ADHD Paralysis: Meaning, Symptoms & How To Overcome

Do you have ADHD? Do you often find yourself overwhelmed and unable to start or finish tasks? Then you may be navigating ADHD paralysis. 

In episode 221 of the I’m Busy Being Awesome podcast, we’re taking a deep dive into the topic of ADHD paralysis, which might transform how you think about your ADHD.

ADHD paralysis is so much more than procrastination and how the three subcategories of mental paralysis, task paralysis, and choice paralysis keep us stuck.

Then, discover one powerful question to help you unthaw the freeze, identify the tools you need to take action, and start moving forward again. 

You can listen to the episode above or stream it on your favorite podcasting app here. Or check it out on YouTube below.

Prefer to read? No problem! Keep scrolling for the entire podcast transcript. 

In This Episode, You Will Discover

• What ADHD Paralysis is 
• The difference between mental paralysis, task paralysis, and choice paralysis
• A game-changing question to help you unfreeze and take action

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Episode #221: ADHD Paralysis: Meaning, Symptoms & How To Overcome (Transcript) 

I hope you’re ready for a big episode today because we are exploring the topic of ADHD Paralysis.

Now, this is a topic that I think is so present and relatable for those of us with ADHD and ADHD tendencies. It is also something that – when we pause to think about it – can leave many of us feeling quite frustrated and stuck.

So with that in mind, I first hope this episode will help to ease some of that frustration and give us a new way to think about our ADHD paralysis if and when it comes up.

I also want to offer one of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself to help thaw the freeze of paralysis and gently give your brain a boost so you can start moving in the direction you want.

What is ADHD Paralysis?

We’ll start by looking at what ADHD paralysis is more generally on the macro level, and then we will zoom in and talk about the three different subcategories that make up the experience.

Generally, ADHD paralysis is this experience that many of us with ADHD brains have where we feel completely overwhelmed and frozen and unable to move forward.

It’s when we’re thinking to ourselves, “I know what to do, but I’m just not doing it.”

For many of us with ADHD and ADND tendencies, we can get quite hard on ourselves when we’re navigating this paralysis. We might label it as procrastination. We might start beating ourselves up, thinking we should just be able to get started.

This is one of the first things I want to highlight in this episode.

There’s a difference between procrastination and ADHD paralysis

They may look very similar, but there is a key distinction, which is information overload.

When we face ADHD paralysis, it is because our brain is overloaded with:

• Information
• Stimulation
• Racing thoughts
• Big emotions

We’re not just putting the thing off because we don’t feel like doing it. We’re not getting started because our brain is flooded or overloaded and cannot move forward.

Symptoms of ADHD Paralysis

Now ADHD paralysis can present itself in many different ways and in many different situations. It could look like:

• Feeling overwhelmed and unable to start or finish tasks
• Putting things off until the last minute or avoiding them altogether
• Struggling to make big or small decisions, whether it’s what to make for dinner or if you should take the new job
• Feeling anxious and stressed about tasks and responsibilities, and those feelings are so big you can’t get started
• Losing motivation and feeling discouraged because you’ve been working toward something for a while and you’re not seeing the progress you want
• You may feel like you’re constantly behind schedule or behind in life generally, and unsure what to do to “catch up.”

I’m sure I could keep going on this list, but I’m guessing you get the idea.

I have a feeling that many of you listening to this episode can hear yourself in at least one of these experiences.

If you do, please hear me when I say that it’s not you. This is part of your ADHD.

It’s not that you’re lazy and it’s not that you just need to try harder.

It’s because your brain is flooded with too much information, and it’s stuck in paralysis.

Now as I mentioned, this list I just gave is a broader overview of ADHD paralysis generally. When you zoom in on the topic, you will find that people divide ADHD paralysis into three different categories, which I find quite helpful in putting your specific experience into context.

3 Types Of ADHD Paralysis

So let’s talk about these three different categories, and as I explain them, I invite you to make note of whether any of them are a common obstacle for you or not.

You may find that some are bigger obstacles than others, or that you face one category more often at work and another category more often at home.

My goal: To help you create some awareness of where you might be navigating this paralysis most often, so that when we talk about supports you can put in place, you’ll know where to start first.

