You know that a lot of things can affect your ADHD: your diet, how much sleep you get, if you have a cold, your hormones, etc.
But your ADHD doesn’t exist outside of you, or separate from the rest of you; all of you is one big system and everything affects everything else.
For instance, self esteem can be a problem for women with ADHD. We may struggle with issues related to our ADHD, like forgetfulness, and start an entire negative chain of thought about ourselves.
If we have depression along with our ADHD, that can contribute to bad feelings about ourselves.
You start feeling bad about yourself and then you start neglecting yourself. Forget the makeup, never mind the hair, I’ll just throw on some sweats; it doesn’t matter.
But the truth is that it does matter.
It’s all connected.
When you take the time to look your best, you feel better.
When you feel better about yourself, you’re less likely to beat up on yourself for an ADHD moment. You might even be able to come up with a way to make it less likely in the future.
When you feel good about yourself, you’re less likely to hide in the corner at social situations and more likely to mingle with others. You realize that no one expects you to be perfect, and that they don’t have the same super microscope that you use to examine your flaws. Most likely, they’re too busy examining their own.
Don’t define yourself by your ADHD, but don’t ignore it either. Learn to appreciate how it makes up part of the unique person that you are.
Sure, you’ve got areas you could improve. Everyone on earth does.
Just don’t spend your life living in deficits and disorders instead of getting out there and enjoying.
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Hello everyone,
I just wanted to let you know about a free Adult ADHD CME activity I just came across called “Today’s Patient in ADHD: A Focus on Transitional Care Across the Lifespan.” This activity provides insights and learning geared toward treating the most challenging adult patients with ADHD in an interactive online format. You can earn 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
Register at: http://mycmesite.com/adhd
Thanks for the resource Hollyanne. I notice that it’s intended for medical professionals. Can anyone register and take the course?