The doom scroll instead of starting bedtime

What to do right now

You are scrolling instead of starting bedtime. You can see the clock. You know what you should be doing. You cannot make yourself start. Put the phone face down. Not away, not in another room, face down on the cushion next to you. Stand up. That is the hardest part. Once you are standing, walk to the bathroom and start the water. You do not need to be ready. You need to be moving. The rest follows the movement.

What your brain just did

Your body

Your nervous system is activated. Cortisol and adrenaline are influencing how you think and react right now. This is physiology, not a character flaw.

Your brain

The ADHD prefrontal cortex provides less reliable braking between feeling and action. The gap between trigger and response is neurologically shorter than in a neurotypical brain.

What this did

What happened makes sense when you understand how your brain is wired. The reaction isn't the problem to solve. The conditions that led to it are.