Do you often say to yourself: “I wish I had that done more with myself, I could have achieved so much more if only I was consistent!”
Do you feel stuck in the pattern of thinking without doing or doing too much without finishing?
Do you feel overwhelmed by obligations, have difficulty making decisions, compare yourself to friends who seem to be more successful, internalize feelings, then explode, say too much because you just “have” to, then regret it, or “wear your emotions” on your sleeve?
Women with ADHD often have feelings of cognitive disorientation and mood swings that may lead to their being diagnosed with depression; or, they may be written off as suffering from PMS, menopause, or hyper-emotionality. Many women with ADHD can’t meet cultural expectations of keeping a neat home, being a dependable and other-serving parent, and being a model of efficiency. They may be labeled as disorganized, unmotivated, out of control or unreliable.
Women with Attention Deficit Disorder come to coaching because they feel that their lives are out of control. They often feel that they have not succeeded in reaching their potential because of their difficulty with self regulation.
The result is frustration, disappointment, anger, self- guilt, exhaustion and chronic stress. Because source of the problem lies with the core symptoms of ADHD: difficulties with planning, organization, and emotional regulation, Coaching Women with ADHD aims to teach women how to manage their time, communicate assertively, and make choices that reflect their higher beliefs and values, rather than their fears. They learn how to identify distractions, and focus on priorities.
During the past 15 years there has been a surge in self-help books for women with ADHD, such as: ”You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy? by Kate Kelley. One of the first was by Sari Solden, “Women With ADHD: Embrace your Differences and Transform your Life.” Her groundbreaking book explores the experiences of women who came out of the “messy closet” and came to terms with their neurobiological disability, as they learned to legitimize their difficulties and redefine their lives.
When I first learned ADHD Coaching, I was mentored by passionate women with ADHD who were pioneers of ADHD Coaching: Nancy Ratey, www.nancyratey.com, author of “The Disorganized Mind”: Coaching Your ADHD Brain to Take Control of your Time, Tasks and Talents” pioneer of ADHD Coaching, and Sandy Maynard, www.sandymaynard.com, who lead one of the first workshops on ADHD Coaching in Israel.
Following their lead, I became a pioneer of ADHD Coaching in Israel, and built most of my practice on coaching women with ADHD.
Attention difficulties come in all shapes and sizes they can influence how you think, how you think feel and how you act. The strategies women learn in coaching can reverse the pattern of self-doubt– as long as the client is motivated to take baby steps toward real cognitive and behavioral change.