8 Types of Real Self Care for Adults with ADHD

I used to think self-care meant lavender baths, face masks, and spa days. Pinterest really did a number on me. Turns out… that’s just one (tiny) version of what self-care can look like — and honestly, it might not even be the one your ADHD brain actually needs.

When we’re constantly managing decision fatigue, emotional whiplash, time blindness, and executive dysfunction… a face mask is nice, but it’s not the core support system we actually need to function.

So in episode 309, we’re breaking self-care wide open — redefining what it really means, why it’s especially important when you have ADHD, and how to figure out what kind of care you actually need on any given day.

We’ll explore 8 different types of self-care, how to tell when one of them is running low, and a simple framework for weaving care into your routine without turning it into another overwhelming checklist.

The truth is, self-care isn’t indulgent, it’s foundational. And when we learn to make it work with our brains — not against them — it can change everything.

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Listen to the episode above or stream it on your favorite podcasting app. Prefer to read? No problem! Keep scrolling for a summary of the key takeaways.

In Episode 309, You Will Discover:

• The essential role of self-care for ADHD brain wellness (and why it’s more than just bubble baths and spa days!)
• 8 distinct types of self-care tailored specifically for ADHD brains
• Tips to identify your most-needed type of care and integrate it naturally—without adding another overwhelming to-do list

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Episode 309: 8 Types of Real Self-Care for Adults with ADHD (Transcript)

I think self-care is a topic that gets brushed off way too easily. What’s more, I was one of the people who brushed it off for far too long.

When the topic came up in other spaces, I had this total “ugh” response.

It was a combination of unnecessary judgment toward what my brain labeled as “fake” self-care, which is often expensive treatments marketed toward women as yet one more thing they “should” make time for. Combined with a “must be nice” energy — you know what I mean? Like, “Sure, I’ll get to self-care… right after I handle this endless list of everything else I have to do.”

Looking back, I can see that the way I thought about self-care — and what it actually means — was completely backward.

I was really influenced by the version of self-care I saw on Pinterest and Instagram: bubble baths, pedicures, spa days. And don’t get me wrong — I love those things. Truly. Baths and massages? Yes please. Sign me up every day.

AND ALSO, they don’t actually define what it means to practice self-care.

Unfortunately, for a long time, my black or white thinking brain thought they were. I thought those activities were the only way to practice self-care. So I wrote off the whole idea entirely—all or nothing— when in reality, I was missing the whole point.

What I was missing when it came to the Practice of self-care

I was missing what real sustaining self-care is… The kind of self-care that:

• Supports your brain and your body and your energy day-to-day.
• Helps you get through a Tuesday afternoon when you’re totally fried and still have four things left to do.
• Enables you regulate, recharge, and keep going — without hitting burnout again and again.

Self-care isn’t a luxury. It’s a support system.

Especially when you have ADHD. Especially when executive function is limited. Especially when your energy gets depleted fast — and the world still expects you to function like a robot.

If self-care has felt vague, impossible, or just… like something “other people” do, I want to invite you to look at it in a new way that works for you.

What Is Self-Care (Really)?

Let’s start by redefining the word self-care — because honestly, a lot of us have some baggage around it.

Maybe it’s been overused, or misused, or sold to us as something that’s only allowed if we’ve “earned” it.

Here’s the deal: Self-care is not indulgence, it’s maintenance. It’s how we care for our system — our brains, our bodies, our emotions — so we don’t break down.

If you’re someone with ADHD, that system? It tends to get overloaded a lot faster than we’d like.

That’s not a flaw. It’s not a failure. It’s just how our wiring works.

We burn through executive function faster. We get decision fatigue faster and we ping-pong between hyperfocus and shutdown more often than we’d like to admit.

Which means — regular check-ins? Small supports? Strategic pauses? Those aren’t extras, they’re essential.

I like to think of it like this…

Imagine trying to drive across the country without ever stopping for gas.

That’s what it’s like when we try to just push through without checking in on our self-care.

You might make it a few hundred miles. You might coast longer than most people expect.

But eventually, the tank hits empty. And when that happens, it’s not about willpower anymore — the system just… stops.

The Benefits of Self-Care:

When we talk about why self-care matters, especially for ADHD brains, here’s what we’re really talking about…

Self care:

• Helps regulate our emotions, attention, and energy
• Gives us the capacity to handle work, rest, relationships, and all the daily stuff in between
• Enables us stay out of that cycle so many of us know too well — the overwhelm → shutdown → shame spiral
• Helps us stay on our own side – how we show ourselves that we matter — not just when we’re productive, or doing everything “right.” But all the time.

