When Susy closed the front door she felt a mixture of shame and relief.

Shame because her home was very messy – the type of messy that when the doorbell rang she opened the door just enough for her head to peer out and not an inch more.

Relief because she had successfully managed the situation. The potential disaster of another human being seeing her messy home had been avoided.

Susy looked at her kitchen and wondered how she could have achieved two degrees and hold a responsible job yet not be able to keep her countertops clean.

Dishes with dinner leftovers hid behind condiment bottles, like the soy sauce and olive oil she had used for last week’s stir fry. Coffee mugs and items waiting to be recycled also jostled for space. [Read more…]

Have you heard of the 5 Second Rule? It is a powerful metacognition technique that overrides the brain’s tendency to squash your good ideas and intentions. By using the 5 Second Rule, you can break the habit loop and start acting on things you have been meaning to do for years.

The 5 Second Rule was discovered by Mel Robbins when her life was spiraling downwards.

Through a series of unfortunate events Mel wasn’t working. Her husband owned a pizza restaurant and while it had won awards and looked successful on the outside, he was working exceptional long hours just to keep it afloat. They were struggling for money and had to accept a loan from her dad to pay their mortgage.
[Read more…]

Do you plan your summer? Or does it just unfold? In her Happier podcast, Gretch Rubin talks about designing your summer. She believes in making the summer months distinct so that they stand out from rest of the year. When you embrace the summer months and take advantage of what they offer, you create memories to carry with you when the weather turns cold and grey.

Gretchen makes a great point that summer doesn’t have to be about going into relaxation mode. It is really about creating a change from your regular day to day life to make sure summer is special.

This is good news for someone living with ADHD as the idea of unstructured ‘relaxing’ time can feel like a form of torture (this is why weekends can leave you feeling blah).
[Read more…]

ADHD is a life-long condition. That might seem like bad news if you are struggling right now.

However! take heart, because there are people who are treating and managing their ADHD so well, they think it must have disappeared.

In fact, I regularly get emails from confused blog readers asking if ADHD ever goes away.

Each of these emails has a detailed explanation of what their ADHD and life used to be like and what it’s like now. The common theme is these people created a life that works to their advantage.

For some people this happened by a happy accident, while others worked hard to design their life to suit them.

Here are some tips so that you can do this too! [Read more…]

Good news!!!!  Untapped Brilliance has been named one of the best ADHD blogs on the internet for the fourth year in a row!!! It’s such an honor.

The winning blogs were selected because they are all actively working to educate, inspire, and empower their readers with high-quality information.

The email I received from healthline.com to tell me the exciting news said

“We feel Untapped Brilliance specifically earned this accolade by using your experience to build a wonderful resource for adults living with ADHD.”

Thanks to you all for reading, leaving blog comments and your emails this past year… it wouldn’t be the same without you.

Here is the list of winners; they are all awesome resources to check out!

Best ADHD Blogs of 2018

 

 

 

Last week’s article answered the question, “What are the best careers for ADHDers?” Rather than finding the answer in a generic list of careers, it’s all about you, your interests and unique strengths. This is because if your job doesn’t capture your interest, it’s hard to feel motivated and your ADHD symptoms get worse.

These days we know that ADHD lasts a lifetime, (it can be successfully treated and managed though!) but the old wisdom was that ADHD was a childhood condition that people outgrew. One factor that supported this belief is that ADHD symptoms can seem to ‘disappear’ (at least to an outsider). [Read more…]

A question I get asked a lot is, ‘What are the best careers for people with ADHD?’

I wish there was an easy answer! Or a maybe even a list of jobs that people with ADHD enjoy and excel in.

But it’s not that simple.

Just as there isn’t one ADHD medication that works for everyone living with ADHD, or one type of exercise that all ADHDers love, it’s the same with careers and jobs.

A dream job for you could be another ADHDer’s worst job ever. [Read more…]