Managing ADHD during the elections

The obsession with the polls showed me how far ADHD can go if it's unchecked

For someone with ADHD, it really doesn't matter if you like politics. When there are elections in your country, you're a very strong candidate to employ your distinguished capacity for hyperfixation on maps that change colors and define tendencies according to the different subdivisions of your nation.

My personal case is particularly extreme: not only do I like to discuss politics, but I'm also that crazy person who loves maps and enjoys tracing connections between every possible data point and geographical features. So, for me, elections are almost like going to a gigantic amusement park and getting lost among the endless amounts of records.

And last week, as you know, there were elections in the United States of America. And frankly speaking, even if I weren’t American, I would still be closely following the results because of my obsession with maps.

I wasn’t satisfied with the data given by media outlets. I needed to develop my own connections between the voting results and demographic data, voting history, age, gender, ethnicity, income, education levels, number of candidates for each party, percentage of eligible votes that were cast... Everything was a source of hours and hours of hyperfixation.

Taken nationwide, by state, by region, by county... And there are around 3,200 counties in America. That's where things started to get complicated: it means I would need hours and hours to process all that information!

Suddenly, the 168 hours of the week seemed not enough to keep myself on the task. And how could I stand up and leave behind such a massive source of dopamine at a time when everyone was talking about the subject, and maps were blinking in front of my eyes everywhere?

Honestly speaking, despite my strong opinions, I wasn't really anxious about the results themselves. My issues were the constant stream of updates and the shifting narratives, the way data was changing and leading in one direction or another.

And it made me sleep only 4 hours in a period of 48 hours after the closure of the polling stations. By Thursday, I was absolutely collapsed, and I wasn't fully recovered before Sunday.

Five days after Election Day.

So these elections were a demonstration of how ADHD can completely steal the control I could have over my life. How I must develop a way to seriously manage my ADHD before it drags my life into a crazy randomness of actions and decisions.

The hyperfocus I developed on everything related to the elections made me lose track of several aspects of my life, including my work, my wife, my cats, and my general well-being. I also had problems keeping myself hydrated and fed.

My wife is incredibly understanding about this issue, and even though she was annoyed, she didn’t try to interfere. She has a degree in psychology, and her opinion is that I need to live the experiences related to ADHD in order to personally feel the outcomes of my negative episodes of hyperfocus. She just wishes me well and stays open to help if I need anything.

I forgot to sleep even though I was feeling absolutely exhausted. I postponed eating even though I was hungry. Of course, I forgot to take my ADHD medications, but I honestly don’t know if they would have helped or if they would have just intensified my hyperfocus.

On Sunday, I finally managed to reestablish my exercise routine and normalize my rest. And I was able to look back and understand that the problem wasn’t my passions, my politics, or my love for maps and geography.

My problem is ADHD. Or rather, my problem is to manage my ADHD so to prevent it from becoming a problem. After all, ADHD by itself is neutral: it’s the way it interferes with my regular and desired routine that poses a problem.

At the same time ADHD makes me unique and provides me with very singular opportunities, it also presents an element of warning. I must always stay aware to avoid being engulfed by the endless waves of my hyperfixations whenever I’m facing something that steals my attention to the point of taking control away from me.

My conclusion is that I need to be absolutely rigorous in managing my actions and drives. I cannot let my guard down.

It works very similarly to when someone has a chemical addiction and doesn't take proper care to avoid the problematic element or manage its contact.

Of course, every person with ADHD experiences it in a unique way. There are no identical manifestations of ADHD, just like there are no equal digital fingerprints among people. But if your case is similar to what I’ve just described, the first step is to accept that your ADHD can present a problem.

And then, you can develop your own strategies and systems to control it—so it doesn't gain control over you!