026. In This Episode: The difference between hard fascination and soft fascination, and why the latter is key for real rest What the Default Mode Network is and…

People in this episode

Guest: Brendan Mahan

Topics covered

• ADHD
• burnout
• screen time
• neurodivergent minds
• rest

Keywords

• Wall of Awful
• Default Mode Network
• hard fascination
• soft fascination

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Overcoming the Wall of Awful

Books & works: Breaking Through Burnout, Embracing Intensity, the Wall of Awful, Overcoming the Wall of Awful, This Episode

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