Blog Post #6: Saving Brain Power with Consistency: Slowing down While Travelling with ADHD

Read time: 5 minutes

TLDR:

• Travelling long term requires slowing down at times
• Routine and stability is helpful for those with ADHD especially when travel is overstimulating

Preamble

This month has certainly been full of learning and change for me. I decided to start volunteering in a hostel because I wasn’t enjoying the solo travelling and seeing sites anymore. I still wanted to continue growing and meeting others, but I felt exhausted by just trying to plan my day when I wasn’t inspired. A cheap flight and a good recommendation later, I’m in a beautiful hostel in Tirana, Albania.

This slower pace of life was exactly what I needed. I’m currently living in a volunteer dorm and help out at the hostel for 5 hours a day, 5 shifts per week. It’s not challenging work and is full of things I enjoy like clearing breakfast tables, making beds and folding laundry. I also get my bed for free and 2 hostel meals per day! Pretty amazing deal and no guilt for not wanting to go outside (I definitely felt guilty for just wanting to stay in especially if I’m paying money for a bed in a new city). Even though my original intention was to just relax here for 3 weeks doing easy work then move on, it turns out this place is exactly the perfect balance of routine and change for my development.

Why routine/stability is important for those with ADHD:

When we have ADHD, we take in a lot more of our internal and external environment. Having stability and consistency gives our brain a break from having to adapt, change and maneuver in the world. The brain can go into a safe space and just rest thereby saving energy for something new.

What does stability/consistency look like for me right now?

• the same bed with my homemade privacy curtain
• the same volunteers (no need for conversation as we all just want our quiet time vs. new roommates in a hostel)
• the same shifts and knowing what is expected
• being familiar with my surroundings (not having to learn the layout of a new kitchen, hostel or town)

All of the above are just examples of consistency that help me preserve brain power such that I can use that extra capacity for learning rather than adapting. While I enjoyed seeing new places in the beginning, I didn’t have capacity for reflection because I was using that extra energy on understanding the new. Not a bad thing, but I’m now here for a different life chapter and a different approach.

Love,

Tracy