How your OWN GRACE is essential if you have ADD/ADHD....
In season one, I had Heidi on the show to talk about ADD/ADHD in women and how it can show up later in life, through perimenopause and menopause.
This subject is personal for me as well, since my ADD really started showing up in my mid to late 30s. This talk with her taught me that ADHD/ADD and grace go hand in hand. Some things Heidi mentioned and described really stuck with me, since I try to "watch" myself on a daily basis, to refine, to correct course, to optimize.
The "hot spot" situation came up, which is followed by overwhelm, then shutdown/paralysis.
It looks like this:
Hot Spot starts to form (i.e., pile of papers) --> overwhelmed by decision fatigue (deciding where papers need to go) ---> ignoring it (pile grows) ---> overwhelm (because the pile is so big now) ---> shut down ---> the pile causes more and more anxiety.... and so it goes and goes.
The solution most people find helpful is a timer or a task minimum. 3 minutes cleaning up papers, or taking 3 pieces of paper from the pile and filing them/putting them where they shall go, and leaving the rest. Doing 3 pieces of paper a day might seem less intimidating and WILL get that pile cleared as well.
With that said, for me, it has another issue: Out of sight, out of mind. It's called "Object Persistence"...Sooooo if I don't see my supplements and collages, etc. every morning, I won't take them. But if it is out, it looks messy.
It becomes a HOT SPOT out of necessity!
I had to make a decision... messy counter or not taking the supplements?
I decided on the supplements and gave myself GRACE about the counter. If you visit me without giving me a heads up, you will see that mess. If I have enough time to prepare, I will clean it up/hide it. So I am okay with it.
Also, you do NOT live in a social media post! You LIVE in your home, and most of us have stuff, some of us have more, some of us have less. I've tried to be a minimalist for 15 years now, with no success, and that's okay, too.
I am not a professional, and everyone is different, but that is what helps my teenage daughter and me. Mind you, we are a 4-person household, and we have 4 different types of ADD living in this house. We all function differently, and we all have different needs, techniques, and coping strategies. And all those fluctuate by the day as well. Women especially need different things throughout their cycle. That is okay, too! Again, ADHD/ADD and GRACE go hand in hand. Grace means choosing yourself and accepting your ADD as a part of how your brain works.
Stressing over expectations, norms, standards, or even perfectionism will feed into your stress & overwhelm and make the paralysis so much worse!
Giving yourself grace and time to breathe will allow you to step back and then be able to step up...because it's not always about finishing the task, it's about starting the task!
Pictures for your sense of normality, yes, mess is normal !!!
Check the video if you're curious for more info/tips:
Do you have a "hot spot" in your home? Is it overwhelming you, or do you handle it with ease?