Episode 4

full
Published on:

24th Jan 2024

Is it ADHD or your personality? Self-Acceptance, self-compassion & dealing with people who don't believe in ADHD

ADHD Coach Katherine Sanders

This episode of 'Powerful Possibilities' explores the power of self-acceptance and effective self-advocacy for adults with ADHD.

Discover

  • how self-awareness can be a game-changer in your professional and personal life.
  • Learn practical strategies for navigating misunderstandings and skepticism about ADHD,
  • and explore different way to think about your personality traits and ADHD characteristics.

Whether you're living with ADHD or are someone eager to understand and support them, this episode offers a different way to think about yourself, your brain and your relationships.

Tune in to empower yourself with knowledge, compassion, and the tools to thrive with ADHD.

https://adhdcoachkatherine.com/

#ADHDEmpowerment #SelfAcceptance #ProfessionalGrowth #ADHDAdvocacy #PowerfulPossibilities #ADHD

Connect with Katherine here:


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Threads 


ADHD Presentations - self-assessment quiz & mailing list https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/381779/109299458418672681/share

ADHD Burnout: simple guide: https://subscribepage.io/1bSuG6

VIA character Strengths quiz - https://www.viacharacter.org/surveys/takesurvey

Self-Compassion by Dr. Kristin Neff: A comprehensive resource for understanding and practicing self-compassion.

https://self-compassion.org/fierce-self-compassion/ - Fierce Self Compassion by Dr Kristin Neff

CHADD - The National Resource on ADHD: A leading resource on ADHD, offering education, advocacy, and support.

Sakabe, R., Gushikawa, M., & Konosu, T. (2017). A Study on the Influence of Personality Traits on Global Human Resources on Global Communication Ability. 2017 6th IIAI International Congress on Advanced Applied Informatics (IIAI-AAI). Link

Gates, T. G., Ross, D., Bennett, B., & Jonathan, K. (2021). Teaching Mental Health and Well-Being Online in a Crisis: Fostering Love and Self-compassion in Clinical Social Work Education. Clinical Social Work Journal, 49, 484–494. PDF

Egan, H., O'hara, M., Cook, A., & Mantzios, M. (2021). Mindfulness, self-compassion, resiliency and wellbeing in higher education: a recipe to increase academic performance. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 45(5), 712-724. PDF

Kotera, Y., Tsuda-McCaie, F., Edwards, A., Bhandari, D., Williams, D., & Neary, S. (2022). Mental Health Shame, Caregiver Identity, and Self-Compassion in UK Education Students. Healthcare, 10(3), 584. PDF

Shayuk, O., Pidgurska, M., & Shayuk, Y. (2023). Unconditional personal self-acceptance as a humanistic trait of a psychologist. Psychological Interventions and Sociohumanitarian Practices. PDF

Transcript
Speaker:

RODE NT-USB & Susan's iphone (work) Camera:

What's up my friend.

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It is ADHD, powerful possibilities,

ADHD, coach Katherine here again, and

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if you've ever wondered.

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Is it me or is it ADHD?

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What's my personality.

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And what's ADHD.

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If you've ever wanted to know how

to set a boundary with somebody

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who doesn't really believe in ADHD.

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This podcast episode, we are

going to start to look at those

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things and I've got some news about

what's coming up in spring time.

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this is a kind of summing up episode

for our first four episodes this year,

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where we've looked at, what ADHD is,

the different presentations of ADHD.

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We had a little side journey into the

start of team bulb, where I talked

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a little bit about how, what we

think the start of the year should

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look like might not be what other

people are sharing on social media.

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And today I want to finish up with

something really important that.

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will make the rest of

your year so much easier.

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And it's.

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Simple, but not easy.

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But it is really powerful and we're

all about powerful possibilities here.

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So , grab a cup of tea,

sit down for the next.

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Half hour or put me into your

headphones and let's walk through.

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Something that is going to change

how you go through life and how you

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feel about your ADHD, forevermore.

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I just want to say, thank you.

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I've had so many emails

this week and they are.

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All amazing.

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Lots of them are extremely kind it's

made for you because I want to help you.

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I want you to get to a position

where you can help yourself and coach

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yourself, so the podcast is a way for

me to offer things that are helpful

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and that are useful things that are

going to help you manage ADHD and life.

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Wherever you are.

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In a way that is accessible

to as many people as possible.

