ADHD Paralysis Explained.

If you’re neurotypical and you’re trying to understand what ADHD paralysis is like, hopefully this gives you a better understanding.

#adhd #adhdbrain #adhdproblems #neurodivergent #explanation

[JWildberry]

For me, it's even worse. If my task is to take out the trash, that's not one task. My mind splits it into mini-tasks, and it becomes so exhausting to even think about it that I often end up not even starting. It's crippling.

[hugbloom]

"it's been four hours and all I've done is try to prioritize my tasks!?" Exactly

[jamesrogers]

Neurotypicals laughing. ADHD people tearing up. Thank you for a good example.

[MyrhaFluff]

Yeah. I’ve got ADHD. What people don’t often understand is that the attention issues aren’t just distractibility, they’re EVERYTHING. Depending on mood, your thoughts can become so transient that it’s impossible to make progress on anything.

[bryannaing]

The worst part is when the struggle is entirely in your head so everyone looks at you like "Why haven't you moved yet?"

[JustJessee]

"IT'S BEEN 4 HOURS?!" - me, every 45 seconds

[rumo]

This is what's actually happening when I tell people I'm "just chillin at home".

[childofcascadia]

My adhd spouse becomes overwhelmed and freezes if theres a ton of unknown choices. Say at a new restaurant, he'll just peruse the menu forever unable to pick something. Or buying a new item and theres a bunch of options available, he'll just go back and forth looking at each different choice forever. It doesnt happen if he knows a brand or thing he wants ahead of time but it does if the options are unknown. Fortunately weve known each other forever so he usually just says 'i cant decide, help' and I can lay out a couple clear options i know he'll like so he isnt so overwhelmed by all the different choices.

[derekpierkowski]

I'm at the point where none of the cookies matter.

[kamikeserpentail]

I don't think I have ADHD, but sometimes I'm like "what did I do? I bought some new shoes. Why did that feel like a monumental task that took up everything I was going to do today?"

[LadyKarenManagerSeeker]

This is EXACTLY what happens to me. I have refused the medicine since 2008 and just simply suffer with ADHD. But writing tasks for the day on a white board i have on my fridge REALLY helps. It makes me feel proud when i erase a task off and into the next. Not as overwhelming

[annathompson]

I haven’t been diagnosed with ADHD, but maybe I should look into that. I have seen so much relatable ADHD content lately.

[robhulson]

To help myself, I got a huge pack of mini journals and I start off each day on a blank page where I write down everything I feel a level of need to take care of.

I pick the ones that feel the most important or doable and get cracking on them.

Sometimes I get this boost of, “I can really do this!” and I actually start enjoying working through my task list, simply scratching things off as I go.

If something new comes in, I add it and decide if it’s something I need to take care of today, or work through my emotions of being OK to wait.

End of day, I look over it again making sure I’m not missing anything important.

I started with about 20 items on my list, and now I typically won’t have any more than ten items on my list.

The biggest help is STARTING FRESH every day (genuinely asking myself “What is bugging me TODAY?”), and learning, slowly, how to recognize what is truly important and that the things that aren’t DO NOT GET WRITTEN DOWN.

And the notebook, which I carry with me everywhere because I got a pocketable case with room for a pen, becomes my ability to focus on just the next thing.

This has really helped my ability to focus grow. It started off difficult, but like working out a muscle, I’ve gotten stronger.

[Machzieightoh]

Some of us have a place on the autism spectrum as well, which adds more thrills. I'm lucky to have learned how to manage, but i will promise you if i fail to follow even one procedure that I've established for myself, it all crumbles apart faster than i can blink. It's good that people can learn that others are different, because then we can alleviate some extra stress from everybody.

[carollizc]

Ooh, boy. I wish someone had explained ADHD paralysis so well to me before this, so i could explain it to other people in my life. Also so i coulenunderstand why I either take on too much and fail at all of it, or just sit and look at the pile of tasks, wondering where to start. Mind blowing, when its explained to me in a way that i can see.

[vedumusicofficial]

I deal with this everyday and it makes schoolwork so hard to finish... One thing that helps me is thinking "DOING AN OKAY JOB ON A TASK IS BETTER THAN DOING NO TASK" which encourages me to not procrastinate and not focus on utmost perfection but just getting the job done in a timely manner

[geoffgrigg]

This is exactly right wish I could send this to my boss. My job has very few hard deadlines and new work comes in at a constant pace and we are under staffed I am the Traffic engineer over 8 counties and have a back log of over 58 customers all wanting me to look at a road concern and more come in daily. It’s terrifying most days

[DivingHawker]

That's exactly that. Add to that anxiety and fear of messing up, and it's gets even more complicated

[BattosaiKen]

WHY IS THIS GENUINELY THE MOST ACCURATE THING I EVER SAW

[socloseher]

Here’s how it goes for me… cry and thought spiral about the vast quantity and variety of cookies, wishing they would just do themselves. Try to convince myself pick “a cookie, any cookie” just so I can get started. Fail at picking cookie. After losing 2-3 hours doing all of that, some magical switch goes off (or I finally break and take my meds) and I get into a rhythm of figuring out how to prioritize my cookies, yay! But not “yay” because I’m going g to take about 3-4 hours of my day doing some seriously aggressive hyper focused planning… not only of cookies, but of my entire life that’s in shambles. After everything is perfectly planned, my entire day is gone and it’s too late to start with any cookie—which is fine because I have a plan for tomorrow due to my aforementioned hyper focusing session. Great! The problem is, tomorrow me doesn’t like the plan, but has some big ideas on how to improve it 😐

Also, don’t let some wafers show up during the day. I just act like those don’t exist OR throw my entire plan away and take my dog for an excessively long walk to practice avoidance.