The three categories include:

• Mental paralysis
• Task paralysis
• Choice paralysis

Before I talk about what each one looks like specifically, I want to offer a friendly reminder not to get too caught up in the categories. I know our brains can slip into black-and-white thinking pretty easily in situations like this. We want to make sure our experiences fit nicely into one bucket or the other.

When I reflected on these three categories, I noticed that some of my areas of paralysis seemed to overlap in different buckets.

So with that in mind, I don’t think it’s critical to know specifically the bucket you’re in for every situation. But I do think it’s useful to have this general understanding to help put your experience into context and give you a better idea of where and why you might be feeling stuck.

OK, now let’s talk more specifically about these three categories.

1. Mental Paralysis

First up is mental paralysis. According to add.org, we see mental paralysis most often when someone is overwhelmed by their racing thoughts, or information, or they’re experiencing sensory overload.

Think of it a little bit like the spinning rainbow wheel when your computer locks up.

There’s so much information that your computer is trying to process all at once, and you don’t know if it’s going to finish all the tasks, force quit the program, or shut down altogether. That’s kind of like our brain when it’s in mental paralysis.

Mental paralysis might look like staring at your to-do list and feeling completely overwhelmed.

You see so many tasks written out, and you don’t know where to start. Your mind is racing, and you feel this paralysis by the sheer volume of work as you wonder how you’ll ever be able to make a dent in the list.

2. Task Paralysis

The second category is task paralysis. Again, according to add.org, task paralysis can look like a person feeling “hesitant, scared, or unmotivated to begin a task.”

Due of this, they may find themselves procrastiworking, doing something else, zoning out, daydreaming, and generally avoiding the specific activity altogether.

With mental analysis, it was more of a feeling of overwhelm and racing thoughts about not knowing where to start or how to begin, while task analysis brings a flavor of dread, fear, or boredom to the scenario.

For example, maybe you need to write a report for work, but you keep putting it off because you’re worried it’s not going to be good enough. You keep creating different outlines and getting ready to write the report, but you never actually do it because you’re worried it won’t be good enough.

Or you want to get the house cleaned, but you just can’t seem to get started. You’re dreading it. It’s not fun. The smell of the cleaner gives you a headache.

All these different reasons create a sense of dread in your body, so you make yourself busy with anything else other than cleaning.

Choice Analysis

The last category is choice analysis. This is when we face so many different options that we feel frozen in making a decision to move forward.

You spin in the pros and cons, you research all the reviews on every website, you go back and forth between the specs of every offer.

Your brain gets so swamped with the details that it struggles to see the big picture. It can’t see the forest for the trees. I can’t decide.

Just like our other examples, this can show up on a big or small scale.

Maybe you spend a ton of time in the morning trying on different outfits because you can’t decide what to wear or what looks good on any given day.

You want to make a career shift, and you’re literally asking yourself the question, “What do I want to do with this next chapter of my life” and your brain freaks out and shuts down because that’s way too big of a question with way too many options and it has no idea where to start.

So again, we have mental paralysis, task paralysis, and choice paralysis. As I mentioned, don’t get too tripped up in making sure you identify the exact right category. Rather, use this as a general gauge.

Do you notice that you tend to find yourself stuck in one category more than others?

–

Take a moment and check in with yourself

• Do you notice ADHD paralysis coming up for you?
• If so, when? Do you notice any of the three sub categories occurring more often at certain times or with certain activities?

This is all beautiful data to gather for yourself.

Once you have a better understanding of ADHD paralysis, what are we supposed to do about it?

First and foremost, before you move forward and try to take action or move out of this paralysis state, it’s really important to check in and help regulate and ground yourself.

Please don’t try to force yourself into action. Don’t tell yourself you just need to try harder or push more. I promise you, that’s not the answer.

Before you start trying to take action on whatever you’re navigating, first check in with yourself.

• Take some slow breaths.
• Notice where you have any tension in your muscles.
• Are your shoulders up by your ears?
• Are your hands tight?
• Is your stomach clenched?
• What would it look like if you relaxed them one by one?

You can try to label your emotions

What are you feeling right now?

Anxious? Annoyed? Overwhelmed? Rejected?

At the same time, you may not know the specific name of the emotion, and that’s OK too. You can just describe how it feels in your body. Remind yourself you’re safe.

Step Away

If you’re feeling particularly dysregulated, you might also step away from the situation for a bit.

