9 Reasons You Struggle With ADHD Paralysis And How To Fix It

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If you struggle with ADHD Paralysis, then you know the struggle of freezing when you get overwhelmed by tasks or your job. School was the place where I felt the most frozen, but now I am in the last semester of my Math degree and I will be graduating with above a 3.0 GPA.

adhd freezing

I have so many tips and tricks as to how I have overcome ADHD paralysis with really challenging classes, tasks, and managing working, blogging, and school all at the same time!

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1. Inflexible Work Environment

When you are in an environment that is very rigid and stressful, you are going to feel frozen when you get overwhelmed.

The worst part of an inflexible work environment is that you can feel stuck where you are. When this happens you can get stuck and not feel like doing anything.

With ADHD paralysis, it is important to make your work entertaining!

My Recommendations:

  • Make your workspace personalized. Add photos, candles, pretty pen holders etc. Customize it for whatever type of work environment you have. If you can play music, listen to calm and good music that can keep you focused.
  • My favorite thing I have at my desk is my wax warmer. I use Happy Wax which are soy wax melts and they are so amazing! I have genuinely loved every scent I have gotten.
  • Find ways to make the work more entertaining. For me, that means digging deep into the work and finding funny things and commentary I can make about my work. I take notes throughout the day of things I want to journal about later on and then I write blog posts on Medium on my experiences.
adhd brain frozen

2. Stress

Stress comes with a decline in executive function. This means that tasks that should be super easy are now impossible to do, due to ADHD paralysis.

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Our cortisol levels rise when you are stressed which can affect how your whole body to stress out even more! So it is so important to manage stress when dealing with ADHD paralysis. You have to attack the root of the stress to really manage it best, but here are some tips for stress in general.

My Recommendations:

  • Is work stressing you out? Talk to your boss about what they can do to lower your stress levels. They might be able to lower your hours or take a few things off of your plate. Sometimes they’ll be able to tell you how to do something more efficiently so you can be more productive and less stressed!
  • Is school stressing you out? Talk to your PROFESSOR!! Professors aren’t mean and aren’t out to get you. They will have some great study tips and sometimes they will give you extensions if they know a little about your life and your circumstances. If you never talk to them then they won’t know to give you extra time or extra support.
  • Is life stressing you out? Here is a whole post about stress that I wrote for people with ADHD!

3. You Feel Like You Are Procrastinating (Which Causes More Stress)

ADHD paralysis and procrastination are not the same thing!! Let me say that again, ADHD paralysis and procrastination are not the same thing!

Procrastination is a willing delay of your tasks. ADHD paralysis is more like you want to do everything and you feel like you can’t even start.

My Recommendations:

getting work done

4. You Got Overwhelmed By A Task

I have a few digital products with adhd paralysis in mind. Click this link to find some tasks that are already broken down for you with some tips and tricks to make your household cleaner and more efficient for your brain!

My Recommendations:

  • Make lists of different chores around your house and break them down on notebook paper if you don’t have money to spend on these printables.
  • Ask your boss to go through a task with you so you fully understand what is expected and how to do it. Demystifying the process makes it easier to get started and keep going!
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5. You Work Differently Than Those Around You

Your brain is wired differently with an ADHD brain. Working around neurotypical people can make you feel like you are going crazy when you just need to file some papers…

My Recommendations:

  • Find some ways to improve your productivity by breaking down how you are currently doing a task, versus how others do it, versus how you think it should be done. Maybe you can find some common themes that you can change about your way of doing it and find a way better suited for your brain!
adhd productivity paralysis

6. You Are Doing Things That Drain You Instead Of Filling You Up

Tasks that drain me are social tasks like going out to grocery shop at a small grocery store or answering the phone. Finding things that fill you up for when you have a breather is so important!

My Recommendations:

  • Start journaling how you feel after you complete a task. Then you will find a list of things that make you feel fulfilled and happy!
  • Notice how you feel after you do something productive and see if you feel better or worse! You might find motivation to be more productive if you enjoy it more!

7. You Have Been Sitting For Too Long

adhd paralysis

8. You Are a Perfectionist

When dealing with ADHD paralysis, it might be because you are a perfectionist. Keeping up a personal standard is one thing, but never wanting to start something with the fear of failure is a completely different issue that we want to address.

My Recommendations:

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9. Your Day Is Boring

This kind of ties into #1, but I believe that the solution for this is slightly different than it. When you have a super rigid routine with no chance to be creative then you are going to feel frozen and trapped.

ADHD paralysis happens when you feel overwhelmed and trapped by your situation. So giving yourself some freedom and space to move around and let your brain roam free occasionally can be very helpful.

My Recommendations:

  • Let your brain sit and be bored on overwhelming days. Don’t overwork yourself and constantly go go go because your brain won’t enjoy that either.
  • When you are bored, find something that fills you up. For me, a simple walk with a podcast does the trick :).
adhd paralysis

This Post Was All About ADHD Paralysis and How To Manage It!

Comment below your favorite tip and what are some other ways that you deal with ADHD paralysis?!

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2 Comments

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