Realising that you may have ADHD, that it could explain so much about your life, can be quite discombobulating. Hearing other women’s stories, reading about their experiences and recognising yourself in what they’re saying can bring up some pretty strong emotions including relief, anger, grief, confusion and overwhelm.

So what on earth do you do now with this new knowledge and all these feelings?! That’s what we explore in this episode.

Resources:

* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me [email protected].

* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.

* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.

* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here.

I’ve been called plenty of names in my time, many from my childhood I’d rather forget. Then there are the names we call ourselves when that mean voice in our head is letting rip because we messed up, said something stupid, embarrassed ourselves or even just because we think we might have done those things.

However, there are a couple of circumstances where I’m positively pro-name-calling, where it can have a surprisingly beneficial effect, and that’s what I’m sharing in this episode.

Resources:

* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me [email protected].

* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.

* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.

* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here.

One of the reasons ADHD can be misunderstood is because of the persisting belief that its hyperactivity trait needs to be visible – fidgeting, interrupting, busy, busy, busy. while that can be how hyperactivity presents, what isn’t talked about is the hyperactivity happening on the inside, not seen on the outside.

Inside the brain of many ADHD women – particularly the quiet, introverted, sensitive and empathetic woman – there is a LOT going on. But because we may appear quiet, calm and still there’s a disbelief that we can have ADHD because we don’t ‘look’ like we have ADHD.

In this episode I explore just what is happening in our busy minds that never stop, behind the seemingly quiet exterior.

Resources:

* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me [email protected].

* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.

* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.

* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here.

Messages we were given growing up taught us that treats and rewards and their accompanying dopamine hit come after we’ve done the hard thing, the dutiful, boring, no-fun thing. The well-known productivity tip of ‘eat the frog first’ tells us it’s best to tackle the most challenging item on our to do list before anything else.

But what effect does this insistence on putting off of the good stuff until we’ve done the hard stuff have on those of us with neurodivergent brains? Is this way of tackling the to do list actually making us procrastinate and struggle even more to get on with what we want or need to do?

I address what’s really getting in our way in this episode…

Resources:

* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me [email protected].

* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.

* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.

* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here.

Many women who are discovering their ADHD are fearful of, and it stops them talking about this huge new realisation about themselves, people rolling their eyes and saying they’re just jumping on the bandwagon.

It’s the idea that there are SO many women in their 40s, 50s and beyond who are now declaring they have ADHD that it’s the thing to do.

I shared in episode 145 several valid reasons for why many women don’t discover their ADHD until they’re in the middle of their lives, and in this episode I’m sharing how to deal with the worry you won’t be believed (and the reality of it if that’s the case).

Resources:

* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me [email protected].

* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.

* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.

* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here.

It seems like everywhere you look there’s another middle-aged woman declaring she has ADHD, right? Or at least that’s what some people will have you believe.

There’s been an increase in women being diagnosed, or realising for themselves, that they have ADHD for sure. Let’s remember that neurodivergence isn’t something you suddenly, randomly develop as an adult. Nor is it something you’ll automatically grow out of as you grow up.

There are several reasons for why more women are discovering their neurodiversity later in life which I explore in this episode and, spoiler, it’s not because it’s fashionable or everyone’s jumping on a bandwagon.

Resources:

* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me [email protected].

* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.

* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.

* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here.

There’s a fair amount of misunderstanding around ADHD. For a start the stereotypical image is still that of an energetic little boy who can’t sit still in class. It was only in 2008 that medics formally recognised that adults can have ADHD, and women and girls are still much less likely to be diagnosed than boys and men.

So, I thought I’d share a few aspects of ADHD that are not as well known to help raise a little more awareness about ADHD and the nuance that exists.

Resources:

* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me [email protected].

* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.

* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here.

There’s a lot of terminology in ADHD which on one hand is helpful because if something has a name you know it’s a ‘thing’ and you’re not the only one experiencing it. But on the other hand if you don’t know this terminology it can feel excluding.

So, in this episode I’m sharing lots of ways that ADHD can look and feel in everyday life, without the jargon. It’s not an exhaustive list, you don’t need to tick every box to ‘qualify’ (ugh) as having ADHD and I’m very much not a clinician here to diagnose anyone.

A lot of this comes up in my conversations with ADHD women, as well as in my own experience, so I hope it’s useful for you too.

Resources:

* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me [email protected].

* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.

* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here.

It’s been a long pause but the Pressing Pause podcast is back. In this episode I’m sharing what’s kept me away from the mic, what’s happening now and what you can expect going forward.

Resources:

* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me [email protected].

* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.

* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here.

* And you can buy my book, The 1% Wellness Experiment, or the book gift box, and support The Wallich homelessness charity in Wales by clicking here.