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Create Your AuDHD Decompression Plan

By Michelle Labine, PhD

May 18, 2025

If you live with AuDHD, your nervous system likely swings between hyperfocus and shutdown, perfectionism and paralysis, over functioning and emotional exhaustion. You may “keep it together” until your body can’t anymore.

A decompression plan is not a luxury. It’s a form of self-rescue.

  1. Know Your Signals

What are your early signs that you’re headed toward a crash?

Tight chest
Headaches or jaw clenching
Irritability / snappy responses
Avoiding messages or tasks
Increased scrolling / zoning out
Crying easily or feeling flat
Sensory overload
Feeling like everything is “too much”

My signals look like:
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  1. Create a Nervous System Reset List

These aren’t “rewards.” They’re essential maintenance for your brain and body. Choose things that bring you sensory calm, emotional safety, or mental spaciousness.

Quiet lighting or weighted blanket
White noise, ambient music, or nature sounds
Long bath or shower with no time limit
Low-stakes reading or familiar shows
Gentle walk or stretching (no performance goals)
Cancel something. Anything. Rest is productive.

What helps me reset:
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  1. Reduce Input

Your brain is likely overstimulated. Reduce what’s coming at you.

Turn off notifications
Put phone on “Do Not Disturb”
Use earplugs or headphones
Close extra tabs or lights
Delay non-urgent conversations

Boundaries I can set to reduce input:
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  1. Reassure Yourself

Sometimes the crash comes with shame. Try to meet yourself with care, not criticism.

“It’s okay to rest.”
“I don’t need to earn recovery.”
“I’ve done enough.”
“I’m allowed to take up space even when I’m not producing.”

The words I most need to hear are:
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  1. Build in Recovery Windows

If you know a high-output period is coming, plan the recovery time too. Treat it like part of the process—not an afterthought.

  • After big social events → Plan solo time
  • After deadlines → No new commitments the next day
  • Weekly → Block “white space” in your schedule
  • Monthly → Schedule a nervous system day with no tasks

How I can protect my recovery time:
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  1. Normalize the Cycle

You are a cyclical being. You can still be creative, committed, brilliant, and inconsistent.

That’s your rhythm.