As a mom of a son with AuDHD I know from personal experience that raising a neurodivergent child is a journey filled with love, growing, and challenges. There are endless lessons I have learnt – both about my child’s needs but also about myself and how I respond in certain situations.

What do we do if we’re stuck in a job that isn’t right for us? If we feel miserable day in and day out because we struggle at work and can’t figure out how to improve our performance? Do we look for a new job? And what if that new job turns out to be as hellish as the previous one, with us feeling constantly overwhelmed, frustrated or downright depressed?

In many of my workshops – and in my coaching practice –people with ADHD often tell me they’re burnt out. Functioning properly day-in, day-out can be a struggle when we never seem to get a break from all the daily stressors and challenges that keep coming our way. Since we’re constantly forced to fit into a world that was primarily designed by and for neurotypical people, it’s quite understandable that we feel drained, frustrated and exhausted.  

When you are in school, college or working a job, you often encounter tasks or projects that overwhelm you, especially when they are complex and stretch over a long time. You can feel like you are standing in front of a mountain with no idea how to scale it.

“I am so mad at my son,” said a mom at one of my ADHD self-help groups the other day. “He starts one hobby after another without ever staying with one for more than a few months. We have so much stuff in our house that he doesn’t use anymore – football helmets, inline skates, paint brushes, an easel and various instruments.

Many years ago, when I was as an exchange student in Copenhagen, Denmark, I met a number of Danes in my dorm who were a little older than the average student in my academic program in the US. I was curious and wanted to know what they had done before college - and received the same answer again and again: a gap year – or sometimes even two.

Many of us want to eat well on a regular basis, but putting that intention into practice is not always easy. We might know exactly what eating well should look like  – less sugar, less fat, more veggies and fruits, whole grains and good sources of protein – but since we don’t have personal chefs who make delicious meals for us, finding the time and energy to shop, prepare and cook is challenging when life is already overwhelming. What can we do to make things easier on us?

Like so many times before, you find yourself in a pickle: You have to read an important text for class, but you’re unable to do so. The topic is so boring you can barely stay awake. The length of the text frightens you.

I moved back home to Germany in June 2023 together with my American husband C. and my two sons M. (5) and N. (2) after almost 25 years in the US. Because of the pandemic, N. had never been to Germany, and M. had only visited when he was a toddler. He didn’t remember much and was more than a little apprehensive about the move.