Love this! I was given the GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) diagnoses at 20 years old after the death of someone I was very close with. Everything I had held in that allowed me to "pass" as a "normal" person was blown out of the water. I learned that my diagnosis was my greatest strength. I went to work as a temporary employee in a County Election Department, and quickly rose in the ranks. What some would view as a weakness, had given me the advantage. The ability to envision every possible outcome and be a worst case scenario thinker, I was always several steps ahead of Federal, State, County, and municipal election laws and mandates. I was more than prepared for senators demanding recounts and both major parties attempting work arounds. I was once a shy girl who found herself standing toe to toe with some of the biggest bullies I have ever met. I never backed down, because I was secure in my implementation of laws and statutes.
This definitely spoke to me! In fact, the live we did together about women with ADHD sparked a fire in me and I am working on a book proposal for ambitious women with ADHD 🤍
Love this! Thank you so much for posting it… Really like the five strategies… As a 56-year-old woman yes I have had crazy intense ADHD symptoms since going into menopause. I am on HRT and doing everything else to try to help and I still have extreme symptoms. But reframing this diagnosis and learning how to cope with my symptoms is my main focus, but it is also why I joined the fire starter university to learn how to lead or at least act…. Even though I have ADHD my words of the year this year are plucking gumption because that’s what I want. I need a spine. I need to grow some thick skin. And joining other women, hearing their stories, learning their tactics and hacks is the way to grow.
Yes! And know that you have never been spineless or thin-skinned -- you have been protecting yourself. When we grow up with ADHD, especially in female bodies, we get exponentially more negative messages about our own wants and needs than anyone else. Feeling spineless and thin-skinned is just a belief that's been conditioned into you (and a belief is just a thought you've practiced, and you can also practice new thoughts). The evidence that it's false is that you're still here! Still trying, still getting up after a fall! Starting fires! Can't wait to see you in Firestarter U!
Another Firestarter, particularly in this area? Kendra Koch of Divergently (https://www.joindivergently.com/). You can find her here on Substack too -- @joindivergently.
Thank you for this! Fellow GenX ADHD-er, diagnosed late in life but thought I had it since a teen. Going through waves in adulthood of using it as a superpower and feeling like it’s a failing, this message came at the right time.
THIS is one of the many reasons you're an inspiration -- the willingness and ability to see strength on the flip side of a challenge! This, plus a holistic view of ADHD, are the keys to the fires I'm starting.
In addition to all the things you named beautifully (seeing connections in disparate parts, ability to pivot quickly, impatience with meaningless process, and more), the ADHD sense of justice comes into play often. Witnessing injustice affects us quicker and more deeply than others; that's not a weakness, it's a fire!
The other thing that comes to mind is something you touched on: we need to know the *why* behind a thing. It's not that we just don't want to follow processes or hierarchies, it's that we don't see them as valid unless and until there's a logic behind them. This goes straight to a PDA profile of ADHD that looks to the outside world like defiance, but really is (in part) a need for reason.
Love this. I had a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis and it was liberating. Very valuable to read your reflections, thank you.
Thank you for sharing, Susan!
Love this! I was given the GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) diagnoses at 20 years old after the death of someone I was very close with. Everything I had held in that allowed me to "pass" as a "normal" person was blown out of the water. I learned that my diagnosis was my greatest strength. I went to work as a temporary employee in a County Election Department, and quickly rose in the ranks. What some would view as a weakness, had given me the advantage. The ability to envision every possible outcome and be a worst case scenario thinker, I was always several steps ahead of Federal, State, County, and municipal election laws and mandates. I was more than prepared for senators demanding recounts and both major parties attempting work arounds. I was once a shy girl who found herself standing toe to toe with some of the biggest bullies I have ever met. I never backed down, because I was secure in my implementation of laws and statutes.
Yes! I love this!
This definitely spoke to me! In fact, the live we did together about women with ADHD sparked a fire in me and I am working on a book proposal for ambitious women with ADHD 🤍
🔥
Love this! Thank you so much for posting it… Really like the five strategies… As a 56-year-old woman yes I have had crazy intense ADHD symptoms since going into menopause. I am on HRT and doing everything else to try to help and I still have extreme symptoms. But reframing this diagnosis and learning how to cope with my symptoms is my main focus, but it is also why I joined the fire starter university to learn how to lead or at least act…. Even though I have ADHD my words of the year this year are plucking gumption because that’s what I want. I need a spine. I need to grow some thick skin. And joining other women, hearing their stories, learning their tactics and hacks is the way to grow.
So excited to have you in Firestarter U!
Yes! And know that you have never been spineless or thin-skinned -- you have been protecting yourself. When we grow up with ADHD, especially in female bodies, we get exponentially more negative messages about our own wants and needs than anyone else. Feeling spineless and thin-skinned is just a belief that's been conditioned into you (and a belief is just a thought you've practiced, and you can also practice new thoughts). The evidence that it's false is that you're still here! Still trying, still getting up after a fall! Starting fires! Can't wait to see you in Firestarter U!
Shannon girly u hiring? Lmaoooo love this so much
Thank you!
Another Firestarter, particularly in this area? Kendra Koch of Divergently (https://www.joindivergently.com/). You can find her here on Substack too -- @joindivergently.
Thanks for the rec!
Love this post - I felt like you were writing from inside my brain :)
Thanks, Kim!
Thank you for this! Fellow GenX ADHD-er, diagnosed late in life but thought I had it since a teen. Going through waves in adulthood of using it as a superpower and feeling like it’s a failing, this message came at the right time.
THIS is one of the many reasons you're an inspiration -- the willingness and ability to see strength on the flip side of a challenge! This, plus a holistic view of ADHD, are the keys to the fires I'm starting.
In addition to all the things you named beautifully (seeing connections in disparate parts, ability to pivot quickly, impatience with meaningless process, and more), the ADHD sense of justice comes into play often. Witnessing injustice affects us quicker and more deeply than others; that's not a weakness, it's a fire!
The other thing that comes to mind is something you touched on: we need to know the *why* behind a thing. It's not that we just don't want to follow processes or hierarchies, it's that we don't see them as valid unless and until there's a logic behind them. This goes straight to a PDA profile of ADHD that looks to the outside world like defiance, but really is (in part) a need for reason.