ADHD & stress

Stress & ADHD

Do you know that? Do you need to complete urgent tasks or meet deadlines at work or university, but do you keep putting off the task? Do you rarely get things done early, but usually at the last minute? You may have already caught yourself saying to yourself or others “I can work best under pressure! ”

And in the end, when time is running out, the sense of stress increases, and in addition, self-reproaches and sentences arise in your head such as: “If only I had started earlier! ”.

Postponing activities and working is often the normal everyday life of people with ADHD. It is also certain that tasks will only be started too late for those not affected. The difference to ADHD symptoms is that those affected remain in this condition permanently. Understimulation, which consists of a lack of personal interest in the tasks, causes them to be postponed. The resulting pressure initially leads to high motivation and top form, which makes it difficult to change this behavior in the future. At the same time, the increasing pressure can lead to overload, overstimulation and finally to an increased sense of stress. Our organism reacts to long-lasting stressors with permanently increased activation.

Increased stress responsiveness and deficient stress-related coping by those affected are frequently reported in connection with ADHD. There is often a lack of strategies for regeneration and relaxation, which means that the ability to adequately self-regulate in stressful situations is lost. As a result, even during periods without stress, it becomes impossible to return to the original rest level. As a result, the stress response is prolonged and also manifests itself in excessive intensity. Chronic activation can have long-term negative consequences and lead to physical complaints. In addition, the released stress hormone cortisol has a suppressive effect on the immune system, which weakens the immune system during continuous stress and therefore makes the body more susceptible to infectious diseases.

So-called type A behavior in ADHD patients is characterized by a high level of performance orientation, competitive behavior, a high need for power and control, time pressure and impatience, and the ability to distance themselves from work. Performance success and recognition can be achieved at first, but interpersonal conflicts arise later on. The consequences of this behavioral pattern are a high risk of expenditure, mild excitability, low frustration tolerance, and an increased physiological stress response. It is therefore important to develop stress management and self-regulation strategies to minimize these negative effects.

Before you start dealing with your stress experience, you should first consider what stress means to you and how you would define stress. It can be helpful to complete the following statements to get a feel for your own stressful experience. This short but effective reflection only takes 5 minutes of your time.

‍Grab a piece of paper and complete the sentences for yourself:

- I get stressed when.

- When I'm stressed out, then.

- I'm stressing myself out by.

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Identify and understand your own stress experience (AB 1.2/1.3/1.4)

Stress reactions serve to adapt the body to stressful events in the short term. This mobilizes energy sources and increases the immune system. It is possible to deal actively with stressors, but ADHD sufferers often lack coping options. Stress responses can be expressed at various levels, such as feelings, thoughts, body, and behavior. These levels influence each other and can intensify and prolong the stress response. You may already know statements that illustrate the interplay between body and feeling, such as “stand up to someone” or “have had it up to date.” You may think of even more statements...

Whether something is perceived as stress depends on one's own subjective assessment. Even when viewed objectively, the same situations are perceived differently by people. However, it is clear that stress is always accompanied by a feeling of stress, which results from the experience that the demands of a situation exceed one's own means of coping with it. The good news is that we and we can learn strategies to deal with stressful situations and thus significantly reduce our sense of stress.

However, in order to be able to perceive our own stress response, we must address our own sense of stress and find out what is stressing us out. That is often exactly what we find difficult because we have learned to ignore or suppress physical and psychological signals. Mindful inventory of our own stress factors and stressors as well as understanding your own stress response can help you identify stressors and positively influence your own experience of stress. Our worksheets help you understand your own sense of stress.

Let's look at personal stressors first. Note that stressors can contribute to the feeling of stress as both internal and external factors. Internal factors that are present in ourselves can be personality traits as well as behaviors such as procrastination, perfectionism, and unstructurability. A high level of these characteristics can lead to stress if we are constantly busy following the urge. External factors come from outside and are revealed as social factors through the expectations of others, as physical factors such as noise, heat, darkness, or even as organizational factors such as time pressure.

‍What are your personal stressors? (FROM 1.2)
Use the worksheet to reflect on your personal stressors by recording them in weights. The greater the weight, the greater the stress sensation.

