Clarity is Not a Luxury: Neurodivergence and Navigating Organisational Change Please note - I wrote this post last year If this year hasn't already been the gift that keeps on giving, I'm in the middle of yet another restructure. Which prompted me cobbling together this blog post from a couple of emails I've sent. For many neurodivergent staff, while change is being described as “fluid", “dynamic,” or seen as “a natural evolution”, it can feel more like quicksand. The lack of clear expectations, organisational structure, or consistent communication does not inspire innovation, far from it. The overriding emotion it triggers is exhaustion, "Here we go again".

Clarity is Not a Luxury: Neurodivergence and Navigating Organisational Change

Please note - I wrote this post last year If this year hasn't already been the gift that keeps on giving, I'm in the middle of yet another restructure. Which prompted me cobbling together this blog post from a couple of…

Overwhelm Is Not Laziness One of the most common misconceptions about ADHD is that we’re lazy; that we can't be bothered; or when we switch off when things get hard, we'll get "Why don't you just try?" This perception, combined with the merest hint of inconsistency in our behaviour, is what is often noticed at work. We’re told we simply need to try harder, focus more, or to buy an organiser. (I do not need any help with my stationery fixation thank you). But what looks like laziness and/or doom-scrolling from the outside is often something very different on the inside: overwhelm and an autopilot response frantically chasing dopamine, trying to recalibrate a nervous system on the edge.

Overwhelm Is Not Laziness

One of the most common misconceptions about ADHD is that we’re lazy; that we can't be bothered; or when we switch off when things get hard, we'll get "Why don't you just try?" This perception, combined with the merest hint of inconsistency in our behaviour, is what is…

Running on Empty This is a sort-of-follow-up, either that or companion piece, to my post from earlier this week, Building A Life You Don't Want To Escape From. We were talking about our general weariness: That we’re so fried by the evening, we’re not actually engaging with anything. Instead we’re all doom-scrolling while watching streaming services, trying to calm our overstimulated nervous systems. That is another blog post, which will be here later this week. One of the reasons for this tiredness is that we often commute to work outside of our home.

Running on Empty

This is a sort-of-follow-up, either that or companion piece, to my post from earlier this week, Building A Life You Don't Want To Escape From. We were talking about our general weariness: That we’re so fried by the evening, we’re not actually engaging with anything. Instead we’re…

Building a Life You Don’t Want to Escape From For years, I lived my life burning candles at both ends. The patriachal, capitalist society norms of 'busy, busy, busy' is so ingrained in us that we're shamed when we slow and relax; or heaven forbid, sit down with nothing to do. Don’t believe me? What about the gadgets available to buy to simply keep your Teams status active and your icon green? What is that if not being shamed into action; perceived or otherwise. There are any number of things we do during the working day that mean we’re not always going to be touching a computer for 20 minutes.

Building a Life You Don’t Want to Escape From

For years, I lived my life burning candles at both ends. The patriachal, capitalist society norms of 'busy, busy, busy' is so ingrained in us that we're shamed when we slow and relax; or heaven forbid, sit down with nothing to do. Don’t believe me?…

#SomethingToThinkOn
What are you letting be 'good enough' today?

Mine is the laundry pile, Mt Foldmore.
~
#DefiantDaughters #MtFoldmore #ADHDWomen

What does gentle productivity look like? Not berating yourself for not doing all the things. Slow down.
⏰ Set a timer for 15 minutes
🧹 One task at a time
🛑 Stop with timer sounds
😴 Rest and 🎊 celebrate
Try it and let me know how you go
~
#DefiantDaughters #ADHDWomen #YouveGotThisMinute

#QuoteOfTheDay

Rest is not a reward. It's a requirement.
~
#DefiantDaughters #ProtectYourEnergy #YouveGotThis

#QuoteOfTheDay

Defiant Daughters - we rise, we rest, we rejoice.

Follow for more
~
#DefiantDaughters #ADHDWomen #PunkRockCottageCore

#QuoteOfTheDay

Gentle lives are radical lives. We're punk-rock and cottage core; we're soft structure, real support, radical honesty.

Follow for more
~
#DefiantDaughters #ADHDLateDiagnosed #YouveGotThis

My donation of $60AUD to #SaveTheChildren for @kermodeandmayo.bsky.social - I hadn't listened to take 2 when I asked.

End of Day Kindness for your #ADHDChecklist
🍀 Ate well ✔️
🍀 Rested when you needed to ✔️
🍀 Spoke gently to yourself ✔️
🍀 Stretched gently ✔️

Reminder: You did enough. You are enough.
~
#ADHDWomen #DefiantDaughters

a woman is making a funny face with her mouth open and her eyes closed . ALT: a woman is making a funny face with her mouth open and her eyes closed .

