Atlas

The Hyperactivity in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is NOT about being physically hyperactive, it's about having a "hyperactive central nervous system" because it's a form of inheritable dysautonomia. The problem with disautonomia, especially the ADHD kind, is that it makes boredom flag to your nervous system as a THREAT, triggering hyperactive and maladaptive central nervous system processes like fight or flight.

But dysautonomia kills you that way. Literally, part of the reason our average life spand increase on stimulents is that it helps manage risk-taking impulsivity that can get us killed by accident, but the other part is that stimulents can regulate a hyperactive CNS such that it is functionally (while impacted by the stimulent) NOT dysregulated anymore. And PHYSIOLOGICALLY that is essential because the physical outcomes of dysautonomia can reduce your life span by YEARS if not decades through self-perpetuating hypervigelence, endocrine disruption, and adrenal fatigue.

So when the ADHD brain goes stimulation-seeking and a doctor tells you to practice mindfulness, it feels like being told "hey go stand in a functioning boiler until you can stop thinking" rather than WHAT IT IS which is the process of re-teaching your body what is and isn't safe.

Standing outside making mindful, non-interpretive/moralized observation of the world helps your brain and body re-acclimate to the idea that absence of that frantic "busy" feeling isn't a threat or a risk to your safety, and gradually reduces the level of distress that just hanging out somewhere triggers for you.

Learning WHY this stuff was being suggested and understanding what it was actually supposed to do went a long way towards changing my relationship with my ADHD. I am FAR more functional now, far less prone to shame spirals and rejection sensitivity, hell, I can **sit physically still for near on an hour at a time** now without feeling like I'm going to crawl out of my skin.

So yeah. Go outside. Let the world narrow around you and take deep breaths until it stops feeling claustrophobic or like you need to climb walls. Learn how to let little sensations become big ones like the way the heat of the sun on your skin starts as a gentle warming and be omes a unique collection of sensory moments depending on how it lands on you. Listen for sounds under sounds and let them fade in and out as you move your focus from one sound to the next. Enjoy. Move on. Rinse and repeat.

If you live in America in these states

Texas, Alaska,Kansas, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri and South Dakota

CALL YOUR REPS

If you don’t know what section 504 is here is the explanation via the internet

“Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs receiving federal funding. It ensures equal access to education and employment for individuals with qualifying physical or mental impairments, often requiring schools to provide accommodations via a 504 plan.

Key details regarding Section 504 include:

Coverage: Protects individuals with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities (e.g., walking, learning, breathing).

Education: Requires public schools to provide free appropriate public education (FAPE) to qualified students with disabilities, even if they do not require special education services under IDEA.

Examples of Accommodations: Extended time on tests, classroom preferential seating, modified homework, or specialized equipment.

Scope: Applies to public school districts, higher education institutions, and other state/local agencies.”

The trump administration filed another lawsuit against this section, once again…to no one’s surprise—encroaching on the rights of minorities—because not only does section 504 protect disabled people—***it protects the transgender community*** and makes it that anyone with a gender dysphoria diagnosis can get gender affirming care—***THIS IS THE REASON THEY WANT 504 GONE*** and yes—they tried to take 504 last year—but with everyone’s help in calling their state reps (like in the states I mentioned) and putting the word out like I am—WE CAN KEEP 504!

PROTECT 504,PROTECT DISABLED PEOPLE, PROTECT TRANS FOLKS

THEY WILL NOT EVEN PRY THIS FROM OUR COLD DEAD HANDS!

Video by Imani Barbarin (AKA crutches_and_spice on Tiktok and Instagram).

People who aren’t in constant pain think that if you’re having a ‘good pain day’ it means you’re not in pain and should be able do to things. But having a good pain day doesn’t mean you’re not in pain, it means you’re in less than excruciating pain. Maybe your pain is low enough that you can ignore it.