ADD/ADHD and The Holidays
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Until it is NOT.
For most of us the holidays can be magical. Theres nothing quite like watching your child’s face light up with anticipation and excitement before opening presents. It’s a joy to indulge in tasty treats that are full of nostalgia and dancing with your friends and family to the tune of your favorite holiday songs. These things all set the season apart from the rest of the year. In my house, we spend a lot of time decorating and lighting candles. The big and little decorative changes keep us joyfully distracted from the hum of everyday demands. However, most of us know there’s another side to the holidays. We have experienced first hand: tantrums, meltdowns, and out right nasty behaviors, and not just from children but adults as well!
All of my little and big friends with ADD/ADHD have a few extra challenges as they stumble through holiday events.
You see, the ADD/ADHD brain takes in EVERYTHING. It’s a common misunderstanding, people often think that ADD/ADHD folks cannot focus, when in fact they are focusing on everything! The ADD/ADHD brain is inhibited in it’s ability to choose what it actually wants to focus on. This can be very frustrating and overhwelming. Not only that, the ADD/ADHD brain has some impulse control defeciences. That means starting and stopping things can be tricky. That also means overreacting or under reacting can be easily misinterpreted by loved ones.
Exercise can certainly help to balance out all the holiday magic.
Movement helps to process out stored up adrenaline and cortisol (stress hormones) while filling the body with some much needed natural endorphines (happy hormones). People with ADD/ADHD brains need extra moments to calm down, regroup, and quietly focus so we can make good decisions and engage in meaningful ways. So you can imagine, you give your ADD/ADHD friend some extra sugar and food dyes, and then you mix that up with lots of stimuli and take away their safe routines and it gets explosive!
Tips to help you and your ADD/ADHD loved one enjoy the holidays:
Plan ahead and arrive early so you can get acclimated. Giving time for transition space can go a long way in decreasing anxiety.
Exercise often (you need to process out that extra adrenaline stored up in the body after that terrible conversation with So-and-so.
Pack some high protien snacks (cheese/nuts/jerky) to balance out the changes in your eating schedules.
Give your loved ones a call ahead and let them know you and/or your child may need to step outside for some fresh air or go into a quiet room to regroup. Assure them that taking breaks is helpful and maybe invite them to take a break too.
Sleep as much as possible. It’s important to let the brain sort, process, repair and recharge during demanding times.
Lay out the game plan. Talk yourself and your little one through the day, give them the play by play in order to decrease anxiety and elevate the fun.
Hydrate with fresh clean water. Keep lots of water near you at all times, or plan on excusing yourself for a drink of water whenever needed.
Enjoy yourself and your little ones. Take a moment to breathe out those stressful expectations, and breath in the way things are. The magic really is in the small moments. And the real gift is to be loved and to love others just as they are.