Work Life Balance for Speech Pathologists: Mindful Time Management Tips for Therapists, Clinicians, & Private Practice Owners

113. Why ADHD Makes You Freeze -- and How to Finally Get Unstuck

• Theresa Harp

Share episode

If you’ve ever experienced the ADHD freeze -- you sit down to write an evaluation report, tackle session notes, or finally make a dent in that load of laundry -- and somehow end up doom-scrolling, spiraling, and doing absolutely nothing productive while the clock keeps ticking—this episode is for you.

I’m breaking down what’s actually happening when you freeze up and can’t seem to get started (spoiler: it’s not laziness). Whether have ADHD, suspect you're neurodivergent, or just an overwhelmed SLP, you’ll learn why freeze happens and how to start moving again with simple, low-pressure strategies.

👉 This episode is part of my ADHD + Productivity series—so if freeze mode has been your default lately, make sure to check out Episodes 111 and 112 for more tips and strategies

In this episode, we’ll talk about:

  • The three most common causes of the “freeze” response (executive dysfunction, emotional flooding, nervous system shutdown)
  • Why writing a report isn’t just writing a report—and why your ADHD brain resists it
  • Why naming what’s happening out loud can actually shift you out of paralysis
  • The two-minute trick I use to get unstuck (and why it works)
  • What it means to “meet your brain where it’s at” instead of fighting it

📌 Links & Resources:





To find out how I can help you improve your work-life balance, click here.

Come join the SLP Support Group on Facebook for more tips and tricks!

Follow me on Instagram! @theresamharp

Learn more about Theresa Harp Coaching here.

[00:00:00] Welcome to Work-Life Balance for Speech Pathologists. I'm Theresa Harp, an SLP and Productivity Coach, and this podcast is all about how to build a successful career as an SLP and still have time for yourself and the people and things you love. So if you're ready to ditch stress and burnout for a more balanced and fulfilling life than you are in the right place, let's dive in.

Hey, SLPs and PTs and OTs, and. Everyone else who is here listening to the podcast, thanks for being here. I am here recording another episode on productivity time Management through the lens of Neurodiversity and A DHD. And I'll be honest, this is feeling a little bit, um, I don't know, awkward, weird. I have been trying, I've been playing around with different.

Formats or different ideas for the podcast [00:01:00] of like different introductions and I don't know, just trying to make some changes to the show. And so I'm sitting here trying to implement some of these changes and I'm like, oh, this is just not how I normally do it. This doesn't feel right. So anyway, what I was going for was to open up with a little scenario, if you will.

And as a way to let you know what we're talking about. So what I was, what I had planned was to ask you if you've ever sat down. To do a task, right? Maybe write a session note or an evaluation report, and suddenly you are staring at the screen. You are maybe picking up your phone and scrolling mindlessly, and maybe even spiraling, right, all while time is passing the clock's ticking, time's passing, and you're feeling more [00:02:00] anxious, more stressed.

Right. And next thing you know, time is up and you've gotten nothing done. Okay. Is that you, can you relate to that in any way? If so, this is an episode that you're gonna want to listen to, whether you have a DHD suspect that you do or don't. I would imagine that. Everybody listening, neurotypical Neurodivergent can relate to that scenario, and I'm gonna talk about what that is through the lens of A DHD.

However, if you consider yourself neurotypical, then. Th there is still information in this episode that's going to help you because regardless of whether it's a DHD or not, the challenge is the same, right? You're not lazy, [00:03:00] you're not broken. You are not distracted. It is. The A DHD freeze, it's your brain and your nervous system that are getting in the way.

So in this episode, I'm gonna show you what's actually going on and how to get unstuck with some small, doable steps. Okay, so let's get into it. And by the way, if this type of topic is useful to you, then make sure you go check out the past two episodes, episode one 12 and one 11. Both are about different productivity approaches and strategies.

