My Back to School Self-Care Checklist (As a Parent with ADHD)
Updated on Aug, 29, 2022
By Catherine Mutti-Driscoll, ADHD Coach
As a parent of a 6-year old and a 10-year old, I welcome the school year (time alone in the house by myself!) but worry about my children’s health and whether the schools will remain open. Part of me wonders if virtual schooling would be safer for this year and yet, I am concerned about the mental health impacts of continued online schooling for all of us.
As a highly sensitive ADHDer, I find the “back to school” time to be challenging in a typical year. In addition to all the paperwork, supplies, and packed lunches needed, all my family’s routines become upended for a period of time. This year, the rising COVID-19 delta variant rates bring an additional layer of stress. To best cope in these complex, uncertain times, I have made a self care checklist. I wanted to share the list in case these tools and ideas might help you better ease into the fall, too.
If you can, take some time off to ease into new routines. It helps me when I can decrease time at work and focus on learning the new routines with my children (it is a big transition for them too, and I cope better with their big emotions if I’m not too overloaded).
Don’t try to take on big new goals or habits right now, as Jessica McCabe recommends in her video about navigating times of transition. According to Ms. McCabe, the habits/routines that worked for you in the past will most likely be what will work for you during periods of change.
Take time to process your mixed feelings through journaling, at therapy, with friends, or in whatever way works for you. Why is it important to feel our feelings rather than push them away? Check out this awesome TED Talk on Emotional Agility.
Try to find some aspect of fall to get excited about. I bought a going back to school apple necklace from my favorite Seattle jeweler and wore it on the first day! It made me feel a little braver and more excited! I’m pretty sure pumpkin spice lattes are already available if that’s more your thing…or perhaps back to school clothes shopping could be for you too? :-)
If your stress levels are high, work to calm your nervous system so that you can avoid compromised cognitive functioning (high levels of stress typically don’t help our performance!) and possible future health impacts (I have found the tapping solution app to help me manage my stress response and let overwhelming feelings go...and it offers a free 2 week trial!).
Keep focusing on important projects to help engage your mind and keep you from ruminating and worrying. Want to know why we are so prone to worry and rumination? Check out the new brain science in ADHD 2.0! By setting up Focusmate sessions or attending A Very Important Meeting with other writers, I have been able to stay accountable to my writing goals, even at this turbulent time.
Make sure to keep up with hobbies and self care! Stress can make us more prone to hyperfocusing on doing tasks rather than taking care of ourselves. My go-to-hobby is reading and I am so excited that a new book by Helen Hoang, my favorite neurodiverse author, just came out. I have a date with my new book and a cup of tea scheduled for later today!
I hope that some of these ideas are helpful for you. If you need more support from your ADHD community, we are here! In addition to our therapy, coaching, and medication services, we also have some awesome NEW groups starting up in October that will be hitting our webpage and newsletters SOON. This fall, I wish you health, peace, and, of course, exciting learning for your interest-driven nervous system!
We provide coaching, therapy, parent coaching, and other support for families impacted by ADHD.