Adult ADHD can be so destructive in all facets of life and can truly impact not just you but those around you as well. Broken relationships, lost career opportunities, low self esteem or self hatred, addiction issues, and the whole spectrum of emotions that follow can fill up your life and take you away from who you are and who want to be in this world.

Acceptance and compassion for who and where you are is key to living in this world. Without acceptance and compassion, you will inevitably feel shame and guilt which will stunt your growth and ability to move through this life in line with your core self.

Then, medication comes along and that can help! However, it takes away from the ‘super powers’ that come along with ADHD and the power it gives you in certain aspects of your life… your creativity, energy, fun, ability to see connections that no one else does, and that hyper focus that comes when you are interested in something.

There is a balance you can find to reach your full potential in a world that wasn’t designed for you. You can accept who and where you are and work on change. These are not in contradiction with each other.

For example, so many folks I work with hate themselves for not having ‘self-discipline’ or ‘internal motivation’ for doing certain tasks that they ‘should’ be dong. They see other folks who can just follow a schedule or start and finish a task. This leads folks with ADHD to think their is something ‘wrong’ with them.

So, they try to be different, and they use shame to do so and hatred of who they are, which can lead to other unwanted behaviours to deal with these difficult emotions. Then, they try again, getting stuck in a vicious cycle.

Accepting and having compassion (or even better appreciation) for who and where you are is key to breaking out of this cycle.

There is nothing wrong with you, and you can find a way to make this world work for you.

If you can understand and embrace who you are, you can find ways to get you to where you want to go.

This is where therapy can be of use where you can work on acceptance, exploration of what is holding you back and put systems in place to break through these blocks.