Does this ADHD chaos sound like you?

You lost your keys, wallet or phone again this morning and spent 15 minutes frantically running around the house trying to find them, making you late for work/school.
You procrastinate until the last minute, and then panic & scramble to make the deadline, swearing all along that you’ll never do it again…only to end up in the same place next month.
Your emotions feel like a rollercoaster ride that you can’t seem to get off—maybe you snap at loved ones, cry at the slightest rejection, or get “too excited” and are told to “lower your voice”.
You just can’t focus on the stuff you need to — like that report for your boss, paying that parking ticket before it goes to collections, and are those dishes in the sink growing mold? Crap.
You feel overwhelmed or burned out by everyday life, but also like you can’t relax and sit still.
You get angry or spiral into shame when someone calls you “forgetful”, “scatterbrained,” or “lazy”, because no one sees how hard you’re trying.

If these experiences feel familiar, you might be living with ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)—sometimes formerly known as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). If that’s the case, I get it. I know how much it hurts when other people misinterpret your actions and assume it’s a character flaw, rather than a legit neurological difference.

Sometimes ADHD doesn’t look like the old Dennis the Menace stereotype, so we don’t even know we have it and just assume there’s something wrong with us. But ADHD can look wildly different in adults—and if it’s gone undiagnosed, it can quietly wreak havoc on your relationships, career, confidence, and self-esteem.

What is ADHD?

Let’s start by saying: “Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder” is a terrible name for what’s actually happening. It is not a deficit of attention at all—it’s a difficulty regulating it. Sometimes your attention bounces all over the place to everything except what you’re supposed to be doing. Other times you might drop into such a deep state of hyperfocus that you lose all track of time (and maybe even forget to eat). But ADHD isn’t just about attention.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects the executive functions of your brain—the mental skills that help you organize, plan, start, and follow through on tasks. When these are affected, it can make daily life feel like a constant uphill battle.

There are three main presentations of ADHD:

Hyperactive/Impulsive Type – what most people used to call “ADHD”
Inattentive Type – previously referred to as “ADD”
Combined Type – when both are present (this is nearly 2/3 of people diagnosed)

ADHD can look different based on your gender, upbringing, and environment. That’s one reason why so many people—especially women—go undiagnosed until adulthood. Sometimes it doesn’t really show up until stress piles on in college, work, parenting, or perimenopause.

If that’s you, please know this isn’t a personal failing. You’ve just been living life on “hard mode” without knowing it. Once you understand how your brain actually works, you can stop fighting against it—and start working with it.

commonly experienced ADHD Symptoms

Most of the official ADHD symptoms listed in the DSM-5 were written for kids. Here’s how those same symptoms might show up in teens and adults:

Hyperactive/Impulsive Symptoms

Restlessness or fidgeting – trouble sitting still, bouncing your leg, picking at your nails, shifting in your seat, playing with your hair (in women, this might be internal chaotic thoughts)
Always “on the go” – feeling like you can’t relax, needing to move, or preferring only active hobbies (Ahem…welcome to Boulder, Colorado).
Impatience – getting irritated in traffic, hating long lines, or blurting things out before others are finished.
Talking a lot – excitement or anxiety leads you to talk over people, or you fear forgetting your thought if you don’t share it immediately.
Interrupting - butting into a conversation you overheard with a funny remark, interrupting a meeting or other discussion because you need to talk to one of the participants.

Inattentive Symptoms

Trouble concentrating - zoning out during boring tasks, missing details, or getting lost in your own thoughts.
Spacing out - mind wandering, seeming like you’re not listening, even when you are; your brain just chased a thought that popped up 30 seconds ago and now you’re a million miles away.
Difficulty organizing or completing tasks - you start strong but lose steam, leaving half-finished projects all around the house (side quests, anyone?)
Avoiding mentally demanding work – reorganizing your closet when you should be doing paperwork, or relying on a last-minute adrenaline rush to force you to focus.
Forgetfulness - trouble remembering what you needed at the grocery store, or where the heck you put your keys this time.

Symptoms you didn’t realize were adhd:

There are also less obvious ways ADHD might show up. These aren’t part of the formal diagnostic criteria, but they’re incredibly common—especially when it goes untreated. Things like:

