Leaving when you should have stayed
ADHD parent behaviour
Withdrawal is a nervous system protection response: the ADHD brain that defaults to shutdown is avoiding further damage, but it leaves out the connection and repair the moment needed. Your child may read the absence as punishment or abandonment. You cannot undo the leaving, but you can return, and a quiet warm return beats staying away. Go back in: I'm here now. You do not have to explain it.
What to do right now
You left when your child needed you to stay. You can't undo that, but you can return. A quiet, warm return is better than staying away because the original absence is uncomfortable. Go back in. "I'm here now." You don't have to explain the leaving. You just have to come back.
What your brain just did
Your body
You left the room. Not as a regulated choice but as an escape. The distance between you and the situation feels necessary but the guilt of leaving is already building.
Your brain
Withdrawal under load is a nervous system protection response. The ADHD brain that defaults to shutdown rather than escalation is avoiding further damage, but it's not providing the connection or repair the situation needs.
What this did
Your child experienced your absence as either punishment or abandonment, depending on their attachment style. A brief signal before you leave, 'I need a minute, I'm coming back,' prevents the absence from doing more harm than the presence would have.