Breaking the Cycle: How to Help Your Child Manage Anxiety & Overstimulation

I have a theory about the increased ADHD, anxiety, and mental health crisis facing our youth. I am not going to say it is overdiagnosis.

I am not on that bandwagon and if you disagree, then please stop reading.  I think the increase in diagnosis is because we have gotten better at diagnosis. The field of psychology wasn’t even a thing until after World War I, which in the grand scheme of the existence of humans really isn’t that long ago. The brain is a tricky thing to study. It is taking time to figure it out. 

My theory is that the combination of the science getting better which created better technology and the increased access to technology has radicalized the symptoms of things like anxiety and ADHD so that they are more noticeable. I realize that is unclear as I am saying technology is both the source of the issue and the solution to diagnosis of the issue, but hang in there. 

I really want to put in an image of the “hang in there” cat poster. This thought that randomly popped into my mind is actually a perfect example of what I am trying to say. I wrote “hang in there” and my mind immediately shifted to the poster and meme, which I would only know existed because of its use on the internet. So not only did I have a focus shift, which is often a sign of ADHD and/or anxiety, but I took it a step further and considered searching for it because I’m typing on a computer. If I had been writing with a pen and paper and the internet did not exist, there is a high probability the image would have not even entered my mind. Even using the typewriter wouldn’t lead to a search engine. 

My sudden shift of focus, hyperfixation on the image, and lack of impulse control to stop myself from typing ”hang in there cat” into Google all gives ADHD vibes.

But I have made it to my 40s without a diagnosis. How? I was in high school when the first computer showed up in my house. I don’t think my brain wandering to the poster is a manifestation of ADHD. I think it’s  a manifestation of being on a computer. And I didn’t lack impulse control because I did not go find the image. 

So my theory is that because everyone born after 2000 had the ability to go wandering when a thought popped into their head, the evidence of ADHD is easier to see. I learned the impulse control part of ADHD because that wasn’t possible when I was 10. Our kids did not have that luxury. 

Anxiety and overstimulation are growing concerns among educators, mental health professionals, and parents. With constant digital engagement, children are more prone to experiencing sensory overload which creates a ton of biological reactions in the body.

We have created a world of constant sensory input. When a screen is providing sound, light, and constant movement the brain expects that from everything. Why in the world would a kid who has spent hours upon hours watching videos that move onto the next one without any physical action ever be able to read static print on a page? It may feel like actual torture to someone with an underdeveloped prefrontal cortext. 

The environmental factors create overstimulation when you compare it to the 80s babies or any other pre-computer generation. Overstimulation occurs when a child is bombarded with excessive sensory input, leading to discomfort, frustration, and emotional dysregulation (Barkley, 2021).

Both conditions often coexist, as overstimulation can trigger anxiety, and anxiety can heighten sensitivity to sensory input. It's a vicious circle. The overstimulated brain seeks out a level of stimulation that is the new norm.

There’s an actual physiological reason for the lack of impulse control.

Everything needs to be louder, faster, brighter to get the dopamine the brain feels that it needs. I am in no way saying kids with unlimited access to screens leads to ADHD and anxiety. I do not believe that if someone with ADHD was in a home with no tvs they would magically not have ADHD.

What I am saying is that maybe the screens, music from whatever bot runs our home, access to tiny computers in our pockets, and the reliance on computers for education are feeding an evolutionary response to the environment where the manifestations of anxiety and ADHD are also bigger, louder, and brighter. And those heightened levels of manifestations are impacting  daily life more and more which is where the line between easily distracted becomes ADHD. And crying in a meeting instead of being able to cope enough to wait until we at least get into the car becomes a diagnosable form of anxiety.  

We’ve cultivated a brain where trying to fit into the world of a static printed page is becoming more and more impossible. We’ve accidentally created a world where choosing the right answer out of letters A-E on a white piece of paper is so unbelievably boring that we will look at the second hand on the clock for a full 10 minutes because it is the only thing moving in the room. Ironically, having time blindness is a clear manifestation of ADHD despite spending a large amount  of time staring at the moving second hand, but it makes sense when the app we are watching just rolls into the next episode. 

Who knew that the mad dash to the refrigerator during a commercial break would be a skill that allows us to have an innate understanding of the passage of five minutes? Is there a solution?

What if it isn’t an actual problem and the environment should adjust to the brain changes? We either have to work on the brain to deal with the world we have to actually function in it as it is or change the way the world expects us to function to meet these new demands.

Just to be clear, I have ZERO opinion either way. I strongly believe this is currently a topic that each family needs to and should get to decide for themselves.

If  you are on the side of “this brain change isn’t great” some practical things you can do is limit the screens, which is difficult to do with the learning apps. You can schedule in screen breaks and set rules on the “move to the next episode” parts of streaming.

Using a timer is a must in our home as time blindness is a HUGE problem around here. There’s even one in the bathroom, but that’s more to save some hot water for others than trying to help the brain get a sense of five minutes although that is also part of the use of timers. Warm or cold water is a sensory stimulation so it makes sense. 

We also keep a consistent routine and try hard not to cause any chaos because the overstimulated brain feeds off the “fight or flight” response to stress. Once that cortisol is at a consistently high level, it is difficult to get the brain to accept a lower amount.

Clutter is another example of something that the overstimulated brain craves. If your desk is messy, then you can sit and think about which stack of random papers to organize first. Two hours later, you realize you spent a large amount of time searching for desk accessories, which feeds the need for sensory input that reading a piece of paper just is not going to give you. 

Find one thing to change to level out the brain and lower the heightened need for more and more stimulation and try it for a week. Make it small, manageable, and actually achievable. Like taking a walk without your phone or earbuds. Then try again the next week because much like any habit or addictive behavior, change is really, really difficult and there’s a high probability of having to restart.

I’m not sure if the way we live and work is just going to shift to meet these new sensory demands or if we will walk it back a little. Maybe we will meet somewhere in the middle. 

Whew, thank goodness…. Here you go! It has its own wikipedia page! That was totally worth the struggle for impulse control. Hang in there Cat

Reference

Barkley, R. A. (2021). Taking charge of ADHD: The complete, authoritative guide for parents (4th ed.). Guilford Press.