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So I'm really grateful for

all your emails and questions.

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Some of them are so good.

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I'm going to do a

separate episode on them.

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But today, I want to have a look at a

few things, have come up from a couple

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of them and I felt there's a theme here.

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Let's follow the theme..

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And remember last week we were

talking about ADHD presentations.

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The inattentive combined and hyperactive.

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And knowing which one you may have

more of can help you when you're

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looking for tactics and strategies,

when you're understanding why things

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happen the way they do for you.

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And.

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What you can explain to other people.

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So if you haven't listened to that

episode, Make sure you do later on.

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I will.

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Double-check the link to

the ADHD presentation self-

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quiz and some useful tips.

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That's a free download

that you can grab but.

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Understanding ourselves is key.

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And anybody that you talk to,

whether they're a psychologist,

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psychiatrist, counselor, or a coach.

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should tell you that.

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Education.

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For ourselves about ADHD is crucial.

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To moving forward.

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And it's one of the reasons why.

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There's a lot of ADHD content around.

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Some of it is excellent.

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Some of it is variable.

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But it's one of the reasons why we tend

to hyper focus on it, to begin with.

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Because I think we instinctively know

that the more we understand ourselves.

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The best her life can be.

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I would add.

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The more you understand yourself.

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And accept yourself.

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The better your life will be.

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And I'm going to.

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colour the word acceptance in a

little bit further on in the show.

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So we're going to look

at self acceptance, self.

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Compassion.

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Understanding your ADHD.

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And also how to deal with

people who don't believe you.

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Who maybe don't accept the ADHD exists.

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And crucially, we're

going to have a quick.

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look at How to distinguish between

your personality and your ADHD,

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because especially if you are

late diagnosed, I see this a lot

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online and people say, is it me?

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Or is it my ADHD?

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It was a video that I made last year.

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It's done.

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Incredible numbers.

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So clearly it's a question.

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Many of us have.

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And it can feel a little bit like

all the personality elements, all

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the quirks for want of a better word.

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That you thought where you are

actually ADHD, and if that's the

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case, Where do we begin and end.

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And I want to come back to that.

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Because it's a really important topic.

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for.

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People who are late diagnosed.

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And for their families as well.

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If you are.

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A parent of a person with ADHD.

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Where do you draw the line?

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Is it them?

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There is.

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In quotes, acting up.

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And not following through

or forgetting things.

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Or is it the ADHD?

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This is a really important

question and we will look at

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that at the end of the podcast.

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I think one thing I want to remind

people of is this idea of the bulb,

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the spring bulb, if you're a member of

Team Bulb which is my unofficial gang.

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Team bulb means that we are quite happy.

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To take our time.

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And.

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Blossom at the appropriate stage.

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So I see a lot of people.

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Talking about new year new you.

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That's fantastic, but actually

there's nothing wrong with the old you

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ju.

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Maybe some of the things you do.

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need a bit of tweaking so that

you can have the most fantastic

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life possible for yourself.

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But there's nothing wrong with you.

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New you.

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New vision or goal..

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New vision new year.

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new approach.

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new idea.

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But there's nothing wrong with you.

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So let's get rid of new year new you.

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And if you're a 'bulb' like me and

you're quite happy to spend January

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snug underground waiting until the

terrible storms and the cold has passed.

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Then make sure that you are on my mailing

list and you'll hear more about team bulb

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and how we're going to grow together.

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Over the course of the year, because

I'm going to tell you something.

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Now I have planned out a whole year.

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Of podcasts so that if you listen to

all of them by the end of the year.

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You will have a.

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Really comprehensive insight into ADHD.

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To how it affects people is.

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Hormones hormonal cycles.

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how it affects.

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Your work, your study, your relationships,

how that affects your business.

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All of these things and I'm going

to bring in a few guests here and

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there, but it's all planned out.

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And Team Bulb, I think, is.

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That little idea of growing

together over the course of a year.

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I'd love you to join that.

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Pop in to my mailing list

and make sure you're on there.

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So you don't miss any of it.

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But today I want to

focus on self-acceptance.

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And I'm going to refer to

Kristin Neff's book fierce.

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Self-compassion.

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Self-compassion is a practice

that changed my life.

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During the initial pandemic

I was working in NHS.

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I got incredibly burned out.

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And there was all kinds of things

going on for all kinds of people.

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But I could no.

