About Kayla – My Mind on Overdrive (Because, You Know, ADHD)

So, picture this: it’s 6:30 a.m., and I’m already deep in the mental swamp.

I’ve just woken up, but my brain is already sprinting through a mental to-do list from hell. Laundry. The unanswered texts. The emails I forgot to respond to. Oh, and I should probably text my mom before she assumes I’ve joined a cult. And I still haven’t even looked at my kids yet.

As a wife and mom who solo parents 50% of the time, raising two highly emotional, deeply expressive little boys (no, they are not sociopaths, but it sometimes feels like I’m in a real-life emotional jungle gym), the mental chatter never stops.

But here’s the kicker: somewhere in that noise, I’m also holding myself to impossible standards.

I want to parent differently than I was raised. I want to break cycles and do things with intention. Oh, and I want to do it all while looking effortlessly put together and having a house that is somehow magically free of pubes on the bathroom floor.

Because, obviously, that’s what good moms do. Right?

The Thoughts That Keep Me Stuck

When I catch myself spiraling, I remember this gentle little truth:

💡 My thoughts are often running on autopilot, and many of them are completely, utterly false.

They’re not facts. They’re just the cognitive distortions I know all too well.

For example:

🧠 All-or-Nothing Thinking pops up when I think:

"If I don’t handle everything perfectly, I suck and my kids are going to need therapy."

🧠 Overgeneralization joins the party when I think:

"Why can I never keep up? I’ll never be enough."

These thoughts? They’re not new.

They’re like ghosts from my past—whispers of perfectionism, people-pleasing, and the need to prove my worth.

Maybe, once upon a time, they kept me safe.

Maybe they helped me avoid criticism.

Maybe they protected me from disappointment.

But now?

Now, they’re just exhausting—and frankly, they make me want to hide under a blanket.

How I Flip the Script (Without Toxic Positivity BS)

Instead of judging myself for having these thoughts (or, worse, trying to force them to be positive), I start to soften them.

When the thoughts come, I pause.

🛑 I label them. Ah, there’s my brain only focusing on the messy bits again.

🛑 I remind myself that perfection is a lie.

🛑 I let the thoughts exist—without letting them run the show.

And the cool part?

Over time, I don’t need to flip every thought on its head right away. I just need to nudge them.

Instead of: “I’m failing because I’m not keeping up.”

I try: “This is a tough morning, but that doesn’t mean I’m failing. I’m doing my best, and that’s enough.”

This isn’t about eliminating hard thoughts.

It’s about giving myself permission to be human.

It’s a practice, not a perfect. And the more I do it, the easier it gets.

So, if you’re sitting there thinking, This is me! I do this too!—trust me, I see you.

The mental loop doesn’t just stop.

But we can learn how to shift it—one thought, one moment at a time.