"I spent 45 minutes last week staring at a pile of clothes on the chair that needed to be put away. With each passing minute, the shame increased. The rational part of my brain knew that this task would take less than 5 minutes. But my body acted like I'd just been asked to walk on a bed of hot coals. The clothes sat there for another three days."
"If you have ADHD like me, boring tasks aren't just boring - they feel impossible. Maybe it's the laundry basket that haunts you for weeks. Or maybe it's responding to an email, paying the bills, filling out the paperwork, or doing the dishes. You know it shouldn't be this hard. But that doesn't change anything. Why? Because ADHD brains run on interest-based motivation, not importance-based motivation."
People with ADHD have lower baseline dopamine levels and reduced dopamine receptor activity, which makes initiating and completing unrewarding tasks neurologically difficult. Interest and novelty drive motivation more than perceived importance, so necessary tasks like showering or booking flights can feel impossible without emotional relevance. Everyday chores and administrative tasks can trigger shame and paralysis despite rational awareness of short time required. Reframing tasks to connect with personal values or adding novelty increases motivation. Using multiple rotating strategies rather than one fixed system accommodates fluctuating attention and maintains engagement. Small environmental or emotional triggers can significantly affect task initiation.
Read at Psychology Today
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