ADHD Adept

As someone who works extensively with a neurodivergent audience, I understand that simply suggesting practices like breathing, meditation, or journaling isn't always enough motivation to get started or to keep that kind of practice going.

Many of my clients are contextual learners who need to understand the 'why' behind these practices. That's why I loved hearing Dr Tara Swart Bieber talking about the science behind why journaling can be beneficial.

Better out than in! And here is why 😁

If you are neurodivergent you probably have a multitude of thoughts swirling around in your head a lot of the time. This can lead to overwhelm and sometimes burnout. Now I'm not a 'one size fits all' type of coach BUT If there is something I recommend often to most clients it's find a way to Get Out of your Head!

➡️ You can do this by saying it out loud, talk to someone or journal (not an exhaustive list). In the example of journaling, you can probably guess that journaling allows us to download and release those emotions, unfinished tasks, and negative thoughts from our brain at the very minimum. What Tara also explained is that by doing that we are also literally expelling cortisol and by extension anxiety and stress out of our bodies. This perfectly captures the power of WHY journaling works for mental wellbeing.

👍I highly recommend that you read or listen to some of Tara's work because she provides such contextual insight into why many of these mindful practices work, and if you are anything like me, that is what motivates me to keep going.

If you want to hear Tara talk about it go to 1 hour 1 minute in this episode.

Change Your Brain: The Power Of Neuroplasticity And Braincare - Dr Tara Swart Go to https://www.yourheights.com and use the code Ali15 to get an extra 15% off your first quarterly subscription.Go to https://www.shortform.com/deepdive t...

🚨 Joe Wicks recent comments on diet and ADHD have sparked a heated debate, but are his words being taken out of context? My ADHD brain got hooked so I spent some time looking into it 🧠😀👍

Having listened to the interview by Nihal at BBC sounds I don't think he was claiming that poor diets directly cause ADHD.

What Joe seemed to be saying is that ultra-processed, high-sugar foods can negatively impact kids' behaviour, potentially causing hyperactivity and poor conduct. This may lead some to incorrectly assume those children have ADHD.

I think Joe tries to draw a distinction between neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD and ADHD-like behaviours that can be influenced by what we eat. I don't believe he was stating that diet causes ADHD itself. Rather, he was suggesting diet can produce symptoms that resemble or are mistaken for ADHD.

The danger is potentially suggesting that ADHD and other neurodivergent conditions are overdiagnosed whereas research suggests that it’s more likely underdiagnosed.

As an adult, to be diagnosed with ADHD, the symptoms must have been present as a child before the age of twelve. The overwhelming current scientific opinion is that ADHD does not spontaneously occur in adults. Therefore, adults or children who eat hyper-processed food would not 'develop' ADHD from doing so.

ADHD is a hereditary, lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder in which the brain develops differently, especially in the earliest stages of life. The 'risk' of developing ADHD is highly genetic, and it very rarely occurs in individuals who do not have a first-degree relative with ADHD.

In my view, Joe Wicks was simply observing a potential link between diet and behaviours reminiscent of ADHD symptoms, not claiming diet is the underlying cause of ADHD. While his remarks were unclear, it's important not to let negativity flood social media as a result of any comment from a famous person regarding neurodiverse conditions.

What do you think?

I’ve included a link to the interview recording here https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0hpqjx2 but for those of you who don’t want to listen to the whole interview, this is the statement he made that I think has led to the comments on social media.

"I was never diagnosed as ADHD. But I think nowadays it's this common thing that every child seems to be being diagnosed and I think a lot of it can stem back to the diet and the foods that we're eating and so when I think about my diet, it was like, cereal for breakfast. concentrated juice from the milkman, sunny delight, wagon wheels, it was sandwiches, just jam nutella with very little nutrients, pure sugar. And that's just how I ran. That's how I suppose a lot of kids this is 1980s, 1985 I was born. And I just think now it's like there's even more of it. Okay, there's even more processed foods"

Headliners - Joe Wicks - Joe Wicks - BBC Sounds Joe Wicks speaks to Nihal Arthanayake

We kicked off our March cohort for the CPD-accredited ADHD Practitioner Course yesterday, and our first session was absolutely fantastic! 🙌
The Entrepreneurs ADHD & Performance Coach - Kim Raine is a great facilitator and in this session, we delved into the fundamentals of ADHD, covering topics such as:

