Conversely, the more we untangle these three aspects of our identity (core self, brain, and world), the easier it is to begin to decrease the power of our shame and replace it with confidence and a stronger, fuller sense of self. They too struggle with inattentive traits, but their main challenges are related to hyperarousal and trouble “putting on the brakes. Solden and Frank embrace you--the reader--and travel along with you, sharing new ways to see yourself, not just as a woman with ADHD, but as a woman with so much to offer. Solden’s areas of specialization include women’s issues, inattentive ADHD, and the emotional consequences and healing process for adults who grew up with undiagnosed ADHD. So, we have a question for you: Have you been resisting the acceptance process when it comes to living with ADHD?

Too different to measure on society’s yardstick, but not different enough to be permitted the relief of a neurological explanation, women with ADHD were left to attribute their differences to their worst fears. But Solden and Frank make clear that when women with ADHD compensate for their challenges, it comes at a high emotional cost: hypervigilant and depleted, they are still haunted by stigma and shame. An ADHD-friendly guidebook that skirts the dizzying array of superficial strategies to address the powerful inner lives of ADHD women. And you may be concerned that we, the authors, are invalidating the struggles inherent in living with ADHD. The True “Radical” Goal of Treatment Consider for a moment how you have been thinking about your ADHD and what you have been told or come to believe about ADHD treatment goals.Untangled is the first guided workbook for women with ADHD designed to break the cycle of negative self-talk and shame-based narratives that stem from the common and limiting belief that brain differences are character flaws. The book’s subtitle may put it best: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers. ADHD-Friendly Chapter Takeaways pp Women with ADHD often harbor shame related to messages they received in childhood about being a person with differences. Within its pages are strategies, tips, and worksheets to help readers overcome negative self-talk, combat the shame that may follow (and/or precede) an ADHD diagnosis, and connect with an understanding and supportive community.

Constriction can occur when our lived experiences as women with invisible differences are infiltrated by shame, fear, and the secrecy generated by stigma. Because we can’t include everything we know about ADHD, this book assumes some familiarity with most ADHD basics. Though occasionally people still casually use the term ADD to indicate ADHD without hyperactivity, or the predominantly inattentive presentation, this terminology is outdated and incorrect. Because most females did not display these behaviors, they didn’t meet the male-based criteria for diagnosis. Symptoms of ADHD can be compared to impairments not in the individual musicians, but in the orchestra’s conductor.In the pages that follow, you will hear us refer to the challenges of ADHD as often originating from a dysregulation of the executive functioning system and related skills. When this happens, our negative thoughts turn into a view of the world that is colored by our internal experiences and beliefs—even if that lens is distorted and those beliefs are hindering.

Solden's areas of specialization include women's issues, inattentive ADHD and the emotional consequences and healing process for adults who grew up with undiagnosed ADHD. These preferences are communicated in innumerable ways--from media and books to our first-grade classroom to conversations with our classmates and parents. Solden and Frank embrace you—the reader—and travel along with you, sharing new ways to see yourself, not just as a woman with ADHD, but as a woman with so much to offer. In this easy-to-read workbook, Sari Solden and Michelle Frank invite women with ADHD to recognize and challenge a variety of assumptions about themselves and others that may needlessly prevent them from experiencing their own full potential.It is a beautifully written, inspiring resource and tool that every human being living with shame, blame, and misperceived negative emotions of being ‘less than’ needs to refer to daily. The ways in which people with brain-based differences are pathologized and compared is similar to how others with more visible differences are judged by a gold standard of the majority. You are part of a community of extraordinary women, kindred companions on the journey through an ADHD life that is full of more wonder and chaos than you think you can handle.