Rethinking Resilience with Alex Bellitter: Burnout, Rest & the ADHD Brain

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Oct 20, 2025

Join Alex Bellitter, Senior Manager of Coaching at Shimmer, as she dives into the complexities of ADHD and resilience. With a Master's in Psychology, she challenges the grind-it-out mindset, emphasizing that true resilience is about gradual skill-building and recovery. Discover how burnout develops in ADHD brains and the importance of rest, play, and social connections for productivity. Alex shares practical strategies for conquering ADHD inertia and creating a supportive environment to rediscover personal strengths.

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ADVICE

Stop Blaming Discipline

Do stop blaming lack of discipline; ADHD struggles are rarely motivation problems.
Try partnering with structures that keep goals top of mind, like coaching or reminders.

INSIGHT

Resilience Is Built, Not Forced

Resilience isn't powering through nonstop; it's gradual strength building with recovery.
Think of resilience like gym progress with rest days and realistic workload increases.

ADVICE

Schedule Joy And White Space

Do put personal and social activities on your calendar to protect them.
Leave deliberate white space so your schedule can absorb unexpected demands.

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Hey Team!

Today I'm joined by Alex Bellitter, Senior Manager of Coaching at Shimmer, an ADHD coaching platform that's guided over 75,000 sessions. If this sounds a bit familiar, I also did an interview with Shimmer's CEO, Chris Wang, last year - but of course in this episode, we're covering a lot more and while Shimmer is mentioned it certainly isn't the focus of what we're talking about here.

But back to who we're talking with today. Alex holds a Master's in Psychology and is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. She's passionate about building a neuroinclusive approach to coaching and helping people redefine what success looks like for their unique brains.

We get into what burnout really looks like for ADHD brains and how the "grind it out" mindset backfires every time. Alex shares how resilience isn't about powering through and we also unpack the ideas of capacity, how we burn through future energy, and why rest, play, and flexibility are actually key parts of productivity. Plus, we get into ADHD inertia, smart scaffolding, and that tricky process of rediscovering your strengths when your brain insists you don't have any.

If you're struggling with OCD or unrelenting intrusive thoughts, NOCD can help. Book a free 15 minute call to get started: https://learn.nocd.com/HackingYourADHD

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/251

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. We often overfill their schedules, not just with work, but with everything, because when we see "blank space," it can look like laziness or wasted time. But leaving unscheduled blocks gives us breathing room and time for the unexpected. This means it's important that we're making sure keep at least some white space on our calendars.
2. We can fall into the trap of treating rest like a reward for finishing everything, but rest is part of the system that keeps us going. Taking time to rest isn't laziness; it's maintenance that we sorely need.
3. External structure, such as reminders, alarms, notes, and accountability partners, can often help ADHD brains thrive, but a lot of us carry shame around using these supports. We're not "cheating" the system by building one that works for us. These scaffoldings allow us to grow stronger over time without collapsing under pressure by giving us the support we need.