From Scattered to Centered (The ADHD Nervous System)

In this episode I explore the connection between Somatic Work and ADHD.  

What if ADHD isn't just in the mind, but also living deep in our nervous system?

I discuss how chronic stress, advice from others, masking, and emotional dysregulation often show up physically, and how body based practices can support greater self awareness and resilience when living with ADHD.

I wrote this episode hoping to give you a greater understanding of somatic work, how to use it, and some tools to try, to reconnect to your body and nervous system.  I encourage you to be patient with yourself,  begin by being curious, instead of judgmental.  Join me as I explore how working with your nervous system- not against it- can create more ease, presence, and self-trust in everyday life, while living with ADHD.

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/77b84d16-db6d-4d57-8f1e-8bceda990d60/

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https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/723c6402-a9ae-4a2a-8f51-38c0d2ba3fba/

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/62389998-d503-436b-8034-769cd7465a1d/

Transcript

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Welcome back to the Grounding Room. I have been talking to many people about ADHD recently, and for years, ADHD has primarily been viewed through the lens of attention, focus, organization, and productivity. As a somatic practitioner, I have other thoughts on that. And today I'm hoping to explore them. I think ADHD is something that a lot of people live with and they assume it's in their head. I have a theory that part of the ADHD experience is also happening in the body, not just in the mind. So what if some of the struggles, focus, emotional regulation, overwhelm, procrastination, and burnout are connected more to the nervous system and less to willpower or discipline? That's where somatic work comes in. Today I'd like to explore why somatic practices can be incredibly supportive for the ADHD brain, how they help regulate the nervous system, and why healing doesn't always begin with changing our thought patterns. It often begins with reconnecting to your body. If you have ADHD, whether it's diagnosed or you just feel like you fit the symptoms that you hear about all the time, chances are you have spent much of your life hearing things either from your parents or your teachers or your friends, like just focus. Why don't you just pay attention? If you tried just a little bit harder, if you get organized, this'll help. Stop procrastinating and just do it. Many people with ADHD become experts in masking their struggles. They try to hide the parts of them that actually live inside of them. And they do it just so that society accepts them, which I think is vastly unfair to somebody who's actually struggling. They work twice as hard to keep up, they overcompensate for everything, they push through exhaustion, they criticize themselves constantly, and over time, that can create a chronic stress within the nervous system that doesn't help with ADHD. It actually could be making it worse. This also causes physical fatigue, which in turn causes you to lay on the couch and not be motivated to do anything, which in turn people now start calling you lazy. And the truth is you're not lazy. One of the biggest misconceptions about ADHD is that it's simply a problem with attention, mostly because of the name. In reality, ADHD often involves challenges with emotional regulation, impulse control, motivation, executive functioning, sensory processing, time management, and tolerance to stress. Many people with ADHD don't struggle because they don't care. In fact, it's quite the opposite. They care so much that it causes paralysis and momentum forward. They struggle because their nervous systems are often working overtime. And when the nervous system becomes overwhelmed, the body responds. You might notice things like restlessness or fidgeting, muscle tension, racing thoughts, difficulty relaxing, feeling frozen or shut down, and constant exhaustion. These aren't just mental experiences, they're bodily experiences. Somatic work focuses on the connection between the body, emotions, and nervous system. Instead of asking, what are you thinking? Somatic work asks, what are you feeling in your body right now? For someone with ADHD who's possibly never been asked this question, this can change the trajectory on your thought process. Many people with ADHD spend their lives trying to control their symptoms from the top down through strategies, planners, reminders, and productivity symptoms. And the people who care most about us who aren't struggling with ADHD think that these things are just simple solutions to a really simple problem. But sometimes what needs support is the nervous system itself. You don't need another planner. You don't need another organizing tablet or app. And that's where body-based practices become powerful. The ADHD brain and its nervous system experience life extremely intensely. If you're not struggling with ADHD, this may not make sense. But excitement feels bigger. Frustration feels bigger. Rejection feels bigger. And stress feels bigger than the in quotations normal person. One moment you're hyperfocused for six hours straight. The next you're unable to start a simple task. The next you're completely depleted and exhausted and can't move. This can be so confusing to the mind. But from a somatic perspective, it makes perfect sense. The body is constantly responding to internal and external demands. Somatic work helps individuals recognize these patterns before they become too overwhelming. The reason why traditional advice, like just make a list, break it down into smaller steps, be more disciplined, doesn't work. They often assume the nervous system is already regulated. But when you're emotionally flooded, overstimulated, anxious, or frozen, the thinking brain isn't fully available. No planner in the world can override a nervous system that's signaling overwhelm and chaos. Somatic work helps create the conditions for the brain to function more effectively. It's not replacing practical tools, it's supporting the foundation under them. One of the best things about somatic work is that it doesn't require sitting perfectly still or clearing your mind. In fact, many ADHD brains thrive in movement. Somatic practices may include things like walking, stretching, shaking out tension, which is a really powerful tool, dancing, and gentle yoga. Any movement that helps the body discharge excess energy. Breathing can be another awesome tool. Not forcing deep breaths, simply noticing the breath and allowing it to become more intentional. Grounding, feeling your feet against the floor, noticing physical contact with a chair, connecting with your environment through your senses, a body scan, checking in with areas of tension, fatigue, and