ADHD Symptom Spotlight: Delay Aversion

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Delay Aversion?Delay Aversion in LifeDelay Aversion in ADHDHow to Manage Delay Aversion

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What Is Delay Aversion?

Delay Aversion in Life

Delay Aversion in ADHD

How to Manage Delay Aversion

Waiting is the worst. Whether it’s sitting in a doctor’s waiting room, standing in line at the store, or even slogging through monotonous but necessary tasks like household chores or an uninteresting work assignment, it can make you feel bored, frustrated, and restless. This kind of enforced delay pops up in so many areas of daily life and, for people with ADHD, an intense delay aversion can make those situations feel unbearable.

Delay aversion refers to the unusually high sensitivity to a delay before an expected reinforcement, whether positive or negative. It has been a recognized factor in ADHD since the 1980s, but early research defined it mostly as a consequence of impulsivity or a tendency to prefer instant gratification. In other words, delay aversion is best understood as an intense need to escape the boredom or frustration of waiting as quickly as possible.

In fact, research involving fMRI data has found that the imposition of a delay activates thefight or flight responsein people with ADHD. Specifically, the amygdala, the region of the brain that detects and responds to threats or danger, is hypersensitive to cues of delay in ADHD but not in neurotypical brains. Moreover, the possibility of avoiding that delay is a stronger motivator for people with ADHD than those without.

When I choose to stand over the sink eating cold leftover spaghetti right out of the Tupperware, it’s not because I prefer cold spaghetti to hot spaghetti with freshly-grated parmesan gently melting on top. It’s because I prefer cold spaghetti to waiting for my food to reheat, plating it, and then grating parmesan over it.

How Freud’s Pleasure Principle Works

Delay Aversion Impacts Most Areas of Daily Life

When your amygdala is literally reacting to that delay like it’s a life-threatening danger, enduring it can feel impossible. You’ll do anything to escape that delay, like ordering takeout or opting for foods that require little to no cooking. You might rush through boring tasks, if you do them at all, making lots of mistakes along the way just because you feel this intense need to get it over with as quickly as possible. You might blow your savings in a shopping spree if you manage to save any money at all, because it feels like it would take forever to actually save up enough for a down payment on a house anyway.

Why Does ADHD Come With Such Intense Delay Aversion?

Why people with ADHD are more delay averse is not fully understood yet, but three possible explanations include:

Impulse Control Disorder and Impulsive Behavior

The motivation to escape delay can be so strong that it overpowers any other motivation you have. Fortunately, there are some ways to either leverage that motivation or circumvent it. It just takes a little creativity.

Identify the Source of the Aversion

The first and most important step is to figure out what specifically you’re trying to escape. Then, figure out ways to address that underlying issue so that the delay doesn’t feel so unbearable.

Intrinsic Motivation: How Internal Rewards Drive Behavior

Always Be Prepared for Unexpected Delays

Unexpected delays, like long lines at the grocery store, can make you anxious and short-tempered. So always have something with you that’s enjoyable and purposeful to pass the time, like:

Take Breaks as Needed

Even if you manage to make yourself start the delay-associated task, delay aversion can still cause you to disengage when thelack of stimulationor negative emotional response becomes too overwhelming to ignore.

If you have to read a research paper for class, but find yourself spacing out or getting distracted after a paragraph, get up and take a five-minute break. Come back and read as much as you can before your brain disengages again. Then, take another break.

I like this approach more than a regimented schedule like thePomodoro techniquebecause it follows the natural rhythm of focus and disengagement.

However, if you’re struggling to engage at all, you may need to establish a very easy minimum target you have to accomplish before the next break. For example, when reading that paper, your minimum might be to read at least one paragraph. This will require a small exertion of willpower, but the frequent breaks can help counterbalance that.

2 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Marx I, Pieper J, Berger C, Häßler F, Herpertz SC.Contextual influence of highly valued rewards and penalties on delay decisions in children with ADHD.Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry. 2011;42(4):488-496. doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.05.005Bitsakou P, Psychogiou L, Thompson M, Sonuga-Barke EJS.Delay aversion in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: an empirical investigation of the broader phenotype.Neuropsychologia. 2009;47(2):446-456. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.09.015

2 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Marx I, Pieper J, Berger C, Häßler F, Herpertz SC.Contextual influence of highly valued rewards and penalties on delay decisions in children with ADHD.Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry. 2011;42(4):488-496. doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.05.005Bitsakou P, Psychogiou L, Thompson M, Sonuga-Barke EJS.Delay aversion in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: an empirical investigation of the broader phenotype.Neuropsychologia. 2009;47(2):446-456. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.09.015

Marx I, Pieper J, Berger C, Häßler F, Herpertz SC.Contextual influence of highly valued rewards and penalties on delay decisions in children with ADHD.Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry. 2011;42(4):488-496. doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.05.005Bitsakou P, Psychogiou L, Thompson M, Sonuga-Barke EJS.Delay aversion in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: an empirical investigation of the broader phenotype.Neuropsychologia. 2009;47(2):446-456. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.09.015

Bitsakou P, Psychogiou L, Thompson M, Sonuga-Barke EJS.Delay aversion in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: an empirical investigation of the broader phenotype.Neuropsychologia. 2009;47(2):446-456. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.09.015

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Delay Aversion Impacts Most Areas of Daily Life#

Why Does ADHD Come With Such Intense Delay Aversion?#

Identify the Source of the Aversion#

Always Be Prepared for Unexpected Delays#

Take Breaks as Needed#

Delay Aversion Impacts Most Areas of Daily Life

Why Does ADHD Come With Such Intense Delay Aversion?

Identify the Source of the Aversion

Always Be Prepared for Unexpected Delays

Take Breaks as Needed