Revel in the Chaos

12 - I Thought I Was Just Bad at Life... Until I Learned Why


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I thought I just sucked at being an adult.
Like… why can’t I keep up with basic life things without feeling completely overwhelmed?

Laundry piles up. Emails go unanswered. I avoid the smallest tasks like they’re life-threatening… and then beat myself up for all of it.

I tell myself “I’ll do it tomorrow”… and then tomorrow comes, and somehow it’s worse.

At 38, I was diagnosed with ADHD. And suddenly… it wasn’t just a personality flaw.

In this episode, I’m taking you inside my brain; the constant noise, the overthinking, the decision paralysis, the doom scrolling, the starting everything and finishing nothing… all while looking like a relatively functional adult on the outside.

We’re talking about what ADHD actually looks like in women, why it gets missed for so long, and how it shows up in real life: parenting, relationships, responsibilities, and just trying to keep up.

And the relief of finally having answers… along with the grief of realizing how long I went without them.

If you’ve ever thought, “What is wrong with me?" or "Why can't I just get my life together?" this might explain more than you think.

👉🏼 In this episode, I talk about:

  • What ADHD actually looks like in women (especially inattentive type)
  • Why it’s often missed or misdiagnosed as anxiety or depression
  • What daily life feels like (overwhelm, paralysis, procrastination)
  • How it impacts parenting, relationships, and self-worth
  • The relief—and grief—that comes with a late diagnosis

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Understanding ADHD: A Personal Journey

06:49 Inside the ADHD Mind: Chaos and Clarity

15:00 Neurodivergence vs. Neurotypical: A Deeper Look

21:47 The Overlap of ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression

28:32 Executive Functioning: The Daily Struggle

34:06 Distraction Spirals and Task Overload

38:42 Time Blindness and Rushing Through Life

42:47 People-Pleasing Tendencies and Emotional Sensitivity

50:47 Reflections on Life Before and After Medication

53:40 The Positive Aspects of ADHD

58:17 Understanding Different Operating Systems of ADHD



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Revel in the ChaosBy Tara Schifsky