294: Breaking Through Burnout w/ Brendan Mahan

Embracing Intensity

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 how it affects neurodivergent minds

• How screen time mimics rest but often leads to hard fascination and further mental exhaustion

• The origins of the Wall of Awful and how it helps people understand motivation challenges

• Tools Brendan uses to access soft fascination, from walks in the woods to weighted pressure

• The idea of contaminated time and how it sabotages meaningful rest

• Navigating professional transitions and creative burnout

• Letting go of transactional relationships and leaning into transformational connection

• Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to intentionally rebuild from burnout

• How embracing your values and regulating sensory input can be powerful tools for recovery

• Reframing burnout as a “season” and holding onto hope that things can and do change

🎧 Tune in to hear a heartfelt, relatable conversation on burnout, ADHD, and the power of slowing down with intention. Whether you're deep in burnout or on the road to recovery, this episode offers compassionate insights and practical tools to help you find your way back to balance.

Resources & Links:

• Brendan Mahan – ADHD Essentials

• The Wall of Awful on How to ADHD (YouTube)

• Embracing Intensity Community