Breaking Bad Stigmas

Right before yesterday's LinkedIn Live on ADHD in the workplace, I shared a video with my co-host, Sheva Guy, PhD , from Alex Partridge that brilliantly explains ADHD overwhelm. He used a simple analogy—a regular pen versus a multi-colored retractable shuttle pen—to show how differently neurotypical and neurodiverse brains work. When I sent it to Sheva, I said: “I feel seen.”

Opening up about being a woman with ADHD felt like it would be terrifying, maybe even damaging to my career. But instead, I’ve found a sense of community.

As Becca Chambers ? recently said to her “fellow late-diagnosed #ADHD girlies crushing it in #marketing, #communications, and #sales in our 30s and 40s”… “We’re so similar it’s almost comical.”

I hope everyone who attended yesterday's Live event felt seen, as well. Welcome to the misfit community!

Takeaways (TL;DR)

• ADHD Looks Different for Everyone: Just like COVID, ADHD presents differently in each person—if you know one person with ADHD, you only know one person's experience.
• Many Women Are Still Figuring Out They Have ADHD: For some women, a diagnosis comes after their children are diagnosed. Learning more about ADHD often helps them recognize it in themselves, even later in life.
• ADHD Can Be a Superpower: ADHD can bring strengths like creativity, adaptability, and hyper-focus that, when embraced, become invaluable assets in professional settings.
• Most of What We Knew About ADHD Growing Up Was Wrong: The negative stigmas we grew up with—like ADHD being just about hyperactive boys—are deeply ingrained and hard to break, but conversations like this are helping to challenge those misconceptions.

Resources

• How to understand ADHD overwhelm
• ADHD for Smart Ass Women: How to Fall in Love with Your Neurodivergent Brain

Looking Forward

Next month, join us on Tuesday, October 29 at 4:30 pm ET for a very special LinkedIn Live on Holidays in the Office (and all the challenges that come with them).

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