Ways to Spread Awareness During #ADHDAwarenessMonth
October can be, at times, an emotional month for me. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness month. As a survivor, this triggers frustration with “race for the cure”, when I feel that it should be “race for the cause”. Why did I, and hundreds of thousands of other healthy, young women get breast cancer in the first place, in just one year? And why do the numbers continue to grow? But I digress. Lol. There goes my Turbo Thinker brain again.
October is also ADHD Awareness month. This triggers my distaste for the acronym itself, since I do not see it as a “disorder” or a permanent “deficit” of awareness. In my home state, as in many places worldwide, there is a stigma associated with this condition, accompanied by a lot of misinformation, none of it to our benefit. Lately, I have made a game of it. How can I talk about the benefits of Turbo Thinkers and my profession without using the term “ADHD”?
Just last weekend, after a ferocious late night battle of air hockey in a local dive bar (which I lost), my opponent asked me what I do for a living. I said, “I am a professional coach who collaboratively works with clients to help them better understand how their brains work best. My clients are Turbo Thinkers. Their brains go at warp speed in the widest of directions, and dive to the deepest of levels. Together, we find what works best for them so they can live their best lives. My clients tend to be highly intelligent, extremely creative and passionate about a wide variety of topics. When they get into a state of flow and hyperfocus, they produce amazing results. They just don’t have the ability to do that all of the time, and sometimes deal with the shame or negative mindset that haunts them from years of criticism. I help them see a better version of themselves for the confidence and courage to live out their dreams.”
Well, ok. More or less that’s what I said.
“Oh my God, That’s me!” he replied. (And yes, I already knew.) The response tends to be, “That’s me!” or “That’s my (enter loved one’s name/ relationship to speaker).” Everyone knows someone who has ADHD. Better yet, everyone LOVES someone who has ADHD. And love trumps any label. So how do you spread awareness of ADHD this month? Talk about who you love and why. It’s that easy.