✅ What ADHD is and its possible causes
✅ The 30% delay in brain development associated with ADHD
✅ Diagnostic criteria and the different types of ADHD
✅ Conditions that may present similar symptoms to ADHD
✅ The process of getting an ADHD diagnosis
✅ Coming to terms with an ADHD diagnosis

This group is full of amazing participants from all walks of life and they showed incredible engagement and enthusiasm throughout the session, and we can't wait to continue this journey together! 🌟

If you're interested in learning more about ADHD and how to support individuals with neurodiversity, stay tuned for updates on our future cohorts! 📚💡

A few facts about me

I started my current career and life transition over a year ago now and with the new year starting I’m reflecting on this change in relation to my goals. After 20 years+ in the corporate world I have taken on this space as an entrepreneur. I'm in a good place to reflect and examine old patterns in my work and personal life.

This unfamiliar terrain has kept me on shaky ground. Yet as I process things, I'm embracing the discomfort instead of resisting it. I've been adventuring into the unknown rather than seeking the safety of familiar environments.

As I’m working with my clients on similar journeys in their lives it’s clear that any real growth requires stepping outside your comfort zone. New neural pathways don't form if you remain in your old mental models and behaviours. Discomfort is proof you are breaking new ground, not evidence something is wrong.

Transitions can feel lonely and bleak. But by accepting the discomfort, We’re opening ourselves up to evolve in exciting ways. Rather than desperately wanting answers, we’re learning to find calm within the question marks.

I may miss the temporary thrill of old habits. But long-term, I'm building emotional resilience to match my dreams.

If this resonates with you, know you're not alone. Change can be tough, but progress lies on the other side of discomfort. The cocoon is meant to feel confining before your transformation into something beautiful.

Happy Friday!

When setting goals, avoid words such as 'more', 'consistently', or my personal favourite, 'more balance' ⚖️. How can you know if you have achieved your goal if you don't define what these words mean to you?

✅ Make sure your goals are 'tickable' by asking yourself: “How will you know if you have achieved your goal? ” For one person, consistently means exercising for at least 10 minutes at least three times a week, while for another it means running for 30 minutes every day.

✅ The neurodivergent clients I work with often stitch themselves up like this and then feel as though they are not achieving their goals. The problem is that they haven't defined clearly when they are finished.

✅ Notice how you felt when you read exercising 3 times a week for 10 minutes just now. What do you think about that? Do you think it's too much? Or not enough? Well, there you have it.

In order to achieve consistency or balance ⚖️ you need to ask yourself what these terms mean. By understanding them, you set yourself up to win and will be much more likely to succeed.

More importantly, you get to ‘tick that box’ and with that comes that dopamine surge that we all are looking for. Feeling good about yourself literally starts with making things clear and tickable.

❓How can you review your goals to make them more ‘tickable’?

Some more thoughts about goals and how to stick to them.

If you want to stick to your New Year’s resolutions whatever they are then create regular check-ins to see how you are doing against them. Focusing on your goals will keep you on track, avoid "out of sight, out of mind" thinking (object permanence) and help you adjust your goals to ensure they are achievable.

👌Yes! You are allowed to make adjustments. Allowing for change allows you to win. This does not equate to failing or bailing out. For example, if you set a goal to get outside for a walk 3 times a week but you break your leg in the first month then what can you do to adjust this goal? How you adjust the goal depends on whether it is about movement and/or nature or something else. You may have to adjust your goals due to circumstances, and that is ok. Things happen all the time, and ignoring them would be silly.

🪽My Business Strategist and wingwoman Zoë Dew introduced me to the concept of changing goals when we set long-term goals for my business.

🕊️When you have ADHD as I do, setting long-term goals can be really daunting however if there is one thing I know as a coach is how important it is to set yourself up to win. This doesn’t mean that I set small easy goals for myself, quite the opposite but when Zoe gave me permission to change my goals then I could really think creatively and be more bold.

I’m very aligned with my goals, having the freedom to adjust them if necessary allows me to keep them alive and have them guide me always.

How do you feel about changing what you've set out to do?

WANT TO STICK TO YOUR GOALS?

As we go through January, I'll give you some tips on keeping your New Year's resolutions. It will be especially relevant if you are neurodivergent, but it will work for everyone. The first one is a concept introduced to me by Laura Kerbey PAST - Positive Assessments Support and Training and it is “TAKE THE THOUGHT TO COURT”.

If you are having trouble sticking to your goals? Look at your thinking. What are you telling yourself is going on? Does this internal dialogue help or hinder you?

