Yesterday I had an MRI done. (Don't worry, it's nothing terribly serious. I injured my back while pregnant and unfortunately it hasn't gone away.)
Anyway, if you've ever had an MRI, then you know that you have to stay perfectly still while the machine is doing its thing. For a person with AD/HD, staying perfectly still is a terribly difficult thing to do!
It doesn't matter if you're trying to pay attention in class, sit still in a business meeting, or keep still for a procedure. And it doesn't matter if you're hyperactive or inattentive. People with AD/HD are fidgety!
And if you're anything like me, then the pressure to stay still makes you want to fidget even more.
So here's a "radical" idea: Stop fighting your AD/HD and go ahead and move! Fidget, stand, walk, or do what you need to do to feel comfortable.
The more you fight against that urge to move about, the harder it becomes to focus on the task at hand.
Here are a few fidget strategies I often recommend to clients:
- Swivel in your chair
- Doodle
- Chew gum
- Stand at the back of the room
- Keep a small fidget toy in your pocket or under the table
- Stretch your neck and shoulder muscles
- Sip some water
There are plenty of other little things you can do when the urge to fidget takes over. And these strategies can be employed at your desk, in a business meeting, in a classroom, while taking a test, in a theater or during a show, at the dinner table, while waiting in line, or anywhere else you like. Just be mindful to keep your movements to yourself, so you don't annoy others or encroach on their space.
As for me and my MRI, I was able to move my hands and arms during the procedure, which was a big help. But I was still anxious to get outta that place...fast!
The bottom line is that fidgeting allows you to feel calm and comfortable so that you can focus your attention where it needs to go. This is called working with your AD/HD, and it's one of my "5 Essential Skills for Managing AD/HD."
Do you fidget to stay calm and focused?
Tell us about your challenges and strategies in the comments below!
You know this was one of the biggest things that my husband used to argue with me about (I'm getting a divorce). He would go on these l-o-n-g monologues and would basically demand that I sit there, pay attention and be still. He never understood he had to choose: did he want me still and not paying attention because I was focused on being still? Or did he want me paying attention to him and fidgeting. I just could not do both! At least now I know I'm not alone in that. Thanks for this post.
Posted by: Carma | Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 06:46 PM
I've noticed that when I am forced to sit still and focus that I am very likely to get really sleepy - and no I'm not just ignoring being tired. This happens most when I'm trying to read, but recently it occurred while training for a new job, both when I was supposed to be concentrating on sitting and listening to customer service phone calls and then later while I was doing a task where I had to click on several things on a screen in a specific sequence (not training, but programming). Actually it surprised me that was able to click on these things in sequence, because I usually jump all over a page doing most anything else. I began to notice that while working on the programming that I wasn't blinking. Once I figured out I was doing that I started moving around (fidgeting). Not only was I able to finish my task, I blinked and didn't have the tendency to fall asleep.
Posted by: Cynthia | Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 01:21 AM
I'm a creative at an ad agency. Part of my job is to come up with the "Big Ideas." I find I can think much clearer when in motion. I will either walk the hallways or take a drive. As soon as I start moving it's as if the clouds part and the sky clears in my mind. As for sitting in meetings, I ALWAYS have a tablet of plain white paper with me. I doodle the entire time. The more I doodle, the easier it is to absorb the information being presented. Luckily for me, those meetings usually require me to sketch out my ideas anyway, so I'm really getting more done is less time!
By the way, my leg was bouncing the entire time I wrote this. :)
Posted by: Eric Ista | Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 10:27 AM
Being in school for 5-6 hours, sitting in class is hard for me. So when I'm sitting in class, I always fidget. I'm either twirling my pen around, or chewing gum or shaking my legs under my desk.
After class, that is when I can "fidget" big-time by going to the gym for a workout :) It's my way of letting up all the built-up energy I get from sitting for 5-6 in school
Posted by: Carmen | Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 10:42 AM
I learned from long experience that fidgeting helps me to stay focused. I've been a "foot-jiggler" since childhood, but couldn't convince others that I needed to move to pay attention. Reading about ADD, especially Ned Hallowell's books, made me aware for the first time that others did these things, too. Once I was fiddling around with a ball under the table, but dropped it. Wouldn't you know, it rolled right under the boss' feet. Whoops!
Posted by: Nancy Petrie | Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 10:53 AM
Two things have saved me countless times in business meetings: wiggling my toes and having a pencil in hand that I can twirl.
I had to get an MRI AND a bone scan in the same day a couple of years ago. That was about 2 hours worth of having to stay utterly still. I pretended that my breathing was a see-saw and that I was playing on it--when I inhaled, the see-saw went up; when I exhaled it went down. I envisioned pushing off the ground with my feet and using them to bring me back down gently. It seemed to satisfy my fidget need because I was able to stay still.
Posted by: Lara Meeker | Sunday, July 24, 2011 at 02:30 PM