Why I Started ADHD Coaching

I received my diagnosis at the age of 43, and suddenly it all made sense. There was relief, I could stop judging myself for the things I didn’t/couldn’t do. Conversely, there was also grief, for the things I could have achieved had I known and been able to overcome some of my personal blocks sooner.

On paper I had achieved some success; a degree in Neuroscience, entering the corporate world on a graduate scheme with a major bank and cofounding a business which grew from £0 to £50m turnover in only 3 years.

As is often the case, the reality was quite different from the headlines. Like many women with ADHD, I masked / hid the issues that were tripping me up. I suffered from chromic procrastination and at times this made the delivery of my work painfully frustrating and stressful. On top of this I was caught in cycles of binge / emotional eating. I battled with what I thought were ‘character flaws’, judging myself, being deeply critical and unkind, I was desperate to improve.

Despite many self-help attempts to overcome these issues, I became worse. My self-esteem was kept low because this situation conspired to generate a negative self-perception. My inability to simply do the basic things I knew I needed to do, left me riddled with self-doubt. Sometimes there were moments of absolute greatness when I achieved excellent results and these moments restored some faith but also confused me when they passed by and I was once again incapable.

If you have ADHD or ADHD like traits, I suspect some of my story will resonate with you. We are something of a paradox, at times brilliant but more often stuck, blocked, and prevented from achieving our bigger potential. Maddeningly the blockers are a creation of our own mind.