This week was a little difficult for me to come up with a topic to share about here. I’m not sure if it’s because of stuff going on at work that has been draining me mentally and emotionally, because I was on my period, or perhaps I might’ve driven myself into burnout with all that I’ve been putting out on the internet in the last couple of weeks.”
Might’ve been all of it at once.
The reality is that I got so excited with the idea of sharing my thoughts online again, this time without so much filter or caring if I offend those who want to be offended, that I might’ve gotten into hyper-focus mode and poured out until empty, unintentionally worked myself too much in a season when my energy levels are low, and so I crashed.
As I explained this experience to my husband and described how I’ve been struggling to clear my mind and silence the overwhelm of my own thoughts to find enough clarity to identify a specific topic that could add value to you this week, I was reminded yet again that my reality is that I have an ADHD brain that, unfortunately, sometimes doesn’t cooperate with me.
My husband then encouraged me to share about this, but in all honesty, I didn’t want to. I don’t want to be ‘the ADHD girl.’ I don’t want ADHD to define my identity, and more than that, I don’t want to encourage people to let ADHD define theirs either—something that’s becoming increasingly common on the internet nowadays.
“That’s exactly why you should talk about it,” he said.
So with that in mind, this may be the beginning of a series of episodes where I share what I’ve learned about ADHD, my experience with it, and my ongoing journey toward breaking free from it. The objective is not to conform to your ADHD but rather to help you make your ADHD conform to the truth of God.”
This is a broad topic honestly so I guess we can start with a foundation.
Establishing Spiritual Foundations
I’m going to do my best to dissect the millions of thoughts I have going on in my head. In this case, in particular, I want to lay a spiritual foundation before I move on to, perhaps, more practical tips on how to improve your functioning in this life if you are living with ADHD.
Why start with spiritual foundations? First of all, because this approach has been working for me, and I’m sharing from my personal experience as something that I know works. Second of all, in general, I feel we all need a foundation, even more so if you have ADHD. I truly believe that the foundation I am going to talk about can help anyone who may be struggling to reconcile any emotion, thought, or behavior that simply does not align with the word of God.
So as a Christian, there are two main things we need to understand. One, we are spiritual beings, and if you are born again, that means that your old spirit has died with Christ, and now you have the Holy Spirit living within you. That’s why the Bible says that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. When you receive Christ, you are basically possessed by His Spirit.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
With that said, we still have bodies, and they are worldly bodies, corrupted by sin, living in a broken world. And because our bodies are sinful, there is always a constant battle between the flesh and the spirit. This is why even the apostle Paul said that he did what he did not want to do. This is also why, at the end of times, God will give us new bodies to step into heaven, because our current ones are basically no good.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (Romans 7:15-20)
For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want. (Galatians 5:17)
We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. (2 Corinthians 5:2-4)
So as a born-again Christian, you have a Holy Spirit, living in a sinful body.
The Battle Within
With that in mind, I believe it’s easier to understand the second concept I want you to grasp. As a spiritual being living in a sinful body, you will be constantly navigating two realities: you are holy, yet you still sin; you are saved, yet you still need to work out your salvation; you are no longer condemned by sin, but you may still face its consequences.
Why am I sharing this? Because the reality is that ADHD is an expression of the broken world we live in. Whether we like to admit it or not, some of the behaviors that come with it are considered sinful.
That is, if you understand sin as behaviors that don’t come from God, behaviors that are not in the image of Christ. Now, some religions may have different beliefs within Christianity, but my belief is that sin is sin; there is no greater sin than another. Some sins may have greater consequences in this world, and some may hurt others more, but God hates all sin. That’s why Jesus even said that if anyone looks at a woman with lust, they have already committed adultery, and insulting your brother will have the same judgment as murder. Now, I’m not sharing this to shame anyone; it’s just an important distinction to consider.
Sinful Behaviors and ADHD
How is ADHD sinful, you may ask? It’s not that ADHD itself is sinful, but some behaviors that may arise from it, if we conform to them, can be considered sinful. Here are some examples:
- Getting distracted when someone is talking to you, when our Christ-like behavior should be to care and even hold others in higher regard than ourselves (Philippians 2:3).
