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Have you heard of the saying, ‘You do You’?
There are a few variations like, ‘Do you, Boo!’ or simply, ‘Do you’.
It means to be yourself. Embrace who you are.
During this quarantine time, ‘You do you’ is a really good idea, because when you do, you feel like your usual self.
It’s easy to think:
“Oh, I won’t bother today, no one will see me”
Or
“Well, it’s completely understandable that I don’t do X given these highly unusual circumstances.”
But when you stop doing the things that make you who you are, you stop feeling like yourself. Plus, your ADHD symptoms can get worse, and you feel lethargic because the less you do, the less you want to do.
Instead, think of all the little things you do each day that go into making you be you.
There are the basic hygiene things like showering, shaving, brushing your hair, getting dressed and putting your shoes on.
There are also things that might not seem essential but are if you normally do them, such as putting makeup on, spraying on aftershave/perfume or painting your nails.
Also, stick to your normal routine as much as possible. If you usually to go to bed at 11pm, keep going to bed at 11pm. If you usually eat your evening meal at 7pm, sit down with your meal at 7pm. If you usually exercise 3x a week, you guessed it…exercise 3x a week.
You might have to adapt a little. For example, if your gym is closed, find an exercise program to do at home instead (there are lots of choices). If you normally run with a group (like me), run on your own.
The same for your social events because they will also make you feel like yourself. Even with social distancing, there are ways to continue. For example, book clubs are meeting on Zoom and church services are being held virtually.
Plus, there are your down time activities like reading, crafts, gaming.
Keep doing everything that makes you, YOU.
Doing all your usual things helps to bring some normalcy to your life, reduces anxiety and uncertainty because doing ‘you’ is in your control.
‘You do you’ is one of the steps in the workshop I am hosting this week called, ‘Focus at a Time of a Crisis’. Being able to focus isn’t just about knowing the strategies to use when you sit down to work. What you do in the other 20 hours a day, also plays a big part.
Click here to learn more about the workshop,
What activities make you feel like your usual self?
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It was helpful to read this article. It made me think about how our normal routine has been turned upside down due to quarantine. This is especially true for our sleeping cycle. People with ADHD have experienced adverse effects of having an altered and opposite sleep timings. Most of the people have started sleeping late and getting up late too, which is not good for health, so “do you” especially holds higher importance for this habit. I am sure hygiene has also been neglected for some people as they don’t go out as usual. It reminded me of all the normal things we did in the past to keep ourselves upbeat.