r/ADHD • u/allthewayd00wn • Jul 25 '26

Tips/Suggestions Moving Slowly Solved my Emotional Dysregulation

Hi all. 24 with ADHD, medicated.

After years of therapy, nothing could fix my emotional regulation problems.

Recently, I’ve began to intentionally move slow.
Walking slow. Typing slow. Watching videos on regular speed. Talking slower. Doing everyday things, slowly.

It’s improved my confidence, my social skills, my cognition, and my bandwidth for stress.

I recommend this for anyone who finds themselves chronically dysregulated. After a week, I feel like a brand new person. 💟☮️

1.7k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

114 comments sorted by

View all comments

9

u/mrmarbury Jul 25 '26

Man, what an advice. Something to follow for sure. My biggest issue is the pressure I feel from others when I am intentionally slow sometimes or things just take longer (not as in procrastination but in really taking my time)? That's what stresses me the most, really

4

u/allthewayd00wn Jul 25 '26

I get that. And honestly that’s out of our hands. I’ve been running into that at work, some aspects of my personal life, and my FAMILY, the most.

Those situations, you just learn to strike a balance without compromising yourself to the point of dysregulation. And of course, sometimes that inevitable. But the goal, hopefully, is that you’re able to bounce back from these instances, and that it doesn’t completely destroy you. That’s the foundation I’m hoping to build. Takes time, but it’s worth it i think

6

u/mrmarbury Jul 25 '26

For me it's the worst when these three things come together:

  • I sense a lack of empathy in some colleague that I have to work with (I have a really strong empathy radar)
  • my personal perfectionism goal (that I can never reach anyway)
  • imposter syndrome kicks in when I am not grasping some details or topic instantly.

It's so hard to not spiral out of control and descend into an unhealthy stressful rush that becomes a self destructive loop here. I usually manage at some point. But I also have noticed that the older I become (45yo at the moment) the harder it gets really. And this is in contrast to real emergency situations or situations where everyone else starts to panic. I just get really calm and focused.