Did we find out what charity to donate to for @kermodemovie.bsky.social sitting through and taking one for the church? #MelaniaMovieMisery @kermodeandmayo.bsky.social

#SomethingToThinkOn
What would today look like if you removed urgency?
Softer? Slower? Easier?

Let me know in the comments...
~
#ADHDLateDiagnosed #ADHDWomen

#DefiantDaughters #NeurodivergentWomen #YouAreNotBroken

If you’ve always felt like you’re working twice as hard for half the ease…
You’re not broken.
You’re not dramatic.
You’re not failing at life.
You might just be neurodivergent in a world that wasn’t built for you.
And you’re allowed to ask better questions.
~
#ADHDInWomen #LateDiagnosed

🍀 ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition, not a mood disorder.
🍀 It’s about regulation, not willpower.
🍀 It’s about overload, not failure.
If you’ve spent years collecting diagnoses that never quite fit…
If medication helped 'a bit' but not enough…

Yes, depression can develop because of years of burnout and self-blame.
Yes, emotional intensity is real, but that doesn’t mean bipolar - it means we're having our emotional needs ignored - we are crying out for help, but you're not hearing it.

Lastly, no, not 'Everyone feels like this sometimes'.
ADHD in women is often misdiagnosed, missed, or masked 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 we’ve spent a lifetime being told to be good, quiet, capable, and low-maintenance.
Yes, anxiety can show up alongside ADHD.

This.
ADHD in women is NOT…
❌ Bipolar
❌ General anxiety disorder
❌ Depression
❌ Borderline personality disorder
Nor is it being 'too emotional', or lazy, or disorganised on purpose.
It's definitely not a personality flaw, or a lack of resilience (we the most GD resilient people I know)

Not luck, choice.
Not magic, mojo.
Not a stroke of fortune, but our spark returning.

Your mojo may have been buried under expectations, over-committing, holding up half the sky, feeding everyone and doing all the things. It's time to drop some things off your to-do list and to put you first 🍀

Beautifully flawed, fiercely alive, defiantly growing when and where it shouldn't. The four-leaf clover is a symbol of nature going wrong, but thriving anyway.
It's not a symbol of chance, but a reminder that you can always come home to yourself.

Each leaf represents what we find in this sisterhood:
* Strength
* Softness
* Rebellion
* Reawakening

The Defiant Daughters' clover is rare, imperfect, wonky, but still found in nature - just like us.

Defiant Daughters logo. A punky font 'Defiant' is overlaid 'Daughters' which has a capital handwritten D and a clean font. To the right is our four-leaf clover symbol. We don't use the four-leaf clover because we believe in luck. We use it because we believe in us.

The Clover 🍀 Our Symbol
We don't use the four-leaf clover because we believe in luck. We use it because we believe in us.
For #DefiantDaughters the clover isn't a charm, it's a reminder that our mojo was never lost - just buried under expectations.

Hi, it's me. I'm back after a break, metaphorically and literally. I've closed Radiant Chaos 🫡 I'm starting over as Defiant Daughters. Join me for support along your late-diagnosed neurodivergent journey
#ADHDWomen #ADHDLateDiagnosed #AFAB #YouveGotThis

Having a tidy-up and found this @kermodeandmayo.bsky.social from days of yore #PfftBottom

Building a Life You Don’t Want to Escape From | Radiant Chaos ADHD Get more from Radiant Chaos ADHD on Patreon

For years, I lived my life burning candles at both ends. The patriachal, capitalist society norms of 'busy, busy, busy' is so ingrained in us that we're shamed when we slow and relax; or heaven forbid, sit down with nothing to do.

Read more here: www.patreon.com/posts/138161...
#ADHDLateDiagnosed

The Myth of Laziness | Radiant Chaos ADHD Get more from Radiant Chaos ADHD on Patreon

When Patreon loses your draft? Or having to write a blog on laziness and overwhelm - twice?!
#ADHDWomen #ADHDLateDiagnosed

www.patreon.com/posts/myth-o...

Get more from Radiant Chaos ADHD on Patreon Helping you navigate your late-diagnosed ADHD journey

Patreon is up and running with blogs, worksheets and support. I'm also about halfway through recording my course #TheLighthouse to enable all us late-diagnosed ADHD Chaos Queens to navigate our diagnoses.

I've been busy while I've been away...

www.patreon.com/c/Radiant_Ch...

I've not been on here in ages, what with #grief knocking me about after Dad died. I'm slowly coming out my cocoon. I painted my toe nails yesterday for the first time in months.

What did I miss?

Is it me, or is it ADHD? YouTube video by Maddie Grant | Radiant Chaos ADHD |

Is it me? Or is it ADHD? First in an occasional series of videos: youtu.be/QO3OKZTgspI