It’s not a reward. It’s not something you earn. It’s something you need — and deserve — just for being human, especially when the world keeps expecting you to function like a robot.

The 8 Types of Self-Care

You might’ve seen other versions of self-care lists like this before. The more traditional models of self-care usually include five main categories: physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual.

These are all absolutely valid. They’re also on my list today, and I think they form the foundation of so much important wellness work.

For ADHD brains, I find it’s really important to expand the list a bit, especially to include practical, environmental, and sensory self-care as distinct categories.

Note: You don’t have to memorize all eight or do them all every day; having these distinctions can really help you get specific about what kind of support your brain might need in the moment, and what kind of care will actually help.

Now, let’s dive into each type of self-care.

1. Cognitive Self-Care

This is care for your mind, especially when you’re feeling foggy, mentally overloaded, or bouncing between 47 tabs in your brain and 47 tabs in your browser.

It might look like:

• Turning off notifications for an hour.
• Doing a brain dump to clear mental clutter.
• Saying “no” to one more decision and automating dinner instead.

This is about offloading mental pressure, not adding to it.

2. Emotional Self-Care

This one’s all about feeling your feelings — and giving them space to exist without judgment.

Some examples:

• Journaling.
• Talking to your therapist or texting a trusted friend.
• Putting on a playlist that helps you actually feel that emotion instead of bottling it up.
• Allowing yourself to cry
• Reminding yourself you’re allowed to feel disappointed, or frustrated, or sad — without needing to fix it right away.

3. Sensory Self-Care

This one’s for your nervous system. ADHD brains are often overstimulated — or understimulated — and this category helps regulate that input.

Sensory care is so essential when you live with sensory sensitivity or stimulation-seeking. Whether your nervous system is overstimulated or underfed, tuning into your senses — and adjusting your inputs — is one of the fastest ways to regulate and reset.

For example:

• You might turn down the lights.
• Put on noise-canceling headphones.
• Or lay under a weighted blanket for 10 minutes of stillness.

On the flip side, it might mean adding sensory input when you feel flat or foggy — like music, movement, or a an essential oil to re-engage your brain.

4. Physical Self-Care

This is about tending to your body — not for productivity or performance — but for sustainability.

You could focus on:

• Getting enough sleep (or at least trying to).
• Drinking some water.
• Taking a short walk or stretching for five minutes between meetings.

It’s not about rigid routines or “perfect health.”

It’s about supporting your body enough so it can keep supporting you.

5. Spiritual Self-Care

This one’s about connection — to something bigger, to your values, to your sense of meaning.

This might be:

• Prayer
• Meditation
• Breathwork
• Spending time in nature
• Volunteering
• Reflecting on what matters most to you right now

If you’ve been feeling untethered or asking yourself, “what’s the point?” — this is often the category that needs attention.

6. Social Self-Care

This is the one that trips up a lot of us — especially when we’re overwhelmed or masking. Social self-care is not about how many people you see. It’s about how connected and supported you feel.

Sometimes social self care means:

• Reaching out and being around people who really see you
• Saying no to one more social obligation

7. Environmental Self-Care

Environmental self care really matters for ADHD brains, because our surroundings deeply affect our focus and stress.

Visual clutter, noise, and chaos can overwhelm our systems. A tidy corner or a clear counter might seem small — but it can make a huge difference.

This one is about creating a space that helps you feel calm, clear, or even just a little less frazzled.

It could be:

• Tidying one corner of your desk.
• Opening a window.
• Clearing off all the screenshots and random documents on the backdrop of your computer desktop.

It doesn’t need to be a total overhaul. Even small changes in your environment can have a huge impact on how your brain feels.

8. Practical Self-Care

Practical care often gets missed in self-care conversations. These are executive function-heavy tasks, and when we avoid them, they quietly drain our energy and increase stress in the background. Addressing them directly can feel like a huge exhale.

Examples of practical self care:

• Paying a bill on time
• Meal prepping
• Refilling a prescription
• Scheduling that appointment you’ve been putting off for six months

These things reduce background stress, even if they’re not “fun.” Sometimes, practical self-care is the deepest relief of all.

Please hear me when I say you don’t need all of them every day. You don’t even need all of them every week.

Instead, start seeing them as options — a menu — it becomes so much easier to check in and say:

• “Where am I feeling a little depleted right now?”
• “Which type of care might help refuel that part of me?”

That’s how we move from self-care as this vague, fluffy idea… to something real. Something usable. Something that works for our brains.

