Graduating ADHD Coaching!
From August 4th 2023 to April 26th 2024…I have graduated ADHD Coaching! (if this is even a thing…i have made it a thing).
Nine months ago, I was struggling to come to terms with my fairly new ADHD diagnosis and had no sense of how to make life (which just felt constantly stressful) easier for my ADHD brain. Access to Work granted me funding for an ADHD coach, and I started working with Leanne Maskell, Founder of ADHD Works. Eight and a half months later, and I can’t express how life-changing it has been.
Leanne’s knowledge, kindness and guidance has transformed my life from one where I was questioning if I even really had ADHD, to one where my understanding of my ADHD and what strategies work for me has made my day-to-day life, and managing my job as a mental health nurse a lot easier. My coping strategies are stronger, and my treatment of myself kinder. ‘Time management’ isn’t just a buzz word I see on a powerpoint and don’t give a second thought to, but something I can apply to my daily life. Because of coaching, life is less stressful and exhausting, and more enjoyable and fulfilling.
I was lucky to have two rounds of 12 sessions of coaching (so 24 sessions altogether). These sessions were usually weekly, with a break half-way through. During the sessions, we would focus on challenges that had come up during the week, such as…
rejection sensitive dysphoria
how to start tackling an overwhelming to-do list
feeling overwhelmed at having to plan/organise my day
finding it hard to start on tasks
not being able to keep track of things
feelings of shame around ADHD
We set goals each week. These were a mixture of implementing strategies to make the above easier (such as colour-coding my diary, prioritising my to-do list, using do/dump/delay), and other times tasks such as not going on my phone when I woke up, making a proper dinner, eating lunch, going on a walk in my lunch-break etc. I tracked these during the week and the feeling of accountability surprisingly helped to stay on track (most of the time!). It wasn’t easy and required a lot of effort on my part. I do think the more you put into coaching, the more you get out of it!
I have learned so much throughout this coaching journey. Some of my favourite lessons that I have learned (aka Leanne’s pieces of wisdom):
Choose to believe someone likes me until they give me concrete proof that they don’t.
We can’t prove anything. We assign meaning to it, we may as well choose what to believe.
How much will it matter in 1 week or 1 month or 1 year?
Distress can stem from our judgement of our emotion rather than the emotion itself.
Remind myself that I love the people I love even on days they are not feeling their best.
Consciously choose to tell myself the story that feels best.
If I can’t say a thought is true with 100% certainty, then I can’t say it isn’t true. How would I react if I believed it wasn’t true?
You can do anything, but not everything at the same time.
Ideas won’t go anywhere. You can do them but you have to finish one first before starting another.
Done is better than perfect. Perfectionism can manifest as procrastination.
Literally anything is figure out able.
No one deserves anything. We’re not in control of anything. Things just happen.
I am sad that coaching is over, but grateful for Leanne’s wisdom that is now embedded in my brain, and for the strategies I have implemented which help to make life easier. This is in no way an ad, but do check out Leanne’s social media and the ADHD Works website if you’re interested. ADHD coaching is truly one of the most helpful things I have done for myself.
Is ADHD coaching something you have had or considered?
If you have had coaching, what was your experience like?
GIRL UNMASKED (The Sunday Times Bestseller) is available to order from Amazon and all major bookstores! https://linktr.ee/girlunmasked