With ADHD we get to hear a lot of advice on how to get past our various symptoms. Sometimes that advice isn’t so bad, sometimes it’s pretty good - I mean that’s what I’m trying to do with this podcast. But more often than not the advice we get for how to deal with our ADHD is downright bad.In this episode we’re going to be exploring some of this unhelpful advice and what makes it bad and hopefully how we might be able to turn it around into something useful.Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/142This Episode’s Top TipsMuch of the ADHD advice available is not written by people with ADHD and doesn't consider the context and struggles of individuals with executive dysfunction. ADHD is a spectrum disorder with varying symptoms and levels, and advice may not work for everyone; individuals may have preferences or aversions to specific strategies or approaches based on their brain types.Common ADHD advice of "just do it" or "if you really wanted to do it, you'd do it" oversimplifies the challenges of ADHD and doesn’t take into account how the symptoms of ADHD are going to prevent you from following through on that advice.ADHD is a real and impairing disorder, not an excuse or laziness. ADHD symptoms are chronic and significantly impact daily life.

Hey team, I’ve got a great conversation for you this week with María-Victoria Albina - she’s a Master Certified Somatic Life Coach, UCSF-trained Family Nurse Practitioner, and Breathwork Meditation Guide. With over 20 years of experience in health and wellness, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our conversation today. She holds a Master's degree in Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health and a BA in Latin American Studies from Oberlin College.In today’s episode, we delve into practical tools and empowering practices to support your journey toward wellness. We get started with some definitions and then navigate through self-care, boundaries, nervous system regulation, and so much more.I had a great time talking with Maria-Victoria, and I hope you’ll get as much out of this conversation as I did. Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/141This Episode’s Top TipsBy familiarizing ourselves with our autonomic nervous system, which controls automatic bodily functions, we can work on mapping our nervous system to help keep ourselves regulated by understanding what state we’re in.It’s important for us to prepare strategies in advance and create a list of coping strategies and self-care practices that you can refer to when you find yourself in a particular emotional state.When you feel revved up, anxious, or worried, take a moment to pause and assess where you are on a scale from zero to ten. This self-awareness can help you recognize when you're in a state of sympathetic activation and need to slow down.Recognize that change is possible and that emotional outsourcing and codependency are not fixed states. Engage in practices like somatics, breath work, and thought work to rewire your mind and nervous system. This can help you respond to situations with agency, set healthier boundaries, and cultivate a sense of safety, significance, and belonging in a more authentic way.

All right, I’m back from my little break and we’re just heading right back into the hard stuff - or at least how we can start getting it checked off our to-do list.Today we’re going to be looking at some more ways that we can adjust our mindset around doing hard things and also looking at some of the reasons we might be choosing to do certain hard things. Then we’ll finish up this series by digging into a few of the more concrete things that you can do so that you can tackle those hard things.Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/hardthingspart3This Episode’s Top TipsPart of the reward of doing hard things is actually doing the hard things - this may seem glib, but when we’re building up our habits and routines the only way we actually build them is by doing the hard parts. We can’t skip to the end and expect to have picked up habits needed to maintain that goal.We can reshape our mindset around the things that we “have to do” - we often rebel against the have to’s and so changing our mindset into things that we get to do can have a profound impact on how we approach doing those tasks.Two of the best ways to get through doing hard things is to know your why behind what you’re doing and then having some accountability to help you follow through.

Last week we began this series on how to do hard things and looked specifically at how we define hard things and ways that we can work through some of our problems so that they can become more manageable.This week we’re going to be continuing that conversation but with a lens that focuses on why it can be so hard for us to even attempt to do hard things. We’ll be looking at some of the misconceptions we have about doing hard things as well looking at how acknowledging the hard things we’ve done in the past can help us do more hard things in the present.Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/hardthingspart2This Episode's Top TipsWe often discount our ability to do hard things from a mistaken belief that we’ve never been able to accomplish anything hard.When we mistake failing at simple things for failing at doing hard things it can reinforce the idea that we can’t do hard things. Remember, just because something is simple doesn’t mean it isn’t hard.Don’t assume the logic in your head is always actually logical. It is easy for us to make logical leaps that don’t hold up to reality - slow down and examine those beliefs. You don’t have to believe everything you think.

One of my favorite sayings from Brendan Mahan of the ADHD Essentials podcast is that ADHD is life on Hard Mode.The executive dysfunction that comes with ADHD makes everything just a little bit more difficult. From doing the dishes to filling out tax returns we find ourselves needing to put in more effort than our neurotypical peers.But what’s important for us to remember is that while these things can absolutely be harder for us to do, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.Today we’re going to be exploring this idea of doing hard things - what makes something difficult and how we can work on moving ourselves through that process.Support me on PatreonAsk me a question on my Contact PageFind the show note at HackingYourADHD.com/hardthingsThis Episode's Top TipsIt is important for us to define what we find being hard because when we choose to believe something should be easy we tend not to give it the attention that it deserves.Our problems can’t be solved until we acknowledge them as problems - but also can’t solve those problems unless we put forward the effort of defining them and acknowledging the underlying issues.Define what done looks like for a task and be sure to be mindful of how that can be functional in your life.