Professionals With ADHD - Coping Strategies May be Keeping You Stuck in Pain

We’ve all been there. The feeling of overwhelm, the daily decline of motivation, the steady drop of enthusiasm. Waiting for the next holiday, the next weekend, the end of the day. It’s inevitable and stressful. What a waste that much of our year is spent like this, as less than 10% of our whole, joyous and authentic self. And truly, we can’t blame ourselves. 

So what can you do? You find ways of coping! After a quick google search, you find strategies that help you cope with managing your time by reducing the to-do list, indulging in self care through an added bath or two a week, getting a friend to be an accountability partner that lasts all of 2 weeks and so on. Not that this isn’t a good place to start, but ever noticed it doesn’t last very long and leaves you feeling like you’re back at square one and less motivated than ever before?

The problem here is the ‘coping.’ Coping is for finding a way around something that has no permanent or positive fix. Like a crutch for a broken leg. It’s not a fix but a temporary way of getting around the problem. Coping is keeping your head just above water and gasping for tiny amounts of breath because you don’t know how to swim and for some reason you believe you can never learn how to swim. 

And those with ADHD often truly believe themselves to be permanently broken without any positive way forward. From childhood, the world may have treated you like a problem without a solution and as an adult your subconscious blueprint continues this story at home, at work, with friends, with colleagues, when you’re alone, when you’re with company and even when you’re on holiday. So you look for ways to cope. Completely understandable! 

But what if seeking out ways of coping was actually sending an unconscious message to your mind that you are very very broken? What if without realising it, you were telling yourself you are a problem without a proper and positive solution, so the only way is to find management tools like a crutch? Can you see how this might generate innate feelings of daily anxiety, unworthiness, loneliness, worry/tension, perfectionism, addictions, fears of getting it wrong, procrastination, overthinking, panic and so much else?

It is very difficult to feel good about your life, yourself and your circumstances if your mind is receiving messages of being not good enough, not capable enough, not smart enough, not fun enough to be around. 

In case this sends you into a negativity shame spiral, please read on. It definitely becomes a lot more positive!

The truth is, you have always coped because you believed that was the only thing you could do. You may even have worked with professionals who kept giving you ‘coping strategies’ with the best intentions. But you were never taught what truly mattered - how to masteryour ADHD. 

Remember the analogy of the broken leg with a crutch? Well, mastering your ADHD is you building your own bionic leg. It’s reaching into your core and shifting rooted beliefs about yourself, changing your own blueprint - the one that makes you feel fearful, anxious or paranoid. The subconscious mental blueprint that leads to behaviours such as people pleasing, addictions, procrastination or perfectionism. 

Hear me professionals with ADHD - your mindset matters! Coping can only get you so far, but feeling safe, strong, capable, motivated, joyful, optimistic, carefree and in love with yourself will lead to behaviours that can set you free. Behaviours such as healthy and strong relationships, balanced work life, managing your time with ease, enjoying your own company, a mind that can easily find rest, being at peace with the world around you and so much more!

Mastering your ADHD will certainly open all kinds of different doors - emotionally, socially, professionally, physically (healing ailments related to chronic stress for example), connecting you with your higher purpose and able to live your best life with ease. 

Is it truly possible? Yes. A thousand times, yes. You are not broken. You do not need to cope forever. You simply need to master your mind. Everything else will fall into place easily and effortlessly. And you definitely deserve this.