ADHD & Overwhelm

ADHD and being Overwhelmed go hand in hand. Many people with ADHD have difficulties breaking down larger projects (these projects may not seem large to you…actually may feel super small and easy) into manageable steps and because of that they get overwhelmed by having so much. These feelings usually end up in not doing something because they are unable to see how to arrive at the end result. There are lots of ways to help those who are feeling stuck get back on track, here are a few:

• Print out a picture of what the end result should look like. This could be a picture of their bookshelf with the books put away or their closet with the clothes hung up.

• Write out the steps for them to follow (or pictures of the steps). If asking them to clean their room, you can say pick up clothes and put in the laundry, fold clean clothes, put clean clothes in the drawer, hang up others in the closet, pick up your books and put them on the shelf…. These same steps apply for writing an essay or doing a math problem. Just one step at a time.

• Do the task with them. You can work beside them while they do a chore or work on homework. They can watch how you break things down and learn the structure and process over time to be able to mimic your steps.

Check out this episode of the Winning with ADHD Podcast on how Teresa Arnesen handles having ADHD while also parenting three kids with ADHD.