- Becoming defensive when someone corrects you, when we are called to love correction (Proverbs 3:11-12).
- Failing to finish tasks you start, when Christ modeled for us someone who finishes what He starts (John 19:30).
- Indulging in unproductive vices like doom-scrolling or excessive gaming, when we are called to exercise self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
- Allowing yourself to be lazy, when we are called to be diligent and hard-working (Proverbs 10:4).
- Acting impulsively and impatiently, when we are called to exercise self-control and patience (Galatians 5:22-23).
- Being forgetful — while not inherently sinful, we are called to renew our minds, maintain sound judgment, and even possess the mind of Christ.
Now, obviously, as someone with ADHD, you may already struggle with low self-esteem, feelings of shame, and may be subject to self-deprecation. I’m not sharing any of this to nurture that shame or worsen your self-perception. It’s merely to shine a light on the fact that ADHD is an expression of the brokenness in our world. It is not from God, so we are not called to accept it as a part of our identity. It is something we live with, but it’s not who we are.
Again, returning to the fact that we live under two realities, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, yet we inhabit broken bodies. Your identity is not defined by forgetfulness, laziness, failure to complete tasks, weakness, or lack of self-control. These traits belong to the flesh. Your true identity is that of someone with a sound mind, diligence, strength, self-control, compassion, and care.
Right now, even as you inhabit a broken body, a broken heart, a broken brain, and continue to engage in actions that may not align with God’s desires, know that God is already pleased with you. This is the gift of salvation. Nothing you ever do or stop doing will make God love you less. When God looks at you, He sees His blameless, beloved son. You are His blameless, beloved daughter. You are already holy.
And you may not yet see the expression of that reality in your physical being, and that’s okay. But you can observe it, accept it, and understand that it does not define who you are; it’s simply the reality of living in a sinful body in a broken world.
From there, all you need to do is strengthen your spirit. Remember: your spirit is always fighting against your flesh, and your flesh may currently be stronger than your spirit. So, you just need to work on nurturing your spirit to grow stronger. This way, your spirit can direct your body in alignment with your true identity. This is what I meant when I stated that we are not called to conform to the reality of our ADHD, but rather to make our ADHD conform to the truth of God.
Here is the good news: (1) you are not fighting this battle alone (2) the battle has already been won. You just need to catch up.
Empowerment through Acceptance
Now, how does all this knowledge help in a practical way?
It turns out that having a foundation like the one I just shared is actually a very effective way to treat ADHD. I had never heard of it before, but it seems that unknowingly, I had been somewhat applying an approach called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy that focuses on accepting your thoughts and feelings while committing to actions aligned with personal values.
ACT encourages individuals to acknowledge and accept their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, including those associated with ADHD symptoms, without judgment. This is why it’s important to understand that your identity lies in your spirit, which, if you are in Christ, means it is holy. Your identity does not lie in the reality of your body. You are capable of observing it and accepting it, understanding that there is no condemnation in any of it, and simply observing it as such.
Another concept that ACT teaches is Cognitive Defusion. Cognitive defusion involves detaching yourself from unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, observing them as an outsider. We are already doing this. We are detaching ourselves from our bodies, from our flesh, and as an outsider we can address the situation is a way that serves us better. For example, if you find yourself thinking, ‘I’m going to fail,’ you can detach yourself from that thought and understand that it’s not you—it’s your brain, a part of your sinful body, behaving in ways that don’t align with God. We are not called to have fear; we are called to have faith. By observing that thought and you can reframe it as ‘My body is having the thought that I’m going to fail’. With that observation, you can turn to the truth of God and feed your spirit, grow your faith so that your faith can overcome the fear in your body.
The next thing that ACT teaches is mindfulness. Mindfulness is the practice of cultivating present-moment awareness. I haven’t particularly delved into mindfulness in this post, and I’m not entirely sure if mindfulness is the same as practicing self-awareness. If it is, then it would align with what I stated about strengthening your spirit, which I will share some tips on how to do shortly.