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Cope.

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And I'd cooked with an awful

lot up until that point, but it.

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Was just too much.

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And self-compassion is the practice

that changed how I feel about myself.

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Other humans and it led

me to where I am today.

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I really recommend that you get Fierce

self-compassion is a fairly long

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book, so grab the audio book as well.

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And I like to read and

listen at the same time.

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But one of the things.

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Is that people mistake about acceptance

and self acceptance in particular

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is that if I accept my ADHD, I'm

not going to make any changes.

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And I'm giving in.

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I'm giving up.

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Actually the opposite is true.

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And it's the.

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Fighting against.

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Yourself and who you have been.

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And all those parts of you when,

until you can accept that and embrace

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it as what got you to this moment.

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You're going to find change in

future much harder and more painful.

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And also it's going to affect how you

deal with other people, how you deal

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with situations that come up in life.

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So thinking always about,

self-acceptance not as a.

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This is just how it is.

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I can't change.

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And understanding that.

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That idea of acceptance is too passive.

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Dr.

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Neff talks about yin and yang.

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A simple way to understand.

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What is traditionally seen as the

feminine versus the male that yin is

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tender, nurturing, caring, passive.

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The male is very active,

outgoing, almost aggressive.

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Proactive makes change.

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And those kind of roles are.

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Fairly universal.

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At least in the kind of ideas

that we have about acceptance.

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It's very rare to meet somebody.

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Who.

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Is fully accepting of themselves,

but also making forward progress.

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And I think that's because

we haven't clarified.

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That we can both accept ourself.

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And make positive changes.

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When we begin to understand more

about ADHD, it's very common to

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feel that you are losing skills.

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This is something I've

heard a few times now.

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I actually, what it may be is

your awareness of how draining.

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Practicing a skill has become.

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And it may be that actually you're.

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Awareness of how much

energy and time and effort.

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That is taking up.

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has knocked you back a little

bit, or maybe it's opening

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up a space for you to change.

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Whatever happens when you are aware

of your ADHD, acceptance doesn't mean.

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Judgment.

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Watch out for the impact of the negative.

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Judgment of other people.

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And yourself.

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The other thing that happens quite often

when we have an ADHD diagnosis or we

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are on on the way to an ADHD diagnosis.

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Because let's face it.

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It can take many years for adults.

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You may find that you are constantly.

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Re-embracing self-awareness

and self-acceptance.

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There are constant discoveries.

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A client described it today

as you go round in a circle and

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you move forward a little bit.

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Round in a circle and

forward a little bit.

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And it's almost like we, we need to.

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Constantly rediscover ourselves.

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And our acceptance of ourselves

is going to be something that we

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practice rather than a one time thing.

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And that's why educating yourself with

facts with genuine information about ADHD.

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And that means going to reliable

clinicians, textbooks and articles

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that are based in the science

and also in the psychology.

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And obviously I would see the

coaching, but the kind of.

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Practical facts around

ADHD, rather than the

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shall we say popular schema.

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And is really important because

when you have that understanding.

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The acceptance becomes much easier.

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and also when you are struggling a little

bit with ADHD or in daily life, generally,

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The practice of self-compassion.

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Is.

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Absolutely vital.

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And self-compassion again, like

acceptance, isn't a passive thing.

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So we practice self-acceptance.

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We practice self-compassion

and the moments when things are

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difficult, because we're all human.

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And the.

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Idea that somehow.

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An ADHD diagnosis separates

you from humanity.

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And the suffering of humanity is

something that we need to step away from.

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I think.

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With compassion.

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We approach the things that are

difficult for us in that moment.

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with awareness.

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We understand that everybody

is going to have these moments

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of difficulty and challenge.

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And we are somewhere along the

spectrum of that difficulty.

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And that is why.

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Compassion and self-compassion.

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Are crucial.

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For a healthy balanced, emotional life.

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And as we've spoken about before.

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When our emotions are

dysregulated, when we are upset.

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I angry, scared, frightened.

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All of these.

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Negative emotional states.

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Our executive functions.

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Become more challenged.

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Think about it this way:.

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You make a simple mistake.

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You attributed to your ADHD.

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Which is more than possible.

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I have had quite the week and I

could say, oh, that's my ADHD.

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I'm not managing it as well as I used to.

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Instead of saying that's cause you're not

doing this or that, or the other thing.

