Opposite Actions
Worksheet

ADHD amplifies the speed of emotional reactions. An impulse to argue, withdraw, or act shows up before the conscious mind has finished processing. The gap between feeling and action is shorter - not because the emotions are wrong, but because the default behavior fires faster than the override.

This is the pattern most clients recognize in hindsight. The meeting where the defensive response came out before the situation warranted it. The afternoon where avoidance won over the task list. The guilt spiral that produced more avoidance instead of a repair conversation. The emotion itself is accurate. The automatic behavior attached to it is not always the one that serves you.

Opposite action is a technique that works with that speed problem directly. Instead of trying to slow the emotion down (which rarely works under pressure), you pre-decide what the alternative behavior looks like. When the emotion arrives, you already know what to do differently - not because you suppressed anything, but because you mapped the territory in advance.

The reference table on the next page shows seven common patterns. The blank worksheet that follows is where the real work happens: identifying your own triggers and the specific behaviors they produce in your life, not in a general sense.

The steps below walk you through both.