Wired Differently: 4 Revelations About ADHD

 

Inspired by: ADDitude Magazine| Spring 2024 Issue| Article by: Jeff Cooper, PCAP, PCC, MBA

Having any neurodiversity, your brain is wired differently.  You struggle daily no matter how mild or how severe your diagnosis is.  If you're do the point where you've hit self-discovery, you probably have hit a realization of "a-ha" moments.  It's all about perspective and how we look at how our brains are wired, especially with ADHD.

Jeff Cooper lists 4 revelations about the ADHD brain:

  1. ADHD brain seeks escape-Executive function impairs our brains because the amount of tasks our brains may receive can be hard on our brains.  One way we can take action on this is to make our thinking easier which can counter the thoughts of escaping and encourage goal-directed behavior.
  2. ADHD brain is emotional-When we struggle with regulating ourselves, it can make it harder for us to be able to control our emotions and to restrain our tendency to make impulsive decisions.  We can take care of this by going to therapy and learning how to cope with our intense feelings (can be applied to people with autism as well).  We can do things like practicing mindfulness, meditation, and self-compassion to help regulate our feelings.  Did you know that mindfulness decreases emotional reactivity and self-compassion allows for self-forgiveness.
  3. ADHD brain avoids discomfort-when the brain doesn't have its dopamine, it wants to procrastinate whenever a task becomes unpleasant and that is rooted in an unclear state which is open to interpretation.  A way to help take action with this is doing what I have said before, breaking down tasks one-by-one, step-by-step to help you stay on track.  All you have to do is include a start and end time.
  4. ADHD brain wants to stay awake-The average person takes 15-minutes to sleep, but the ADHD person who is reward-seeking takes longer.  Why?  Because the act of wanting to drift off into sleep is boring.  What can you do if this is you?!  Cooper suggests that you should find an activity that gives the right amount of stimulation and mindfulness for your brain like a coloring book, listening to a podcast with the volume low, and dimming the lights and doing light cleaning.
What are some ways ADHD (or any other neurodiversity) has made your brain feel wired differently?

If you liked this blog post, PLEASE comment down below what your favorite part was, share with your friends and family, etc.  Have any comments, questions, etc. about what you were reading? Reach out to me by messaging me on Instagram or TikTok @neurospicyblondie or email me  alyssa.onthespectrum@gmail.com.  

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