Yay, it's ADHD: reason #6
Many people find getting the diagnosis is really helpful. In this blog series I’m taking you through some common responses I hear from my clients. Maybe one resonates with you particularly, maybe they all do. Here’s Reason 6:
Now I can figure out what’s me, and what’s ADHD.
This is all about understanding where you do need help, strategies, or meds because you’re trying to get your brain to do something it really isn’t cut out for. Or where it’s something else, that isn’t necessarily explained (but potentially exacerbated) by ADHD.
In the areas you struggle with, you can now think about if you are struggling because of ADHD. Or, is there something else, like unresolved childhood experiences, unhelpful coping strategies, thought patterns, or hormone fluctuations (to name just a few)?
People with ADHD can, of course, have issues just like everyone else (yes 😊) but I find that for all my clients, once they get good strategies going, life becomes easier and they are kinder to themselves, and this paves the way for more safely checking on any other things that make life harder than it should be.
Important here is that, as a coach, I recommend doing one thing at a time. Getting a handle on your ADHD is going to make it way easier to deal with other things.
And I want to stress here that you should give yourself a whole lot of compassion, empathy and slack if you are dealing with something on top of ADHD. Until you have your strategies in place, ADHD will often be a compounding factor. Either because it decreases the bandwidth you have available or, because like in the case of hormone fluctuations, there is good evidence that this affects many women and girls with ADHD more than their neurotypical sisters. So be nice to yourself. And don’t struggle on your own. You don’t need to.
So now what?
Well, now you know you’re dealing with ADHD you can maybe use the strategies you grew up with more consciously, as well as start to figure out what else works for you. There are excellent resources out there – books, magazines, YouTube videos etc.
And if this feels like a lot to deal with by yourself, you don’t have to. ADHD coaching can give you a dedicated space and a bunch of support to figure out what’s next - for you specifically. Because there is no one-size-fits-all, or even fits-most. Together we can work out what managing ADHD looks like for you. I’ve got a lot of experience, but you know you best. We can put that together to make the best plan for you - and I’ll help you stay on track.
If this sounds good, contact me for a free 30 minute session to get started.
Curious about the other reasons? They are here:
Reason 2: Phew, now I can start figuring out what actually works for me.
Reason 3: OMG I can stop doing what doesn’t work.
Reason 4: Ha! Now the weird stuff I do makes sense!
Reason 5: Now I know how to explain how I work
Reason 7: Oh, now my family makes sense!
Here’s a link back to the main article if you want to read about the flipside – because that can be very real too.
