Nothing! Neurodivergent brains need more time to process, decompress, and recharge.
It probably has to do with how
- our brains have to process a lot more stimuli from the environment (sights, sounds, smells, information, etc.)
- our nervous system is way more interconnected
- some brain areas might not be able to communicate as well with each other.
For us neurodivergent folks, the type of rest has to match our needs.
A lot of neurotypical forms of rest work against what we need.
“Candle-lit bubble bath?” If you’re ADHD, an understimulating environment might force your brain to keep up your basic dopamine functioning… by cranking up the volume on internal monologues and earworms!
“Treat yourself, go out, have fun!” If you’re already overstimulated, even more noises and sights and sounds and people means you’ll need even more decompression afterwards.
“Cook something nice?” If your executive functioning system is all spent for the day, your brain will have to work even harder to remember the steps and manage everything.
“Just drop everything?” If you’re hyperfocusing on something, the sudden switch alone can be literally painful.
For neurodivergent folks, neurotypical rest is just another task.
Try one of these instead, and see how they work for you!
- If you feel out of your body, do gentle movement with focused breathing, like yoga or pilates.
- If you’re overstimulated, maybe you need complete darkness and quiet.
- If you spend all day masking (because you have to in order to survive), block time in your calendar when you can simply be in your safe space and let your brain be led by whatever interest comes up and wander or hyperfocus.
- If you’re in your head, you might need to crank up the intensity. So stim, dance, spin, roll, sing, make noise, run, jump, lift weights, do breathwork. Get in your body, feel alive!
- If you’re understimulated and need a sense of control, find an immersive activity to get lost in. Pick up a video game or an audiobook with a nice voice and let yourself be guided. Anything involving more than one sense.
- If you feel all over the place or out of control, and you have a creative or ‘maker’ type hobby, go do that. (As long as it doesn’t feel like work!)
- Oh, and however you choose to rest & decompress, don’t forget to eat. And drink water. We tend to forget that. The body needs energy!
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