5 Things I Do to Get a Grip on my ADHD When It's Rush Hour in My Brain

If you have ADHD (or maybe even if you don't), you know what it is like to wake up and feel like your brain is spinning. My therapist calls it rush hour traffic of the brain.

Everyone has this sometimes. The difference for someone with ADHD is that the traffic lights are all broken and when you call the town office to try to get someone to come in and fix them or maybe send down a police officer to direct the traffic - NO ONE IS ANSWERING THE DAMN PHONES!

So, you're just standing there on the sidelines, watching cars zoom back and forth, looking for a way to get to the other side so you can get on with your day. You think you see a spot and try to get through, only to get knocked off your feet by a bike messenger.

You scuttle back to the curb and keep looking for an opening.

"Everyone is like this sometimes."

If that's what you're thinking, you can just piss right off. I'm sorry but I'm so tired of hearing that.

(Ok, that voice is often just an echo in my brain from a recent conversation. But every time I hear it, I feel like a complete and utter loser for not being able to find a way to the other side)

Anyway, getting off track here (surprise, surprise)…

If you feel like that, here are a few things I do to deal with the traffic:

1. Take my meds

I know. This is such a simple thing. But often, I forget. So, as long as it is before 3 pm (because my Ritalin has a 5 or 6-hour window), I take my meds if I haven't already. My therapist says my meds get the call through to someone at the town office to come and fix the damn lights. And it does. If the lights don't get fixed, someone at least comes to direct the traffic long enough for me to cross over. (I know not everyone takes meds and if you don't, that's ok; they are new for me and they seem to be working though)

2. Drink a glass of cold water

I don't know why but cold water centers me. It shocks me out of my hot coffee comfort zone or something. And I'm probably dehydrated anyway because I haven't drunk anything besides coffee in at least 24 hours.

3. Have a shower

Sometimes I have to really work my brain to make this happen. I have to be like, "Ok, just go and lay down some fresh clothes. You don't have to put them on. Just put them on the edge of the bed." And then I look at them for a few minutes and I'm all, "Well, they do look nice and cozy. And they smell fresh. You could just put them on…" and then I take off my dirty clothes (that I've probably been wearing for a couple of days) and I realize I'm naked so…I might as well get in the shower. Ya. I seriously need to trick myself into this shit. Oh, and if I can end that shower with a blast of cool/cold water it is amazing.

4. Brain dump

Every single one of those vehicles and bikes whizzing by? Those are my thoughts, things to do, concerns, messages I haven't replied to, shit I haven't done, self-demeaning thoughts, and so on. Every one. Damn things. But sometimes it helps to get them all out. I just grab a piece of paper and just start jotting shit down in point form. I scribble. I don't spell things right. I use my weird shorthand (does anyone else write without vowels sometimes?). It's a relief to get it all out. It's not to organize anything. Just get it out. Then I go back sometimes and star the ones I can actually do something about RIGHT NOW. I pick one. And deal with it.

5. Get lost

I let myself get lost in ADHD TikTok or Instagram for a short time. I see that I'm not the only one dealing with this shit and then I don't feel so alone. Sometimes I pick up a tip or trick that I've never thought of before.

So, that's what I do when the traffic in my brain is out of control…

What do you do?