Everyday ADHD and presence is not about getting more done – but about noticing when time, the body, and boundaries quietly disappear.
In my everyday life with ADHD, there are moments of deep presence, bubbles of focus, and a calm that almost feels magical. But there is also a price: the body that pays when I forget to pause. This is a morning text about cleaning a little too much, swimming in wind and waves – and about why I have started recording my posts, for the sake of accessibility.
Read this post in Swedish ->Vardag ADHD och närvaro – när fokus blir både gåva och pris
Everyday ADHD and presence – a morning with coffee and light
Here I am again, sitting with my coffee. My grandmother’s lamp spreads a soft light and a certain mood across the room. It’s still early, and I have just woken up.
I have started recording my posts. Not because I am particularly fond of my own voice, but because I want to share more – for everyone.
I have dyslexia myself, and I know I am not alone. That’s why I record what I write. It makes the posts more accessible. And I also notice that today, I read much better than I used to.
So this becomes something new on the blog.
I’m not saying I will always do this, but right now – when I have the time – it feels right.
Everyday ADHD in practice – when the bubble takes over
Yesterday turned into one of those days when I lost all sense of time and space. I had planned to do a bit of cleaning in the hallway. Just a little behind the shoe rack – the kind of thing you don’t do very often. While I was at it, I happened to step into the little one’s room. I thought I’d be kind and at least vacuum the floor.
That’s when it happened.
That’s when something broke. Or not things – but me.
Hmm. ADHD and I are not always good friends if I’m not paying attention. When ADHD takes over, the body becomes motionless in its focus. When I finally came out of my bubble, I had spent two and a half hours vacuuming… just a little.
My back took a real hit.
But the little one was happy. He helped when he came home from school. The bed got fresh sheets, the books got their own small place, and under the bed you could now sit and eat breakfast – if you happened to be very small. I don’t know how many people usually eat breakfast under their bed, but the option exists now.
When I decided that the cleaning had to stop, it was already time to make dinner.
Yesterday I served chicken soup with noodles. We usually have dessert when we eat soup, but that wasn’t possible. My back said no.
My back brace – the one my son gave me a few years ago – stayed on for the rest of the evening. I sat quietly and drew. That was enough.
During the night, I woke up every time I moved. And this morning, I had a very personal style of getting out of bed.
ADHD, hyperfocus, and the body – a short explanation
ADHD is not only about restlessness or difficulty concentrating.
For many, ADHD also includes hyperfocus – a state where attention becomes so intense that time, hunger, pain, and fatigue temporarily disappear.
In the moment, it can feel productive, almost meditative.
But afterwards, the body may protest. The back, the exhaustion, the emptiness. That is why everyday ADHD and presence is often as much about recovery as it is about activity.
Learning to recognize the bubble – and daring to step out of it in time – is part of living sustainably with ADHD.
The morning swim – when presence can’t be gentle
Yesterday morning also included a swim. It was windy, and the waves made it hard to stand still. A real struggle to get in. But the wonderful feeling afterwards was twice as strong compared to the unpleasant feeling that came when I stepped into the lake.
There was no way to do it gently.
The waves embraced me more than I wanted.
Between the lines – my voice
This post is not really about cleaning, swimming, or soup.
It’s about me when I want to do good, be kind, be present – and how I sometimes forget myself along the way.
Between the lines, there is a longing for balance:
to stay in the flow without losing the body,
to be effective without becoming empty,
to be kind – also to myself.
AHA – questions for you who are reading
Do you recognize that feeling of disappearing into what you are doing?
Do you notice when your body says stop – or only afterwards?
What happens if presence is also allowed to mean pause?
You don’t have to answer now.
Just notice what moves within you.
Reflection
For me, everyday ADHD and presence is increasingly becoming an exercise in gentleness.
Not less engagement – but more space in between.
Not less will – but clearer boundaries.
For now, it’s enough that I see it.
Tomorrow, I might do something a little differently.
Want to read more or go deeper?
If you want to read more about how I work with presence and reflection:
Presence & Conversations – book a session
If you want to go deeper at your own pace:
Find your way back to yourself
Learn more about ADHD (external link)
For more factual information about ADHD and hyperfocus:
https://www.1177.se/liv–halsa/psykisk-halsa/npf/adhd/
Support & subscription
If you would like to support my writing:
If you want to subscribe and receive new texts in your feed:
Yesterday has already come to rest in history.
Tomorrow waits somewhere ahead.
But right now – this is where life happens.
Lämna ett svar