Meal planning and cooking can be a challenge for people affected by ADHD. Preparation, time management, decision-making, and following multiple steps are all skills involved in creating any meal. Frustrated, many people with ADHD decide to eat out or order in rather than cook for themselves.
Some adults with ADHD flourish in the culinary arts because the work is creative and relatively unaffected by ADHD-related deficits. Cooking requires you to focus on the task at hand and take immediate steps to create a finished product, while not demanding long-range planning or lots of working memory.
What does mageirocophobia mean? Many people feel anxious about preparing food, trying a new recipe or cooking for other people. With mageirocophobia, cooking or watching someone else cook can bring severe anxiety. Some people experience overwhelming symptoms that lead to panic attacks.
Adults with ADHD often have problems dealing with day-to-day tasks. They tend to be forgetful, disorganized, and messy. This makes cleaning with ADHD nearly an insurmountable task, especially since cleaning seems like such a chore to neurotypicals themselves.
Many adults with ADHD have cluttered workspaces and homes. If you work well in those surroundings, then it's time to make peace with your organized chaos. If not, learn how to prevent clutter from overwhelming you.
Many people dislike cooking, whether it is because they feel forced into it or find some meals a little too difficult to make well. Regardless, it is important to know how to cook at least a few simple dishes, if only to have more control over ingredients and be a little more self-sufficient.
About the difficulty levels
ADHD comes on strong in the kitchen. Because cooking requires working memory, exec. function, planning and organizing, a concept of time (what's that???), and like, energy, it can be real hard for us to tackle meals.
ADHD: a disabling condition
It is recognized as a disability under the 1992 Disability Discrimination Act.
Adults with ADHD are rarely mindful of the aspects of eating (what they eat, how much, when, where, etc.). They eat more calories than they are aware of, and consume fewer healthy foods. They tend to eat larger portions, even when they don't like what they are eating.
People with ADHD have lower levels of dopamine. As such, they may be more “wired” to seek dopamine out. Since eating simple carbohydrates (such as high-sugar foods) triggers a rush of dopamine in the brain, this may be why people with ADHD tend to hyperfixate or binge on these foods.
Experts found a link between dopamine and picky eating. As it is, many children and adults with ADHD have low dopamine levels. Due to this, they might prefer sugary foods because they can trigger a dopamine surge.
90% of Americans don't like to cook — and it's costing them thousands each year. For some Americans, going out to dinner is a treat, planned and budgeted for.
Survey Finds 28% of Americans Can't Cook - Easy Recipes for Non-Cooks.
People can experience a loss of appetite for a wide range of reasons. Some of these are short-term, including colds, food poisoning, other infections, or the side effects of medication. Others are to do with long-term medical conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, or life-limiting illnesses.
Differences in emotions in people with ADHD can lead to 'shutdowns', where someone is so overwhelmed with emotions that they space out, may find it hard to speak or move and may struggle to articulate what they are feeling until they can process their emotions.
Untreated ADHD in adults can lead to mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. This is because ADHD symptoms can lead to focus, concentration, and impulsivity problems. When these problems are not managed effectively, they can lead to feelings of frustration, irritability, and low self-esteem.
The mind of a person with ADHD is full of the minutiae of life (“Where are my keys?” “Where did I park the car?”), so there is little room left for new thoughts and memories. Something has to be discarded or forgotten to make room for new information. Often the information individuals with ADHD need is in their memory…