Boredom: An ADHDer's Worst Enemy

In my experience, boredom is an ADHDer's greatest enemy.  When we are bored, it can be difficult to muster up the energy and motivation to get anything accomplished.  To make matters worse, the bored ADHD mind desperately seeks out stimulation, which can lead to impulsive behavior or ruminating on the negative.  In short, the ADHD seeks out stimulation, and it doesn't differentiate between positive and negative.  This is why it is so important to avoid falling into the boredom rut.  While it's impossible to avoid boredom completely, there are a few things you can do to keep it to a minimum.

• Focus on your passion.  Spend some time each day doing what you love.  It will activate your mind, fight stress, and help you get boring tasks done.  If you don't know what you're passionate about, do some investigating. 
• Keep a busy (but not too busy!) schedule.  Find the balance between just busy enough and too busy to handle the unexpected.  This will help you avoid long periods of inactivity that often lead to boredom.
• Create a list of interesting activities.  ADHDers often struggle to access this basic information, especially when they are faced with boredom, overwhelm, or stress.  If you are not a list person, find some other way of reminding yourself of the things you enjoy doing. 
• Get active.  Take a walk, dance around, do laundry.  It doesn't matter what you do, just move! This will help activate your mind and your body.

Sticking with a healthy diet and exercise routine

A healthy diet and regular exercise is essential for controlling ADHD symptoms.  However, as many of us in the ADHD community know, sticking to a healthy diet and exercise routine can be a challenge.  Symptoms like impulsivity and reward seeking can lead ADHDers to overindulge in foods high in fat and sugar.  Meanwhile, exercise routines get boring and abandoned.   

 

I've seen a number of articles on ADHD-friendly tips to improve your diet, exercise, and lose weight.  While many of these articles contained valuable information, I found that applying these ideas to daily life can be difficult.  This got me thinking about different tricks that have helped my clients and me stay on track.

• Have a clear sense of purpose.  What are the reasons you want to make changes to your diet or exercise routine? Do you want to manage ADHD symptoms, improve your health, lose weight? What will happen if you do not make these changes? Once you have a clear idea of why you want to make these changes, find a way to remind yourself of this purpose on a daily basis.
• Eliminate temptation.  You can't be tempted by what's not there, so don't keep junk foods in the house. 
• Concentrate on adding not taking away.  Instead of focusing on the foods you are avoiding, focus on adding more whole grains, lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables. 
• Make small changes.  Start by making small changes, like drinking more water or eliminating soda from your diet.  Sticking with these small changes will boost your self-confidence and minimize feelings of deprivation.  Plus, these changes will add up over time.
• Have fun with it.  Purchase a pedometer and challenge yourself to increase your steps a little bit each day, make yourself a reward chart,  walk with friends, or find some other way to make it more interesting and fun.
• Have an accountability partner.  Share your goals with a friend or family member.  When we are accountable to someone else, we are more likely to stick to our goals.
• Keep things interesting.  This is perhaps the most important advice for ADHDers who often drop healthy eating and exercise habits when they get boring.  You have to change things up on a regular basis.  Try a new sport or a new recipe.  Take a different route when you are walking.  Get creative! 

I Almost Gave Up!

There was a time, not too long ago, where I almost gave up.  The circumstances at the time made all of my hopes and dreams seem impossible, and I felt like I was destined for failure.  In short, I was in a funk.  It wasn’t until I received an email from another coach that I could finally break the cycle of rumination and hopelessness.  The email reminded me of how far I’ve come, and that if I could weather the storm in the past, I can make it through this too. 

So, why am I sharing this story? As many of us know, ADHD rarely travels alone.  Many ADHDers suffer from coexisting conditions, such as anxiety and depression.  The ADHD brain seeks stimulation, and let’s face it, doom and gloom fantasies and hypothetical situations are stimulating.  It’s a lot easier to get caught up in negative thinking patterns and worst-case scenarios than it is to remain positive.  To make matters worse, we quickly forget our successes and how we’ve managed to overcome obstacles in the past.  Mix in a little overwhelm, and ADHDers can become paralyzed. 

Breaking the Cycle

It is possible to break the cycle! I can’t say that it’s always easy, but we have to find ways to interrupt negative thought patterns.  We have to remind ourselves of successes, and how we’ve overcome obstacles in the past.  My favorite reminders are success journals and motivational playlists.  People who are more visual may prefer post-it note reminders or pictures and posters that stir up positive energy. 

Know Yourself

Before you can create successful strategies to keep you positive and moving forward, you have to know yourself.  What triggers your funks, rumination, and negative thought patterns? What does it look and feel like as these thoughts and emotions run their course? How have you dealt with things in the past? What works? What doesn’t? What is the best way to interrupt negative thought patterns?

To find out how coaching can help you get to know yourself, overcome obstacles, and interrupt negative thought patterns, click here to schedule a complimentary consultation.