‍Transfer the two biggest stressors to the stress scale! (FROM 1.3)

‍Think of a typical situation in which you feel a lot of stress and think about how you react to this stress?

Note down typical reactions in the presentation! (FROM 1.4)

Immediate measures/strategies

Here are some exercises and immediate measures that you can use in acute stressful situations to calm yourself and your body.

‍Three-Minute Breathing Room

This exercise can be done several times a day. It can be adapted to your own needs, which is why it can take longer or shorter. The exercise is also suitable for all areas of life. There may even be other people present while you do the exercise for yourself. It does not have to be held in a specific position and can be carried out with open or closed eyes.

‍Reflect for yourself:

‍How am I feeling right now?
What does my breath feel like?
What does my body feel like?

The aim of the mindfulness exercise is to perceive the here and now in a friendly, accepting attitude without wanting to change anything about it. It is about being aware of yourself and your current feelings without trying to change anything about it.

‍4-7-8 technique

‍This is a breathing technique that allows you to specifically reduce stress. You can use this exercise anytime to relax your mind and body. It's best to practice this method first when you're not too stressed out. If you master the breathing technique well, it can even help you fall asleep faster. Try it out:

Breathe Four seconds Long through the nose One.
Halte The Breath for Seven Seconds On.
Breathe Eight seconds Long and make a “whoosh” sound with your lips pressed together.
Repeat the exercise up to four times.

The technique works as a natural sedative for the nervous system by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for our rest and digestion modes.

‍Humor as a coping strategy against stress

‍In the following, you will learn a specific coping strategy that can help in acute stressful situations, but also represents a basic stance to positively change your stressful experience in the long term. Humor enables a positive reinterpretation of situations and a change of perspective. Humor and laughter, especially when embedded in positive types of humor, can be very effective remedies for stress. Humor can help improve mental performance, engage and relax muscles, improve breathing, stimulate blood circulation, decrease stress hormones, improve immune defenses, and increase endorphin production. In addition, relaxation techniques can also have psychological effects such as reducing anxiety, tension, depression and loneliness, promoting self-worth, restoring hope and energy, and creating a sense of agency and control. Laughter is an automatic biological response to temporarily release us from the stress of targeted activities. Think for yourself: How often do you laugh during the day? How often do you use humor? Then think about how often you laughed as a child? You might notice that you did this a lot more often as a child. How can we integrate more humor into our stressful everyday lives?- Actively search for fun things to do in actually stressful situations! “I'm going to laugh about it someday, why not now? “- Use your imagination in every opportunity! “Whenever I imagine that, I can't stop laughing! “- Try to see the positive things in every situation! “The glass is half full, not half empty”Also try the “light smile” as a mindfulness-based strategy‍

- Take a relaxed posture
- Consciously loosen the body in all areas
- Then try to smile slightly
- Maintain a light smile for 10-15 breaths
- Additional support through images, nature/animal viewing

‍Consider in which situations you can use this method?
‍(In the morning after waking up, listening to music, reading.)

Low demands combined with a stress-free atmosphere filled with zest for life, self-confidence and optimism lead to spontaneity and creativity. The Turn to Humor and Thus the Resolution of Inner Constraints Enables a Playful, Thoughtless Perception of the World. Maybe you're even trying to set yourself the goal of developing a more humorous approach to life and approaching life with more ease.

‍ADHD symptoms with/ without a suitable strategy

‍Without appropriate coping strategies, stress can lead to an increase in core symptoms and an increased experience of stress in people with ADHD, which in turn can lead to problems in various areas of life.

Hyperactivity is shown, for example, when those affected are constantly moving and have difficulty sitting quietly for a while. Impulse control is also often not sufficiently developed, which is why there is difficulty in controlling behavior, which can lead to inappropriate behavior and lead to conflicts. The symptom of inattention in ADHD is characterized by easy distractibility and a lack of concentration. Furthermore, those affected report difficulties in planning and organizing tasks. They often find it difficult to use their time effectively and fulfill their responsibilities. With appropriate strategies, the symptoms of ADHD can be better managed.

