Pressing Pause

As October is ADHD Awareness Month I’m doing things a little differently this month on the podcast. Episodes are usually fortnightly but each week for the next four weeks I’m going to revisit past episodes focusing on what ADHD looks like for women who have made it through decades of their lives with no idea they have ADHD, why there seems to be a tsunami of women in midlife getting diagnoses, what an ADHD brain can really feel like and some of the myths and misunderstandings about ADHD.So, here I’m revisiting a previous episode where I share what ADHD can look like for women who have lived with unrecognised ADHD for most of their lives.Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

When I reflected on how I’d managed common ADHD challenges for the decades before I knew I had ADHD I realised just how many strategies I’d been employing without necessarily being aware that’s what I was doing. So in this episode I’m sharing 10 of the ways I manage ADHD struggles such as procrastination, forgetfulness, losing things, object impermanence, self-criticism and more.Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club, including the Be Your Own Best Friend online workshop, and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

There’s a message I give myself most mornings, a sort of affirmation I say out loud to round off my daily-ish meditation and start the day. It’s something I came up with before I knew about my ADHD but which I realised my subsconscious really wanted and needed me to hear. And which I think so many of us unrealised until later in life ADHDers need to take to heart. Which is why I’m sharing it with you in this episode…Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club, including the Be Your Own Best Friend online workshop, and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

A couple of months ago my husband and I too our first trip overseas since I discovered my ADHD. As well as planning where to stay and what to see I thought about the stress points there had been in previous travels and how I could take a different approach with this better understanding of myself. While we were away I also learned what helped and allowed both of us to really enjoy our holiday. So, in this episode I’m sharing what I found most impactful, in case it’s of use to you too.Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

It’s not easy to discover you’re neurodivergent, to realise how it has and does affect your life. It brings up a whole host of thoughts and feelings and it can be quite the rollercoaster. As I mulled over the journey I was taking after my ADHD discovery a framework for the process we go through formed in my head. The Neurodivergent Self-discovery Spiral is how I see the journey I, and other neurodivergent folk I’ve spoken with, go through as we process what an ND realisation or diagnosis means for us. I hope by sharing it in this episode it may help to describe the process you’re going through and by doing so give you some explanation, encouragement and comfort.Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

Realising that you may have ADHD, that it could explain so much about your life, can be quite discombobulating. Hearing other women’s stories, reading about their experiences and recognising yourself in what they’re saying can bring up some pretty strong emotions including relief, anger, grief, confusion and overwhelm. So what on earth do you do now with this new knowledge and all these feelings?! That’s what we explore in this episode.Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

I’ve been called plenty of names in my time, many from my childhood I’d rather forget. Then there are the names we call ourselves when that mean voice in our head is letting rip because we messed up, said something stupid, embarrassed ourselves or even just because we think we might have done those things.However, there are a couple of circumstances where I’m positively pro-name-calling, where it can have a surprisingly beneficial effect, and that’s what I’m sharing in this episode.Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

One of the reasons ADHD can be misunderstood is because of the persisting belief that its hyperactivity trait needs to be visible – fidgeting, interrupting, busy, busy, busy. while that can be how hyperactivity presents, what isn’t talked about is the hyperactivity happening on the inside, not seen on the outside.Inside the brain of many ADHD women – particularly the quiet, introverted, sensitive and empathetic woman – there is a LOT going on. But because we may appear quiet, calm and still there’s a disbelief that we can have ADHD because we don’t ‘look’ like we have ADHD.In this episode I explore just what is happening in our busy minds that never stop, behind the seemingly quiet exterior.Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

Messages we were given growing up taught us that treats and rewards and their accompanying dopamine hit come after we’ve done the hard thing, the dutiful, boring, no-fun thing. The well-known productivity tip of ‘eat the frog first’ tells us it’s best to tackle the most challenging item on our to do list before anything else.But what effect does this insistence on putting off of the good stuff until we’ve done the hard stuff have on those of us with neurodivergent brains? Is this way of tackling the to do list actually making us procrastinate and struggle even more to get on with what we want or need to do?I address what’s really getting in our way in this episode…Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

Many women who are discovering their ADHD are fearful of, and it stops them talking about this huge new realisation about themselves, people rolling their eyes and saying they’re just jumping on the bandwagon.It’s the idea that there are SO many women in their 40s, 50s and beyond who are now declaring they have ADHD that it’s the thing to do. I shared in episode 145 several valid reasons for why many women don’t discover their ADHD until they’re in the middle of their lives, and in this episode I’m sharing how to deal with the worry you won’t be believed (and the reality of it if that’s the case).Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

It seems like everywhere you look there’s another middle-aged woman declaring she has ADHD, right? Or at least that’s what some people will have you believe.There’s been an increase in women being diagnosed, or realising for themselves, that they have ADHD for sure. Let’s remember that neurodivergence isn’t something you suddenly, randomly develop as an adult. Nor is it something you’ll automatically grow out of as you grow up. There are several reasons for why more women are discovering their neurodiversity later in life which I explore in this episode and, spoiler, it’s not because it’s fashionable or everyone’s jumping on a bandwagon. Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Read my posts about the experience of a midlife, late-discovered ADHD woman here.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

There’s a fair amount of misunderstanding around ADHD. For a start the stereotypical image is still that of an energetic little boy who can’t sit still in class. It was only in 2008 that medics formally recognised that adults can have ADHD, and women and girls are still much less likely to be diagnosed than boys and men.So, I thought I’d share a few aspects of ADHD that are not as well known to help raise a little more awareness about ADHD and the nuance that exists.Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

There’s a lot of terminology in ADHD which on one hand is helpful because if something has a name you know it’s a ‘thing’ and you’re not the only one experiencing it. But on the other hand if you don’t know this terminology it can feel excluding.So, in this episode I’m sharing lots of ways that ADHD can look and feel in everyday life, without the jargon. It’s not an exhaustive list, you don’t need to tick every box to ‘qualify’ (ugh) as having ADHD and I’m very much not a clinician here to diagnose anyone. A lot of this comes up in my conversations with ADHD women, as well as in my own experience, so I hope it’s useful for you too.Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe

It’s been a long pause but the Pressing Pause podcast is back. In this episode I’m sharing what’s kept me away from the mic, what’s happening now and what you can expect going forward.Resources:* If what I’m sharing resonates with you I’d love to hear from you, email me gabrielle@gabrielletreanor.com.* Find out more about the Quiet ADHD Club and join here.* You can find more info including my coaching services on my website here.* And you can buy my book, The 1% Wellness Experiment, or the book gift box, and support The Wallich homelessness charity in Wales by clicking here. Get full access to The Haven at gabrielletreanor.substack.com/subscribe