Contributed by: Terry Matlen, ACSW
Here it is, the beginning of May, and
every magazine you open contains articles about spring cleaning.
With the weather improving, the urge hits to get outside more and
enjoy the break in weather. It's hard to imagine spending more time
indoors to do what many of us hate to do: cleaning and organizing.
Not only do we hate it, we're often paralyzed, not knowing *how* to
do it: which cleaner do you use for the floor? What's the best way
to clear out the garage, when there are so many steps to consider?
As adults with ADHD, breaking down large projects into smaller ones
can seem almost impossible when even deciding on where to start can
be overwhelming.
Further, we get distracted, we procrastinate and
before we know it, spring has morphed into summer, then fall and
winter and the cob webs from last year are still hanging in the
closet. As you read the richly detailed magazine articles, you feel
a pang of anxiety, depression, guilt and even a drop in self
esteem, as you wonder why it seems so easy for others to do this,
but for you, it's an obstacle bigger than life.
Where to Start
We need to remind ourselvesthat cleaning, let
alone deep Spring Cleaning, may not be an area of strength for us.
Our ADHD symptoms prevent us from just jumping in and knowing how
to attack the many chores needing to be done. Or at least the ones
we're told need to be done. Magazine articles don't consider the
needs of all readers, thus, we're told to do a million different
things to make our house, yards, garages and offices look spick and
span. As someone with ADHD, it's important to remember that these
are often expectations that are unreachable. It's best to "kick it
down" a notch and allow ourselves to do what works best for us and
not feel like we must follow a list of 150 "must-dos" for spring
cleaning.
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