Okay, confession time, I made it… most of the way.
If you read the week three post you would see that I was starting to feel pretty meh about the whole challenge. I discussed how this challenge might negatively impact ADHD brains and how overall I was starting to get more negative effects from understimulation than positives.
The first thing I did was test the waters with my new dose of ADHD meds. That definitely helped me somewhat with emotional regulation and gave me an extra few days to push through the negative feelings I was having.
On day 25, I ended up partaking in a small amount of cannabis. I had had an overly emotional day, was drained by life and the past two weeks, and honestly just wanted to. During this challenge, I recognized that while I did have an issue with the frequency with which I was smoking pre-challenge it wasn’t a giant issue from an addiction standpoint. I was able to quit easily and didn’t really think about weed much during the challenge. Smoking really drove that home for me as well. The days after smoking I just didn’t care to touch it again. It wasn’t as big of a temptation or crutch as it once was.
Video games on the other hand… that’s an issue. I have been lusting over Stardew Valley since I went on this challenge and honestly, that lust has not gotten lesser. So I opted to continue to hold off on playing the game for now.
Overall Takeaways from the Challenge
This challenge may be negative for people with ADHD.
As I discussed in week 3, there’s just not enough research on this concept when it comes to including neurodivergent folks. Our brains are different and therefore the challenge might not be as effective, or may even be harmful if the right tools and coping mechanisms aren’t set up beforehand.
I recommend making a list of activities you like to do or would like to try, pre-challenge for my neurodivergent friends so that on your understimulated days you have an easy way to find a stimulating activity to help you out.This challenge is largely a mindfulness challenge.
At its core, this challenge has been a mindfulness challenge. It’s been a challenge of living in the now and focusing on what’s going on around you rather than checking out and letting distractions win.
Personally, I feel that if you aren’t truly addicted to things you could easily get the benefits of a dopamine detox within a few weeks and add the things you excluded back into your life with mindfulness in mind.
It should also be noted that if you aren’t committed to living mindfully this challenge won’t do anything for you because there is always a shiny new distraction around the corner.It’s good to challenge yourself and set goals.
Prior to this challenge, I was very relaxed with myself. Relaxed with my goals and deadlines. Relaxed with my daily routine. Relaxed with my ambition. There’s nothing wrong with having a relaxed attitude but for me personally, there is such a thing as too relaxed.
This challenge has given me a sense of pride and accomplishment which has been a catalyst to getting even more of my life together. It’s so easy to set goals and forget about them but if you really challenge yourself to do it and make a plan you’ll be surprised at what you can achieve.Real life happens in real time and real life is what really matters.
Instagram is not real. Reddit is not real. Online spaces are not real. At least… not in the sense of really mattering in day-to-day life. Sure, if your job depends on it, those spaces do matter and that’s valid. For someone like me, who has no intention of being an influencer, those spaces simply do not matter. The friends that matter the most to me have my number. My family is down the road. My partner lives with me. There’s no reason to keep up with appearances online and for me, those spaces just serve as a big distraction.The start of the challenge vs the end of the challenge was very different.
I vlogged during the second week of the challenge and looking at that vlog compared to week 3 and 4 there is a stark difference. I was getting so much done each day week 2 because I was actively looking to fill my time and was more productive as a result. Week 3 and 4 I tapered away from productivity and started wasting more time. This is where more structure and a daily plan would have helped me.
What I would have done differently…
Created a list beforehand to help myself combat the days where understimulation was winning.
Deleted Reddit as well. It really just served as a way for me to get that notification fix without me realizing it.
Added more structure to each day. I really let myself just go where the wind blew me each day. It was fine but I could have greatly benefitted from more structure.
Moving Forward Post Challenge
A lot has changed in my mentality in such a short period of time. Even though I started to get bogged down with the effects of understimulation at the end of the challenge, I’m so incredibly grateful I decided to go through with it. It has helped me get back into touch with an intentional lifestyle. Changing everything from my daily routine to my internal self-talk to the way I eat and spend money.
The end of the challenge really highlighted that I need more structure and routine in my life. I’m taking the necessary steps to ensure that I can make that happen and create sustainable habits along the way. I want to focus on creating morning and nighttime routines centered around mindfulness. I’ll be focusing more on creating zones and spaces for getting certain activities done as well.
My relationship with cannabis is much different now as well. Though I know it’ll be easy to slip into old habits I think I can say the allure is definitely dulled for me. While I still enjoy cannabis for its ability to help me handle pain and relax me when I’m way too overstimulated it’s not something I see myself using daily anymore. I’ve realized I do just fine without it and enjoy myself more without being stoned all day every day. An added bonus is that I don’t spend nearly as much money on cannabis now since I’m not smoking it regularly.
I’m not sure that I’ll return to social media like Instagram, Tiktok, and Reddit. I’m not sure I want to be on those spaces and it’s something that I have to think about more. I may pop on every now and then to share an update but I truly can’t imagine using it the way I previously did. It’s meant to be addicting and addicting it is. I’ve also noticed it just makes me anxious, reactionary, and emotional in not great ways. I’m sure others won’t relate but for me, it’s just not really a good way to spend my time.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this journey with me. As I’ve said a lot throughout this challenge, it has been truly eye-opening for the better. If you have specific questions about the challenge that I missed in my post feel free to comment below and I’ll answer! :)
Until next time!
xo,
Roo
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