ADHD Therapy for Colorado Athletes: Finding Balance and Focus

If you are an athlete with ADHD (or suspect that you might have it), you may feel that there are ways in which your ADHD helps you to excel.  In fact, there is reason to believe that people with ADHD are drawn to sports as a way to expend energy and combat restlessness, and that certain symptoms of ADHD (such as the ability to hyperfocus and impulsive decision-making) are beneficial in high-pressure sports. American olympians Simone Biles and Michael Phelps have both been open about their ADHD diagnoses, and shared how sports helped them to cope with their symptoms from a young age.   However, there are also certain challenges that athletes with ADHD may face.  For Colorado athletes with ADHD, whether you play a team sport like basketball or are passionate about trail running in the Rockies, better understanding how your ADHD impacts your athletic performance can be a game-changer.  In this post, we’ll take a look at the unique challenges that athletes with ADHD deal with and how therapy can help you find balance and focus as an athlete.  

What is ADHD?

ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.  While the name implies a “deficit” of attention, what most people with ADHD really struggle with is consistent attention.  People with ADHD may experience changes in their attention patterns throughout different times of day, and often find that they struggle to focus on things that are boring or monotonous, while they can actually hyper-focus on things that are interesting to them.  There are 3 types of ADHD:  

• Predominantly inattentive type (people with this type of ADHD struggle with things like attention, motivation and organization)

• Predominantly hyperactive type (people with this type of ADHD struggle more with restlessness, hyperactivity, impulsivity or jumping from topic to topic in conversation)

• Combined type (people with combined type ADHD struggle with both sets of symptoms)

As an athlete, you may struggle with any of the above types of ADHD.  Each person’s experience of ADHD is unique, so depending on your specific symptoms you may deal with certain types of challenges.  

The Challenges that Athletes with ADHD Face

Athletes with ADHD can face many different types of challenges.  Here are some examples:

Consistency

Athletic training requires sticking to a consistent schedule - practicing regularly, gradually building up your stamina, making time for rest and cross-training to avoid injury.  Sticking to a structured, consistent training plan can be especially challenging due to struggles with organization, time management, planning and motivation.

Impulsivity and pacing

Impulsivity can lead to over-excitement and difficulty with pacing.  Athletes who start out too hard, whether that be at the beginning of a race or beginning of a months-long training plan, can risk burnout or injury. 

Sensory overload

People with ADHD often struggle with sensory overload - becoming overwhelmed, distracted or anxious by environments that are noisy, crowded or have bright, flashing lights.  Unfortunately, the environments at races or competitions often involve many of these things.  This can make it especially challenging for an athlete with ADHD to feel focused and calm on race day. 

Boredom with training

Participating in a big race or championship competition can feel exhilarating - the crowd cheering you on, the buildup of energy, and endorphins flowing.  Training for a competition is much less exciting.  Particularly for endurance sports which require months of training before a big race, athletes may struggle with feeling bored and have trouble motivating themselves to be regular in their training.

Prioritizing recovery and rest

Rest and recovery days are part of training - over-exerting yourself can lead to injuries that keep you from competing in your big race.  For athletes with ADHD who may struggle with stillness, rest days can feel unproductive and uncomfortable. 

Balance with personal life

Hyperfocus allows athletes with ADHD to give exclusive, extended focus to activities they are passionate about - however, this can sometimes come at a cost to their personal lives including family, friends and general self-care.  Finding balance between their identity as an athlete and other identities can be a challenge.

How ADHD Therapy in Colorado Can Support Athletes

As an athlete with ADHD, coping with these challenges can feel overwhelming.  Especially if you are undiagnosed or have recently obtained a diagnosis, it can feel both extremely validating and discouraging to learn that there is a reason for your struggles.  You don’t have to cope with these challenges on your own.  Therapy for athletes with ADHD in Colorado can help.  Working with a trained ADHD therapist can help you built the tools to bring organization, balance and focus into your life.  Here are some ways that therapy can help support athletes with ADHD:

Improve Your Focus

Through therapy, you can learn mindfulness tools to improve your focus and present-moment awareness on a day-to-day basis.  For more information, check out my post on mindfulness strategies for ADHD.