• Go for a walk
• Snuggle with your pet
• Listen to your favorite playlist and move your body
• Spend some time in nature

What we’re doing here is calming your nervous system.

When you’re in ADHD paralysis, it won’t be able to take action until it’s more settled and feels safe. So do whatever you need to do to help soothe your mind and body. And do it with love. That’s what you need right now.

Then once you’re grounded, here comes the key question. Are you ready for it? This is the single question I want you to ask yourself ANY TIME you notice you’re stuck in paralysis.

Question To Get Out Of ADHD Paralysis

As you think about the thing you want to do, ask yourself: Am I stuck in Plan, Act, or Complete?

This question is so important and so very valuable. Don’t worry, I will provide context so it makes sense, but this is the most important question to ask yourself any time you’re stuck.

I created my plan act complete framework a couple of years ago after working with hundreds of ADHD brains.

The framework is so simple, but it is also absolutely critical and so illuminating.

The process of getting anything done with an ADHD brain can be categorized into one of three stages: creating a plan, taking action on that plan, and following through to completion. That’s it.

Those three things. When we can start identifying where we are stuck, then we know what supports we need to help us unthaw and move forward.

Plan

You know you are stuck in planning when your brain doesn’t have a sense of direction.

We are usually stuck in Plan when we:

• Are facing too much information
• Don’t know where to start
• Have too many ideas, and we don’t know what’s most important
• Have too much to do, and we have no idea when we’ll get it all done.

In other words, you’re stuck in Plan when you need to prioritize, or when you aren’t quite sure what “done” looks like.

You’re stuck in Plan when you’re not sure WHEN you’re going to work on the project, or whether or not you even have time to do it. You’re probably stuck in Plan if you don’t know the specific steps to get started.

Act

Maybe you’re thinking to yourself, I have my plan. I know exactly what I’m working on, but I’m just not getting started on it.

If this situation sounds familiar, you’re likely stuck in Act.

• Maybe the steps are too big, and your brain can’t figure out how to begin because it’s too big of a leap. It’s not a baby step; it’s a giant hurdle
• Perhaps you’re navigating dread or fear about what other people will think when they see you getting started on this goal or working on this project
• You might be you’re worried you’re doing it wrong or getting bad feedback

We need to make some decisions, and we don’t know which option to choose

Complete

Now, let’s say you did get started. You broke down the steps. You made your decisions. Now you’re facing Complete.

You’re in that last 20%.

You’re facing the detail work, and you’re either so bored that you can’t fathom sticking with the same project, or you’re struggling to see why this project is so important anymore. It’s lost its novelty and its spark, and you’re ready for something different.

Maybe perfectionism is sneaking in, and you’re questioning whether what you’ve created is good enough. So you keep tweaking and adjusting in order to get things “just right.” Or maybe you notice imposter syndrome sneaking in.

Your brain is questioning who you even think you are to be giving this presentation or making the offer in your business.

Your brain worries that you’ll be found out, that you’re a fraud, that you’re not good enough to be finishing this product and putting it out in the world. So many of us get stuck in this complete phase because of all the emotions that might get in the way, from sheer boredom to fear of rejection to self-doubt.

So in this situation, if you ask yourself, am I stuck in Plan Act or Complete, and you notice boredom, a pull to start something new, perfectionism, or imposter syndrome sneaking in, you’re likely stuck in Complete.

Recap

So again, whenever you notice yourself stuck in ADHD paralysis, you’re usually stuck within one of these three categories: Plan, Act, or Complete.

This means that once we’ve regulated our nervous system, once we’ve taken care of ourselves and grounded ourselves, we can check in. We can ask ourselves, am I stuck in plan, act, or complete? Once you have your answer, then you can find the tools you need to move forward.

Maybe you find you’re stuck in planning, and you realize you need to prioritize.

Then you can search my podcast and find some episodes on prioritization, press play, and find the tools you need to move forward.

The same goes for task initiation – Act – and follow through or Complete.

In fact, if you have not downloaded my podcast roadmap yet, I highly encourage you to do so. It categorizes my most frequently played episodes according to different categories with topics like time management, task initiation, follow through, goal setting, perfectionism, and self concept work. Frankly, wherever you’re stuck, there’s a good chance I have at least one podcast about it.