4 Ways to Handle Stress with Adult ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can present itself in different ways in your adulthood. As adulthood comes with challenges of its own, living with adult ADHD can be tough. It helps to understand why stressors can be more difficult to cope with while having ADHD and what you can do about it.

Stress can be healthy when it helps you focus and motivates you to get things done. Everyone feels it but sometimes it can make things worse for you. If not handled well, it can leave you more vulnerable to mental health problems like anxiety and depression. It can also increase the risk of heart attack, and stroke, and speed up the ageing process.

Stress can also intensify ADHD symptoms if persistently overlooked. If you have specific questions to discuss about your or your loved ones’ ADHD symptoms, talk to our mental health coach over a free 20-30 minute call. 

Also check: Debunking Common ADHD Myths

Now let’s discuss some ways to handle stress with Adult ADHD.

Eliminate Stressors

Sometimes to make life simpler, it is helpful to avoid unnecessary stressors altogether. With ADHD, it is easy to get distracted as you might struggle with focusing on a particular thing, and later feeling stressed about it. 

However, if you can figure out the distractions that keep you from getting things done, you will feel less stressed to approach a task. You can finally be in the headspace to carry on without any hassle. 

Also read: All You Need To Know About ADHD and Brain Fog

For example, while working, you can only keep the necessary things on your desk or tabs open on your screen. Eliminate the rest.

If you want to know more about how to focus better with ADHD, read 3 Ways To Focus Better For Those With ADHD: A Therapist’s Guide.

Learn Relaxation Techniques

Relaxation techniques such as mindfulness have proved to be effective for ADHD while dealing with anxiety, depression, or stress. A few moments of deep breathing can also do the trick! Breathing and mindfulness exercises help shift the train of thought while experiencing stress. 

You can try this as an exercise: As you breathe deeply, imagine your breaths are like sea waves, flowing and ebbing. Take 5 minutes aside in every interval to ground yourself to this flow. 

This grounding can help you keep any physical or emotional tension in check before reaching the tipping point. As ADHD often makes emotions felt more intensely than usual, this can be a helpful practice to cope with the same.

Also read: Types Of Therapy For ADHD

Maintain Overall Health

Keeping your physical, mental, and emotional health in check can make a difference in that it can help you be more prepared and capable to cope with everyday stressors. Everyone’s journey to look after their general well-being can be different. While starting, remember to not compare your progress with others.

You can use the following as guiding points to maintain your overall health: 

• Eat healthily

• Get enough sleep

• Avoid or limit substance abuse

• Exercise regularly

Making these lifestyle changes can require quite some effort but in the longer run, you benefit from overall low stress in life. You can choose to work on one domain at a time to not overwhelm yourself in the process. 

Also read: Relaxation Strategies for Better Sleep

Manage Your Emotions

ADHD can make it difficult to comprehend and manage your emotions. Unmanaged stress can make things worse, as it can lead to a snowball effect where you might lash out, get irritable, and feel more and more stressed. 

Hence, it helps to be aware of your triggers and early signs that indicate your emotions are getting out of control. Your therapist can also help you understand your triggers and your reaction towards them. 

There are many ways to manage your emotions and it’s okay to take the time out to find out what works best for you. While managing your emotions at work, talk to your colleagues to find out how to work with people you might not get along well with. For family gatherings, you can consider discussing with your partner or cousins about taking a break halfway through to step outside. 

Also read: Dealing With ADHD in Social Situations

Make sure to give yourself enough time and show yourself enough kindness and compassion while learning to make changes for the better. It takes persistent efforts and commitment to figure out how stress is affecting you and what you want to do about it. Give yourself the credit for the same!

Finally, getting help can look different for different individuals with Adult ADHD. If these suggestions do not seem to help, don’t hesitate to talk about it with your therapist or psychiatrist. You can also share your thoughts with individuals going through a similar experience at Life With Adult ADHD community online.