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Maybe you’ve nervously tapped your finger on your table on a stressful day or mindlessly played with your hair at a red light. While humans are programmed to fidgety from time to time, other people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) use what are known as self-stimulation (or stimulation) behaviors to focus or self-regulate. And while it can take many forms, stimulation in ADHD regularly consists of repetitive motions (such as rocking or bouncing on the knees) or noises (such as clearing the throat or buzzing).
Read on to learn more about stimulation in ADHD, adding when it can be helpful (or harmful) and when it’s a smart concept to communicate to an intellectual fitness professional.
ADHD is a common neuroprogressive disorder, meaning it affects brain progression and function. It is estimated that 8. 4% of youth and 2. 5% of adults are diagnosed with ADHD [1] What is ADHD? American Psychiatric Association. Consulted on 06/24/2024.
Although diagnosed in childhood, ADHD affects both young people and adults. Common symptoms of ADHD include:
ADHD symptoms can interfere with school, work, social activities, and relationships. Despite those challenges, studies also show that certain symptoms of ADHD, such as creativity, curiosity, and adventure, are perceived as positive and beneficial.
There is no known cause or cure for ADHD, but the condition can be managed. Treatment for ADHD consists of a combination of education, behavioral therapy and/or medication.
ADHD stimulation occurs when other people with ADHD interact with certain repetitive habits for a variety of neurological reasons, says Billy Roberts, a licensed independent social worker, qualified ADHD therapist, and clinical director of Focused Mind ADHD Counseling, founded in Columbus, Ohio. Specifically, when a user with ADHD stims, she repeats a sound or movement to calm, focus, or manage feelings (such as anxiety, boredom, or overwhelming). A user with ADHD may be aware of stimulation, but rarely interacts with themselves. -unconsciously stimulating habit.
When looking to perceive repetitive motor movements and their imaginable role in ADHD, it’s vital to keep similar points in mind, says Rebecca Mannis, Ph. D. , a New York-based personal practice learning specialist. According to Dr. Mannis, those points include:
Keeping those points in mind can help intellectual fitness professionals better understand a person’s history of atypical motor movements and rule out other possible reasons that would possibly require other types of treatment, or even no treatment at all.
People with ADHD would likely exhibit the following challenging behaviors:
Visual (sight-related behaviors)
Auditory (behaviors that hear a sound)
Verbal (behaviors that involve generating sound)
Tactile (Touching Behaviors)
Vestibular (balance and behaviors)
There is no known cause of stimulation in ADHD. Research suggests that other people with ADHD respond to certain environmental challenges, adding overstimulation and understimulation.
A user with ADHD can also be tricky when it comes to releasing big emotions, Roberts says. For example, he says, they may move too temporarily when faced with a primary conflict.
“Agitation is agitation, but it occurs with a higher degree of severity and frequency,” Roberts says. While other people without ADHD might bounce back from time to time out of boredom or nervousness, a user with ADHD may do it for that long. for a long time and with such intensity that others close to them would possibly ask them to stop, he says.
Stimulation has also long been associated with autism spectrum disorder, with researchers observing self-regulating behaviors in autistic people as early as the 1940s[1]. What is ADHD? American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved 24/06/2024. While other people with either neurodevelopmental disorder can stimulate, Roberts says stimulation can be provided in autism and ADHD.
“In autism, the stimulation looks like very explicit repetitive behaviors, like repetitive hand flapping,” he says. People with ADHD, on the other hand, tend to have a wider diversity of challenging behaviors, she says. Additionally, while pacing can help other people with autism and ADHD manage their emotions, pacing is also commonly used as a concentration tool for other people with ADHD.
It’s vital to keep in mind that stimulation is innocent and not a habit you want to stop. In fact, it can be a useful tool for dealing with stress, boredom, or lack of concentration. According to Dr. Mannis, stimulation can improve executive functioning, whether it means helping a user initiate a multi-step process, eliminating environmental stimulation, or maintaining attention.
However, there are other times when stimulation can prevent one from living a satisfied and productive life, or even lead to self-harm. “Controlling stimulation can be if it interferes with an individual’s functioning, goals, or life satisfaction,” Roberts says. “A clever example of this could be if the stimulation causes self-harm, such as nail biting, which causes bleeding. “
People with ADHD can talk to an intellectual fitness professional to discuss the following management techniques.
The first step to managing any component of ADHD is self-awareness, Roberts says. “Because ADHD affects metacognition (or self-awareness) in the brain, many other people with ADHD don’t know which of their behaviors are similar to ADHD in the first place,” she says.
People with ADHD can work with an intellectual fitness professional to adjust their environment, or adapt to their environment, so that it is less distracting or more stimulating. For example, noise-canceling headphones can help focus on distracting environments, while opting to work in a café with ambient noise can help the user initiate a boring task.
Research suggests that mindfulness practices, combined with cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT), could possibly be an effective way to manage ADHD symptoms. “Therapies that come with mindfulness and meditation have also been shown to help achieve self-regulation. “says Roberts.
Medications can help reduce the need for stimulation. That said, common ADHD stimulants, such as Adderall and Ritalin, may temporarily develop involuntary movements or tics at first or as doses accumulate.
For other people who do not respond well to stimulant therapy, nonstimulant medications such as atomoxetine would likely be effective; They are sometimes less effective than stimulants.
It’s a good idea to see an intellectual fitness professional, such as an ADHD psychiatrist or psychologist, if your symptoms are stimulating, disturbing, or dangerous.
“Any time stimulation interferes with a person’s quality of life, it is helpful to speak with an intellectual fitness professional to explore what can be done to improve their well-being,” says Roberts.
It’s not just about working with a specialist to learn control techniques, if needed, but also to understand the cause, nature, and meaning of motor patterns like stimulation, Dr. Mannis adds.
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