Holidays are supposed to feel relaxing. But for many people with ADHD, they can feel anything but. Here’s why time off can feel overwhelming instead of refreshing:
Too much unstructured time
– Staring at the hotel wall for an hour trying to “decide what to do”
– Starting 3 things and finishing none
– Feeling frozen by choices: swim? walk? nap? scroll?
Disrupted routines
– Forgetting medication without your usual alarm
– Staying up late and waking up dysregulated
– Time blindness, no clue what day or time it is
Social overload
– Feeling drained from masking with family or friends
– Guilt for needing alone time
– Sensory overwhelm from noise, heat, kids, chaos
Emotional dysregulation
– Getting teary for “no reason” after a long day
– Picking a fight because your nervous system is on edge
– Feeling guilty for not enjoying it enough
Invisible effort
– Overthinking what to pack in case you forget something important
– Reading the restaurant menu 10 times and still feeling unsure
– Needing recovery time after the holiday ends
For many of us, it’s not about being ungrateful. It’s about navigating a world, and a holiday that wasn’t designed for our brains. Rest looks different when you’re neurodivergent. And that’s okay.