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And making it about me as a person,

I say, oh, okay That is quite

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challenging for those people.

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You've not had a lot of asleep this week.

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Things have been

challenging with the storms.

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With sleep.

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So how about we ask

someone to help with that?

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And then I am able to move on.

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If you are wondering why I talk

about self-compassion so much is

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because without self-compassion.

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You're going to find it harder to

advocate for yourself at home and at work.

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You're going to find it harder to manage

your relationships with other people.

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And that in itself is going to

cause emotional dysregulation.

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That will make the.

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Classic ADHD traits of, difficulty with

planning, prioritizing, organizing,

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remembering, working memory.

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Those are affected when

you're emotionally upset.

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So that is why the power of

self-compassion is something.

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That I talk about regularly.

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And Dr.

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Kristin Neff is the person I would go to.

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She has resources online,

which are completely free

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to download and to practice.

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And if you want to know more

about self-compassion there are

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different practices that you can do.

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Mindfulness-based self-compassion is

the one that I'm most familiar with.

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And it is really easy

to practice anywhere.

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It doesn't need any equipment.

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You literally need five

to 10 minutes a day.

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And if you can bring into loving

kindness element, which Dr.

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Neff uses is that's even better.

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Because it has an impact on your

physical body as well as your emotions.

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The other powerful thing about

self-compassion is it connects

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us to the rest of humanity.

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We're not some remote

tribe out in the Tundra.

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Completely isolated and speaking

a totally different language

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to the rest of the world.

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we are part of humanity?

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And as part of humanity,

We are going to struggle.

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And suffer and the same

way as everybody else does.

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But because of the ADHD.

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We may be more emotionally.

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Reactive to that.

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Our emotional sensitivity is a key part.

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Of dysregulation.

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Because it is part of

your executive functions.

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Although a lot of people talk

about RSD rejection, sensitivity.

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The emotional dysregulation.

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That is the fundamental underlying

cause of that rejection sensitivity.

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As part of your ADHD,

executive function problems.

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Because your prefrontal cortex

has different connections that.

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They're no different in that.

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Nobody else has them.

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It's the number, the formation the

Folium, the speed, even all of the

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connections that transport yourselves,

that noodle transmitters, et cetera.

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That's what makes it different and

that's why our emotional reactions.

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are A) generally much bigger.

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B.

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So in quotes, disabling.

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Because when our brain is attending to

emotions, it ignores all the other stuff.

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And other people experienced that too.

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But as someone explained to me today

Everybody goes to the bathroom, but if

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you're going to the bathroom, 50, 70

times a day, You need to go see a doctor

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and that's what happens with ADHD.

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Everyone has experienced this.

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We experience it in an order of magnitude.

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Differently.

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And when that happens.

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Self-compassion is going to allow

you to connect with yourself.

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Treat yourself with loving kindness.

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Acceptance.

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And give you the emotional

space to move forward while also

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recognizing the other people.

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Have experienced this too.

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We get stuck in this narrative

that we're broken failing.

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We can't change.

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You're a human being and you can change.

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But you're going to change in a way

that might not be the one you expected.

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And it might not be in the way

that other people have offered

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that model of change for you.

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Apologies about the noise.

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That's my.

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Washing machine.

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This is brought to you from a normal home.

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So you will occasionally hear things

like washing machines and dogs.

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That's fine because I don't

need to be perfect in order

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to show up and support you.

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Anyway.

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One of the questions.

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Somebody emailed in today was how

to talk to people or deal with

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people who don't believe you,

or don't really understand ADHD.

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And I think there's two

parts to that question.

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The first is the role of

education of other people.

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And that is something

that we all tend to do.

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Knowingly or not.

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And that's why it's important

to have reliable information

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that you can share with others.

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That is simple.

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So the a metaphor about going

to the bathroom, for example,

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everyone goes to the bathroom.

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If you go 50 times a day,

you need to see a doctor.

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That is something that

people can understand.

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Whereas, if you start to talk about.

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Dopamine transport er

cells and DAT-1 genes.

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Most people are going to zone out

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so education is a crucial part of it.

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But it's not always your job to educate

people who do not want to learn.

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And you're the only

person who can discern.

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From your relationship, with that person

from their responses, from your context?

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Is that person actually going to learn.

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Does he want to learn?

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Or is it an excuse to treat you badly?

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That's the second part of the question.

