Do you find yourself rushing through things, even though there’s no urgency? Is being first more important than being accurate? Can calm, relaxing situations lead to boredom-induced conflicts? Is your energy battery suddenly depleted – just to be overcharged and through the roof without warning? Do you need to “take something” to feel normal?  Then you’re in good company! Living with an ADHD brain in a neurotypical world is a challenge for many reasons. But sometimes it can be hard to disentangle why things that seem so logical and easy for others, keep causing such struggles for the ADHD brain.

Throughout my professional life, I have met many people with comorbidity, meaning that they have two or more diagnoses. Most often, this involves conditions such as addiction to alcohol, or drugs combined with diagnoses like ADHD, depression, or anxiety.  Many struggles with something that I recognize painfully well in myself, the frequent feeling of letting oneself down.  This can happen daily! I wonder if you, as you read this, will also identify with what I am about to describe? When I wake up in the morning, I usually have high ambitions for what I want to achieve and handle during

Happy International Women’s Day! This is a day to celebrate for us, 3.95 billion women, or half of humanity living on earth today. However today, as on any other day since the beginning of times, women live their lives in a society tailored to a male norm. A sobering fact is that women make up two-thirds of the global health and social care workforce.  So keeping girls and women healthy should be a clear social focus. If not for any other reason than the societal benefits, especially for children and the elderly. Female diagnoses increase, healthcare gap persists Starting from

Let us take a closer look at the subject of women, ADHD and menopause. And explore how these aspects bring new challenges to women’s lives and some potential perks.  What is Menopause? First things first, since the topic of menopause has been neglected for too long, let us deep dive into what it is. Perimenopause

According to most research, ADHD is a risk factor for problems related to alcohol and for developing alcohol dependence. But what does an increased risk mean? And what causes this heightened risk?  Is it all the negative attention during childhood? Or is it about adults self-medicating for restlessness and low self-esteem?  In this blog, we will explore the association between ADHD and alcohol.  We know that adolescents with ADHD, on a group level, are more likely to experiment with tobacco, alcohol and in some cases, illicit drugs at a much earlier age than their peers without the diagnosis. However, it

Are you newly diagnosed with ADHD and considering medication? Or do you have a child with ADHD and lack the answers you need for the next step on your ADHD journey?  You are not alone! The topic of medication for ADHD, whether its aimed for children or adults, can evoke both emotions and questions. Perhaps this is especially true for ADHD, which in some ways feels like a part of your or your child’s personality. Hope, doubt, and concerns about whether it will work may be accompanied by thoughts about treating a child because the school fails to adapt the

If you read my previous Letterlife blog post, I hope you took away at least two things. First, ADHD and autism often overlap, meaning that if you suspect one, traits of the other may be present. Second, girls receive their diagnoses later than boys, and girls often mask their difficulties. This poses a challenge in the assessment of girls (and women). The first challenge Revolves around even getting to the point of an assessment. As healthcare is organized in many countries today, you often need to get a first evaluation in one setting, followed by a referral to a specialized

Tears roll down the cheeks of a girl sitting on her bed, staring into the air in despair. “Mom, I can’t take it anymore. I really can’t. My brain is breaking.” She’s in her first year of the economics program in high school. While she managed through middle school quite well, high school has become overwhelming. The constant demand for studying, homework, and exams has left little room for recovery. The emphasis on completing tasks rather than focusing on learning is a pervasive issue in Swedish schools, affecting all students but particularly those with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs), like ADHD. As

Over the past years, ADHD coaching has gained popularity, with an increasing number of professionals promoting their services. However, differences in requirements of formal licensing and limited scientific literature have led to ongoing debates about the effectiveness and legitimacy of ADHD coaching. Despite the absence of conclusive research though, ADHD coaching, with its common-sense and economically feasible nature has found its place in the ADHD treatment landscape. So how do you know if coaching is for you and how do you know that your coach has the proper training and experience? In this week’s blog from Letterlife we go through