Finding Balance: Self Care and Stress Management Strategies for Individuals with ADHD

Article written by Denver therapist, Shelby Aronoff

Stress can feel like a vicious cycle for us all.

Just thinking about a stressful experience can cause a powerful response in our bodies and our minds. Stress can be debilitating and paralyzing at times.

When you have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, you are prone to experiencing elevated physiological stress responses your daily life.

Read More: “ADHD: A Difference, Not A Deficit”

With ADHD, you may feel more sensitive to the world around you, which can allow you to experience your environment more vibrantly, however this can also cause you to feel the weight of stress far more intensely than others.

ADHD impacts our overall ability to manage stress, agitation and anxiety.

When we are consistently in a fight or flight response, it becomes far more difficult to thrive or even function on a daily basis. For those with ADHD, this can feel like you are stuck in quicksand.

The more you try to fight against it, the further down you seem to sink.

Here we will take a look at how and why people with ADHD experience stress and uncover ways in which we can take better care of ourselves, restore balance, and manage stress in a way that works for us!

Understanding ADHD and its impact on stress levels

Like every individual, those with ADHD struggle to live a healthy and productive life without taking care of themselves and learning to manage stress. Because ADHD impacts our ability to organize our thoughts or actions, this can lead to a low tolerance to stress overall.

ADHD affects the executive function system of our brains connected to impulsivity, working memory, thought organization, and mental flexibility. Stress can also impair our executive function.

So, when an individual with ADHD is under stress, ADHD symptoms can increase or intensify causing emotional burnout and shutdown.

People with ADHD can be more sensitive to stress overall.

It has been found that individuals with ADHD are more likely to have higher cortisol levels when in a stressful environment.

Stress influences the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is the same location of the brain that ADHD effects.

You may notice that if you are not finding success in managing your symptoms or do not currently live in a supportive environment, you feel easily frustrated with yourself or others.

Having ADHD can also increase the chances of other challenges such as anxiety and depression.

This is why tuning into your needs is so essential. There are many ways in which you can promote self-care and increase your ability to manage symptoms of stress if or when they occur.

Self-Care for Individuals with ADHD

Below are several important factors of your life to consider for individuals with ADHD when implementing self-care:

Find your Sweet Spot for Both Rest and Movement

Sleep plays a crucial role in focus and mental well-being, and it is important to listen to our bodies and understand how much sleep we may need to feel regulated in our bodies and minds.

Read More: “Unlocking Your Full Potential: Strategies for Adulting with ADHD”

Take the time to find out how much sleep you need to feel well and when possible, ensure you are receiving it.

With ADHD we need to be mindful of our energy levels throughout the day.

Individuals with ADHD may have different windows of focus throughout the day and if you attempt to work or focus for long periods of time, this can increase your levels of stress.

Become aware of opportunities to rest and recharge in between tasks and activities to avoid mental burnout and set aside time for rest.

Incorporating physical activity for stress relief and improved focus

At the same time, it is just as important to tend to our bodies.

Physical movement has been found to decrease cortisol and stress levels.

Ensure that you are getting movement in a way that works for you each day whether it is walking, practicing yoga, playing a sport, active stretching, or an active hobby that you enjoy.

It can be very helpful for individuals with ADHD to provide their bodies with movement throughout the day and this can both reduce stress and promote focus and attention.

Managing Overwhelm and Avoiding Burnout for Individuals with ADHD

ADHD effects emotional dysregulation which means that you may experience difficulty coping with stress, regulating strong emotions, and being aware of what you need to calm down your body and mind when feeling overwhelmed.

Ways to practice self-care, help ground yourself, and prevent heightened dysregulation include:

• Practicing mindfulness
• Journaling
• Spending time in nature or in a calm setting
• Sensory Attention/Awareness (see below)
• Participate in activities you enjoy
• Be aware of your social battery
• Mindful eating
• Step away when overstimulated

Find your support network, lean on others for help, or seek professional help individually or in a group setting through ADHD therapy or coaching. An ADHD therapist can help you figure out what will work best for you in supporting your ADHD, stress and self-care.

Identifying personal stress triggers and ways to promote regulation with ADHD

Although stress can at times feel like it comes out of nowhere, there are often environmental factors at play that contribute to our levels of stress. These are things that we may initially not even recognize or acknowledge.

