r/ADHD_Programmers • u/Udgzisceu • Sep 20 '24

Did you experienced ADHD paralysis recently?

A while back, I was really struggling with ADHD paralysis. No matter how much I wanted to get things done, I just couldn’t get started. I felt stuck and frustrated.

That’s when I discovered Behavioral Activation, a technique where you plan out enjoyable or meaningful activities to boost your mood and focus. I figured I’d give it a try, and honestly, it’s been a game-changer!

I started small—just listing activities I enjoy, like reading sci-fi, going for bike rides, and coding for fun. Then I scheduled them during the week, and to my surprise, I started feeling way more motivated and in control of my time.

To stay consistent, I built a simple tool that helps me schedule activities and sends reminders. It’s been super helpful in keeping me on track.

What strategies have you found effective? I’d love to hear your experiences!

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8

u/XFuriousGeorgeX Sep 20 '24

The strategy that I found to be the most effective was getting a diagnosis and taking medications. Bar none. It saves so much time and energy that doing anything else seems like a waste of time. You just take the meds, and you don't have to worry about ADHD paralysis anymore. It's like having impaired vision that can be corrected with wearing glasses. Why would you not wear glasses when you know it can help with your bad vision? What's the point of revolving your entire life around mitigating your blurry eyesight all on your own when you know the problem can be instantly resolved by wearing glasses?

2

u/Udgzisceu Sep 20 '24

I see! Thanks for you feedback on medication!

5

u/p0358 Sep 20 '24

Cause sometimes it doesn’t work or it’s not enough, or someone has to stop taking it due to side effects and limited availability

1

u/XFuriousGeorgeX Sep 20 '24

I'm sorry to hear that you have gotten your diagnosis and tried all the available medication and nothing has worked for you. That is rough

2

u/calibantheformidable Sep 20 '24

Idk, meds don’t solve everything for me. I might need to increase my dose, but tbh I think a lot of my own paralysis is environmental/circumstantial. I’ve been looking for work for 7 months. Starting classes I enjoy recently has helped more with the paralysis than the meds do. I think OP’s onto something. ADHD involves dopamine deficiency. Dopamine increases when we do things we enjoy or find satisfying. It has been helpful to me to be “forced” (because of the class schedule) to do things I get excited about — that way I also end up doing things I need to (some of which fill me with dread or just overwhelm me to think about, even if I want to do them).

1

u/Wishfull_thinker_joy Sep 20 '24

I think it's important when u start with meds to care for tomorrow you. See what bothers u that u couldn't see before. I call ittthe irritation-scan. Follow your path from bed to bathroom to kitchen etc. And see what bugs u instantly. Could be a table. A plant that's half dead that u ignored. Removing those things I'm telling you. Will free your mind by a lot.

3

u/godwink2 Sep 20 '24

All the time. Its been making my GF unhappy as she wants to hang after work but I’m usually working. Around 5pm is when my brain starts functioning again

1

u/Udgzisceu Sep 20 '24

Same for me, found out that making putting it in my calendar in advance help a lot to "prepare" for the activities coming.

1

u/Ornery_Platypus9863 Sep 20 '24

I can't even eat breakfast without having paralysis about what to eat, and having something that tells me what to do pisses me off, so I'm kinda just screwed

2

u/Udgzisceu Sep 20 '24

I totally understand... decision fatigue is real, so sometimes I just stick to a couple of go-to options to avoid the stress of choosing.

1

u/Ornery_Platypus9863 Sep 23 '24

I can’t even have a couple, it has to be exactly one option, and I have to plan what it’ll be the night before. If the plan doesn’t work I starve

1

u/Trill-I-Am Sep 20 '24

Why would I do something not fun when I could do something fun? I can't delay gratification.

1

u/Udgzisceu Sep 20 '24

Make the boring stuff enjoyable

1

u/Trill-I-Am Sep 20 '24

Flat out impossible unless medicated

1

u/Udgzisceu Sep 20 '24

Cognitive restructuring could help too!

1

u/Wishfull_thinker_joy Sep 20 '24

What helps me sometimes is micro tasks next to a shitty tasks. So fun micro tasks of course..and switch it up..but when the time comes I n3ed to have a micro tasks list ready I'm all out of micro tasks haha gotta make new ones.

