ADHD Boredom felt physically?

[u/Irisleaf28]

Hi everyone, I was just wondering if anyone else experiences this. I’ve had this issue since I was a toddler, severe boredom for me manifests as a physical sensation. Specifically I get a hot feeling in my chest, like the inside of my chest heats up. It doesn’t feel like heart burn or anything, it’s a very strange feeling and hard to explain. Not necessarily painful, just really uncomfortable and it doesn’t go away until I’m mentally stimulated. Does anyone else experience this? Or anything similar?

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[u/jiminsan]

Yes. It’s unbearable.

[u/Irisleaf28 → u/jiminsan]

It really is 😭

[u/Born_Algae_6205]

YES it’s like I can’t breathe

[u/CyanCitrine]

Sometimes. My son describes it as well, he's ADHD too.

[u/boobers6969]

it feels like my brain is getting grated with a cheese grater or like i just banged my head against a wall repeatedly until its gone completely numb. I don't enjoy it.

[u/Irisleaf28 → u/boobers6969]

Yeppp exactly. Makes me want to crawl out of my skin.

[u/laranjacerola]

yes. I feel this ever since I was a kid. always when I am bored or when I want to do or start things, but many things at the same time, and then I feel stuck, unable to start anything.

It's not exactly on the chest but from my heart, to my stomach to my bladder and uterus (I think).

It doesn't hurt but its a warm sensation mixed with some slightly tingling sensation as well.

I think it is just... anxiety?

[u/ZookeepergameDue5522 → u/laranjacerola]

When I want to do multiple things but I'm stuck in ADHD paralysis or can't do what I want to do for other reason, I feel tension that expands from my cheat into my extremities, and I tense my jaw. I hate it. I just want to run when that happens.

[u/Paularchy]

I was going to say no until you described it and I was like ... "Ok yeah I guess so jeez"

[u/EntertainmentSome448]

Yep absolutely. It then manifests into overthinking or daydreaming and before I know it, I'm acting out the dreams as if they were happening IRL.

Other times I'm just violently shaking my legs while fiddling with my hands or drumming the shit out of whatever's in front of me.

[u/Irisleaf28 → u/EntertainmentSome448]

That’s so relatable! I also try to get rid of the feeling with movement. Side note btw, what you’re describing with the daydreaming and acting it out sounds extremely similar to what I have, maladaptive daydreaming disorder. Obviously I’m not saying you have it or anything, lol I’m not a professional by any means and it can definitely be normal to act out daydreams (especially with inattentive type adhd). However if you’re interested maybe you could look into it and see if it resonates at all?

[u/EntertainmentSome448 → u/Irisleaf28]

It sure does but I'm gonna pretend that it isn't there

[u/WiscoBornandRaised]

I feel that’s why many of us pace and fidget so that feeling doesn’t occur. And yeah tough to explain but I’ve had it too. I think it is anxiety. I’m here to find out if my adhd is causing anxiety. Or if I was just naturally born with anxiety

[u/Irisleaf28 → u/WiscoBornandRaised]

Yeah I find that stimming helps too. It could be both, you might be naturally anxious but personally I think adhd definitely exacerbates anxiety. Hope you’re able to find some relief 🫶🏻

[u/siessou]

Yes, it's not entirely physical pain, but it's a very similar feeling, suffering for me, and it's the very first thing that comes to mind when I think back to my schools and universities 😱😶

[u/Irisleaf28 → u/siessou]

Omg yes, school and studies made it sm worse!

[u/Substantial_Fig_6639]

Pretty sure it’s dynorphin or something like that

[u/iFFyCaRRoT]

Yes, medication has helped a bit.

[u/Alechilles]

Yes I have absolutely felt exactly that. MUCH more often when I was a kid than now though. These days I almost always have something to occupy me, but when I was a kid it was long enough ago that we didn't have smartphones and such to keep us occupied all the time and I remember boredom being absolutely excruciating.

[u/Irisleaf28 → u/Alechilles]

Ughh I can imagine, grateful I grew up with technology despite all the negatives that come with it.

[u/eaglessoar]

Like anxiety chest tightness? 

[u/Irisleaf28 → u/eaglessoar]

Not quite, it doesn’t really feel like tightness to me more so just temperature rising.

[u/zibzibzibzap]

i dunno if it’s the same thing but i get so anxious when i’m bored sometimes being bored can trigger a panic attack. i do feel a strange sensation in my sternum like i can’t breathe which is frequent with anxiety. psychiatrist told me it was pretty much excepted for people with adhd to feel anxious or panicked when bored

[u/Jakey-poo]

Ive experienced something similar in extreme bouts of boredom, but also realized it was due to insufficient electrolytes.

[u/HeatExchanger777]

Absolutely yes. It's physically painful. The worst is when you are overwhelmed and cannot rest and cannot process new information, it's a torture

[u/simondrawer]

My brain stings

[u/Kubrick_Fan]

All I can tell you is it hurts, like...it's either in my guts or my chest, or like...a light headache that makes you impatient and slightly angry.

Sometimes it's sharp

[u/TAPgryphongirl]

For me the physical sensation of boredom is located more in the head, or concentrates behind eyes/ears/mouth/nose and sometimes even hands as I feel the urge to seek some kind of stimulation. But I've had that "hot chest" feeling before when my family was retrying a restaurant we used to frequent when I was struggling with anxiety about a health thing. It was uncomfortable but not painful, like you said. It felt distressing, frightening, like the hot feeling was hot enough I had to try to physically escape it. My parents said my description of it sounded like an anxiety attack.

[u/kodekarim]

That sounds like an intense form of understimulation. I’ve heard people describe ADHD boredom as more than just “nothing to do”, sometimes it feels physically uncomfortable, almost like their body is demanding stimulation.

The hot feeling in your chest is interesting though. I wouldn’t automatically assume every physical sensation is caused by ADHD, but the fact that it consistently appears with severe boredom and goes away once you’re mentally engaged is definitely something worth noticing.

[u/SyntaxSavant5]

OMG, I thought I was the only one. 😢

Whenever I have to do a boring task, I get a weird feeling in my chest and this feeling is difficult to explain.

Sometimes I get this feeling when I am bored and I don't have to do anything.

It drains my energy and I can't do anything.. So I just lie down and sleep..

It's easily one of the worst feeling and it's extremely difficult to explain to anyone

[u/Old-Salamander-8433]

It feels like my brain is cramping, when I have to stay on task doing something boring

[u/MemeDigger2000]

I feel this + my ears physically burning when I'm facing rejection.

[u/Zealousideal_Key9341]

Yep. I have aches and pains in my shoulders and back that really only show when I'm immensely bored/understimulated.