Adult ADHD Blog

Today the NHS Alliance said ADHD and autism care in England is at risk of "descending into chaos." Costs are spiralling. Waiting lists are being frozen mid-list. And in one case, a local health board was quoted anywhere between £300 and £3,000 for the same assessment, depending on who picked up the phone. Read that back. Same test. Ten times the price. That's not a diagnosis crisis. That's a market with no floor in it. I know where most people's minds go next, because it's wh

You know the feeling. Someone leaves you on read. A colleague replies to your message with "fine." Your friend cancels plans and doesn't suggest a new date. And within about four seconds, your brain has written, produced and directed an entire film in which you are the problem, everyone is furious with you, and the friendship is quietly over. Welcome to rejection sensitive dysphoria. Population: most of us. What RSD actually is Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is the inten

You can't put your finger on it. Nothing dramatic has happened. But you're snappier than usual, your sleep's gone a bit strange, you're forgetting things you'd normally have no trouble with, and there's a low hum of "something's off" running under the day. Then you clock the light's changed. The mornings are darker, or suddenly brighter. The air smells different. Summer's tipping into autumn, or winter's loosening its grip. And you realise: it's not you being difficult. It's

It is 1am. You told yourself you would stop three hours ago, yet here you are: another episode, another drink, another item in the online basket, another scroll. The next morning brings the familiar wave of "why do I keep doing this?" If that loop feels painfully familiar, there is something important you need to know. For a brain wired the way yours is, this is not a lack of willpower. It is neuroscience. There is a strong, well-documented link between ADHD and addiction, an

There is a week every month where you feel almost on top of things. Emails get answered. You remember why you walked into the kitchen. And then, a week or two later, the exact same brain cannot locate its keys, its train of thought, or the will to reply to a single text message. If you have ever wondered whether your ADHD gets worse around your period, whether perimenopause is quietly wrecking the coping strategies that used to work, or whether you are simply losing the plot

Alright, ADHD warriors, listen up! We all know that mornings can be a battleground, especially when ADHD is your frequent companion. But fear not, for I'm here to sprinkle some fun and quirky tips to help you conquer those chaotic mornings with a touch of humor! Rise and Shine (or at least just rise) 1. Dance Like Nobody’s Watching That's right, crank up your favorite tunes and have a spontaneous morning dance-off with yourself. ADHD coach online might not have suggested this

All winter you said it. On the grey mornings, in the 4pm darkness, halfway through another flat, foggy Tuesday: "I'll be fine when the sun's back." You meant it. And now the sun is very much back. We have just had one of the hottest Junes on record, a fortnight of red heat warnings, tropical nights and bedrooms that flatly refused to drop below 24 degrees. So why, in the middle of the summer you spent months wishing for, do you feel more scattered, more wired and more all ove

I want to start with the thing that genuinely keeps me up at night, which is ironic given one of the four topics in this post. When most of us are diagnosed with ADHD, here is roughly how it goes. A long wait. A short appointment. A prescription. And then, more often than not, the door. What we almost never get is anyone sitting us down and explaining how our brains actually run on a day to day level. How water, sleep, food and movement are not optional wellness extras for us

You have read every article. Made the pros and cons list. Asked three friends and then ignored all of them. And somehow, you still cannot decide. If that sounds familiar, here is the first thing to know: you are not indecisive, and you are definitely not lazy. What you are caught in has a name, a mechanism, and a way out. It is called ADHD analysis paralysis, and once you understand what is actually happening underneath it, the whole pattern starts to loosen. This post walks

Although tic disorders and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are separate neurological conditions, they frequently occur together, presenting a particular set of difficulties for individuals impacted by them. Recognizing the connection between tic syndrome and ADHD can enhance the effectiveness of management strategies and enhance the well-being of those coping with these disorders. This article will investigate the correlation between tic disorders and ADHD, ex

