I have been researching recently why ADHDers might have trouble inhibiting unwanted thoughts and behaviours, resulting in experiencing streams of intrusive thoughts that are hard to control. Here's some of what I have learned. Buckle up:
The Default Mode Network (DMN) is a group of interconnected brain regions that are active when you are awake, at rest, and not engaged in a specific task. This part of the brain clicks on when you daydream.
There’s been a lot of research on how the DMN contributes to various mental health challenges, and much of that has focused on how it connects and contributes to the ADHD neurotype. In 2007, it was first proposed that ADHD may be caused by an imbalance between two very different neural networks: the active but resting DMN and the fixed and focused Task Positive Network (TPN).
The Task Positive Network (TPN) is the neural network that activates when you start engaging in a task that requires cognitive focus and short-term memory. Your thoughts divert from your internal experiences and you give your attention to the task at hand.
For people with neurotypical brains, the DMN fades into the background when the TPN activates. Their minds stop wandering, and their attention stays fixed when they start focusing on a task.
Some researchers have proposed that one of the reasons people with ADHD struggle is because their DMN doesn’t go offline when their TPN kicks in. Your TPN kicks in to help you accomplish a task, but your DMN is still thinking about the interactions you had this morning, how you fit into your friendship group, what that thing you read last week was about, or whether you upset your family on holiday a few years ago.
Neurotypical people can take their DMN offline when they need to focus most of the time, but people with ADHD frequently have both neural networks running at the same time, and it can make it challenging to stay focused on one task because their brains are still questing under the influence of the DMN.
Due to this, ADHD can be associated with excessive mind wandering and mental restlessness. As a result, you may often overthink and have streams of thoughts that are distracting and difficult to control.
✨Understanding the link between intrusive thoughts and the ADHD brain can help you show more compassion to yourself.
✨Essentially, these thoughts are involuntary and appear frequently because of how the ADHD brain is wired. You’re not to blame for having them.