Why Transitions Can Take More Energy Than the Things on Either Side
There are times when I genuinely don’t mind doing the thing I’m supposed to do. That’s what makes this so annoying. I don’t mind taking a shower. I don’t mind going to the grocery store. I don’t mind sitting down to work. I don’t even necessarily mind leaving the house. And yet, there are days […]
Sometimes You Don’t Know You’re Overwhelmed Until You Stop
Have you ever had one of those weeks where you’re doing fine? Busy, definitely. Maybe a little tired. But fine. You’re answering emails. Going to work. Making dinner. Remembering appointments. Having conversations. Handling whatever gets thrown at you. You’re functioning. And then Saturday morning comes. You don’t have anywhere you need to be. Nobody needs […]
Why Some Days the Same Task Feels Completely Different
There are days when I can sit down at my computer, knock out half my to-do list, answer emails, make appointments, run errands, figure out dinner, and somehow still have enough brainpower left to have an actual conversation at the end of the day. And then there are days when I stare at an email […]
Why We Sometimes Need to Say Things Out Loud to Think
Have you ever been trying to figure something out in your head for what feels like forever, only to finally say it out loud and immediately think: “Oh. There it is.” Suddenly, the thing that made absolutely no sense five seconds ago makes perfect sense. Or maybe you’re the person who sends a friend a […]
The Most Important Thing My Son’s Teachers Ever Read Wasn’t His IEP
Read Time: 22 minutes Every August felt the same. The backpacks were packed. The school supplies had been bought. Families filled social media with first-day pictures, excited smiles, and fresh starts. While everyone else seemed excited about the beginning of another school year, I sat at my computer wondering something entirely different. Who will my […]
When Everyone Thinks You’re Doing Fine
If you had asked most people how I was doing in high school, they probably would have told you I was fine. Actually, they probably would have told you I was doing great. I got good grades, I was very involved in activities, I had great friends, I showed up to school every day, I […]
The Hidden Mental Load of ADHD
There’s a version of ADHD that people think they understand. “Oh look, a squirrel.”“Can’t sit still.”“Forgot their homework again.”“Probably just needs a planner.” Thank you, Brenda. Truly groundbreaking analysis. But the reality of ADHD is way less “quirky distraction” and way more “my brain has 37 browser tabs open, 12 are frozen, one is playing […]
Why One Task Feels Like 17 Steps
“It’s just one task.” It’s a phrase that gets used often, usually with good intentions. The goal is to simplify something that feels overwhelming. But for many neurodivergent individuals, that phrase doesn’t match the reality of how tasks are experienced. Because what looks like one task on the outside rarely feels that way on the […]
Knowing What to Do Doesn’t Mean You Can Do It
It’s one of the most frustrating experiences for both individuals and the people supporting them. You know what needs to be done. You understand the assignment, the expectation, or the next step. On paper, everything is clear. And yet, despite that understanding, nothing happens. This gap between knowing and doing is often misunderstood. It’s easy […]
How Clear Next Steps Reduce Overwhelm
Overwhelm doesn’t always come from doing too much. More often, it comes from not knowing where to begin. From the outside, a task might look simple. It might even feel manageable at first. But the moment someone sits down to start, that clarity disappears. What was once a single task turns into multiple decisions, questions, […]
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