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. People don't accept ADHD.

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And they don't accept me.

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And ADHD is part of me.

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And it's something that we hear a

lot stop using ADHD as an excuse.

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Boundaries as a big one.

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And I think when somebody says to you.

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Something negative.

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And it's something that is caused by

the ADHD difference that you live with.

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Which is a disability that is

recognized by governments worldwide.

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You have to say to yourself.

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How am I going to assert this boundary?

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And do I want them to speak

to me like this in future?

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So I'm going to offer

three ways to communicate.

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But the thing that is crucial to all

of them is that you accept yourself.

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First.

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And that you are very clear about

what you want them to do instead.

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So think about that

before you say anything.

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And it's usually in three parts.

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Depending on your relationship,

you may want to begin with.

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When you statement.

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Then you move on to, I feel.

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And then you would say, I would

like, or I want, or I need, and

406

:

this is something that you can

adapt and because there's no one.

407

:

way to say it.

408

:

That's going to suit everyone.

409

:

So it could be.

410

:

When you say I'm using ADHD as an

excuse for not finishing the house work.

411

:

I feel.

412

:

That you don't believe

ADHD is a real thing.

413

:

And you're saying I'm actually lazy.

414

:

I want you to understand.

415

:

That I am trying my best.

416

:

And ADHD.

417

:

Affects my working memory.

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:

As an example.

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:

I'll try to put something together

that you can download so you can.

420

:

Write out a few examples.

421

:

But the important thing is that.

422

:

You need to know what you will accept.

423

:

And if they're behaving

in a way that constantly.

424

:

Invalidates you and invalidates

your diagnosis of ADHD.

425

:

You can offer.

426

:

Some education.

427

:

And if they refuse to accept the education

and continue to speak negatively to you.

428

:

Then you have the power to remove

yourself from that conversation.

429

:

I know it's difficult when

it's somebody in your home.

430

:

And this is a circumstance.

431

:

Many of us find ourselves in.

432

:

But you always have the power to

remove yourself from the room.

433

:

So you can go back to

the, I feel statement.

434

:

When you and add-on what you would

prefer or what you need to happen instead

435

:

for example, I feel frustrated.

436

:

When my ADHD traits.

437

:

Are dismissed as laziness

or not caring about you.

438

:

Because it ignores the reality of ADHD

439

:

as a brain based neurological difference.

440

:

I need you to understand what ADHD is

and how it affects my day-to-day life.

441

:

You've got to conserve your

energy and your time and

442

:

boundaries are a way to do that.

443

:

So you can educate people, but

you're not wasting time and energy

444

:

on people that aren't interested.

445

:

So you might want to offer

them a really simple example.

446

:

I really simple model of what ADHD is.

447

:

And then you would.

448

:

how it specifically affects you.

449

:

Or people in general, but

particularly you in the context.

450

:

And then you might offer them

further reading or an internet

451

:

link or something like that.

452

:

But you don't have to spend ages

giving a long, detailed explanation.

453

:

Or making excuses.

454

:

And don't begin.

455

:

Your explanation with I'm sorry.

456

:

Because that immediately.

457

:

Puts you into a very passive

position and we're thinking clear,

458

:

calm, assertive communication.

459

:

For example, the self-advocacy

model that's used in DBT

460

:

dialectical behavioral therapy.

461

:

. In brackets here.

462

:

I am not a therapist.

463

:

I'm offering this as an example.

464

:

Close brackets.

465

:

The dear man model is a really good

way to explain to yourself how you're

466

:

going to advocate for your own needs.

467

:

So the DEAR, man, each

letter starts an action.

468

:

So you're going to describe the situation.

469

:

When you see I'm lazy.

470

:

You're going to express

feelings and opinions.

471

:

I feel.

472

:

Ashamed.

473

:

I feel upset.

474

:

I feel scared.

475

:

Then you can assert your needs.

476

:

I need you to understand.

477

:

This is part of ADHD.

478

:

And then you can reinforce the positive

effect of having that need met.

479

:

When you understand it's ADHD.

480

:

I will feel.

481

:

Able to complete the task because

I'm not going to be worrying

482

:

about your judgment of me.

483

:

And you might want to explain how negative

emotions actually stop us doing things.

484

:

And that M E N part.

485

:

Includes mindful.

486

:

Appear confident.

487

:

And if necessary, negotiate.

