The ADHD mind has trouble settling down in the details, but from its vantage point, floating around above the ground, it can sometimes perceive intricate patterns and trends.

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For many persons with ADHD, when an emotion hits them, whether it is worry, or they are annoyed about something, or their feelings are hurt, or they begin to feel like they want something very badly, or they are just discouraged about things, that emotion often hits them in the same way a computer virus invades a hard drive: it just gobbles up all

trauma. My clients were struggling with the trauma of a lifetime of failed expectations. They were afraid to take risks, paralyzed, but seemingly had nowhere to turn.

You may never have experienced the feeling of being sure of yourself, of having clarity about your decisions. You may not know what it’s like to be able to handle a setback, big or small. To calm and reset yourself after something throws you off track. But these are skills you can learn, and the learning begins with your relationship with yourself.

If you can’t make yourself shower, wash your face. If you take prescription medication, keep taking it. Process, process, process, in whatever way works for you. Talk aloud to yourself, write in your journal, get it out on paper some other way, yell, sing, swear. No one needs to hear you doing this. If you have something to say to someone, you can

Self-Care 101 See your practitioner, psychotherapist, MD, massage therapist, workout buddy, whomever. Find the number. Make the call. Find that pod of support. Reach out to ADHD buddies, any and all. Find the number, make the call. Simplify everything. Cut down on commitments. Try to do some percentage of what you usually do, but don’t be too hard

Remember Your limbic system is reacting to a threat. This threat may or may not exist. Your brain is more than a limbic system. See: meditation, mindfulness, spirituality, intuition and humor. Remember Your Emotional Safe Place and Mental Support Group are an eye’s blink away. Remember Sometimes a storm is a metamorphosis. If you keep your eyes

Sometimes, all you can do is summon your courage, turn INTO the wind, and hang on to the wheel. Your brain is not broken. You can still think. You can still make good, if tough, decisions. You still have courage. The storm will end.