The final concept that ACT encourages and teaches is Values Clarification. ACT emphasizes identifying personal values and aligning actions with those values. By clarifying what is truly important in life, individuals can set meaningful goals and take steps toward living a fulfilling and purposeful life, despite the challenges associated with ADHD. In this case, value clarification comes from developing a greater understanding of who God says we are and the traits that God designed us to have as part of our true identity, so that we can work toward developing them.
In summary, ACT helps people with ADHD develop a deeper understanding of their internal experiences, enabling them to recognize and manage their symptoms more effectively. It aids in emotional regulation, which individuals with ADHD often struggle with, by teaching them to accept and observe their emotions without judgment. It enhances focus and attention by training attention to the present moment. And it promotes goal-directed behavior. ACT’s emphasis on values-based action, which basically means to focus more on who you want to be and what you stand for, and taking action based on that. This approach provides motivation, which is something people with ADHD may struggle finding, because it adds more meaning and a sense of purpose to their pursuits.
Ultimately, ACT is a highly effective way to treat ADHD and interestingly, it is very similar to the Christian journey of intentionally seeking God through the understanding and practicing of His teachings.
Strengthening Spiritual Muscles
As my mentor likes to say, ‘God is REAL, the rest is an imitation.’ This isn’t to disregard therapy; it’s a tool that God has provided for us, and if you feel led to use it, you should definitely do so. However, I’m emphasizing that the most important thing you can ever do is seek God because He genuinely is the source of everything that is good.
Anyway, to conclude, I’d like to share some practical ways to develop your spiritual muscles:
- Start reading the Bible or a devotional that includes scripture. If you opt for the latter, ensure you read the actual scripture, not just the devotional part. This is beneficial for both deepening your faith and understanding the truth of God, your true identity, and the characteristics you were destined to have by design. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
- Find a church that actively teaches the word of God and ago every week. Accountability and structure are crucial for this journey, especially for individuals with ADHD. While the church won’t be perfect because it is human, it provides accountability, structure, encouragement and community. You may access other people’s wisdom, so you can learn from one another; it’s also an opportunity for worship, which can help boost dopamine levels in your brain as our spirits love to worship, and that joy within your spirit will express itself physically through dopamine in your brain. Just go to church.
- Ask for God for help; pray for knowledge, for wisdom, for discernment. Ask forgiveness for the specific ways that you may have been sinning, even if it was unintentional. God showers us with grace when we humble ourselves before Him. And His grace is glorious, His grace is what produces miracles. Pray to Him stating that you need Him, that you can’t do it by yourself. Sometimes we receive not, because we ask not.
- Ask God to search your heart and reveal areas in your life that need help. Sometimes, we are unaware of our own destructive thoughts and behaviors. We can ask the Holy Spirit to shed light on them so we can bring them captive to the truth of God. ‘Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.‘ (Psalms 139:23-24)
- Pray all day. From now on, you are not allowed to talk to yourself. You can only talk to Christ. This way, instead of telling yourself “I am such a failure”, you can state “Jesus, I’m such a failure,” and Jesus will help you intercept that thought. He will probably tell you “No you’re not, I started a work in you and I’m not finished yet”; or “No you’re not, you made a mistake but I have already forgiven You”. We are called to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. By talking to Christ all day, by praying all day, you will immediately be doing that.
- If possible, find a mentor. There is wisdom to be gained when you work with a mentor, someone who is a few steps ahead of you. A mentor can be found at church, within your family, or through paid mentorship programs, online resources, or books. I am specifically talking about a spiritual mentor.
There is definitely much to say about ADHD, to be honest. What I shared today certainly doesn’t cover all the different aspects or situations that we may encounter while living with this diagnosis. But again, I just wanted to start with a foundation from which we can continue to build upon.
I truly hope that this adds value to your life, even if you don’t have ADHD. Perhaps someone you love has it, or maybe even if they don’t, it still gives you some food for thought for your own spiritual journey. If something came to your mind as I discussed this topic and my approach to it, please share it with me in the comments, and perhaps we can expand on this conversation.