That may or may not work for people who have A DHD or identify as neurodivergent, so make sure you check those out. I'm doing a five part four part four part five part series on productivity and A DHD. Okay? So when you freeze [00:04:00] right, and you get stuck, like I said, it's not that you're broken. It's not that something is wrong with you.

Okay, so let's talk about number one, why this is happening, right? And I will, just a disclaimer, uh, a couple disclaimers. I'm not a licensed, uh, therapist, social worker. Anything like that. So this is not meant to be advice for mental health or anything like that, but as a certified productivity coach and somebody who was diagnosed as an adult with A DHD and my coaching program where I was, where I earned my certification, is very A DHD focused.

I have. Learned a tremendous amount of information beyond what, quite frankly, we were taught as grad students or what I was taught as a grad student, which, you know, um, that's just an observation. [00:05:00] Um, not a judgment. Our field is huge, so I totally get it. But all that to say this is not medical advice, this is not mental health advice.

This is coaching, this is coaching input, coaching insights and coaching strategies. Okay. So, and the other disclaimer, uh, I feel like I gotta feel like I gotta go here. So the other disclaimer is there are lots of different reasons why you may be experiencing. Those analysis paralysis or freeze moments.

Okay? But I'm gonna be talking about some of the, the heavy hitters. Okay? So take what serves you, leave what doesn't, as always. Alright, so when you sit down and you are stuck, you're stuck in this, this paralysis, right? You know what you have to do. But you are just not doing it. And while you're not doing it, your stress [00:06:00] about the task is growing.

Your anxiety is growing, your panic is growing, is growing, and you get, it's, it's basically this perpetual cycle, right, where you just get stuck and more stressed. Okay, so. I've been there, done. That happens all the time. Okay. And I want you to think about why. There are three reasons that I'm gonna walk you through for today.

And this is not about figuring out which one it is for you, because what I wanna offer is that it could be. Combinations of these. It could be one of these in one scenario and another reason in another scenario. So, you know, let's just try and think outside the box here. Okay, so three reasons. Number one is executive dysfunctioning.

Okay? So we know with A DHD, we know the executive [00:07:00] functioning skills are what take the hit, right? And when you sit down to do a task. Think about, just think for a second. All of the little steps that are involved in the task that you are doing. I was talking about this with a coaching client recently, and we often coach on the topic of evaluation reports and why are evaluation reports so difficult?

Why do they feel so overwhelming? Why are they so time consuming and energy consuming? And I said, let's look at it through the lens of executive functioning. It's not just a simple, you know. Start writing a report. Think about all of the executive functioning skills that are at play here, task initiation being one of them.

And so if you are. If you, if you haven't diagnosed or you believe that you have a DHD, if you are struggling, you could also have executive dysfunctioning without a DHD. But, and of course these skills are going to vary in our ability to [00:08:00] execute them or implement them. On any given day as well. So it could be the task initiation, it could be that you have to think through what information do I need to complete this task?

Where is that information? Where do I go find it? What is priority? I've got lots of information when it's comes to writing an evaluation report. How do I prioritize? How do I organize my information, right? Think about all of the different steps that are involved. Okay, so when you are somebody who struggles with executive functioning skills, a task like writing a report can become.

A mountain, it can feel like a mountain. So that may be part of what's happening here, is this the a breakdown in the executive functioning skills. Second thing that it could be is your emotional regulation, right? Nothing is happening [00:09:00] in a vacuum. So as you are. Seeing the clock tick, and you are thinking about that evaluation and that client, you're starting to maybe feel doubt or confusion or guilt, like, oh my gosh, this should have already been done.

Maybe you're feeling pressure. Oh. Geez, how do I write this? How do I communicate this? Everyone's gonna be reading it, which by the way, they aren't. That's, that's another story. But all of those emotions that are involved in this task of writing a report or fill in the blank for, substitute it with any task that fits for you.

Okay. That starts happening. And emotional regulation is a big challenge for many people with A DHD. It's also a big challenge for many people without a DHD, and we know that circumstances are going to impact [00:10:00] these things. Executive functioning, emotional regulation on any given day. Okay. Lack of sleep, nutrition, external environmental factors.

