Are you in need of ADHD therapy? Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. You’re staring at the pile of clothes heaped on your bed; the sheets you stripped are still wet in the washing machine, and all the motivation you felt two hours ago when you started laundry has evaporated. “Maybe if I just sit for a moment,” you think, but that’s a trap. You know you’ll never get back up and wind up sleeping beside your clothes with a blanket on the bare mattress — it wouldn’t be the first time.
“What is wrong with me?” you can’t help but feel, comparing yourself to your friends who make keeping a spotless house seem effortless. I’ve been there, and I can assure you nothing is wrong with you, but you might be working against your brain, running it like an automatic when it’s a manual, and it’s time to learn how to drive it.
In ADHD therapy, we explore the root causes of the condition. One of the main factors that contribute to the difference in functioning between neurotypical and ADHD brains is dopamine.
The Role of Dopamine in ADHD
Dopamine is a chemical in the brain famous for its role in pleasure and motivation. In a typical brain, dopamine is processed and utilized efficiently, enabling individuals to complete tasks and feel rewarded with a sense of satisfaction. When dopamine is low, it can leave you feeling tired, moody, and unconcentrated—sound familiar?
Now, in an individual with ADHD, this reward system can be ineffective, causing a dopamine deficiency and contributing to feeling perpetually depleted and unmotivated to complete mundane necessary tasks. This creates a selective motivation for highly stimulating activities that bring about dopamine — such as food, sex, music, or risky behaviours — but no motivation for laundry.
Other times, we can start activities when dopamine is high, like cleaning, organizing, or exercising, and going full throttle, barrelling through all the dopamine until we’re left depleted again in the middle of our task. So how do you fix this?
Here are a few tips we utilize in ADHD therapy to try out for yourself:
Working with your manual brain.
Create a comprehensive to-do list with everything that needs to be done, including the most vital and the most mundane. This way, less exciting or smaller tasks don’t slip through the cracks.
Organize the list.
Our brains are not masters of organization, so prioritizing the most important or time-sensitive tasks to be completed first before dopamine is depleted can help us stay on top of our to-do list.
Keep active.<
Moving your body keeps the dopamine flowing and helps you stay motivated. While sitting down for a quick rest may seem like a good idea, a body at rest can have a tendency to stay at rest. Sitting down for a quick social media break can leave you scrolling in an endless loop for hours, paralyzed against getting back up. I can’t explain why, but something about having shoes on your feet keeps you motivated to keep moving!
Set small goals for yourself.
Plan out smaller, more attainable goals for yourself, as opposed to larger overall goals. Celebrating the little victories gives you a more consistent sense of accomplishment and motivates you to continue. So instead of your goal being to ‘clean the house,’ make your goal ‘do the dishes. ‘ Once the dishes are done, the goal is achieved, and you can move on to the next goal: laundry.
Reward yourself!
Every time you complete a goal, reward yourself. Your brain might not reward you with dopamine, but you sure can! Giving yourself tangible rewards, a piece of candy, your favourite song, or an episode of your favourite TV show, gives you a shot of dopamine that your brain should have rewarded you with anyway. This gives you a tangible sense of pleasure post-task and motivation to continue.
Dopamine is only one aspect of the ADHD brain, along with decision paralysis, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, rejection sensitivity and more. These are all factors we work with during ADHD therapy. Learning how these factors influence how your brain operates can be the difference between success and struggle.
Rebound Total Health: ADHD Therapy
ADHD is not an inherent weakness. In fact, at times, it can be a strength, but it does come with its own unique challenges, and it is worth understanding and working to accommodate. One great way to develop this understanding is undergoing ADHD therapy with a registered therapist familiar with the complexities of neurodivergence that can help you realize and achieve your goals.
Reach out to us today at Rebound Total Health for accessible counselling online or in-person to help you and your loved one. For news and educational information, follow us on Facebook< and Instagram.