More speeding tickets or fender benders (impulsivity, distractibility)
Money struggles – credit issues, impulse purchases, or higher debt
Messy spaces – cluttered counters, piles of paper, overflowing laundry baskets or a “floor-drobe”
Dozens of new hobbies – buying all the gear, losing interest, and chasing the next exciting thing
Time blindness – no matter how many alarms you set, you still can’t be on time
Addictive behaviors – from caffeine or nicotine to social media, gaming, or alcohol
Motor-control issues – having bad handwriting, being clumsy
Allergies/Asthma – people with ADHD are more likely to suffer from asthma and allergies (seasonal, eczema, food sensitivities, etc.)
Skin picking – known as dermatillomania, includes picking at cuticles, acne, bug bites, etc., or other Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB)
Impulsive relationship behavior – falling hard and fast in love, or growing bored or unhappy and cheating (because the conflict of speaking up is excruciating)
Rejection Sensitivity (RSD) – feeling crushed or anxious from even mildly negative feedback, causing you to avoid things you might not immediately be good at, or leaning on perfectionism
Emotional dysregulation – emotions that hit hard/fast and linger long after the trigger passes
Decision paralysis – feeling stuck or shutting down when faced with too many choices
Sleep problems – difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up on time
Chronic overwhelm and burnout – zoning out on the couch to numb out with Netflix or scrolling (this is a freeze response)
Higher rates of anxiety and depression – this is especially true with undiagnosed / untreated ADHD

None of this means you’re lazy or broken. These are real, neurological symptoms that can be understood and managed once you have the right tools and support.

It’s not all hopeless, ADHD help is available

If you’ve been stuck in the cycle of chaos, shame, or burnout, it can feel hopeless. But ADHD doesn’t have to keep sabotaging your life. There are a lot of gifts that go along with it too.

With the right combination of ADHD therapy, mindfulness, skills coaching, and emotional support, you can learn how to work with your brain instead of against it. There are proven strategies to help you stay focused, follow through, and make progress that feels good.

You’re not stupid or hopeless—you just haven’t been given the manual for your ADHD brain yet. And that’s exactly what therapy can help you create.

What do ADHD Treatment Options Look Like?

Every brain works a little differently—which means there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. The goal of ADHD therapy isn’t to “fix” you; it’s to help you understand your unique wiring, build systems that work with your specific strengths, and reduce the daily friction that makes life harder than it needs to be. Below are a few of the evidence-based tools and approaches I draw from in ADHD treatment.

ADHD Therapy

In therapy, we’ll identify the patterns that keep tripping you up—like procrastination, perfectionism, self-criticism, or chronic overwhelm that results in numbing out—and develop strategies that actually fit your lifestyle. Research shows that therapy and coaching can make a significant difference in outcomes for adults and teens with ADHD—improving emotional regulation, relationships, and executive functioning.

Therapy offers both practical tools and emotional healing—because healing ADHD isn’t just about learning time management skills; it’s also about healing years of shame, frustration, and feeling like you should “just try harder.”

Mindfulness for ADHD

Mindfulness can be a powerful skill for ADHDers because it helps you slow down and notice what’s happening in your mind and body before things spiral. It doesn’t have to mean sitting cross-legged in silence like a monk— it can be as simple as walking outside, breathing slowly, or noticing your senses for a few moments. I often weave mindfulness into sessions because it helps you ground, regulate, and build self-compassion in a gentle, realistic way.

Studies show that mindfulness practices can improve attention, emotional regulation, and even working memory in adults with ADHD. I’ve been practicing and teaching mindfulness for over a decade, and I’ve seen firsthand how it helps ADHDers find moments of stillness and clarity amid the noise.

DBT & CBT for ADHD

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) are therapy approaches that teach practical tools for handling impulsive thoughts, emotional swings, and self-doubt. I use these techniques flexibly — not in a formulaic way — so you get as much or as little structure as you need. The focus is on helping you pause, get curious about your thoughts, and respond with more choice and self-kindness instead of reacting automatically.

Executive Function Coaching

ADHD executive function coaching helps you understand and support the “management system” of your brain; things like planning, prioritizing, and following through. Once we figure out which areas are most challenging for you—for example: task initiation, time management, or emotional control—we’ll co-create strategies that actually fit how your brain works.

That might mean experimenting with body-doubling, external reminders, or new ways to structure your day so you’re not relying solely on willpower (which is exhausting). Executive function coaching isn’t about turning you into someone else, it’s about making life flow more smoothly so you can focus on what matters most to you.

Frequently Asked Questions about ADHD

If you still have some questions or concerns, keep reading…

Is Adult ADHD really a thing? I thought it was just a childhood disorder.

Yes, it really is. ADHD doesn’t vanish when you grow up — it often just changes shape. As kids, many of us learned to push through, mask our struggles, or overcompensate to fit in. By the time adulthood rolls around, we’ve developed all kinds of clever coping strategies — but that doesn’t mean the ADHD went away. It just went underground.

For a lot of adults, the cracks start to show once life gets more complicated — juggling work, relationships, family, or just the “shoulds” that never seem to end. If you’re realizing now that ADHD might have been part of the picture all along, you’re not alone. Getting an ADHD diagnosis as an adult can be both a relief and an emotional rollercoaster. You’re not lazy or broken — your brain just works differently, and you didn’t have the right framework to understand yourself until now.

Does ADHD look different in women than in men?