In order to identify your own stress triggers and ways to manage them, consider the five senses.

Sight: The quality of light can greatly impact our mood, energy, and focus.

Things like natural light can feel energizing for some and distracting for others.

What kind of light do you find calming and grounding to your own nervous system?

Read More: “Mindfulness: Ways to Tap Into The Power You Have Within”

Smell: Those with ADHD can experience a strong sensitivity to smells, and the hippocampus, which is the memory bank of the brain, is directly linked to smell.

Is there a smell that reminds you of a stressful experience? Be aware of this. How about a smell that you enjoy?

Using things like essential oils, candles, and lotions that have a smell that calms us can bring us back to center, decrease stress, and even promote emotions like happiness and joy.

Taste: Our taste buds are also directly linked to the part of our brains associated with emotion.

Sound: Sounds may not only be an easy trigger for distraction for those with ADHD but can also generate a stress response.

Some people with ADHD may be sensitive to loud or compounding sounds.

Be mindful of the sounds around you and take note of what raises or lowers your stress.

For some, certain music or sounds found in nature can help reground us and turn our attention away from stress.

Touch: Do you find that tags or rough materials trigger your stress response?

Explore which textures work with and against you.

Some individuals with ADHD may find it soothing to place a weighted blanket on their lap or around their shoulders in order to regulate from stress. Others may find regulation with the use of fidgets and objects of certain textures when held or used.

The ADHD brain is highly sensitive to stimulation of any kind.

Becoming aware of when we are over or under stimulated is an essential tool in stress regulation.

Ask yourself: What feels like too much? Too little? Just right?

Why creating a balanced daily routine is important for individuals with ADHD

ADHD symptoms when unmanaged, can produce disorganization and a lack of structure, and this can trigger our bodies to go into survival mode where stress often lives.

This is why an essential piece of stress management is related to creating a daily routine for yourself based on balance and self-awareness.

Repetition and familiarity establish a sense of safety and security in our bodies.

Take the time to look more closely at when you are stressed and implement a grounding task, environmental factor, or activity that you have accessibility to add into your daily routine.

When our bodies and minds can anticipate an event, we are far less likely to fall into a dysregulated of stress.

Make sure there is a balance between work and play.

If there are certain things that you must complete that you know may trigger stress, then see if you are able to do something enjoyable and relaxing either before or after this task is completed.

The power of mindfulness and meditation in reducing stress for individuals with ADHD

Mindfulness practice and meditation are accessible ways for us to better connect to ourselves, the world around us, and reduce symptoms of anxiety and stress.

Read More: “A Guide To Fostering An Open Mind & Embracing Different Perspectives”

Just as much as external or environmental factors influence our mental health and well-being, our own thoughts can play a powerful role in how we navigate a stressful experience.

ADHD can cause our thoughts to easily switch into hyperdrive, and mindfulness practice and meditation are based on the concept of slowing down, becoming present with ourselves, and opening up the space to process our thoughts in a more calm and manageable way.

Mindfulness is a way for us to reset our nervous

system, practice self-compassion, and tune into what we may need in the present moment.

Find the time to pause and experience your thoughts without judgement.

Conclusion: Taking control of your ADHD and finding balance in life

When we understand and recognize the relationship between ADHD and stress, we can begin to change our way of life.

Prioritizing self-care, mindfulness, routine, and ourselves are the building blocks to taking control of our mindset and prepare us to take on life’s challenges.

Neurodivergent or not, we all share the experience of stress. However, with ADHD we can utilize these strategies to restore balance in our lives, celebrate ourselves, and embrace our differences!

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Denver Therapist, Shelby Aronoff

Shelby Aronoff is an ADHD therapist in Denver, Colorado and works with individual adult and teen females who have ADHD.

Shelby has a special interest in supporting women and teen girls with ADHD and has advanced training in doing so.

Shelby incorporates compassion, seeking to understand, curiosity and mindfulness in her approaches to helping individuals with ADHD understand how their unique ADHD brain works.

In addition to her training in working with ADHD, Shelby utilizes mindfulness-based approaches and is also a trained EMDR therapist and a trained Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapist and supports women and teen girls in their paths to navigating their inner workings using these and more.