You wouldn’t think that something as simple as choosing what you want for dinner or deciding what to do in a certain situation would paralyse you with fear, but sometimes that’s what living with ADHD is like.
A normal thinking brain usually thinks of a few different options then using its logic it begins to weigh up the pros and cons. Eliminating the choices one by one based of value and merit suited to the situation. However, when you have ADHD, not only do you think of hundreds of options, but your logic can also justify almost every single option as a valid choice with the good far outweighing the bad. That’s aside from the fact that your brain is working incredibly fast.
“Sometimes, the things we don’t like can be good for us. The key is to make baby steps that trick our brains into working towards that big goal.”
ADHD Girl
A person with ADHD in this situation usually does one of two things; the first is they force themselves into making a decision, possibly using other people to help them make a choice, or they just don’t make any choice and stay in that state where they are feeling overwhelmed, which usually looks like lack motivation or simply being lazy.
That’s why routine tends to suit people with ADHD, as much as we don’t like it because our creativeness depends on freedom. It helps to give us some kind of structure to work with so we can put most of our energy into having those other really good ideas instead of just simply choosing what we’re going to do before we’ve even got round to how to do it.
For many, I understand that choices are necessary, and a lot of people revel in being able to make decisions about their own life, but for many of us it can be quite overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s just nice to relax and not have to make one!