Yes, and in some really important ways. The truth is, most of what we used to “know” about ADHD was based on how it looks in hyperactive boys — fidgety, loud, constantly moving. But for a lot of girls and women, ADHD shows up on the inside. We’re often taught to be “good,” quiet, helpful — so instead of acting out, we turn that energy inward. The result? Racing thoughts, emotional overwhelm, anxiety, people-pleasing, and feeling like you’re holding it all together by sheer willpower.

Because of that, many women don’t get diagnosed until much later — sometimes not until times of hormonal change like pregnancy, postpartum, or perimenopause, when symptoms suddenly intensify. If you’ve always wondered why things feel harder for you than they seem to for everyone else, please know: it’s not your fault. Your struggle has a real explanation — and it’s not a character flaw.

Will I need ADHD medication for the rest of my life?

Not necessarily. Some people find ADHD medication to be life-changing and choose to stay on it once they experience the benefits; others use it for a time, and many don’t use it at all. There’s no one right answer — and absolutely no shame in whatever choice you make. Taking medication for ADHD is no different than a diabetic taking insulin. You are simply supplementing a neurotransmitter your brain doesn’t make enough of.

Medication can be incredibly helpful for many ADHDers. In fact studies show success rates as high as 90% for stimulant medications once participants find the right one for them, meaning that 90% of participants experienced significant improvements in ADHD symptoms. And when taken as prescribed, stimulants are considered safe for long-term use for most people. As always, you should consult your doctor to determine what the right medication is for your unique profile; there are non-stimulant options that work for many people as well.

But ADHD meds are just one piece of the puzzle. Therapy, mindfulness, nervous system regulation, and coaching can all help you understand yourself better and reduce problematic ADHD symptoms. Together, we’ll look at what feels best for you — because the goal isn’t to “fix” you; it’s to help you thrive with the brain you have.

What’s the difference between ADD and ADHD?

“ADD” was the old term used to describe the inattentive type of ADHD — people who struggled more with focus, organization, and daydreaming than with hyperactivity. Today, it’s all grouped under the ADHD umbrella, which includes three presentations: predominantly inattentive (31%), predominantly hyperactive/impulsive (7%), and combined (62%).

So if you relate more to the inattentive symptoms, and not so much the hyperactive symptoms, that’s still ADHD — it just looks a little different from the stereotypical version we used to see in boys who couldn’t sit still. You can still benefit from all the ADHD treatment options listed earlier, with a little more focus on organizational skills, and less focus on impulsivity symptoms. We can tailor your ADHD therapy to your unique profile, and figure out what works best for you.

I don’t live in Colorado, can we still work together?

Yes! While I’m licensed to practice psychotherapy only in Colorado, I do work with ADHDers all over the globe in a coaching capacity. There is some overlap between the two, but they are different in some key ways.

ADHD therapy (which I can only provide to people in Colorado) is more appropriate for people struggling with severe ADHD or co-occurring anxiety, depression, or trauma. If that is the case, and you live outside of Colorado, then I can help connect you with resources and you can find a local therapist in your area.

ADHD coaching (which is available world-wide) is appropriate for you if:

You are just discovering you have ADHD and wanting to learn how it might be affecting your life and what your options are for working with it
You are looking for tools to better manage your ADHD symptoms
You’re feeling overwhelmed by ADHD symptoms and need help figuring out what to do
You want to understand which executive functions are impacted by your ADHD and how to better support them so you’re set up for success
You are having trouble managing your ADHD at school or work and want strategies to help you navigate environments that aren’t set up for neurodivergent brains
You are struggling with ADHD in relationships and want to learn how to better navigate the friction caused by a lack of understanding or misinterpretation of ADHD behaviors
You want to make a change in your life or career to better accommodate your ADHD and harness your gifts, but don’t know where to start
You get stuck in patterns of procrastination and/or avoidance that lead to more chaos and stress

Talk with an ADHD therapist in Boulder who gets it

Having ADHD can feel like trying to navigate a complex maze without the map that everyone else seems to have. You’ve probably already tried all the planners, apps, and productivity hacks, only to end up feeling more defeated when they don’t work the way social media said they should.

I get it. I’ve lived it. And I’ve worked with countless clients who’ve also felt frustrated by living in a world that wasn’t designed for them. They are smart, motivated, and still somehow…stuck. But there is a way through, I promise, and I can help you get there. I am an ADHD Certified Clinical Services Provider (CCSP), and I’ve had a lifetime of experience working with my own squirrels, so I’ve picked up a few tricks along the way that I’d be happy to share.

Ready to feel more in control of your ADHD?

When ADHD runs the show, it can feel like you’re constantly playing catch-up — trying harder than everyone else just to stay afloat. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. Once you learn how your brain works, you can start setting it up for success instead of frustration. Together we can find strategies and habits for working with your ADHD that will help you thrive. So let’s talk.

Schedule a free consult call