The Interest-Based Nervous System and ADHD

I often feel like my brain is in a constant battle of knowing there is something I should do, but just not being able to do it. Every day, I will spend hours and hours procrastinating something. It is quite common for me to spend the entire day just trying to get in the shower. And, when I eventually manage to, I will feel very frustrated at myself for not just doing it sooner and wasting so much time.

But my brain hates tasks like showering. The thought of needing to shower, amongst others like cooking, getting ready, making my bed, returning parcels or doing admin, can dominate my day. No matter how much I feel I want to do them, know I should do them, or know I won’t be able to relax until they are done, I either just don’t, or it takes a very long time to force myself to.

I now know this is because I have an interest-based nervous system.

The interest-based nervous system is a nervous system motivated by novelty, urgency, challenge or interest. It is very difficult for a task which does not have one of these motivators to be completed. People with ADHD, like me, usually have this nervous system. This is why boring, every-day tasks (like showering and cooking) can be so difficult to complete.

This concept was coined by Dr William Dodson. He explains that “a person with an interest-based nervous system must be personally interested, challenged, find it novel, or urgent right now or nothing happens.” It is either ‘I must do this right now’, or procrastination.

The interest-based nervous system says that a task can be completed if it includes:

1. Novelty - the task needs to be new and exciting.

2. Interest - the task or topic needs to interest the individual.

3. Urgency - the task needs to be done now.

4. Challenge - the task is challenging or there is a sense of competition.

It differs to the importance-based nervous system, which is typically how neurotypical brains are programmed. This system allows individuals to complete tasks according to their importance, which may not be immediate and may be important to someone else (e.g. a boss) rather than themselves. They are also able to prioritise the tasks and complete them in order of priority. They are motivated by rewards and consequences, such as knowing they won’t get a refund if they don’t return a parcel.

Understanding the interest-based nervous system means that individuals can adapt tasks to fit into one of the four motivators, in order for tasks to be completed.

Novelty:

• How can you make the task seem new?
  e.g. come up with a new routine to follow until it becomes old, then make a new one.

• Find a new way to complete the same task.
  e.g. try making dinner in a new way.

• Pair new things with old tasks.
  e.g. listen to a new podcast or watch a new episode of a TV show whilst getting ready or leaving the house.

Interest:

• How can you adapt the task to fit your interests or link it to your interests?
  e.g. if you like creating things but hate cooking, create a recipe book of each meal that you make.

• Make the task itself seem more interesting.
  e.g. use nice stationary or pretty highlighters when reading a report.

• Do something else at the same time that interests you.
  e.g. listen to your favourite music.

Urgency:

• How can you make the task seem more urgent?
  e.g. try to introduce fake deadlines

• Introduce fake consequences for not meeting deadlines
  e.g. get someone to hold you to account and say if you don’t do x by x time, then they won’t make you dinner etc.

• Incentivise yourself to complete tasks.

Challenge:

• How can you make the task seem like more of a challenge?

• Turn the task into a competition or game.
  e.g. compete with your partner to see who can empty the dishwasher faster

• Challenge yourself
  e.g. challenge yourself to wash x amount of dishes in 10 minutes, or record the number and try to beat yourself the following day.

I truly believe that learning about the interest-based nervous system if you are someone who has this type of brain can be life-changing.

The reason that this blog exists is because my wonderful ADHD Works coach, Leanne Maskell (do check them out as well as her brilliant book on ADHD here) set me the task of learning about the interest-based nervous system. We agreed that I would write a blog about this topic to motivate me to do the task, because I love creating posts so it satisfies the criteria of interest!

How do you think that you could adapt a task you find hard to do to fit into one of the four categories?