Not just today but in the past ADHD has caused me to get overwhelmed at work. I work in a very fast paced environment with lots of little details that make or break each order.
I’ve had moments where I get so overwhelmed that my mind goes blank.... imagine that! An ADHD mind like ours blanking out. I work at FedEx office as a Lead consultant and have to oversee many print orders each day. It gets so difficult sometimes and I want to shut down, hide, and not do my job.
I’m sure many of you deal with this some worse than others! It takes a lot for me to get to this point but today I got there again. Teeth clenched tightly, eyes hurt from looking at the screen, running around picking up after everyone, etc. Its hard!
But that’s not the point of this long thing. The point of it is to remind you that you’re not alone. You are only one person and can only do so much. Below are a few tips and tricks I try to keep in mind on a daily basis that allow me to minimize those moments when I get so overwhelmed that I literally blank out.
1) discover what your physical hints are that you’re starting to get stressed out. This can be bouncing leg, tapping finger, for me it’s clenching my jaw or grinding my teeth.
2) check in with yourself, are you clenching your jaw or showing signs of becoming overwhelmed? Try to do this 3- 4 times a day and eventually you will have moments of “hey my jaw kinda hurts, maybe I need a breather”.
3) Take advantage of those 10min breaks! I used to be a work horse and would work through them, take my 30 min exactly and go back to work. Now I take 10 min breaks.
4) This one is difficult but honestly helps a lot.
You ready for the big one???
Ask for help. Find someone and tell them “hey I need your help” sort everything out and get to a place where you are able to execute at your full potential again.
Those are my 4 helpful tips that I practice at work and in high stress situations. I hope you guys find it helpful and feel free to comment with any additional advice you may have for others!
Happy Wednesday everyone!
- Michael
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michael682
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Amazing post! Thank you for the tips... I’ve definitely felt overwhelmed at work before and I can relate to the blanking out 😱 I wish I could blank out at bed time 🤣
Thank you for posting this! I've been struggling at work lately. I work at a pharmaceutical company and we're extremely busy. A lot of meetings, deadlines, etc. There are times I don't know where to start. I try to find on my list the three things I must accomplish on each day and I start with those tasks and go from there. If I finish the top three, I pick the next three. I'm afraid to tell anyone at work I have ADHD. I don't want them to treat me differently. Lately, I've been asking how people want to receive information from me. It serves two functions; one, it makes me look like a team player, and two, it opens the door for me to share how I need to receive information to work effectively. It's been helping a little. I just started doing it and so far people seem receptive to it.
I love these tips, I need to practice asking people how they would like to receive information from me. I feel that helps with clearing up a lot of confusion.
I totally understand the feeling of not wanting to tell people at work. Remember that even the best employees have bad days and go through difficult stuff. You will get through it as long as you continue to set healthy boundaries, guidelines, and practices at work.
Have you read the book “faster than normal”? If not I recommend you check it out. There are a few things I’ve learned through reading that book and a few things I’ve discovered as gifts from the ADHD gods 🤪 that I now embrace. “Joking about the adhd gods”
I would never disclose my ADHD to anyone at work. Many people assume of course that I am, “hyper” or that I am just quirky . I use the same methods you do. I will sometimes just bring up that we all have different communication styles so everyone shares. In my opinion it’s not quite so obvious that way.
Great advice!! I like the one about recognizing when your starting to feel overwhelmed and how to handle it. That’s something I’m going to begin being mindful of and work on for myself. Thank you for that.
Your message made me think of something my brother told me once about 2 years ago. He said it always seem like I want and get a job doing something I’m not very good at. I think he’s right. I think I’ve been trying so hard all my life to be something I’m not. Kind of a sad way I lived my life for so long. I didn’t give myself any credit for anything I was good at and solely focused on everything I wasn’t good at and wanted to be good at. I’m glad now I see this and I’m going to end with a favorite quote my therapist said to me a couple years back.
I understand what you said!!!!! What are that things you are good at? Maybe you need to explore that unknown zone!!! How you see your future yourself?
I studied accounting ( I think it is the worst subject for someone with this condition)but I did not know that I have this condition . Nobody knows about it.... and in Colombia? Forget it..... Now I am 56 YO and I have discovered that I am good restoring old furniture, hair stylist, counseling . I am studying to become a coach and I do not need any medications for that. I feel like a fish in the water. I enjoy helping people feeling well!!!!
I’ve had learning difficulties all my life, I wish there was some skill trade like restoring furniture that I was good at but I’m just not able to turn any of my interests/hobbies into something. Learning to do something lime furniture on my own takes a lot of effort and I make a lot of mistakes. I do well with having a mentor someone who I can work with and be there helper. Back to knowing that I do have learning difficulties I’m at a place right know where I own my own house and I love it and want to maintain it. And that cost money so I think instead of me daydreaming of me doing something I love that would require me to master I may be better off getting into a job that I’m capable of doing pays me decent takes care of their employees and provides benefits and regular raises. I’m thinking Costco. It isn’t my dream to work inside a warehouse for 40hrs a week but if it provides me with the money I need to keep up on my house and live a comfortable life I think in the end that should make me happy. Someone told me when you have money you have no stress. Well I have stress and I need more money. Driving Uber/Lyft isn’t cutting it for me
Good ideas and they work at times. I have made myself take a walk to the bathroom, take 3-5 slow deep breaths and that extra oxygen and time really helps calm you down so you can be more in control. If needed take 3 more slow deep breaths. A reminder to slow down and pace yourself. We have a tendency to speed up under pressure; breathing helps you stop what you are doing for a few minutes. We really don't need to go faster, we just think that will fix the problem, but it only makes it worse. Also when you start going faster you breathe shallow and that makes it worse. A mild state of hypoxia keeps you from thinking right, even if you don't have ADHD. Going to the bathroom is a way to give you time to feel better. So breathe. Doing this at your desk usually doesn't work for many reasons. Most people like to help and many people go thru the same thing at times.
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