Do you feel like you’re either up or down and never in the middle!? Do you tune in with your emotions and express them, or bottle them up?

In this episode of the Unconventional Business Podcast, join me to talk all things emotions. We get stuck into the emotional experience of ADHD - the highs, the lows and everything in between! Emotional regulation can be tricky for ADHDers and I want to shed some light on some of the key ingredients of the feelings cocktail, including the impact of your brain function, co-occuring conditions, difficulties identifying emotions - and just being a human in today’s world!

In this ep, I offer a more empowering alternative to emotional regulation, centred around accepting and making space for emotions rather than trying to regulate them (and feeling like a failure when that feels impossible!) I also talk through some practical strategies for managing emotions include crying, movement, singing, journaling, and seeking support from friends or therapists.

Ultimately, I want to encourage you to view your ADHD as a difference rather than a deficit. Embracing your emotional experiences rather than trying to control or ‘regulate’ them is actually the key to flattening your ’spiky graph’ and living a calmer, more peaceful life.

• Book recommendation: https://www.pepitasandwich.com/the-art-of-crying
• Podcast recommendation: https://revealmarketinguk.com/podcast-episodes/drug-free-adhd
  

References:

• The ADHD Brain - more on the Prefrontal Cortex, Emotional Regulation & Behaviour https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-brain-prefrontal-cortex-attention-emotions/?srsltid=AfmBOooXeGXUINYRRiTXMb85y7UHviYsrDqLp4sJiT0nTMOAPKUWndmA
• ADHD & Brain Differences, particularly the Amygdala https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26964869/
• ADHD & Co-occuring conditions (Co-morbidity): https://www.additudemag.com/when-its-not-just-adhd/?srsltid=AfmBOoojIZwBYdUY-NuG5-_LwscBCrRd_6sFP-If7U_Tw3Fmvip6C5pG
• Alexythmia https://theconversation.com/alexithymia-why-some-people-find-it-so-hard-to-identify-emotions-and-how-this-affects-them-240480
• Emotional tears & their differences: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-microscopic-structures-of-dried-human-tears-180947766/