Sometimes you need a pause – especially when living with ADHD in everyday life
Maybe a long pause.
🇸🇪 Read this post in Swedish ADHD i vardagen – när tankarna snurrar och jag behöver en paus
Not from yourself,
but from things you can’t control.
And today I’ve been thinking that this is exactly what I need.
A pause from what keeps spinning, and from the things I can’t do anything about anyway.
I need to do things that feel real instead.
Things that land in the body – not just in the mind.
Because that’s a bit how ADHD works in me.
My thoughts can keep going.
I can overthink, turn things around, and try to solve things that don’t have a solution.
ADHD in everyday life – a pause by the lake
Yesterday I went to the lake.
My “bath sisters” came in their cars – and I came in mine.
It was sunny, but the wind had that sharp, cold edge again.
But we still went into the water.
And I actually floated for a while.
And there’s something special about that…
Just lying there, letting the water carry you.
No demands.
No expectations.
Just me, in the water.
👉 And today, I’m going there again in a little while.
And maybe it’s exactly moments like these that are needed when living with ADHD in everyday life.
The curtain, the sewing machine, and the voices that stay
After the swim, I went to my daughter’s place.
I brought my sewing machine.
A curtain needed to be made, and a piece of fabric had to be split in half.
And my first thought was: an iron.
But she didn’t have one.
I tried gently suggesting that maybe it was time to get one.
But no – she wanted a steamer.
So there I was.
With fabric.
No iron.
And no plan.
And then something happened that I almost laugh about now.
My grandmother showed up in my head.
Not physically, of course –
but her voice was there.
“You can do this,” she said.
And my first thought was:
No, grandma… I can’t. This won’t work.
But she didn’t give up.
“Take the thread in the middle of the fabric.”
So I did.
The thread broke.
But I saw the line.
And I took another thread.
And after a while… the fabric was split.
And the iron?
Still not there.
Then I heard my mother:
“Fold one centimeter in, and then fold again. It will be fine.”
And then that thought came:
That’s why I don’t really know how to do this properly.
Because you were both so good at it.
I never had to learn.
And still…
After a few hours, there was a beautiful curtain
hanging in my daughter’s kitchen window.
ADHD in everyday life – doing anyway
And then I think…
What does all of this have to do with ADHD?
I don’t know if it sounds strange.
But to me, this is exactly what ADHD is.
I do things, even when I don’t know how.
I doubt myself – but I keep going.
I think too much – but I don’t stop.
For me, this is ADHD in everyday life – not as a diagnosis on paper, but as something lived from the inside.
Reflection – ADHD in everyday life and the need for a pause
Maybe this is what my pause really is.
Not to stop thinking.
But to do something else instead of what keeps spinning.
To go swimming.
To sew a curtain without having everything I need.
To listen to the voices that still live within me.
We who carry those small letters know how it can feel.
How the thoughts don’t let go.
And maybe that’s exactly why we need those moments when we simply do something else.
Between the lines
I don’t wait until I know how.
I do it anyway.
And that’s where life happens.
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🔗 More to read
I’ve written more about everyday life, thoughts, and the body here:
👉Monday reflection – everyday life and a body that protests
👉 Morning in Ulricehamn motorhome – stillness, gluten-free bread and thoughts about responsibility
👉 ADHD and Emotions – when everything feels for real
Yesterday has come to rest.
Tomorrow is waiting somewhere ahead.
But right now –
this is where life is happening.
And sometimes, doing is enough.
💛
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