Importance of Humor
Having ADHD can be hard! We struggle with day-to-day tasks that are no big deal for others. We forget things a lot! And our emotions can get the best of us when we have a hard time self regulating - which means we often find our foot placed squarely in our mouth. These are just a few of the ways ADHD is sometimes frustrating.
But, by relying on your sense of humor, which is a strength for many ADHD people, you can reframe these frustrations as funny quirky things that make you who you are - which has a much more positive impact than condemning yourself for your ADHD traits. Here are some ways to use humor to see the light in your ADHD:
Laugh at your brain and the silly things it does - like going to the kitchen for your partner’s phone and coming back with a great looking bowl full of yogurt, nuts and fruit…but no phone.
Create silly acronyms, songs, or sayings to help you remember daily tasks or things you do regularly (like remembering your keys, wallet, and phone before leaving the house in the morning). This will also help remove some of the pressure we place on our working memories to remember all of the little things we need throughout the day.
If you’re having a hard day, or your ADHD is kicking your butt, try watching some funny ADHD videos or comedians (Rick Green and John Mulaney are great for age appropriate audiences). It always helps to hear other people laughing at the funny things they do because of their ADHD to lighten the mood, and it may help you go a little easier on yourself.
Find or create humor in mundane or difficult tasks. One coach I know has silly outfits they wear when packing for a trip to make a difficult task just a little more enjoyable!
Use your brain’s natural abilities (like connecting the dots) to inject humor into your daily interactions with family and friends.
Seeing the humor in the goofy things we do as individuals with ADHD helps us stay away from automatic negative self-thoughts. It also brings joy into our lives, and it encourages our brains to reframe the challenges and adversity we experience in a composed and cheerful way. Using humor in our daily lives is one of the many ways individuals with ADHD can engage in healthy self-care habits.