488

:

So mindful appear confident, negotiate.

489

:

That's a.

490

:

An easy way to think about

how you're going to explain

491

:

the situation to somebody.

492

:

And finally.

493

:

Is it me, or is it ADHD how to distinguish

your personality from your ADHD traits?

494

:

So what is a personality trait?

495

:

It's something that is enduring

and it's about how we think.

496

:

Have we feel.

497

:

And how we behave.

498

:

And these are all different

from other people on the planet.

499

:

There's no two people exactly alike.

500

:

We all have differentiating features.

501

:

Don't have time to go into a great,

big, deep explanation of them.

502

:

But when you compare them to ADHD

traits, It's easy to see how some

503

:

people get confused between the two.

504

:

For example, if you are quite an

impulsive person, That is an ADHD trait.

505

:

Isn't it.

506

:

Is it me or is it ADHD?

507

:

It could be both.

508

:

You might find it even with medication or

with adequate exercise, sleep, mindfulness

509

:

connection, all the rest of it.

510

:

You're still impulsive.

511

:

That's okay.

512

:

Because there are people

without ADHD who are impulsive.

513

:

And it is the process of slowly.

514

:

Untangling which parts of your

behavior are affected by ADHD

515

:

on which parts of you are not.

516

:

And there's a different way to come at

this, which I'm going to share just now.

517

:

So you might want to spend some time

thinking about your personal values.

518

:

Personal values.

519

:

Are things that are unlikely

to be affected by ADHD traits.

520

:

And they're much more informative.

521

:

Than thinking about personality

as a big, a morphous blob.

522

:

So your personal values.

523

:

are the guiding principles

that shape how we behave.

524

:

To ourselves and to other people.

525

:

And help us to decide what's

most important in life.

526

:

So you may have a high, personal value

of family, of honesty, of integrity.

527

:

You may have a high personal value of.

528

:

Creativity of spirituality.

529

:

None of these are part of ADHD traits.

530

:

And there are . Different ways to

understand your personal values.

531

:

But you might also want to

include your character strengths

532

:

and the via character strengths.

533

:

Traits is something that I love

and I recommend to everyone, but

534

:

especially people with ADHD because

it allows you to see yourself.

535

:

In a different lens and you can

learn to lean into those strengths.

536

:

And it's definitely something I'm going to

spend a lot longer on in a future episode.

537

:

So think about, is it me or is it ADHD?

538

:

Actually?

539

:

What are my values?

540

:

What do I value in life?

541

:

And what are my character strengths?

542

:

And use the via character

strengths test to determine which

543

:

parts of you want to focus on.

544

:

You can still do that and address

ADHD traits like planning,

545

:

organizing, prioritizing.

546

:

Procrastination dreaminess impulsivity.

547

:

All of these things.

548

:

But when we put them into the context

of a whole human being who has

549

:

personal values, character strengths.

550

:

Who has a vision that they want to work

towards, that they're aiming for an life.

551

:

Suddenly the ADHD element doesn't feel

like it's the only thing going on for you.

552

:

And that's why it's really important.

553

:

To spend time looking at things

like your character strengths

554

:

and your personal values.

555

:

And I have got workshops that

I'm preparing for February.

556

:

Which is going to look at things like

your processing modalities we're going

557

:

to understand how to use them a bit more.

558

:

And if you want to sign up for that.

559

:

I have got a link.

560

:

And my profile on social media.

561

:

I'll make sure there's one

in the show notes as well.

562

:

But this is all part of

the work that you can do.

563

:

It's fantastic.

564

:

If you have a coach who

can help you with it.

565

:

But if you don't.

566

:

These are things that you can

start to gently look at yourself.

567

:

And.

568

:

Understand.

569

:

You as a whole human being.

570

:

with all the incredible potential.

571

:

And the possibilities that

are open to you instead of.

572

:

Feeling like ADHD is this

bucket we've been put into?

573

:

Willingly or not.

574

:

There are some fantastic

things that can come with ADHD.

575

:

Divergent thinking, for example.

576

:

But we don't have to stay there.

577

:

We can go forward and use that along with

our creativity, with our passion, for

578

:

fairness, with our value of community.

579

:

And we can.

580

:

Change things around us when we

bring all of those things together.

581

:

So make sure you're on the list for the

future workshops and things like that.

582

:

And I will look forward to hearing more

of your amazing questions next week.

