Advice from a Maryland Therapist treating Adults with ADHD and Anxiety

New Year, new me, right? That’s what many of us say to ourselves as we come into the new year, with all of our good intentions.

And sometimes it’s easy to stick with it for the first couple days (or even weeks!) but then it’s easy to lose motivation after the glow of the new year fades. We often ask ourselves ‘how can I stick with my routine?’

How do I stay on track with adult ADHD?

It’s easy to lose sight of your habits and goals, especially if you have ADHD and anxiety at your heels as well. If you’re an adult with ADHD, the morning routine might seem like too much. It’s hard to remember to stick with it, and sometimes your reminders don’t always give you the motivation to stick with it.

If anxiety gets in the way

If you have anxiety, missing one of the days of your new habit might make you feel like ‘my streak is gone’ and ‘it’s probably best to quit because I lost my streak.’

Remember that the New Year’s resolution is not about perfection but about the attempt and effort you give. Here are three simple solution we Maryland therapists recommend to help you (and all of us!) stick to our New Year’s resolution.

Here are 3 tips on how to stick to your resolutions with ADHD and anxiety in the mix

1) Make it a theme

This is really important, as people often try to create a new habit and forget to or lose the motivation to enforce it. Making it a theme — a new year of reading new things, or a new year of going to more social things throughout the year — can help broaden the expectations of your new year’s resolution. It can put less stress on the end goal and make it more about the progress of the journey within the year.

2) Make it concrete

Give yourself at least one thing per month to help you stick with this year’s New Year’s resolution. Mark in your calendar that ‘every first Sunday I’ll read my book for 10 minutes’ or ‘I’ll call a friend or family member every Friday to keep in touch with people I care about.’ Having a concrete plan around a habit (or a theme) can help solidify those habits that seem to elude us as the year goes on.

3) Be present and give yourself a break

Didn’t work out on the Sunday you were supposed to? Don’t worry! Think about it as ‘a free pass’ or ‘a day of rest’ and keep moving forward! Having self-compassion on your journey is important. (Want more tips on self compassion and how to practice it in our daily lives? Click here.)

Don’t forget to look back into the past as well and acknowledge your efforts (‘I may not have worked out today, but I have worked out more frequently than I did last year. That’s something to celebrate.’) Focusing on the wins as well as the progress of the journey (rather than simply the end goal of the resolution) is something to feel accomplished about. Make sure to check in with yourself about the things you’ve done right — treat your wins in the same way you would look at a friend’s progress and celebrate them.

Not sure if you’ll be able to stick to one (or many?) New Year’s resolutions? Want someone to help you keep on track with your self-growth and your goals for the year? Reach out and connect with us online.

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