Wednesday, April 15, 2015

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.

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