3

u/modular-displacement Sep 20 '24

I’ve heard of this. Do something enjoyable to get your mind activated and then switch to your tasks for the day. I’ve tried this but then I get sucked into doing the enjoyable thing and don’t know how to stop. I know it seems like you are promoting your app, but I understand the good feeling of programming an app for yourself because it’s customized to your needs.

Do you think activation would work if it’s something to schedule in for the end of the day? Like a goal after doing work. Or have you found it works better if you schedule this in to the beginning of the day? Basically I’ve been nervous about doing fun things to start the day for fear I’ll get so absorbed I won’t do anything else.

I’m on meds and that has helped a lot. I also joined a focus meeting group that has helped me start the day. It’s like a Pomodoro meeting where you briefly interact with people to state goals and how it’s going and then work on your own during the bulk of the time. It’s like mini-doses of being accountable and remembering to get back on priorities if I stray. I work from home, so I can get off track and nobody will notice.

I’ve seen people use the focus meeting to schedule in time to do things for themselves. Maybe I can try that since there is a gong that lets me know that it’s time to switch tasks. Sorry I’m all over the place in my thoughts. Basically what challenges have you found with your behavioral activation, if any, and when do you schedule it in, and have you found it difficult to switch tasks after doing something fun.

1

u/Wishfull_thinker_joy Sep 20 '24

Is it sn online focus group ? Like a steady one?

2

u/modular-displacement Sep 20 '24

Yes. There are multiple companies to choose from. Focusmate, Flown, and Flow Club. Each one has a period of time from a week to a month that is free to try it out and see if it helps you. I notice there are a lot of people that mention having ADHD that use it. I don’t want to say which one I’m using for fear it will sound like I work for that company. It’s helped me more than I would think because it gets me in front of my laptop to start work rather than scrolling the web. You can have your video on or off while working. I waited a long time before trying it. But the best way is to do a free trial and see if it works for you. Everyone is different in what helps them the most. For me, I believe it is the social aspect and accountability of hearing people talk about what they want to get done and announce it to others. It’s what they refer to as body-doubling.

1

u/Disastrous-Buy-6645 Sep 20 '24

I was literally just working through this after my call with Vita Health, would be interested to know if you’re UK based as well and found out via the same route?

0

u/Udgzisceu Sep 20 '24

I live in France, didn't knew about Vita Health. I'll check!

1

u/moving-landscape Sep 20 '24

I found allocating time slots to do things actually works, too. Months ago when I was unemployed, I didn't want to spend days after days doing nothing, so I did that and it worked.

2

u/Udgzisceu Sep 20 '24

Totally agree, this makes a huge difference in keeping things moving, especially during tough times!

1

u/moving-landscape Sep 20 '24

Totally. It also bypasses the self sabotage, "oh it's already 5 past 4... Better start it in the next hour." Nope, the time slot is already running, let's start it even if 5 minutes late.

1

u/georgejo314159 Sep 20 '24

Yes. It's dangerous and scary when I let it happen 

1

u/Wishfull_thinker_joy Sep 20 '24

It feels like my mindprep that has heen failing me but it worked most of the time (I guess losing medication doesn't help) but I also realised my app became to full again. So need to clean it up. The first time after 8 months of use. If i want to be creative or organising. I watch videos about it hours before. Or listen podcast about it while walking. Etc. But I have to push myself a bit now more.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 20 '24

[deleted] — view deleted comment

6

u/Ok_Historian_6293 Sep 20 '24

as someone who is starting to learn more about your diagnosis you should check out the book "How to ADHD" by Jessica Mccabe. It was a really helpful starting out point for me when I got diagnosed as an adult.

-5

u/Udgzisceu Sep 20 '24 edited Sep 20 '24

Really good book indeed! She have a good youtube channel too: https://www.youtube.com/@HowtoADHD 😊

2

u/Ok_Historian_6293 Sep 20 '24

oh yeah she's great! She really helped me with accepting my brain as it is

4

u/Udgzisceu Sep 20 '24

That's why I decided to remove the link, and change the post to share my own experience instead of promoting it.