Ep 5: Neurospicy Holidays: Comfort, Chaos & Connection

“The absence of a reminder doesn’t mean the love isn’t there.”

 In this festive episode of AuDHD Psych, Aaron and Uma explore how the holiday season can uniquely impact neurodivergent folk. While celebrations are often framed as joyful and meaningful, they can also bring sensory overload, disrupted routines, social pressure, emotional fatigue, and heightened expectations. Drawing on lived experience and clinical insight, the conversation unpacks masking, burnout, gift-giving stress, overthinking, and the delicate balance between connection and self-preservation. This episode offers permission to slow down, take breaks, set boundaries, and approach the holidays in a way that honours individual needs — reminding listeners that there is no single “right” way to celebrate.

Takeaways

• Disrupted routines and heightened sensory input during holidays can significantly increase stress for autistic and ADHD individuals
• Overcommitting socially often leads to burnout, even when connection is genuinely wanted
• Taking breaks — physical, emotional, or relational — is protective, not rude
• Masking can serve a purpose, but conscious, consent-based masking and selective unmasking reduce long-term stress
• Gift-giving and emotional reciprocity can be complicated by differences in communication, expectations, and interpretation
• The absence of contact or follow-up is often a reflection of overwhelm, not a lack of care
• Boundaries, energy awareness, and self-compassion matter more than meeting social ideals

Keywords
AuDHD, neurodivergence, holidays and mental health, autistic burnout, ADHD emotional regulation, masking and unmasking, sensory overload, social fatigue, boundaries, perfectionism, Christmas stress, neurodivergent wellbeing