The Emotional Resilience Playbook for People with Big Emotions

Big emotions spill over sometimes. It happens, especially when ADHD brings with it emotional dysregulation. But by developing emotional resilience we can learn to minimize the damage caused by big emotions and hone emotionally healthy responses in the future. Here’s how.

ADHD brains are routinely hijacked by big emotions — and big problems often follow.

Sometimes, adults with ADHD react with big emotions when things don’t go according to expectations. Even minor frustrations and interruptions can cause us to overreact with an outburst or meltdown, making it hard to complete tasks and maintain relationships.

This emotional dysregulation creates a vicious cycle, dooming us to repeat the same reaction again and again.

We can’t always stop big emotions from spilling over, but we can learn to minimize the damage they cause to others and ourselves and develop emotionally healthy responses in the future. This process of developing emotional resilience is critical. But first, we need to understand how we process our emotions: by hurling or by hiding.

Hurlers and Hiders (aka Fire Breathers and Shame Eaters)

Most people with ADHD who experience strong ADHD emotions fall into one of two camps: the “hurlers” or the “hiders.” The hurlers, aka fire breathers, sling their big emotions at anyone or anything around them. In doing so, they damage their relationships in ways they may not realize or understand.

The hiders, aka shame eaters, shove their emotions inside. Why? It might be due to conflict avoidance, fear of rejection, low self-esteem, or the feeling that they won’t be heard. They may experience stomach or digestive issues because they’re stuffing their emotions into their body.

Strategies for Hiders

You can read the full article on Additudemag.com.