activation, sensory regulation, using sound, touch, movement, temperature, or other sensory inputs can support nervous system balance. The hidden cost of self-criticism with the ADHD brain is that I often see people with ADHD with relentless self-criticism. Many have spent years feeling misunderstood, years being told they're lazy when they're exhausted, years being told they're careless when they're overwhelmed, or believing that something is actually wrong with them. My work creates opportunities to notice what happens physically when shame, frustration, or self-judgment arise. And perhaps most importantly, it helps cultivate self-compassion, not as a mindset, but as an embodied experience. Before you push yourself to be productive, try regulating yourself first. This may be the most important takeaway from the episode today. For many people with ADHD, the goal isn't to force productivity. The goal is regulation. Because when the nervous system feels safer and steadier and more supported, focus becomes more accessible to us. Creativity becomes more accessible. Decision making, connection. The body isn't an obstacle, but the body is part of the solution. If you live with ADHD, your challenges may not solely be about motivation, discipline, or attention. Some of what you're experiencing may be rooted in the relationship between your brain, body, and nervous system. This approach asks less, how do I make myself perform better? And more, what does my nervous system need in this moment? It's an invitation to move from constant self-correction towards self-awareness, from fighting your body to actually becoming a partner with your body. And from surviving each day to creating greater sense of regulation, resilience, and peace in your mind. Now that we touched on why somatic work can be so supportive for the ADHD brain, let's explore a few simple practices that you can start using today. The good news is you don't need an hour-long meditation or perfect focus or even a quiet room. That doesn't work for the ADHD brain. In fact, many of these practices work because they're designed for real life and real nervous systems. Try an ADHD body check-in. Many people with ADHD spend so much time in their thoughts that they lose track of what their body is experiencing. A check-in can look like just thinking about the answers to these questions or journaling them. And I do prefer journaling them because I think we learn a lot about ourselves when our subconscious mind speaks to us. Just ask yourself some questions. What sensations do I notice right now? Where am I holding tension in my body? Am I hungry, dehydrated and thirsty, tired, overstimulated, or am I feeling a little anxious right now? And the most important question, what does my body need in this moment that can help me create forward momentum? You don't have to fix anything. You just need to notice what comes up when you start asking yourself these questions. Awareness is the first step towards regulating your nervous system. Try shaking off excess energy. In the animal kingdom, if there is a threat nearby and an animal is on high alert where fight or flight becomes activated, if you wait a minute and watch what happens afterwards, every single one of them, it doesn't matter the animal, shakes it off. And then they move on as though nothing happened. It finishes the emotional process of feeling dysregulated. So if you allow yourself to get up and make this look as crazy as you want it to, shake it off, move every joint in your body, just jump up and down, shake out your arms, move your body in ways that sometimes just doesn't make sense, and do it for as long as it feels good to do it. Stand up, gently shake your hands, your arms, your shoulders, your legs, your entire body for 60 seconds. It might feel super silly at first, and that's okay. Many people with ADHD carry excess energy, stress, and stimulation throughout their day that they didn't ask for. This simple practice can help discharge some of that activation and create a sense of reset. Start over, pause. When you're feeling super stuck, restless, or unable to even start a task, try this. Stand up facing a wall. Place both hands against it. Slowly push with strong and very firm pressure for 20 seconds. Then release. Repeat this several times. This activates muscles and provides proprioceptive input, the body's awareness of its position and movements, which many ADHD nervous systems find regulating and grounding. Think of it as giving your body useful information before asking your brain to focus. The last one I'll give you is a 90-second emotional wave. One challenge for many people with ADHD is emotional intensity. Everything feels bigger than it actually is. When frustration, rejection, embarrassment, or overwhelm show up, the instinct is often to suppress the feeling or overreact immediately. Instead, try this. Notice where the emotion lives in your body. Is it tightness in your chest? Heat in your face? A stomach knob? Is your heart rate increased? Are you sweating at all? Without trying to change it, stay curious about the sensation for a minute and a half. Just observe it. Breathe with it. Notice whether it shifts, moves, contracts, expands. Often emotions become easier to navigate when we experience them physically rather than getting trapped in the story surrounding them. Somatic work is not about becoming perfectly calm all the time. And it's not about eliminating ADHD traits. And it's definitely not about forcing yourself into someone else's version of productivity. You are your own individual person with ADHD and you can work with it. The goal is building a relationship with your nervous system, about understanding what your body is communicating before overwhelm takes over. Perhaps most importantly, it's learning that regulation isn't something you achieve once. It's something that you practice a little bit at a time, one breath, one movement, one moment of awareness at a time. I appreciate you joining me on this journey through understanding the ADHD brain and how integrating the body into your life, instead of just living in your mind, can be extremely supportive of the nervous system. I am lucky enough not to have ADHD, but I know many people who struggle with it. And the judgment that comes from others is often the most painful experience of it. And I'm here to tell you, you live in your own mind and your own body. And if you can show yourself some grace, try some of these practices and think about regulating your nervous system. Not to cater to the needs of people who don't experience life the way that you do, but instead to cater to your own needs and what your body's looking for and asking of you. I hope this episode was helpful if you're struggling with this. And I hope you try some of these practices and see if something changes in you. Hopefully, everybody has a great week. I can't wait to see you next week, and I'm off. Bye.