Have you ever caught yourself thinking: "I know what I should do. I just can't make myself do it"? Or maybe it's more like: "Why do I keep reacting that way? Why can't I just be different?" If you're an adult with ADHD, those questions probably feel painfully familiar. Not because you're lazy or broken or difficult, but because you're trying to navigate a world that was largely built for a kind of brain you don't have, often without the self-understanding to make sense of why

If you've ever hit a wall so hard that getting out of bed felt like climbing a mountain and no amount of rest seemed to touch it, you might have experienced ADHD burnout. It's one of the most talked-about experiences in the ADHD community right now, and one of the least understood. This post is for anyone who's been there, is there right now, or keeps finding themselves cycling back to the same exhausted place and wondering why. What is ADHD Burnout? ADHD burnout isn't just b

You've been diagnosed with ADHD or you've been struggling for years and you're finally ready to get some support. You start searching, and two options keep coming up: ADHD therapy and ADHD coaching. They both sound helpful. They're both one-to-one. But they're not the same thing and understanding the difference could change everything about the support you choose. Here's an honest breakdown of both, and how to figure out what you actually need right now. What is ADHD Therapy?

You've bought the planner. Downloaded the app. Colour-coded your calendar. Tried the time-blocking, the body doubling, the Pomodoro technique. You've read the productivity books. You've watched the TikTok videos. You've implemented systems that worked brilliantly for exactly two weeks before slowly, inevitably, everything fell apart. Sound familiar? Most people with ADHD have tried dozens of strategies. Some worked temporarily. Most didn't. And when you've tried that many thi

The UK government is currently running a six-week trial with 300 teenagers, testing different levels of social media restriction, full bans, one-hour daily caps, night-time curfews. The aim is to assess the impact that limiting social media use has on family life, sleep and schoolwork. It’s part of a wider consultation that has already received nearly 30,000 responses from parents and young people. Good. It’s about time. But here’s the thing. If you have ADHD or you’re raisin

If you have ADHD and you smoke, vape, or find nicotine weirdly hard to quit, this post is for you. People with ADHD are two to three times more likely to smoke than the general population. They start younger, get hooked faster, and have significantly lower quit rates. This isn’t a moral failing. It’s a brain thing. And once you understand the neuroscience, it makes complete sense. The numbers first Around 40–43% of adults with ADHD smoke, compared to roughly 14% of the genera

A A 2023 paper revisited a forgotten 1950s syndrome and the implications for people with ADHD are genuinely remarkable. It all comes down to one molecule you've probably never connected to your brain Most people with ADHD know about dopamine. Some know about noradrenaline. But almost nobody is talking about histamine and if this research is right, that needs to change. A 2023 paper in the Journal of Clinical Medicine made a bold argument: that a syndrome first described in t

If you have ever thought, “I know what I need to do, so why can’t I just do it?”, you are not alone. In this I am going to explain what working with an ADHD coach can look like. That gap between intention and action is one of the most frustrating parts of ADHD. You can be smart, capable, ambitious, and still feel stuck in cycles of overwhelm, procrastination, last-minute panic, and burnout. ADHD coaching exists for that gap. This guide explains what ADHD coaching is, what an

Spoiler: It's BACKWARDS! So, the clocks are about to go back in the UK, which means the delightful phrase "fall back" is what you're aiming for. It's happening on Sunday, 26 October 2025! While getting an extra hour of sleep sounds like a massive treat, for us folks with ADHD, this seemingly small shift can feel like a rogue wave hitting a carefully balanced sandcastle. Disrupted routines, sleep-pattern chaos, and focus that's already on its own agenda can get magnified, some

Hormonal Effects on ADHD Symptoms For those of us with ADHD, hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle can intensify symptoms, especially in the luteal phase, which spans 10 to 14 days before your period begins. Here’s what’s happening: Oestrogen drops in the luteal phase. Oestrogen helps regulate dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for motivation, focus, and pleasure, all of which are already in short supply in ADHD brains. As oestrogen decreases, dopamine also