I have ADHD and am currently in-between medicine. It really messes everything up. Sometimes I cannot get myself to do anything no matter how hard I try. And that's just the tip of the iceberg with my mental health issues.
I suffered from extreme depression and anxiety when I was in middle school and high school, my parents genuinely cared about me but were never emotionally intelligent enough to recognize what I was going through and get me therapy. That was the beginning of my "brain fog" moments. Every doctor I've mentioned it to has attributed the fog to my depression at the time - which sounds reasonable. You sound like you may be in a similar boat even now as evidenced by how you feel during medication lapses.
Coffee makes my adhd go crazy, but I love it so much. I really should limit my caffeine intake but I truly think coffee is one of my favorite things in the world.
I definitely think that's a link. I have severe anxiety and depression too, and just left a therapist because we didn't really connect. So I'm trying to find another one. It's making things waaaaaaay harder. It feels like every time I find a medication there's a huge caveat.
I work in an open office concept and I really hate it. It's awful for my ADHD, and I'm on the front next to the walkway.
I feel like I don't deserve to say it's burnout, because I haven't been overworked or super stressed... but maybe it is. Can burnout happen even if it's not from overwhelming stress?
Absolutely - mine was frankly consistent, but latent stress - it was just there humming in the background.
That is 100% how I work. When I'm not given feedback on a project or work that is straightforward with a deadline, then I get very distracted and can't work.