Build Routines and Time Management Skills

Working with an ADHD counselor can help you create tailored, individual routines that work for your schedule and lifestyle.  Therapy can help you learn strategies to hold yourself accountable and organize your time in a way that makes space for taking care of all of your needs - including nutritional meal prep, self-care and time for family and friends.

Overcome Perfectionism and Self-Doubt

Many athletes with ADHD struggle with perfectionism and self-doubt - putting pressure on themselves to either achieve greatness or feel like a failure.  Perfectionism and self-doubt are actually things that many people with ADHD experience, as they often spend most of their lives being told that their ways of doing things (focusing, completing projects, being physically present in a given space) isn’t the “right” way, which can lead to harsh self-criticism and doubt.  Counseling for ADHD can help you to develop self-compassion tools to cut yourself some slack, learn to hold yourself to realistic standards and celebrate all of your wins, no matter how small they seem. 

Manage Impulsivity

Therapy can help you develop self-awareness to recognize triggers for impulsive decision making, and when it works for you vs. when it doesn’t.  A trained ADHD therapist can help you learn mental tricks for pausing before reacting, which can help not just with your athletic performance but your personal relationships too. 

Deal with Motivation and Burnout

Addressing motivation is one of the most important areas to focus on for an athlete.  ADHD therapy can help you clarify your values and motivation, and help you learn strategies to hold yourself accountable to consistency even when you are struggling to feel motivated.  Therapy can also help you to understand and plan around times when you feel more and less motivated, so that you can learn to work with your brain rather than against it.  Finding balance in your motivation can help prevent you from pushing too hard and burning out. 

Create Balance and Make Space for Rest

Making space for rest and recovery is crucial for avoiding injury and burnout as an athlete.  Working with a therapist can help you identify what else you value in your life and find the motivation to make space for them.  Managing restlessness and hyperactivity on rest days can be challenging, and an ADHD therapist can help you to find ways to cope with these feelings, without training too hard or over-exerting yourself. 

Finding an ADHD Therapist for Athletes in Colorado

As a Colorado athlete with ADHD, finding a therapist who understands both the demands of your lifestyle and complex nature of treating ADHD is key.  Look for an ADHD specialist who can help you build coping tools to find balance, focus and self-regulation skills so that you can both feel your best mentally and perform your best.  

A therapist who specializes in ADHD can not only help you build coping tools to manage your current symptoms, but help you dig deeper to understand the impact that living with ADHD has had on your identity, relationships and self-concept.  Understanding the messages that you’ve internalized throughout your life can help propel you on your journey to conquering self-doubt and self-defeating thoughts, and find confidence in yourself in all of your pursuits.  

ADHD Therapy for Athletes at Root to Rise Therapy in Denver

ADHD doesn’t have to be something that holds you back - harnessing the drive, passion, and love of adventure that many people with ADHD possess can help you find success not only in your athletic pursuits but in all areas of your life.  A trained therapist can help you build upon these strengths to find focus, balance and consistency in your relationship to sports.  Victoria at Root to Rise Therapy in Denver specializes in treating Colorado athletes with ADHD and helping them on their journeys to mental clarity and confidence.  She sees clients online living in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Greenwood Village and throughout all of Colorado.  If you’re ready to explore ADHD counseling for athletes in Colorado, reach out today to schedule a free consultation. 

Other Services at Root to Rise Therapy:

Other mental health services at Root to Rise Therapy include Therapy for Anxiety,  Therapy for Perfectionism, Therapy for People-Pleasing, Cultural Identity Counseling, ADHD Therapy, Counseling for Moms and Postpartum Counseling.   I see clients located inColorado, New York and New Jersey.  Contact me to learn more about how I can help you overcome anxiety and reclaim your life!