Too Hot to Handle?
Why does it suddenly feel like none of your ADHD strategies work in a heatwave?
TLDR: In hot weather, being aware that your usual ADHD management strategies might not work as well or at all and you might need to be hyper vigilant about managing the environment to optimise your functioning.
A couple of weeks ago, the UK was sweltering, and if you're reading this while we're in another heatwave (which we are, again), you'll probably know exactly what I’m talking about. It wasn't just that I was hot, there was no relief anywhere. Our houses are not built for heat and the accumulation in the bricks of the building was unbearable- and most of us don’t have air con either.
Bert worshipping the sun before trying to dominate balls in the paddling pool
The Pants/Wall stare
I couldn’t really work out what was going on because all I could do was register “it’s hot- I’m hot” and I spent a record amount of time staring at the wall in my pants (not in front of clients I should add!). I couldn’t register what was going on as I’m slow to process things but with hindsight it felt as though all the systems I'd built to manage my ADHD had suddenly stopped working.
Input/output equation
Like a lot of neurodivergent people, I'm sensorily sensitive. For me, that means I'm hypersensitive rather than hypo-sensitive or sensation seeking. I can't even process standing up and working at the same time- I know because I tried one of those standing desks during COVID (and don't even get me started on treadmill desks- my body definitely can’t handle this kind of multi-tasking!). I’m primed to notice tiny changes in light, smells, sounds, touch, taste, pain and, of course, temperature.
Everybody experiences feeling overwhelmed by their environment sometimes, but for many neurodivergent people the difference is that you can't just push it into the background. It becomes part of your experience with your own body. Bright lights, loud noise or a room that's too hot are not just mildly irritating, they become impossible to ignore- and depending on how we process things we might not realise the external elements are separate from who we are and what we are feeling.
When you're already working harder than most to process your environment, it makes sense that doing anything else becomes more difficult. Your body is also working hard to keep itself cool, leaving less capacity for concentration, planning and decision making. Research has shown that being overheated can affect executive functioning and cognitive performance for everyone let alone for neurodivergent brains and bodies. Many neurodivergent people also experience differences in interoception, our awareness of what's happening inside our bodies (See pants/stare above). This can make it easier to miss signals like thirst or overheating until they've become quite significant.
Bert and his favourite teddy Wilbur “U-ing” on the floor- we’ve all been there in this heat
Other factors
You may also have other conditions that make the picture more complicated. Hormonal changes throughout the menstrual cycle can affect how we regulate body temperature, and many people live with chronic health conditions that make hot weather even more challenging. If you are a care giver and/or experience the menstrual cycle you might find things you experience periodically or cyclically become more prevalent- for example, feeling “touched out” more quickly, not feeling able to tolerate close proximity of anyone for very long, or at all.
Maybe we can express some affection only when we’re malingering in the refrigerated aisles of the supermarket- a fridge date, if you will? All jokes aside, I know his can be really hard to manage especially when people need you and don’t/can’t understand personal boundaries and just how overwhelmed your body is. Carrying personal fans, water bottles and ice packs might help- maybe trying the cooling yoga breath (below).
This isn't really a top tips guide for surviving a heatwave btw- it’s more about recognising that your usual strategies just might not work in exceptional circumstances.
You’ve overstayed, babe
I started thinking of the heat almost like having a house guest. Whether you wanted them to visit or not, they're here. They need thinking about, preparing for and working around. You might need to change how you do things while they're staying.
For me, that meant accepting that working from home, (my preferred and usual way of working) wasn't always going to be the best option. When the house became unbearably hot this time I knew I would find it impossible to sit with a laptop that was generating even more heat- and instead, I worked somewhere with air conditioning when I could.
At home, we got some tower fans in, I rotated ice packs in the freezer and made ice cubes twice a day, I kept drinking iced water and had strategic cooling showers. I shifted work earlier into the morning, if I needed to go out I carried frozen water bottles, used electric hand fans, and at night slept with fans and ice packs and accepted that a lie-in or nap might actually be the sensible option after a terrible night's sleep. I realised I could do a lot of things if I always had a fan blowing at me- but not in my eyes, no one wants dry (eye) balls.
So hot and sunny I couldn’t see! Nothing will stop me wildly gesticulating though
Is this Push on?
A couple of summers ago I played an outdoor gig when it was around 35°C. Apart from feeling exhausted from travelling in the heat, when I set up my equipment, I couldn’t see the screen on my Push because of the intense sunlight, in fact I didn’t think it was working which sent me into a panic. I learnt to always plug it in to the mains after this as it allows a brighter screen option but it also taught me that you need to have as many muscle memory + visual and audible cues for this type of performing as possible, just incase. Working in these kinds of conditions is not possible without planning and managing them .
In the UK we have a bit of a “sun’s out, guns out” mentality (meaning tops off, arms out, not actual guns!) and any significant sunshine is met with gleeful bank holiday abandon and a need to “make the most of it”. But as these hot spells become more common perhaps we need to recognise that 30-40 degrees is bloody hot and can be fatal to the vulnerable- so not circumstances you can just show up in as usual. And recognising, for some people it’s a significant extra barrier to participation. Ok, rant over, I also know lots of people who adore the heat and feel like they come alive in it so I know it’s not the same for everyone. Just sayin.
It’s not you, it’s hot
If you don’t feel like you’re functioning as well, it’s not your fault, you might just need to bring a bit of awareness to how you cope with the sun/heat. Your ADHD strategies have been designed for different circumstances- maybe you actually love the sun and it’s proving to be a big distraction because you want to be out in it all the time and you can’t get your work done- perhaps some balance can be found in choosing moments to enjoy/endure.
This hot spell with be with us for a while and it’s hard for neurodivergent peeps to feel disrupted for a significant amount of time- so decide what’s essential and whether you need to change your environment to be able to get what you need or want done… and make it happen.
A usual ADHD scene but keep hydrated!
No top tips but actually…
My top tips for coping with hot weather outside are:
always have a hat (straw hats make you look like crocodile dundee (that reference again!) but they work best)
sunglasses (obvs apply sunscreen too)
keep drinking water
electric hand fan (ESSENTIAL)
carry a frozen water bottle- you can use them as an ice pack as well as a drink.
My yoga teacher Max at Unify Body Mind Soul taught us this cooling breath- it’s worth a go:
Happy thriving/surviving 🥵
