GROUP · APR 16 ADHD IN ADULTHOOD
00:00
THURSDAY · 7:00 PM · GROUP NIGHT
ADHD
in Adulthood.
Not broken. Not lazy. Just wired different — in a world not built for us.
60 MIN CO-FACILITATED PEER + PSYCHOED BRING YOUR WHOLE SELF
01 · ARRIVE

Before we think,
let's land.

Your ADHD brain just came from 47 tabs. Let's close some.

Ready?
5 ROUNDS · 4 IN · 4 HOLD · 4 OUT
Research: Box breathing increases prefrontal β-activity in ADHD brains — it literally boots up your executive function before we start.
02 · WELCOME

Land first.
Content later.

You don't have to be "on" in here. You just have to show up. Which you did. That counts.

Notice: You just did something your ADHD brain resists — you slowed down on purpose. That's the prefrontal cortex coming online. Remember this feeling.
03 · THE CONTAINER

How we do group.

  • What's shared here stays here.
  • One voice at a time — yes, we know, hard for us.
  • Pass is always okay. No performance required.
  • We're not here to fix each other. We're here to witness each other.
  • If you need to move, stim, doodle, or step out — do it. Your nervous system comes first.
04 · CHECK-IN

How's the week
been really?

Pick a number. Give it one word. That's it.

(This is just the facilitator's view — each person shares verbally)

05 · WHAT ADHD ACTUALLY IS

Most of us grew up
thinking ADHD meant
hyper kid in class.

That's not most of us. Let's get real about what it actually looks like in adulthood.

06 · THE BIG 4

Click each one. See if it's you.

01 · Executive Function

The CEO is understaffed.

Planning, starting, switching, finishing — all require more fuel than they do for neurotypical folks.

Looks like: staring at an email for 40 minutes. Dishes piling up even though you care. Knowing the deadline and still freezing.
02 · Time Blindness

Only two times exist.

Now, and not now. Future consequences feel abstract until they're suddenly today.

Looks like: "I'll do it later" = won't. Chronic lateness even when you leave early. "That'll take 20 min" → 3 hours.
03 · Emotional Dysregulation

Feelings hit harder, faster.

Rejection feels like a full-body attack. RSD — Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria — affects 99% of ADHD adults. For 30-50%, it's severely disabling.

Looks like: 0 to 100 in a text exchange. Replaying a conversation 40 times. Shutdowns after a perceived slight. Avoiding asking for what you need because the "no" would be unbearable.

The science: Low dopamine + norepinephrine = your brain's rejection filter is broken. The pain is neurological, not weakness.
04 · Interest-Based Nervous System

Attention runs on INCU.

Interesting · Novel · Challenging · Urgent. Not importance. Never importance.

Looks like: cleaning the whole garage instead of the one email. Hyperfocus at 2 AM. Boring-but-important = impossible.
Key reframe: ADHD isn't a deficit of attention. It's a dysregulation of attention. We have attention — it just doesn't go where we tell it to.
07 · DISCUSSION

Which one
hit the hardest
this week?

No fixing. No advice. Just naming.

THE ONE NOBODY TALKS ABOUT

Rejection Sensitive
Dysphoria.

It's not sensitivity. It's not being "too much." It's a neurological response that 99% of ADHD adults experience.

Experience RSD
99%
Severely disabling
30-50%
Misdiagnosed as mood disorder
~40%
Why it happens: Low dopamine + norepinephrine = your brain's rejection filter is broken. The emotional pain is as real as physical pain — same brain circuits light up. It's not drama. It's neurochemistry.
"Have you ever not done something — not applied, not texted, not asked — because you already decided they'd say no?"
09 · THE ADHD TAX

The extra cost we pay.

Money. Time. Energy. Relationships. Self-worth. Naming it ≠ shame. Naming it = disarms it.

10 · ONE TOOL THIS WEEK

Pick one thing. Try it once.

I'm not giving you 20 strategies. You'll forget 19. One experiment. One week.

11 · COMMITMENT

"This week,
I'm going to try
___."

Saying it out loud in front of the group = 10x stickier.

12 · TAKEAWAY

One sentence.
What are you
taking with you?

No pressure. No profound. Just one real thing.

CLOSE
You're not broken.
Your brain works differently, and it works in a world not built for it.
Showing up tonight? That counts. See you next week.
BREATHE DRIVE SAFE TEXT IF YOU NEED

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