Christmas and the upcoming holiday season can reduce anyone to a pile of stress and a bag of anxiety. There are a lot of expectations and a lot goes through your mind during this time. The closer they are the closer you are to developing some kind of mental health problem and if it was the case something was already there, then its symptoms become overwhelming. Such a statement is also true for ADHD, also known as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder as it can be hard to deal with when Christmas and ADHD are thrown into the mix together and indeed it is not a nice concoction. We’ll tell you why in the follow-up words:
First, We’ll Define ADHD and Christmas Will Wait Till Then:
ADHD, otherwise also known as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is a neurodivergent mental condition that is characterized by symptoms that interfere with executive functioning directly. Executive functioning essentially relates to functions and processes of your body that help with and support everyday life. Symptoms common in ADHD include but are not limited to hyperactivity (as the name suggests), trouble keeping focus, disorganization, procrastination, irritability, impulsiveness, and restlessness.
ADHD usually manifests in younger years, mostly in childhood but can evolve into adulthood, especially when it is left untreated for a long period of time. However, symptoms can decrease with time if they are treated properly and in a timely manner. But how does ADHD and Christmas relate? Let’s see it for ourselves:
The Link Between Christmas and ADHD
ADHD and Christmas have a specific connection that particularly brings the festival into the crosshairs of the mental condition as Christmas provides ADHD with all the triggers one can imagine. During Christmas, you have to remember dates and to buy which presents for whom, show up for events on time over which you cannot take rain checks, keep up deadlines at work before the holidays arrive, and even keep up with your family’s expectations somehow at the same time. That’s a tall order already but if the affected individuals also suffer from ADHD, then that’s a different story entirely. That’s because the triggers we just described will become worse in terms of ADHD and Christmas.
Read More: Holiday Anxiety: What and When To Do Something About It
But Why Is Christmas with ADHD Is Such A Bad Thing
The triggers are one thing and obviously are capable of making both Christmas and ADHD a catastrophe in adult sufferers especially. These triggers can make ADHD people hate Christmas or any other holiday for that matter as they tend to be extremely stressful for them. But there is one particular factor that makes Christmas with ADHD a satan’s spawn for the affected individuals: The ADHD Christmas Overwhelm Cycle!
The ADHD Christmas overwhelm problem has the hallmarks of the usual overwhelm cycle which is a major symptom of ADHD. It is where your brain is flooded with excessive thoughts and information overload or you essentially feel like you have been forcefully fed with extra stimulants. This type of symptom can make you shut down completely and will make you feel extremely frustrated and upset with yourself. Due to that you essentially feel like you are stuck in a “frozen” state.
The “freeze” is dialed up a notch during the Christmas season due to the overabundance of triggers it can provide the affected individuals with. This way ADHD and Christmas are closely associated because of the sheer availability of the triggers and stressors during the holiday season. These triggers can include something like a family (as we have mentioned before) that doesn’t understand ADHD, which will lead to more symptoms. This is evidenced in autoethnography research, where the author suggests the presence of family and support that doesn’t understand ADHD can lead to bigger triggers, which as a result leads to excessive symptoms. If a family is not willing to learn or doesn’t have an idea about ADHD, it will indeed lead to more problems as the family is present at festivals like Christmas, surely, adding to the pile of triggers.
What Can You Do To Circumvent ADHD Christmas Overwhelm Cycle?
These are some of the ways you can get rid of ADHD Christmas overwhelm cycle:
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Go for Unique Gifts
A lot of times, affected individuals tend to fret over what to give and to whom over the holiday season. While it is a normal thing to go over, people with ADHD can worry and get stuck in this thinking for hours or even weeks before Christmas Eve arrives. One solution is to give an ADHD Christmas present. These are things that are worth remembering and essentially memorable, for example, a visit abroad and return tickets for it, also ensuring that people are happy to get it as usually affected individuals fret over this particular thing: If people receiving an ADHD Christmas present will be happy to get it or not when it’s from you. An idea would be to get an ADHD Christmas ornament, which gives motivation to you and brings you closer to the person you are giving the gift to.
Read More: Season’s Greetings or Season’s Grievings? Everything About Christmas Depression
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Avoid Christmas Greeting Cards
Another thing we as affected individuals tend to procrastinate over are Christmas greeting cards. ADHD people even overthink and procrastinate over the little things that are even remotely related to Christmas greeting cards, for example, what to write in them and who to give these to. We recommend letting them go this time to avoid the ADHD “freeze” and procrastination spells this Christmas.
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Don’t Make Shopping a Headache
Stepping into a mall full of new items and discounts is going to make your life a living hell due to ADHD at Christmas will be at play behind the scenes. Instead, visit smaller spaces where your attention is most likely not diverted. This way you will also be helping out without making your ADHD and Christmas a living hell.
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Stay Away From Clutter
Christmas is the time when everything seems to go haywire. You will be utterly bombarded with a disorganized and cluttered scene and that will likely lead you into the ADHD Christmas overwhelm cycle. Perhaps, even let go of the decorations this time as they tend to create a lot of mess and clutter, two things absolutely detested by ADHD people.
An ADHD Night Before Christmas
Many affected individuals have an ADHD night before Christmas because this is Christmas Eve and they are blowing out their brains with overthink and procrastination while also becoming hyperactive in the process. It is best to ensure you prepare for this as the results can be cumbersome and will directly lead to bad bouts of ADHD and Christmas that are essentially ruined. You can practice the things that are mentioned above to avoid an ADHD night before Christmas. Additionally, you can also seek treatment for ADHD Christmas overwhelm cycle, with things such as psychotherapy and medication:
Medication
While you need to consult with your psychiatrist, we can give you an idea of what can work and what doesn’t. Stimulants such as methylphenidate or amphetamine are the most commonly prescribed medications, which are used to boost and balance levels of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters that are associated with ADHD. This way your ADHD and Christmas, both, stay stable.
Sometimes though, stimulants can be hard on the takers because of their side effects. For that, non-stimulants are used. These, such as one called atomoxetine, do the same thing that stimulants do, but these do it gradually. The added benefit is that side effects do not erupt due to these and can also be used in unison with antidepressants for treating ADHD.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy (“talk” therapy) can help you introspect into your problematic behavior and also educate you about a mental condition, while providing you with the necessary learning skills to help you be successful in treating a mental condition. One example of this is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a structured yet brief goal-based therapy that teaches specific skills to manage your behavior and change negative thinking patterns into positive ones.
Marriage counseling and family therapy can also help as they try to help mend the fault lines that stem from interpersonal relationships. These two can also help others around you properly understand what actually ADHD is and how they can help you cope with it better, saving both ADHD and Christmas.
Read More: Hyperfocus in ADHD: What is it?
Wrapping Up!
We have laid down everything about ADHD and Christmas. Treatment is necessary and so are the changes that need to be made. If it is the treatment that you need you can refer to Inland Empire Behavioral Group for treating ADHD and others like anxiety, OCD, or PTSD.
