How Does ADHD Affect Decision Making? | ADHD Decision Making
After my ADHD diagnosis, it dawned on me that there was actually a reason why some nights I would fly into a rage when someone asked the simple question “what’s for dinner?”
And to be clear, I’m not saying my diagnosis gave me an excuse for my overreaction.
But as with so many post-diagnosis realizations we ADHDers have, it helped explain why it was happening.
The reason…decision making.
See, decision making involves a whole heap of different executive functions.
And when you couple a long day of trying to focus, organize, or plan with the fact that your dopamine levels are probably pretty low, it can be hard to use your executive function to decide what to have for dinner AND use your executive function to regulate your emotions in response to a simple question.
Which is why I wanted to take a little time to better understand how executive function and our ADHD may impact our ability to make decisions and discuss some examples of what our decision making struggles may look like. Because as I like to say “awareness is the first step towards creating your ADHD coping strategies.”
Does ADHD Affect Decision Making?
In order to better understand how and why your ADHD may impact your decision-making abilities, we first need to understand the role that executive function plays in the decision-making process.
Executive functioning skills are mental processes that help you solve problems, make plans, and manage emotions. Think of them as the skills you need to actively pursue a goal.
The 7 main areas of executive function include:
Self-Awareness – Being able to recognize how well you are doing on a task, physically or emotionally.
Inhibition – The ability to control impulsive behavior and resist distractions. Also known as self-restraint.
Non-Verbal Working Memory – How well you can hold things in your mind and process that information for later retrieval.
Verbal Working Memory – Also known as your "inner monologue," the little voice in your head that helps you work through decisions and consequences.
Emotional Self-Regulation – Using self-awareness, inhibition, and both types of working memory to manage your emotional state.
Self-Motivation – Motivating yourself to complete a task when there is no obvious reward or consequence.
Planning and Problem-Solving – The ability to formulate solutions while prioritizing and organizing tasks to achieve a desired outcome.
And if you're thinking, “I wanted to hear about decision-making, and I haven't heard you mention that at all yet,” stick with me for just a little longer.
ADHD is, at its core, an executive dysfunction disorder. And while there isn’t a 100% certified explanation from the medical community yet, it’s suspected to be connected to dopamine levels in an ADHDer’s system.
If you want to learn more about dopamine and how it relates to ADHD, check out my episode on dopamine (linked in the show notes) when you’re done here.
Dopamine is in charge of transmitting messages in the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain where executive functions occur.
I swear, we are almost there, I promise.
Why is ADHD Decision Making So Hard?
In order to make a decision, you need to be able to:
Evaluate and prioritize the options
Hold the relevant information in your mind while evaluating
Weigh the pros and cons of the choices
Control impulses while you’re evaluating your options
Create a plan ahead of time so you have enough time for evaluations
Have the cognitive flexibility to adapt to changing situations that may impact your choices or decision.
And all of these steps involve executive functions.
So you can see now why making decisions—even ones that don’t seem like they should be exhausting or consequential—might completely tap out your ADHD brain.
Tell me if any of these scenarios sound familiar...
ADHD Decision Fatigue: What to Eat for Dinner
As I mentioned above, asking what to eat for dinner used to be a huge mental roadblock for me. Our brains have to:
Remember what’s available at home, which involves working memory.
Consider the time it takes to cook vs. how hungry you are, which involves planning & problem-solving.
Weigh the health benefits vs. cravings, which involves impulse control.
Think about what others in the house want to eat, which involves cognitive flexibility.
And before you know it, 20 minutes have passed, you’re still hungry, and you’ve either given up or defaulted to take out…again.
ADHD Decision Paralysis: Responding to an Email
Or what about this…
You open an email, read it, think about responding, struggle with what to say or how to say it right.
Maybe you convince yourself you need more information to reply or more time to craft the appropriate response.
You decide you’ll to do it later and close the email. Now two weeks have gone by and that forgotten email is still sitting in your inbox needing a response. That’s ADHD decision paralysis in action.
Your brain gets stuck trying to evaluate the best response, plan out what to say, and regulate any emotions tied to the message—and when that feels overwhelming, task avoidance kicks in.
ADHD Analysis Paralysis: Choosing a Business Strategy
And for those ADHD entrepreneurs out there, you know how paralyzing making big business decisions can feel.
Should you launch a new product?
Change your marketing strategy?
Delegate tasks?
Hire an assistant or employee?
Maybe just chuck it all and start over because you’ve got 17 other business ideas waiting in the wings?
The number of possible outcomes makes it easy to overanalyze, procrastinate, or impulsively make a choice without thinking it through.
This is why understanding why decision-making is so difficult for those of us with ADHD is the first step in creating strategies to make it easier.
And if you’d like to learn more about ADHD decision fatigue or analysis paralysis, stay tuned for next week’s episode where I’ll deep dive what they look like and tips to help keep them at bay.
Do you feel like your lack of decision making is holding you back from the success you know is possible? If so, I’m here to help! My ADHD coaching program provides executive function support, so you can understand how your unique brain operates and create coping skills to make life easier. I also provide weekly accountability to make sure you’re following through once you’ve made those all important decisions.
Click the button below to schedule your free, no-obligation call with me to discuss your goals and my program today!