By implementing a clear daily structure and fixed routines, people with ADHD can better organize their tasks and improve their concentration. Schedules, to-do lists, and reminders help you keep track of things and increase productivity. In order to counteract disorganization and poor planning competence, effective prioritization is necessary in order to be able to structure the day successfully. For example, it is recommended to plan only 60% of the time so that you still have a time buffer for unforeseeable things. In addition, it is better to plan a few tasks and review your own schedule regularly. One of the most important strategies is to set a predetermined conclusion. Tasks should then actually be completed at this point so that the focus on a pleasant activity that is good for you can follow.

‍The worksheets (AB 2.2/2.3) help you set priorities according to a specific principle and at the same time give you further, helpful tips for your time planning.

‍Strategies that promote movement and relaxation help people reduce tension, reduce stress and improve concentration. Regular physical activity should be health-beneficial, realistic and feasible. It's best to start in small steps and plan fixed appointments. Expectations should not be too high when it comes to the increase in performance. Striving for a gradual increase in performance is better. Regular physical activity can help to better control symptoms and improve functioning in various areas. You can also start by bringing more movement into your everyday life, for example by using the stairs instead of the lift or looking for a way to see colleagues at work instead of contacting them over the phone.

Keep in mind that it can take some time to get into sports regularity. To find the activity that suits you personally and your everyday life, it can be helpful to keep a mood diary. This helps you to improve your awareness of your own health before and after sporting activity and to notice the positive effects on well-being and stress tolerance. Self-reflection helps people with ADHD better understand their strengths and weaknesses and develop appropriate strategies to overcome their difficulties. The close environment, such as friends or family, but also experts, can help those affected develop strategies and deal with challenges.

‍Use your own resources & strengthen self-effectiveness

‍Unfortunately, the term ADHD often has negative connotations, although there is no generalized deficit of attention, but only limited control over the attention system. What many people don't know is that people with ADHD can concentrate particularly well and permanently when they are heavily stimulated, are under time pressure or have a great interest in the task. In addition, people with ADHD have a variety of resources and strengths that set them apart from others. Often, those affected are unfortunately just not aware of this themselves. For example, ADHD sufferers with a tendency to disorganize are good at providing others with instructions for structuring and effective behavior.

Typical resources and characteristics of people with ADHD include cognitive abilities such as curiosity, imagination and flexibility in thinking. They are also often spontaneous and have the ability to improvise. (Partial) high talents can also often be identified. Often perceptible emotional-motivational characteristics include openness and humor, a strong sense of enthusiasm and the ability to achieve top sporting performance. Hyperfocus enables those affected to approach a task in a targeted, consistent and creative way. Positive personality traits of ADHD sufferers are characterized by a strong sense of justice and socially sensitive and helpful behavior. They often forgive and forgive quickly, as they have an open, friendly and heartfelt spirit from the ground up. She is also characterized by her love for animals and nature.

A complete and unconditional acceptance of ourselves helps us to perceive, differentiate and accept all our facets. A realistic evaluation of one's own actions has a positive influence on self-esteem. We should learn not to define ourselves by our performance or external factors, but to trust our own abilities. Self-effectiveness is a central aspect and means the conviction that you can perform certain actions yourself based on your own abilities. People with higher self-efficacy are better able to deal with burdens and feel less stress because they draw on their own resources to cope.

According to the principle of “strengthening strengths to weaken weaknesses,” there are a number of methods for recognizing and valuing one's own resources and strengthening one's own self-effectiveness. I would like to present one of these exercises to you below. Maybe you'd like to try them out to see what else you can learn about yourself.

1) Think of a situation that you have handled well in a lifetime and reflect on:

How did I manage the situation?
What Skills Did I Show?

2) What competencies and strengths do you have?

What skills do I have that I am proud of in my life
Which competencies give me courage?

‍3) Write down each skill on a piece of paper.

‍Then collect them in a place that is always accessible or stick them where you can see them often. You can also create a list that you always carry with you or save on your phone so that you can access it whenever you want.

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