Negative Thoughts: Why Your Teen Gets Stuck
As a parent of a tween or teen with ADHD, you might find yourself often becoming frustrated by your teen’s complaints.
If you have ever heard your teen say that they can’t do something, or if they tend to skew their thinking towards the negative, keep reading this article to learn more about why these thoughts are keeping them stuck.
Many people with ADHD tend to think more negatively than others. This may unfortunately be due to the fact that children and teens with ADHD may receive more negative comments from others about their abilities.
Some estimates even suggest that children with ADHD receive at least 20,000 more negative statements than kids without ADHD.
Frequently hearing negative feedback can take a toll on your self-esteem and it can be hard to not internalize negative comments that you’re hearing from others.
Another reason why teens with ADHD may also be more prone to negative thinking is because ADHD does truly make it more difficult for them to do certain things.
For example, it can be harder to get started on tasks and to pay attention in class.
The challenges that come along with ADHD coupled by the negative words that they hear from others can make them get stuck in a fixed mindset.
Here are some common thoughts your teen may have or say if they have a fixed mindset:
“This is going to take forever for me to do”
“I can’t get started unless I feel motivated”
“I don’t need to plan out my assignments for the week”
“I’m always procrastinating on my work”
“Until my workspace is perfect, there’s no way I’m finishing my homework”
In all of these thoughts, you may have noticed that there are a lot of extremes and absolute words in the thinking. These types of thoughts are called thinking errors and they’re a type of thought that I discuss in my teen course, and one that many teens get stuck in.
Many teens develop this type of fixed mindset that keeps them from starting work or engaging in healthier thinking patterns. When your teen is getting stuck in this type of thinking, it can be helpful to have them think if there are any alternative possibilities or if there is a gray area to how they’re thinking.
As a parent, it can be tough to teach your tween or teen with ADHD to become a flexible thinker. If your child is working with a therapist, having them engage in cognitive behavioral techniques can be a helpful way to get them out of this stuck mindset
Another possibility is to have your teen learn techniques from the flexible thinking module in my course, Raising Independent ADHD Teens.
As a parent, you’ll also learn strategies for what you can do to support your teen’s thinking patterns.
If this blog was helpful for you and your family, let me know by sending me a DM on Instagram.