11/26/2025
Thanksgiving is sneaking up in a few days! How did that happen? 🤔
That ADHD “now” or “not now” sense of time can feel like a time warp. First it seems like the occasion, event, or deadline is far off into some murky distance. Then, as if by magic, it is just around the corner! Whaaaaat??? It can feel so startling! Like a jolt of time-reality did a surprise landing.
What’s an ADHD soul to do?
Well, your nervous system may be going into high alert. You can certainly use this to your advantage because now you have the motivation of urgency. You may very well kick into high gear and appreciate the hyperfocus that may occur. And do the twelve things that you know need to be done, with amazing speed and focus. Your brain finds the creative focus to get it DONE!
But the downside is that “what goes up — must come down…spinning wheels got to go ‘round…” (Anybody else know that Spinning Wheels song? It’s a good one from a long time ago!) Anyway, as the song says, after a period of intense work and energy being expended, (including brain energy), your body and mind will always find a way to come back into balance…
So you may feel lethargic and have little or no energy to actually enjoy Thanksgiving when it arrives. And if family is involved, this is not ideal…It leaves you low on bandwidth to be your lovely self and be present. It’s a very predictable pattern for many of us with ADHD.
Here are ways to help decrease your high alert to a lower alert level.
1) ASK YOURSELF, “AM I ON HIGH ALERT?”
* If so, put your hand on your heart, and gently remind yourself, "This may FEEL like an emergency, but it NOT an emergency. It is a holiday.”
* Then say, I love you. You can handle this. You have handled far more difficult things.” And/or, “You can do this.”
DO SOMETHING PHYSICAL TO GET YOURSELF BACK INTO YOUR BODY.
* FOCUS ON YOUR 5 SENSES:
→ What is something I see? (Picture/photo you love? Something outside?)
→ What is something I hear? (Maybe play a song you love.)
→ What is something I can touch? (Soft blanket? A pet? A hug?) → What is something I can taste? (Eat or drink something.)
→ What is something I can smell? (A candle? Hot cider on the stove?)
* MOVE:
→ Get up and walk to another room.
→ Do some simple stretches.
→ Walk outside and breathe the fresh air.
→ Go for a walk if you can.
→ Go to the gym if that’s your thing.
2) PRACTICE THE 3 A’S:
1) Awareness
2) Acceptance
(of what you have NO control of, like other people and their reactions.)
3) Action
(Tiny steps please.)
3) SET AN INTENTION:
“I choose to feel ____________ between now and Thanksgiving.” (Joyful? Accepting? Loving? Detached or Observant? Grateful?)
Write it down, and keep it with you.
Or put it somewhere you will frequently see it.
Setting this kind of intention is more powerful than meets the eye. You are reminding yourself how YOU want to be. You don’t have any control over the rest of the crew. They are gonna be however they are gonna be. (Well, except for kids that are yours to care for.)
But you get to decide how YOU want to be and how YOU want to respond. It doesn’t mean it will all be perfect. It does help you feel a bit more safety by reminding you of what you DO have control over, which is you, not them.
Holidays can be stressful, but there can also be joy and moments of love and connection.
Look for the good stuff.
And care for yourself in the middle of it all.❤️