583

:

It makes a real difference.

584

:

If you can leave a review.

585

:

On any of the podcast platforms.

586

:

And if you would to share it, It's

even better, I would be so grateful.

587

:

If you could share it with your friends,

with your family, with anyone else

588

:

who would find this to be useful.

589

:

Please share this with people

who, want to understand more

590

:

about ADHD and how it affects you.

591

:

And let's make team Bulb.

592

:

THE movement to be in for

people with ADHD this spring.

593

:

Thank you for joining us today on

Powerful Possibilities, Navigating

594

:

ADHD from New Diagnosis and Beyond.

595

:

Remember, your journey with ADHD is

ongoing but you're not alone anymore.

596

:

Until next time, this is Catherine,

reminding you that with the

597

:

right guidance, the possibilities

really are powerful and endless.

598

:

Take care.

Show artwork for ADHD: Powerful Possibilities from New Diagnosis & Beyond

About the Podcast

ADHD: Powerful Possibilities from New Diagnosis & Beyond
ADHD strategies, support and research in friendly, easy to understand PG rated episodes
Welcome to a new way to look at life *AND* ADHD.
ADHD isn't just about kids in school any more. By now you've probably read a million articles or at least watched a million videos by influencers and creators.

What you're REALLY looking for are deeper insights, with a dash of neuroscience and a sprinkling of coaching and positive psychology, to discover your ADHD strengths and turn it into a doorway to real possibilities. You're probably already aware of how ADHD affects your life, career, and relationships but we won't ignore those challenges - no 'superpower' talk here without acknowledging how it can really cause problems at all ages.

I'm your host Katherine. I'm a certified ADHD coach with over 300 hours of study and qualifications from ADDCA. Diagnosed with ADHD and Autism in my early 40s, I mix my personal experience with some seriously academic, geek-level knowledge to guide you through the fog and into the clear.

I'm also known to throw in references to 80s & 90s music, sitcoms like Brooklyn99 and my rescue dogs. Clients have said I'm an ADHD nerd version of their favourite aunty - but you can make your own mind up!

This podcast is my contribution to the growing ADHD aware community, where I want your real challenges to meet real solutions, and where you can find the resources - and a friend - to help you make changes in your life without the 'think p0sitive' vibes or 'doom and gloom' extremes.

Who is this podcast for?
Although I mainly focus on adult ADHD, I'm a coach of kids age 15+ and the parent of an ADHD teen, so I know how we tend to travel in family packs!

I'll talk about children, teens and older families too - did you know that over 50s are the fastest growing demographic in ADHD? Well I'm one of you so I GET IT.

In my coaching practice I especially support women navigating life changes like perimenopause and menopause - so you're in the right place if ANY of those are your jam.

I'm ALSO a business owner who has 20 years experience of working for myself - without medication - so if you're struggling to see. how you can get things done without burning out, let's say I've bought that t-shirt a few times and am here to explain how you can avoid it.

🌟 What Can You Expect?🌟
Weekly episodes diving into topics that matter to you: What happens after diagnosis? Should you take medication? Does diet culture impact ADHD? What's happening with your consistency? Can you ever let go of the SHAME?

We'll explain and explore the big topics: Executive Function, Emotional Regulation, Time Management, and more.

Guest experts appearing at *excitingly random intervals*, offering a range of perspectives on ADHD, life, and things that will really move the needle for YOU.

Tips and strategies to not just cope, but thrive, with ADHD.

💡 Why listen to another ADHD Podcast? 💡
I know first hand the struggle AND the promise that comes with an ADHD diagnosis. There's a wealth of power and possibilities in you; this podcast is your key to unlock it.

I keep my episodes short, fluff-free and PG rated so you can listen to them out loud without worrying about random f-bombs.

Authenticity, honesty, and a love of POSSIBILITY are my core values - with a big dollop of WONDER about what you'll do next.

🌐 Stay Connected 🌐
The connection and chat doesn't stop when the episode ends. Contact me below & don't miss any of the exciting webinars & offers in 2024
:
https://lightbulbadhd.com/
but come and chat on
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adhd_coach_katherine/
TikTok: Let's get serious (and silly) @adhd_coach_katherine
YouTube: @adhd_coach_katherine

Listen in - let's turn ADHD challenges into powerful possibilities together.

About your host

Profile picture for Katherine Sanders

Katherine Sanders