It is common for us to believe that the only way to achieve our goals is to be hard on ourselves. Some expressions that come to mind are:
🥊Tighten the thumbscrews
🥊knuckle down,
🥊just do it

With new clients, I often see a kind of 'beat ourselves into submission' approach. We often do this because we don't know any other way but let’s face it you have likely tried this many times over and I’m betting that it has only got you so far.

🤗 I'm here to tell you that treating yourself with kindness and compassion will have a much longer and more sustained effect than berating yourself.

🤗 It is much more likely that positive change will be implemented when you support yourself positively with positive and affirming self-talk, and when you start seeing the benefits of this behaviour, you begin to believe that kindness and compassion can overcome limiting beliefs, and that is when real positive change occurs.

Feeling good about yourself is possible when you stick to your positive habits and goals. If that is something you want, check in on your internal dialogue and take that thought to court.

Celebrating your wins is immensely important. It’s not some sort of pseudo-science, acknowledging and celebrating wins is imperative when we create plans and goals that we want to achieve in the future.

🎯So if you are at that place where you want to set some New Year's resolutions, make some plans or set some goals read this first.
It all comes down to what we pay attention to. Everyone is affected by this, but if you are neurodiverse then we often have a long history of things that we perceive as failures that can make this goal setting even harder.

🌻 WHERE FOCUS GOES ENERGY FLOWS 🌻

If we can't pay attention to what we are doing well and when we are at our best then we impair our ability to make the positive memories that we need when we create new strategies & plans.

The brain science dictates that if we want to change behaviours and habits we need to first acknowledge what good is happening. Your brain can then consciously log positive information and knowledge, resulting in positive emotions. We need this emotion in order to build any new habits and behaviours that we are seeking.

So before you start planning out your whole year based on what you want, what you want to change, and what didn't go so well, make sure you bank:
😀 what went well,
👍 how you succeeded
👑what made you feel good.
If nothing else it will give you energy ⚡⚡⚡⚡

I've written a book! This is something I hope to say one day 😁. Until then I have written an easily digestible FREE little eBook download that covers a lot of the points I made at the International ADHD conference on how to thrive in the workplace with ADHD.

If you are someone who has ADHD, suspect they might have or just struggle with the same kind of things that come with having challenges this could really help.

You can workshop yourself through the book to uncover the following:
🧑‍💻 1. How you can figure out what your strengths and talents are. We do this because we want to come from what you are good at and build from there.

🧑‍💻 2. Guidelines and tips on how to communicate powerfully with managers and colleagues using your strengths and your preferred way of communicating.

🧑‍💻 3. Conquering challenging meetings such as performance reviews and HR meetings.

I would love to hear about how you navigate your workplace and what you think makes a difference.

Download your FREE copy here https://adeptina.ck.page/33fcc5c2ea

Thriving with ADHD at work With this free e-book, written by our founder Tina Squire, you can empower yourself to take action, conduct powerful conversations and advocate for yourself from a position of strength. Tina covers a myriad of topics, including communication strategies, how to manage challenging meetings or HR conve...

I've written a book! This is something I hope to say one day 😁. Until then I have written an easily digestible FREE eBook download that covers a lot of the points I made at the International ADHD conference on how to thrive in the workplace with ADHD.

If you are someone who has ADHD, suspect they might have or just struggle with the same kind of things that come with having challenges this could really help.

You can workshop yourself through the book to uncover the following:

🧑‍💻 1. How you can figure out what your strengths and talents are. We do this because we want to come from what you are good at and build from there.

🧑‍💻 2. Guidelines and tips on how to communicate powerfully with managers and colleagues using your strengths and your preferred way of communicating.

🧑‍💻 3. Conquering challenging meetings such as performance reviews and HR meetings.

I would love to hear about how you navigate your workplace and what you think makes a difference.

Download your FREE copy here https://adeptina.ck.page/33fcc5c2ea

CHADD (Children and Adults with ADHD)
Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA)
ADHD Coaches Organization (ACO)

Thriving with ADHD at work With this free e-book, written by our founder Tina Squire, you can empower yourself to take action, conduct powerful conversations and advocate for yourself from a position of strength. Tina covers a myriad of topics, including communication strategies, how to manage challenging meetings or HR conve...

There is still time to participate in the online hashtag CHADD - Children & Adults with ADHD , ADHD Coaches and Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) conference online.

I'm speaking on 'Thriving with ADHD at work' at 5pm GMT (12 noon EST) . Get your tickets here: https://lnkd.in/eBMD-5PM