ADHD Energy Dips: Are Your Low Phases Getting Deeper?
Your drained phases don't all hit the same. Here's how to tell whether your ADHD energy and mood dips are getting deeper, lighter, or heavier over time.
What is Dip Pattern?
Dip Pattern tracks the severity of your low phases over time, on both energy and mood. It compares your recent drained phases to your historical ones and tells you whether your dips are getting deeper, shallower, or heavier.
Sometimes the dip itself looks the same on energy, but mood has been dropping further during it. Dip Pattern surfaces that as a separate state, because it changes what you should do about it.
Why it matters
Not all drained phases are equal. Sometimes you hit a low that's just a mild slowdown. Other times it feels like a total shutdown. The difference often comes down to what happened in the charged phase before it.
When dips are deepening, the charged phases before them are one place to look. When dips are getting shallower, your pacing is improving. You may be learning to ease up earlier in your charged phases.
And sometimes the energy reading is stable, but the emotional weight of the dip has been heavier. Mood and energy are linked but distinct in ADHD, so a mood-led decline is its own kind of signal, even when your physical energy holds steady.
How it works
Dip Pattern compares the average energy during your recent drained phases to your historical average. If recent dips are hitting lower energy levels, the signal reads "Deeper." If they're milder, it reads "Shallower."
When mood data is available, it also checks whether mood is dropping further during dips or holding steady. There are three deepening states:
- Deeper (energy): energy is hitting lower than usual
- Deeper (energy and mood): both are dropping together. Recovery typically needs more care
- Heavier (mood only): energy is stable, but mood has been dropping further during dips
Reading your results
| Value | What it means |
|---|---|
| Deeper | Your drained phases are hitting harder on energy. The next recovery may take more |
| Heavier | Energy is steady, but mood has been dropping further during dips |
| Shallower | Your drained phases are getting lighter. Your pacing is working |
| Stable | Dip severity is consistent. No change in either direction |
What you can do
- When deeper (energy only): Your dips are hitting lower than they used to. Shorter pushes and fuller rest windows are both worth trying.
- When deeper (energy and mood): When mood drops alongside energy, give yourself extra room to recover. Fewer commitments, more rest, and less pressure on yourself.
- When heavier (mood only): Something is weighing on the emotional side even when your physical energy holds. Worth checking what's been different lately: sleep, social load, big tasks, hormonal cycles, season changes. Protecting low-stim time and reducing demands during dips tends to soften the next one.
- When shallower: This is real progress. Whatever you're doing is working. Your dips are getting less severe, which usually means your pacing has improved.
Sources
- Beheshti, A., et al. (2020). "Emotion dysregulation in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analysis." BMC Psychiatry. PubMed 32164655
