Bruised all over? Struggling to find a stride that *feels just right* for you? Trying to follow your inner rhythm (that’s also incoherent as heck), finding yourself sidelined by the bop of that disco song that’s been playing in your head for the last few hours, failing at the inner rhythm thing, trying to mask by copying others’ gaits (& feeling like an impostor, and at what? at walking, for chrissake😅😢)? Committing to being unapologetically yourself only to be ridiculed for your ADHD walk? Not sure where to stand (and also where you stand) when walking in a group? Constantly losing track of a conversation because you’re walking so much faster than all of your friends (as if the conversation in question being boring as hell and doing nothing for your constantly-stimulation-craving brain wasn’t enough)? Or, conversely, was running in PE a recurrent nightmare as it was physically impossible to move as fast as the other kids no matter how hard you tried, and you were treated by the others as if it were a moral failing on your part? Back to the present - do all the corners and furniture of your home & workplace have a knowledge of your elbows, sides, knees, and hips that’s a little too intimate for your liking?
Don’t cry :( I know you want to. You’re not alone, and there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s just an ADHD thing (yes, it’s hard to find a thing that it DOESN’T affect). Today, we’ll shed light on:
whether the ADHD walk is a thing,
how and why it can show up, and
what can be done to help you deal with its negative influence😇
What Does The ADHD Walk Look Like?
Basically, like anything described above :)
We all have heard about / have seen / most likely, been that person with ADHD running into things, constantly breaking stuff and turning it over, as well as (sometimes) twisting and bending their body like that mom from the Incredibles to avoid sharp corners and furniture. It can also be hard for us to walk in a straight line, and our strides can be so long that it might look like we’ve swallowed a divider tool. Let me guess, you’ve got over three bruises of mysterious origin on you right now? Thought so. Me too 🤣
Important note: of course, not every ADHDer will have this type of walk, and not every person who walks like this will have ADHD (if you’re lucky and don’t experience the ADHD walk - feel free to read about other problems you may have as an ADHDer 😈). Some people just have walking and balance issues unrelated to ADHD, or caused by other conditions. However, there are common underlying reasons and mechanisms behind this general clumsiness and/or lack of balance, and one such thing is called postural sway.
Ok, so what the heck is postural sway and how can we neutralize that bastard? 🦹
Postural sway is all the little movements that our body is unconsciously making to maintain balance and stay upright. YES, that morning feeling of being unable to get up from your bed was right all along: standing upright and keeping that spine in a vertical position IS hard! It’s a relatively new evolutionary trick, and humans are the only mammals to engage in it most of their waking time. And for some of us, for example, ADHDers, older people, folks with neuromuscular disorders, and even those who have anxiety, it can be even harder than for the average Joe :(
Everyone has postural sway, as it’s a natural adaptation; our bodies are constantly trying to make sense of the world around us, help us navigate, and, most importantly, predict it, to then assume the position that will keep us the safest and the most well-resourced. For this, the body takes in the information from the following sensory input sources:
the five senses
interoceptive awareness (the info your body sends your brain about how its internal sensations)
the vestibular system (the little snail in your inner ear that controls balance)
proprioception (your body’s awareness of its location and movement in space)
So you DON’T actually want to do anything to your postural sway - it’s helping you! It’s just good to know that, as an ADHDer, your sway (and swag🌟😎) is greater than the neurotypicals’, and that’s why your way of moving may differ from theirs.
Why Does ADHD Affect Your Gait & Coordination?
Does this seem familiar? Since you’re reading our blog, I bet it does :D
We’ve already gotten used to the fact that ADHD affects ✨every damn thing✨ in our lives as ADHDers, and gait, balance, and coordination are no exceptions.
But why exactly is that? What is it about ADHD that screams clumsiness and bruises? Brain scientists have extensive evidence that the more gray matter volume there is in the brain structure called the posterior cerebellum (and, according to research, ADHD people happen to have A LOT of gray matter there), the more postural sway the individual will have. The study we’re referring to proves there’s a connection between balance and cerebellar morphology in people with ADHD, and that motor abnormalities like the ADHD walk have to do with the cerebellum as well. In your face, skeptics: this is yet another science-proven way in which the ADHD brain is unique 😛
Yet, as we’ve already stated, don’t assume that every person with ADHD walking around corners like a Formula One car in the middle of a race is doing that because of their ADHD. It might well be caused by common ADHD comorbidities like dyspraxia and even anxiety - which can also potentially lead to issues with greater postural sway.
For example, anxiety may alter the brain’s ability to regulate balance and motor control, and, ironically, the more a person fears falling or having difficulty with balance, the greater the postural sway & balance problems become :( And, as shown by one study, if a person is distracted from fretting about tumbling over, their stability improves.
In addition, as cleverly noted by user @savetimeshan on Youtube, we sometimes also have more clutter to trip over :D Here are our cleaning tips, if you’d like some help dealing with ADHD clumsiness in this way :)
So what can you do to make your ADHD walk and general lack of coordination more manageable?
Your fellow ADHDers already have suggested possible ways out. The author of a WordPress blog called “ADDadultstrategies” says that they’ve developed a strategy: they try to be aware of the specific problems their ADHD clumsiness and postural sway cause (in their case, it’s hitting a dish against the shelf or another dish each time they put it away). The author suggests being extra cautious at the time when you’re doing the actions that you know you struggle with (as opposed to the eye-roll-inducing general advice of “being more careful” that neurotypicals so often give us).
Of course, the downside of this method is the amount of executive function and concentration it’s going to take, so it may not work for everyone.
Some other ways are:
Physical therapy, especially exercises that help improve self-motion and balance (in particular, balance board training is becoming popular).
Certain medications (for example, methylphenidate (or Ritalin) have also shown good results in helping with postural sway by affecting the cerebellum. Please note that this medication is prescription-only, and all medical decisions are to be made by a medical professional.
Of course, support from people who understand you, have been through the same things and are able to give advice, can be incredibly eye-opening and therapeutic as well 😊
You’re welcome to find your community on Numo, where you can feel free to be yourself and find/share hacks with fellow ADHDers who, just like you, might be struggling with ADHD walk.
Bye for now, and may all your accidents be happy 😘
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