First, Let Me Introduce Myself - The Real Me

My Brain on Overdrive (Thanks, ADHD)

Here's the real deal about me: I got my ADHD diagnosis late - like, well into my thirties. For years, I just assumed my brain was operating on a different frequency than everyone else's. Spoiler alert: it was. But not in that "there's something wrong with me" way I'd been beating myself up over for decades.

Back in the day, I was that rebellious teen rocking the "I don't give a fuck what people think" vibe. Fast forward through social work school, marriage, and motherhood, and suddenly, I was sinking deeper into a swamp of dark, twisted thoughts and impossible expectations I piled on myself.

Then everything shifted when I dove into expressive art therapy training. That experience blew the lid off my old narrative, dismantled it, and rebuilt me in this wild, whimsical way only art can. Mixing my unique take on motherhood with those trapped thoughts - and the messy, beautiful unraveling that finally set me free - that's why I'm here now.

Because what looked like an emotional breakdown (and holy hell, it was the lowest I've ever hit) was actually me shedding everything I thought I had to be and wrestling with the version of myself I'd never really accepted.

Why I'm Telling You This

I'm not sharing my story to say I have all the answers or that I've "arrived" at some zen motherhood destination. I'm sharing it because I know what it feels like when your mind won't stop. When the dark and twisty thoughts pile up faster than the laundry. When you're carrying generations of "should" and "supposed to" on your shoulders while trying to show up for tiny humans who need you.

Whether you have an ADHD diagnosis, anxiety, depression, or you're just a mom trying to survive the mental load - I see what's happening in your mind. And more importantly, I understand where those thoughts come from and why they feel so real, so urgent, so impossible to escape.

A Day in My Brain (Maybe Yours Too?)

STORY Time: It's 7 a.m., my brain's already sprinting a marathon I didn't sign up for. I just woke up, but I'm drowning under a tidal wave of laundry, unread texts, forgotten emails, and the nagging thought that I should probably text my mom before she files a missing persons report. And hey, I haven't even hugged my kids yet.

Between being a wife and solo parenting 50% of the time to two wild emotional boys (not sociopaths - just a chaos circus wrapped in tiny humans), my brain refuses to hit pause.

The kicker? I pile way too much on myself. I want to parent better than I was parented. Break cycles. Be intentional. And for some reason, I still want to have it all together - and hey, maybe even a bathroom floor free of pubic hairs - because apparently, that's what a "good mom" does, right?

Sound familiar?

The Thoughts That Keep Us 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 cognitive distortions.

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 our past - whispers of perfectionism, people-pleasing, and the need to prove our worth. Maybe, once upon a time, they kept us safe. Maybe they helped us avoid criticism. Maybe they protected us from disappointment.

But now? Now, they're just exhausting - and frankly, they make us want to hide under a blanket.

Here's What Happens If We Don't Address This

I'm going to be gentle but real with you: these thought patterns don't just disappear on their own.

Without intentional work, they compound. They seep into how we talk to ourselves, how we show up for our kids, how we navigate our relationships. We become more reactive, more exhausted, more disconnected from who we actually are beneath all the noise.

Our kids pick up on it - not because we're failing them, but because they're watching us model what it means to be human. And if we're constantly drowning in our own mental overwhelm, that becomes their blueprint too.

The anxiety gets louder. The depression gets heavier. The disconnection from ourselves becomes our new normal.

But here's the beautiful truth: it doesn't have to be this way. And you're already here, which means you're ready to shift it.

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 ourselves permission to be human.

It's a practice, not a perfect. And the more we do it, the easier it gets.

What We're Going to Do Together in These 8 Sessions

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.

Here's what's coming in this series:

We're going to:

• Identify the specific thought patterns that are keeping you stuck (because you can't change what you can't see)

• Understand where these thoughts came from and why your brain defaults to them (spoiler: it's not your fault)

• Learn practical tools to interrupt the spiral before it takes over your whole day

• Practice reframing without bypassing the real, hard stuff you're feeling

• Build a new relationship with your thoughts - one where you're in the driver's seat, not the passenger

• Create space for the mom you actually want to be, not the one anxiety and perfectionism told you that you have to be

• Reconnect with yourself beneath all the noise, all the expectations, all the "shoulds"

• Give yourself permission to be imperfect, messy, and still absolutely enough

This work isn't about fixing yourself - because you're not broken.

This is about unlearning the patterns that were never yours to carry and reclaiming the freedom to show up as you, fully and unapologetically.

You ready? Let's do this together.

Welcome to the journey. I'm so glad you're here.