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Start With Neutral Thoughts About Yourself Before Tackling Your ADHD
I am sitting with my son, hunched over a worksheet at the kitchen table. He writes a number on the page, and I gently ask him to explain how he got to that number. Without warning, the tears spring from his eyes. “I’m stupid! I’ll never be able to do this! Why is this so hard for me?”
I often hear my sons voice their inner critic as they are trying to learn something new. They have Learning Differences. Learning is harder for them than “typical” students.
In the heat of the moment, no matter how much I remind them of their strengths, it is hard for them to believe. So many times, I have seen my children’s self esteem teeter on the brink.
I have seen this play out with adults as well. Adults with ADHD have often spent a lifetime berating themselves. They punish themselves every time they go to the grocery store for milk and eggs, and come home with orange juice and a can opener.
Fitting into a world that doesn’t have empathy for your differences is hard. Learning how to manage your differences when you have no empathy for yourself can be even harder.