All of those things are variables that are gonna affect, that are affecting executive functioning and emotional regulation. Okay. And then third, right, is safety mechanism, if you will, for lack of a better. Way to describe it. It's essentially where your nervous system is just frozen because your brain is going through this experience and it's telling you, no, abort, abort.

Let's go get out. This is safe. This is hard. We wanna conserve energy. We wanna feel safe and comfortable. So when your brain is, is noticing what's happening. That is what it starts to do. It starts to tell you [00:11:00] something's wrong. We need to get back to equilibrium, so to speak, and now you're just fighting this losing battle.

You get stuck. Right? So those are three of the big reasons in my opinion. Why you might find yourself getting stuck in that freeze response. Okay, so now that we've got a little bit of awareness about why it's happening, let's talk about what you can do to get unstuck. Okay? Alright. Lots of strategies. I'm gonna give you a couple of ones, but again, take what works, leave what doesn't.

The first thing. That you can consider trying is verbally out loud naming what is happening. Right. Just stating it out loud. It sounds simple and it is. It [00:12:00] sounds maybe a little bit odd and it is perhaps, but just talking out loud to yourself. Oh, I know what's happening. I'm just. I'm just freezing. This is just freeze right.

By naming it out loud, you are a couple of things. You are sort of disarming the power of that, of that freeze response. Okay. It just lowers the, the power of the freeze. And it also sort of taps into some different sensory modalities. So now, you know, usually when we are stuck, we're very internal. Um, we're sort of in our head about things.

And by saying it out loud, you're now bringing in the auditory modality and it can help sort of snap you out of it, so to speak. Okay. Not that it's that simple, but. So that's one thing I would do out loud. It just takes the power away. Okay. And [00:13:00] then second strategy that you can use is decide to take messy action for two minutes and only two minutes.

I find that it's really helpful to specifically, uh, to specifically have I, I would say specifically choose. The step of the task that you're going to do, but you don't even have to do that. You could just say, I'm gonna take action for two minutes and. You know, two minutes is just the number that I throw out there.

You can adjust this as it fits. It could be one minute, it could be five minutes, whatever feels right, test it out, see what happens. But sometimes just having that limit makes it feel much more achievable, much more realistic, and then it can get you into action. 'cause we've lowered the barriers. We've lowered the, the, the initiation, right.[00:14:00] 

So two minutes, messy action, do it. And then third, have some sort of an exit strategy. So I love to dangle the carrot for myself. I will reward myself. I'll say, okay, when this is over, I will do X, Y, Z. Or I can stop when two minutes is up. Or it could be, um. I will feel better when I've taken action. So it doesn't necessarily have to be a, a, a concrete, like tangible reward, positive reinforcement.

It could be something that's just you're voicing how you might feel, what you might think when you have accomplished something towards that task. Stop thinking about the whole task. Just think about one tiny step. Okay. This is one of the biggest [00:15:00] things that I help clients with, especially with regards to documentation, building plans that are going to bypass the freeze response or get you out of that free freeze response quickly, and to do it without shame and to do it without spiraling and to just meet your brain where it's at.

Meet it there and find a way to work with it. Right. Stop trying to make your brain operate in a way that you think it should be showing up. Let's go with, let's start with where you're at. We meet our own clients where we're at, right? You have patients, students, families, clients who you work with, you meet them where they're at, meet yourself where you are at, okay?

And if you have been struggling with this, if you're tired of feeling stuck, I have. Three openings right now for one-on-one coaching [00:16:00] spots. Book a consult. There's no charge. I can tell you exactly how I can help you. We'll talk through your patterns, the way that your brain is wired, and we'll get you a plan to get you moving.

Okay? Click the link in the show notes. Schedule a call. I'd be happy to talk you through how I can help. Alright, that's it for this episode. Hope this was helpful and I will talk with you all next week.