Holidays are meant to bring us joy, bringing us together with friends and family, enjoying nostalgic foods, and sharing special moments. But for people with ADHD, seasonal merrymaking can create all kinds of challenges.
Holidays are meant to bring us joy, bringing us together with friends and family, enjoying nostalgic foods, and sharing special moments. But for people with ADHD, seasonal merrymaking can create all kinds of challenges.
The holidays can bring extra stress, from cooking elaborate meals to shopping for gifts. But for people who are neurotypical, those stresses are compounded by disrupted routines, changing sleep patterns, and overstimulation at parties and family gatherings.
📅 Create a Calendar
There's a lot of events to keep track of and having a calendar to visualize your commitments can assist in preventing over scheduling and keeping track of when and where you places to be. Download and print blank calendars from the internet to have a physical copy to help organize your time. Be sure to highlight things that are high priority!
👯 Devise Temporary Routines
While the holiday season won't last forever, creating routines even for the short term can help you manage your needs. Setting regular times for sleeping, eating, and exercise can aid you in prioritizing your needs over holiday obligations, and provide an easy answer when someone asks if you're available for an extra social engagement.
🦐 Small Tasks Solve Big Problems
As always, people with ADHD will benefit from creating small tasks from big ones. For instance, cooking a big holiday meal for your family can seem like an overwhelming task, but it doesn't have to be. Break that into smaller parts: organizing invitations, shopping for ingredients, cleaning up the house, and cooking each dish.
💊 Don't Forget Your Medications
If you're traveling for the holidays, double check any medications you will need. Refilling a prescription, especially for ADHD medication, may not be easy to do. Set a reminder for yourself to make sure you have enough on hand. Consider a pill container to pre-pack in your carry on luggage–its easy to forget your medication if you plan on packing it the day you are leaving.
🛑 Set Your Boundaries
Disruptions in your basic routines can exacerbate your ADHD symptoms, and even if you have created short-term routines to follow, it's easy to get caught up in the festivities. Consider setting an alarm as a reminder of when you plan on leaving a holiday party, or consider telling your hosts ahead of time when you want to leave so they can better prioritize their party planning.
The holidays can be a special challenge for people with neurodivergent conditions, but keeping in mind these simple tips can help ensure your days are merry and bright (but not too bright if you have a sensory processing issue).