3 Ways the Morning Commute Annihilates Me

And What I Do to Reduce Sensitivity to Sight, Sound & Smell

Ahh, the morning commute. The hustle and bustle. The rat race. 🐀

off to work.

Whether you’re in UK, US, Canada, Australia or South Africa, you’ve most likely got on a train before. I don’t love the commute to work. Do you?

Behold! There are ways to make it more bearable if you find it overwhelming (ADHD or not)! Read below for an insight into how ADHD makes morning train rides difficult, and what you can do to cope.

Problem #1: Sight

Have you ever opened your laptop in the AM and been blinded by the lights? You may have winced and turned the brightness down.

Last week when I went in for my office day, I bundled onto the train looking my usual disheveled self (messy hair, panting, internal temperature of 1000 condensed suns) and upon stepping into the static light of the train carriage, I felt like a kidnapee who’d just been discovered by a flawed-but-brilliant detective from a Nordic-noir police drama on Netflix. The searing light from the train ceilings actually hurt my retinas - a giant, mobile laptop screen if you will (except you can’t turn it off).

Visual sensory sensitivity is real and is backed by research.

Solutions

• Sunglasses where possible. It can be useful to don your shades in non-winter months. If you’re not conscious about looking like a hitman on December winter mornings, wear them when it’s cold too. If you’re not bothered, you can also go for an eye mask all year round on the train.

• Acceptance. Sometimes it’s easier to just accept you aren’t going to be comfortable for however long the commute is. You don’t need to do any world-changing brainstorming or pre-work emails, just melt into your seat (or standing position) like a fried egg.

Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash

Problem #2: Sound

Train wheel screeches. Tannoy announcements. 20 different conversations at once. Beeping train doors. This is the infamous London tube throat roar (don’t click this. No really, please don’t).

I’m convinced that no one likes these sounds. These are amplified to the next level with sensory sensitivity (I’ve found myself in physical pain around certain sounds, whereas my friends seem to be just fine).

They also scramble my brain. Any coherent conversation I’m having will turn into garbled mess or stuttering. The person I’m conversating with usually looks at me like a cat just started talking.

Solutions

• Headphones or Earplugs (noise cancelling if possible). Why wouldn’t you replace crushing mechanical gears with the pleasantries of your Spotify? Even if you don’t fancy music, noise cancelling headphones work as a nice cushion to your auditory enemies.

• Different train times. If you have the flexibility and rapport, asking your manager to start at a later time so you can get a later train can reduce the busyness and chance of feeling overwhelmed (by all senses).

Photo by Franco Antonio Giovanella on Unsplash

Problem #3: Smell

Without triggering you with too much detail, there’s unsurprisingly an abundance of delightful smells present on morning train commutes. Again, this is backed by research as a real ADHD symptom.

If unpleasant odours make you scrunch up your face like a Jack Russell being offered some lettuce, then try…

Solutions

• Mindfulness. I know. ‘Jordan, this doesn’t remove the smell of stale cigs or body odour permeating my cognitive abilities’ BUT, and bear with me, I have tried Headspace before, and there is a specific one on dealing with the morning commute. It talks you through sitting and accepting the smell, as opposed to resisting it. Let me explain:

  When I was 14 years old, I was bodyboarding Cornwall with my family. Suddenly, I felt a pull on my body from the water - if you’ve ever been stuck in an undercurrent, you’ll know the panic I felt. I struggled, flipping and flapping to swim forward to the beach shore safety, but this only served to increase the oceans grip and weaken by fortitude. It was only after remembering some random surfers advice on YouTube rabbit hole, that I relaxed. Stillness. I stopped thrashing and waited calmly. Predictably enough, the ocean unraveled its hand, and a fresh wave surged me back to safety. 

• My point is this - the more you resist an unpleasantry, the more invasive it gets. Sitting and accepting the metaphorical ocean of strange odours reduced my discomfort. It wasn’t all roses and perfume sitting in the train seat, but I was able to tolerate it. Headspace or any other mindfulness apps usually have a commute specific exercise you can do to induce acceptance.

• Avoidance (where possible). If the above doesn’t work, it may be better to remove yourself from the scene of the crime. If there are other seats, or even standing spaces, it may be worth trying your luck (this can be applied to being sensitive to lights and sounds, too).

Photo by Jeff Nissen on Unsplash

What do you think?

• What’s your experience with sensory overload?

• What are your biggest morning commute bug bears?

• What has helped you manage these in the past?

That’s all for today! Keep your eyes peeled for an interview with

The Bounce Back

this Friday!

Remember, I’ll be releasing job and social specific ADHD Quick Guides to help manage difficult situations where symptoms are at their worst (sensory sensitivity included). These will be free.

I’ll also be releasing a solo podcast series called Corporate Files where I’ll discuss my personal work experiences more in depth. You can get access to these by upgrading to paid, but the first few will be free. You can read more about this and all of the other content coming in November here.

Disclaimer: these tips are based on my own personal experience. I am not a medical professional, so please explore the appropriate official medical channels if required.