ADHD is commonly thought of as a disorder of attention, but it also has a nexus of dysfunction in mood regulation. I am
simplifying, but people with ADHD don’t generate enough dopamine to stimulate the circuits that regulate emotion. Most people with ADHD therefore experience heightened emotional responses to negative stimuli. This leads to all sorts of problems with relationships and work.
Procrastination is the art of avoiding the emotional pain that happens when you think about working on something you find distasteful or boring. ADHD presents two problems in relation to procrastination: first, ADHD gives you a lifetime of training in the pain of focusing on difficult or boring work. And second, when you experience the feeling that something will be difficult or boring, you don’t properly regulate that feeling. It becomes overwhelming.
Procrastination is the art of avoiding the emotional pain that happens when you think about working on something you find distasteful or boring. ADHD presents two problems in relation to procrastination: first, ADHD gives you a lifetime of training in the pain of focusing on difficult or boring work. And second, when you experience the feeling that something will be difficult or boring, you don’t properly regulate that feeling. It becomes overwhelming.