What Types of Self-Care Should You Focus On?

One of the biggest barriers I see — and experience myself — is this sense of “I don’t even know what would help.”

Of course, you can always turn to my favorite question that I shared back in episode 305 – Helped Hugged or Heard. That can be a very powerful way to check in and assess what you need.

Alternatively, you can also try asking yourself: “What part of me is running low right now?”

I encourage you to scan through three quick areas >> Your body, your emotions, and your behavior.

1. BODY: What’s your body telling you?

Start here. Because physical signals often show up before we even realize something’s wrong.

• Are you exhausted? Wired but tired?
• Do you feel tight in your chest, or like your jaw is clenched?
• Are you buzzing with overstimulation — or totally shut down?

This might be a sign you need:

• Physical care like rest, hydration, or a walk
• Sensory care like quiet, compression, or noise-canceling
• Even something like cognitive care, if the physical symptoms are tied to mental load

2. EMOTIONS: What are you feeling?

Another question to ask yourself… Are you feeling anything?

Sometimes we don’t know what the emotion is — we just know we’re off. Maybe irritable, anxious, shamey, or low-key sad and not sure why.

That might mean:

• You need emotional care — space to process, journal, or just name what’s happening.
• Or even social care — like texting a friend who helps you feel safe and seen.

Sometimes, self-care is setting a boundary, sometimes it’s letting someone in.

3. BEHAVIOR: What are you doing (or avoiding)?

This one’s sneaky. Behavior gives us clues.

• Are you avoiding tasks you normally enjoy?
• Are you snapping at people?
• Are you hyperfocusing on something random instead of what matters?

That might be a sign you’re running low in:

• Cognitive care — too much decision-making, too little white space
• Practical care — maybe you need to knock out one low-lift task to quiet the mental noise
• Spiritual care — when everything feels disconnected and pointless

The key here isn’t to overanalyze — this isn’t another “optimize yourself” project. It’s just a quick moment to pause and ask:

• “What part of me is running low right now?”
• “What kind of care might refill that tank — even just a little bit?”

Sometimes self-care is saying no, or it might be texting a friend. And sometimes, it’s sitting in silence with your eyes closed for 90 seconds and letting your nervous system catch up with you.

The practice is checking in.

Reminder: Always Focus on Progress over Perfection

Here’s a little reminder: You are not failing at self-care if…

• You don’t do it “consistently.”
• Have a hard week and forget to check in.
• Your version of care today is not your “ideal version” that your fantasy self set up when all your cognitive functions are firing at peak performance.

This isn’t about doing it right. It’s about doing something to support yourself — and letting that be enough.

When we treat ourselves like someone worth caring for — even in the tiniest ways — everything else gets a little easier to carry.

Quick Recap:

• Self-care isn’t about doing it all.
• It’s not a performance. It’s not a checkbox.
• It’s not one more thing you’re behind on.
• It’s simply about noticing what part of you is running low…
• and offering that part just a little bit of support.

That’s it.

When you approach self-care this way — gently, imperfectly, with curiosity instead of pressure — you start to build a version of self-care that actually works for your life and your brain.

Next Step: Take a moment and ask yourself:

What kind of care would feel supportive today? And then… What’s the 2-minute version of that?

That’s your invitation. That’s your next step.

And if you want to share what comes up, I’d love to hear, send me a message or tag me on Instagram @imbusybeingawesome — let me know what kind of self-care you’re choosing this week, or which category resonated most.

If this episode helped reframe anything for you — would you consider sharing it with a friend or popping over to Apple Podcasts and leaving a quick review? It helps other ADHD brains find this show and feel a little more supported, too.

👉 Want to take these concepts further and apply them to your life? Learn more about how we can work together with my small group coaching program, “We’re Busy Being Awesome,” and one-on-one coaching.

✨ Learn my simple step-by-step approach to locking in a routine and making it stick, be sure to check out my free course, the ADHD Routine Revamp.

I’ll talk with you soon.

Links From The Podcast

• Learn more about private coaching here
• Learn more about We’re Busy Being Awesome here
• Get the top 10 tips to work with your ADHD brain (free ebook!)
• Discover my favorite ADHD resources
• Get the I’m Busy Being Awesome Planning System
• Get the I’m Busy Being Awesome Podcast Roadmap
• Take my free course, ADHD Routine Revamp
• Tune into Episode 305: Helped Hugged Heard

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Listen to the episode above or stream it on your favorite podcasting app. Prefer to read? No problem! Keep scrolling for a summary of the key takeaways.