recovery - Your Attention CoachYour Attention Coach

My Personal ADHD Challenges – FYI

By Judi on December 17, 2012

Living with Some Degree of Transparency and Lots of Compassion

Stop the ADHD Madness

There are life qualifications and there are academic qualifications leading to my choice of professional ADHD Coaching. I choose to put some of my personal stories out here since my recovery from them are part of the reason I decided to coach people with ADHD. You don’t have to wait as long as I did to get the right ADHD support.

You can thrive with ADHD!

During my almost 60 years of living with ADHD I have:

struggled academically; but I am presently enrolled in a master’s program in counseling with a 3.56 GPA
impulsively moved out of state looking for love (in my twenties);
impulsively changed careers;
impulsively spoken out of turn (otherwise known as interruption)
been estranged from family
fixed things with words and love; with screw drivers and hammers; with needle and thread; and with compassion.
been the class dreamer…’if only Maureen would pay more attention to her studies…’
applied and been accepted in three master’s programs. I left architecture when I realized I was being trained for a life of late nights and ridiculous deadlines. I became a magazine editor instead.
irritated the heck out of people with my hyperactivity…leg shaking, finger tapping, leg crossing and uncrossing, etc.
been married and divorced due to challenges with relationships and ADHD
successfully raised two children with severe plus-sized ADHD. My daughter now teaches at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is happily married. My son is finishing his B.A. in music technology and film composition and has an AA from Landmark College. He has already composed a score for his first feature film!
lost many friends but gained the wisdom of how to choose the ones that stick around through thick and thin.
I show up as a woman swimming in a sea of family addictions. There is not one addiction I haven’t heard about or more importantly, known someone or been related to someone seeking treatment or someone who should seek treatment. Try me!
been fired. I have also known great personal success in my professional history.
been bullied.
designed clothes, words, jewelry, portraits, home interiors, gardens, businesses and more, all with love and compassion
created solutions
been physically assaulted. More than once.
been encouraged to seek more education because I was seen as underemployed.
invented, created, composed, written, edited, and drawn.
not believed in myself.
lost God and found God over and over. My belief is there is a special place in the universe for people with ADHD. I have particular personal knowledge of Catholicism, Episcopalianism, and Buddhism.
had great financial comfort and less than that, too.

In addition, I have family experience with Holocaust survivors.

If any of the above sounds familiar, I may be the ADHD coach for you.

You too, can move past and through these challenges and maintain personal integrity.

Call me at 404-713-0488 and let’s stop the madness.

Maureen Nolan

Your Attention Coach

404-713-0488

It’s Easier to be Successful with ADD than to Make Excuses

By Maureen on January 5, 2010

ADD Attention to Excuse Recovery

Excuses, excuses. They are the bane of life with ADHD. How often are excuses used and how much creative energy goes into making them believable? How close to lieing do they come? Are they lies and deceptions? Is there an edge of excitement that goes along with an excuse? Is it believable? What is its value? Can you keep track of the excuse and how often is the same one used?

I first remember thinking about excuses when an aunt told me she thought my mom had made too many excuses for me and my sisters when we were young. The comment felt like a double insult – one to me and then one to my mother. I still have a physical reaction when I remember her comment. Then years passed and excuses were made and used to get me into and out of trouble – too many commitments, too many appointments missed, too many friends miffed at me. Something began to dawn on me – a routine use of excuses was unhealthy. It was not mindful living.

Change behavior and change your life.

Once I got it and it took a really long time to get it – then I began to see that excuses weren’t necessary. It’s a simple thing to say no in the first place; it’s important for me to gauge my time because no-one else will do it! I realized I made excuses for my children, just like my mom with the same unknown dimension: the ADHD factor. Learning about ADHD I have learned about excuses.

My clients learn that in our coaching the ‘homework’ is done or not done. The excuses have no meaning unless we backtrack to the core event, emotion, feeling or challenge that puts the excuse mobile into motion. I struggle with disruptive behavior of my own, inattentiveness and distractions all day every day. I’m a pretty classic case study of standard ADHD so I know what’s going on for my clients.

I believe that a twelve step approach to changing your excuse use will get it under control while simultaneously learning about your brand of ADHD will lead to more time living in success and less time living in fear of being ‘found out’.

What was your most creative excuse and what is your new understanding of the inherent value of excuse recovery?

Call Maureen Nolan, ADHD Coach for ADHD Coaching at 404-713-0488

Navigation