Dissociation vs ADHD Shutdown vs Emotional Flooding Assessment

Silence, withdrawal, phone absorption, mental blankness, emotional numbness, and difficulty responding under pressure can arise from very different psychological processes. ADHD executive overload may produce task paralysis while the person remains fully oriented to the situation; emotional flooding can overwhelm thinking through intense physiological arousal; and dissociation may involve detachment, unreality, numbness, altered awareness, or difficulty tracking what is happening. This assessment helps organize these overlapping experiences so clinicians and clients can identify likely patterns, improve differential assessment, and select regulation strategies that better match what is actually occurring.

Numbness • Phone Absorption • Silence • Executive Paralysis • Dissociation • Overload

Dissociation vs ADHD Shutdown vs Emotional Flooding Assessment

Going quiet, staring at a phone, becoming unable to act, or feeling emotionally absent can arise from very different processes. This assessment helps distinguish patterns more consistent with executive shutdown, emotional flooding, dissociation, or mixed overload so treatment can be better targeted.

Mark Zauss, BC-TMC, LMHC, LPC, CCMHC, NCC, ASDCS, CCTP, CCTP II, NATC, ADHD-CCSP, C-DBT, C-PD
Original psychoeducational and treatment-monitoring resource. Scores are descriptive and are not diagnostic.

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How to use: Rate each item based on your typical pattern or the past 1–2 weeks. Use repeated scores to track change over time rather than treating one score as a diagnosis.

Name / initials

Date

Assessment

ADHD / Executive Shutdown

0 / 20

1. I know what to do but cannot initiate the next action.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

2. Too many steps or choices make my brain feel stuck.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

3. I become absorbed in my phone or another high-stimulation activity when overwhelmed.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

4. I can still tell where I am and what is happening around me.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

5. Once the task is simplified or externalized, I can often restart.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

Emotional Flooding

0 / 20

1. My heart rate/tension/heat rises during conflict or stress.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

2. My thinking becomes black-and-white or defensive.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

3. I feel an urgent need to escape, argue, prove, or shut down.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

4. I remain aware of the situation but cannot process it flexibly.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

5. After physiological arousal falls, I can usually describe what happened.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

Dissociative Features

0 / 20

1. I feel unreal, detached, numb, or far away from myself.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

2. The environment can feel dreamlike or unreal.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

3. I lose track of parts of a conversation or period of time.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

4. My emotional response becomes strangely absent even when the situation matters.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

5. Grounding to present time/place/sensory input helps me reconnect.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

Freeze / Collapse

0 / 20

1. My body feels heavy or immobile under pressure.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

2. Speaking becomes unusually difficult.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

3. I may stare, go blank, or become very still.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

4. I feel powerless rather than simply distracted.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

5. I need time and safety before my thinking returns.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

Avoidance / Protective Withdrawal

0 / 20

1. I disengage because I expect criticism or shame.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

2. I use my phone or another activity to avoid vulnerability.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

3. I delay returning to the conversation even after I am calm.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

4. I minimize the importance of the issue to avoid discomfort.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

5. I feel temporary relief when I withdraw.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

Recovery Pattern

0 / 20

1. I know what helps me reorient.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

2. I can communicate what kind of pause I need.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

3. I can return after shutting down.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

4. I can identify whether the trigger was cognitive overload, fear, shame, sensory overload, or trauma activation.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

5. I can use different strategies depending on what kind of shutdown occurred.

0 Never/None

1 Rare/Mild

2 Sometimes/Moderate

3 Often/Significant

4 Very Often/Strong

Episode Analysis

What happened immediately before I shut down?

What did my body feel like?

Was I oriented to time/place and able to track the conversation?

What helped me return?

Clinical caution: dissociation requires careful assessment. This worksheet is not a diagnostic tool for dissociative disorders, PTSD, ADHD, autism, panic, or neurological conditions.

Scoring & AI-Style Summary

Calculate Scores

Total Score

0 / 120

Overall Burden / Skill Gap

0%

Completed Items

0 / 30

No summary generated yet.

Reflection & Next Step

What stands out most?

What is one realistic change for this week?

Clinical disclaimer: This worksheet is educational and intended to support treatment planning and self-monitoring. It does not diagnose ADHD, trauma, dissociation, attachment disorders, anxiety disorders, relationship disorders, or any other condition. Medication-related decisions must be made with the prescribing clinician.

Mark Zauss, BC-TMC, LMHC, LPC, CCMHC, NCC, ASDCS, CCTP, CCTP II, NATC, ADHD-CCSP, C-DBT, C-PD
Use results in context with clinical history, neurodevelopmental factors, trauma, sleep, mood, anxiety, relationships, medical conditions, and the client's own goals.

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