#1 SELF CARE TIP FOR PEOPLE WITH ADHD.
Don’t you just hate it when you contradict yourself because of ADHD. For me, I never want to clean but it gives me anxiety when I walk into a room that is full of clutter.
That is just the irony of living with ADHD. It actually makes me smile when I think about it.
And that’s fine because that’s who we are. Perfectionist messies.
If you’re anything like me, then you’ll find this self care tip extremely useful.
QUICK LITTLE BACK STORY.
I really hate it when my house is cluttered but I also dread cleaning it. It’s like I can’t figure out which one is better for me. I do honestly try to keep up with the clutter but sometimes, when I get busy, things get out of control.
I’ve also realized that when there’s clutter it makes me feel like crap. I get overwhelmed and anxiety kicks in. That means that I won’t be able to conquer my to-do list. And this leads to more anxiety and eventually, I get stuck in a time freeze where I just want to sit on the couch, do nothing and just watch Instagram reels. LOL!
Now, before I realized my ADHD weaknesses, it would make me extremely stressed.
I wanted to be clean like all the other moms that had sparkling neat houses but I couldn’t find it in me to do it.
But then one day…
I realized that I couldn’t fit into what was expected of me by society because I was Jessi, the girl who didn’t like mess but didn’t necessarily want to clean it, so I stopped trying to conform.
And then, I got into online communities that had people living with ADHD and I realized that so many other woman who had ADHD experienced the same exact thing that I was experiencing.
It was my ADHD this whole time and I beat myself for it (so much time wasted).
So that very day I started looking for ways to be able to counter my ADHD shortcomings so that I could stop feeling overwhelmed.
And after a lot of trial, error and failure, I figured it out. It worked like a charm and now I’m excited to show you exactly how to take care of the overwhelm you feel when there’s clutter.
Here it goes.
SELF CARE TIP THAT WILL STOP YOU FEELING OVERWHELMED.
I learnt how to use three techniques simultaneously that beat my clutter overwhelm. They are:
1. The motive behind chores is not “because I have to” but because “I love myself”
This mindset shift changed it all for me. I used to feel pressure to clean because I felt like it was what’s expected of me. Because I could hear my moms voice in my head telling me to be more organized. Because It’s what a good wife and mom does.
Yea… those weren’t motivating enough and were easy for my brain to want to resist and reject.
Instead, because I saw how overwhelmed clutter made me I decided to view it as a form of self-care and self-love to minimize my anxiety.
I do it because I don’t want to be anxious and because I’m gifting it to future me.
It’s true that everything starts in the mind, so Step 1: Mindset Shift!
2. Clearing out one section of the Room
When I started clearing one section of my cluttered room, I realized I felt better about myself and about my surrounding. That allowed me to sit in that little corner and actually work.
And if I didn’t have the energy to continue cleaning, that would be okay with me because I didn’t feel overwhelmed (and that was enough for me). Plus, it made me feel good about myself just to get something done.
Now, on the days when the clutter was really bad or when I wanted to clean out a whole space, I stopped looking at it as a whole picture because that would only make my ADHD brain shut down. So I broke down the room into sections and tackled it one by one.
3. Using a Timer
Because of time blindness (inability to process time, how long it takes, or how much time has passed) using a timer can be really helpful to keep you on track.
Not only does this set a time for you to work on it but it makes it a game to get it all done within the time or beat the clock. Extra bonus points, if it’s a timer that you can visually see the time moving. I personally love and recommend the Time Timer, as its cute and small and makes seeing time really easy. Visual cues are super helpful for your brain.
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If it was a task that I didn’t like doing, I would simply set a timer for it. And once the timer went off if I didn’t want to continue, I’d simply move on to something else.
On most occasions, I would end up continuing the task even after the alarm went off. We may struggle with starting things, but once we get started it’s easy to keep going.
Did you find this self care tip for your ADHD helpful? If so, leave a comment and tell me how it has helped you or what you do that helps.
