ADHD motivation and emotion

This could be damaging your ADHD motivation...

"Just get on with it, stop being lazy, you mustn’t let people down, you always do this…."

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱. 

ADHD motivation and emotion

The role of emotions in ADHD motivation

Emotions play a big role in motivation, especially for those of us with ADHD.

They can be a powerful driving force that spurs us on and can even keep us engaged in monotonous aspects of a task. They can help to activate us, especially when a task is lacking what would typically activate someone with the ADHD.

Emotions also have the potential to enhance memory. Therefore, in situations where executive dysfunction impairs memory as can be experienced with ADHD, engaging with emotional experiences can serve as a strategy to reinforce and improve memory retention.

🤔And being a driving force for action and strengthening memory is true of both positive and negative emotions.

How ADHD, motivation and emotions interact

What we have been taught through school or popular literature about how to motivate ourselves and achieve our goals has been based on neurotypical norms.

And simply isn’t true for us with an ADHD interest-based nervous system.

👉ADHD & Interest based nervous system

So if we don’t understand why we can’t activate to complete a task, using 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 can be an effective short cut.

😫And often, as is the human tendency, the emotions used tend to be negative ones, such as shame. 

We may use critical self-talk that shames or pressures us into action. It may emphasise perceived flaws and work to make you feel bad enough to get moving.

⏰This critical self-talk can also combine with using urgency to activate by leaving things until last minute e.g. “I SHOULD have done this ages ago, I’ve had months, and I've still left it until the last minute!”

The importance of self-talk for motivation

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 and the overuse of negative emotional energy has consequences.

Whilst relying on urgency and self-criticism might work in the short term, it’s a poor long-term strategy. Using pressure to force action can deplete your energy, eventually leading to exhaustion, even burnout and emotional dysregulation.

𝗜𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿e as there is now a memory of the negative experience. When we remember how hard, boring, frustrating or how bad we felt taking on that task, it creates the perfect conditions for task paralysis.

Hello procrastination! 👋

👉Click for managing procrastination

🦷Think of it like going to the dentist. If your last visit was painful, you’ll be more likely to put it off next time, even though you know you need to go.

This new negative emotional experience can have a powerful impact on whether we can and want to activate. The same can then happen with other similar tasks. If we associate completing them with self-criticism and last-minute panic, it becomes harder each time.

Emotional dysregulation

 A common challenge for people with ADHD is emotional dysregulation, which involves difficulty managing emotions, especially intense ones.

This can mean that emotions might become overwhelming in response to situations, making it harder to stay motivated in a balanced way. When emotions are too intense, they can either completely hinder motivation (by leading to feelings of overwhelm or frustration) or push a person into hyperactive, sometimes impulsive behaviour, which might result in task-switching without completing any one thing.

So, the relationship between ADHD, motivation, and emotions is somewhat cyclical.

Emotions used this way can become too consuming or disruptive, impacting the ability to sustain motivation across a variety of tasks.

✨𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. 

⚠️Pay attention to your self-talk when you’re avoiding something. Notice where you’re using criticism to motivate yourself.

Even more neutral sounding thoughts such as “I just need to get on with it” can be problematic, as they suggest it is simply a lack of will. 

Which it is not.

Instead, take it as a sign that something’s missing in your approach. The something that will help you activate your motivation.

And remember positive emotions can be a powerful ally.

Using positive emotions may look like creating a beautiful space to work in that you enjoy, or perhaps working in a coffee shop to get your favourite latte, positively acknowledging when you do a job you’ve been avoiding (well done me!) or tapping into your deeper sources of meaning- thinking about how you’re contributing to others or how the task contributes with bigger aims you have.

So, what is one step you could take today to reduce your use of negative emotions for motivation?

🦄𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂?

Need support?

👉As an ADHD coach, I can help you identify what’s lacking in your plan and teach you better approaches for moving forward, without relying on pressure or criticism to motivate.

👉ADHD coaching also helps you become more aware of the strategies you're using—both the ineffective 𝗮𝗻𝗱 effective ones- because you already have strategies that work. By understanding how the ADHD brain works, you can learn to recognise what you truly need to move forward and develop healthier, more effective and more enjoyable approaches. 

☎️Interested in experiencing ADHD coaching and learning how it can help you tackle your to-do list and dream bigger in a sustainable way? Let’s talk by clicking 'book a discovery call' on the home page.