3
ARTICLE
“I Don’t Need to Be Fixed!” Epiphanies of Self-Acceptance from Adults with ADHD
By ADDitude Editors — 2022
The path to self-acceptance is long and treacherous for adults with ADHD, many of whom mistake their symptoms for personal faults. Here, ADDitude readers share the moments they realized that they weren’t broken at all—and that their wild, wonderful ADHD brains didn’t need fixing.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
CLEAR ALL
BY TOPIC
BY TEACHER
BY TYPE
FILTER
TOPIC
- Fellowship and Community (33)
- Belonging (30)
- BIPOC Well-Being (29)
- Romantic Relationships (29)
- Communication Skills (26)
- Self-Care (24)
- Identity (23)
- Self-Acceptance (23)
- Parenting (22)
- Connection (18)
- Depression (18)
- Young Adult Well-Being (18)
- Athlete Well-Being (17)
- Synesthesia (16)
- Anxiety (15)
- Black Well-Being (15)
- Community Healing (15)
- Self-Discovery (15)
- Work Challenges (14)
- Disabled Well-Being (13)
- Friendship (13)
- Learning Styles (12)
- Child’s Autism (11)
- Authenticity (10)
- Building Character (10)
- Growth Mindset (10)
- Leadership (10)
- Child’s ADD/ADHD (9)
- Entrepreneurship (9)
- Imagination and Creativity (9)
- Self-Esteem (9)
- Creative Well-Being (8)
- Intimacy (8)
- LGBTQIA Well-Being (8)
- Relationship with Time (8)
- Self-Worth (8)
- Activism/Service (7)
- Cross-Cultural Dynamics (7)
- Family Dynamics (7)
- Highly Sensitive People (7)
- Honoring Emotion (7)
- Marriage (7)
- Offering Support to Others (7)
- Self-Actualization (7)
- Self-Limiting Beliefs (7)
- Self-Love (7)
- Values (7)
- Acceptance (6)
- Conflict Resolution (6)
- Identity Shifts (6)
- Mental Health Challenges (6)
- Mindfulness (6)
- Performance Pressure (6)
- Racism (6)
- Sex (6)
- Shame (6)
- Speaking Your Truth (6)
- Stress Management (6)
- Talk Therapy (6)
- Well-Being (6)
- Women’s Well-Being (6)
- Cancer (5)
- Criticism and Rejection (5)
- Disconnection (5)
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ) (5)
- Female Empowerment (5)
- Focus (5)
- Latinx Well-Being (5)
- Loneliness (5)
- Performance Anxiety (5)
- Resilience (5)
- Self-Development (5)
- Self-Pressure (5)
- Setting Limits and Boundaries (5)
- Spiritual Life (5)
- Suicide (5)
- Transgender Well-Being (5)
- Work-Life Balance (5)
- Asking for Help (4)
- Buddhism (4)
- Burnout (4)
- Courage (4)
- Empathy (4)
- Generosity (4)
- Gratitude (4)
- Habits of Mind (4)
- Household Labor (4)
- Interdependence (4)
- Motherhood (4)
- Neuroscience (4)
- Nonbinary Well-Being (4)
- Physical Health (4)
- Racial Identity (4)
- Self-Compassion (4)
- Trauma Healing (4)
- Vulnerability (4)
- Withholding (4)
- Access to Education (3)
- Anger (3)
- Anger Management (3)
- Building Culture (3)
- Child’s Emotional Growth (3)
- Children’s Well-Being (3)
- Collaboration (3)
- Discrimination (3)
- Divorce and Breakup (3)
- Gender Identity (3)
- Happiness (3)
- Life Challenges (3)
- Living as an Empath (3)
- Love (3)
- Peak Performance (3)
- Presence (3)
- Productivity (3)
- Psychology (3)
- Racial Justice (3)
- Self-Expression (3)
- Self-Mastery (3)
- Self-Realization (3)
- Social Presence (3)
- Social Responsibility (3)
- Spiritual Growth (3)
- Trauma (3)
- Veteran Well-Being (3)
- Work Relationships (3)
- AAPI Well-Being (2)
- Academic Struggles (2)
- Adaptability (2)
- Addiction (2)
- Addiction Recovery (2)
- Awareness (2)
- Buddha Nature (2)
- Child Defiance (2)
- Child’s Challenging Behavior (2)
- Chronic Anxiety (2)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (2)
- Confidence (2)
- Conscience (2)
- Cross-Cultural Parenting (2)
- Death or Loss of a Loved One (2)
- Digital Life (2)
- Eating Disorders (2)
- Enlightenment (2)
- Epigenetics (2)
- Exercise (2)
- Family Acceptance (2)
- Forgiveness (2)
- Grief (2)
- Immigration and Assimilation (2)
- Indigenous Healing Approaches (2)
- Indigenous Well-Being (2)
- Inspiration (2)
- Islamophobia (2)
- Laughter Therapy (2)
- Letting Go (2)
- Longevity (2)
- Meditation (2)
- Men’s Well-Being (2)
- Mindfulness Meditation (2)
- Misophonia (2)
- Negative Self-Talk (2)
- Neuropsychology (2)
- New Relationships (2)
- Othering (2)
- Passive-Aggressive Behavior (2)
- Perception (2)
- Personal Development (2)
- Positive Self-Talk (2)
- PTSD (2)
- Racial Discrimination (2)
- Racial Healing (2)
- Relationship with Money (2)
- Self-Reliance (2)
- Sexuality (2)
- Shadow (2)
- Social Anxiety (2)
- Social Justice (2)
- Social Psychology (2)
- Spiritual Awakening (2)
- Stress (2)
- Tibetan Buddhism (2)
- Transformation (2)
- Transitions (2)
- Traumatic Grief (2)
- Unconscious Bias (2)
- Abandonment (1)
- Aging (1)
- Attachment Theory (1)
- Betrayal (1)
- Body Image (1)
- Boundary Confusion (1)
- Brain Health (1)
- Caregiver Well-Being (1)
- Challenges with Teens (1)
- Child Depression (1)
- Child’s Anxiety (1)
- Chronic Health Conditions (1)
- Climate Change (1)
- Clinical Depression (1)
- Codependency (1)
- Coming Out (1)
- Compassion (1)
- Connection with Nature (1)
- Consciousness (1)
- Decision Making (1)
- Diet and Nutrition (1)
- Dysfunctional Childhood (1)
- Ego (1)
- Ego Transcendence (1)
- Emotional Labor (1)
- Empowerment (1)
- Energy Healing (1)
- Environmental Justice (1)
- Existentialism (1)
- Failure (1)
- Faith (1)
- Fear (1)
- Female Friendship (1)
- Flower Essences (1)
- Forest Bathing (1)
- Gender and Spirituality (1)
- Gender Challenges (1)
- Genetics (1)
- Goal Setting (1)
- Healing Approaches (1)
- Homophobia (1)
- Human Potential (1)
- Imposter Syndrome (1)
- Infidelity (1)
- Inner Life (1)
- Inner Peace (1)
- Inner Strengths (1)
- Insomnia (1)
- Integrative Medicine (1)
- Intention (1)
- Intuition (1)
- Jealousy/Envy (1)
- Job Loss (1)
- Journaling (1)
- LGBTQIA Parents (1)
- LGBTQIA Relationships (1)
- LGBTQIA Sexuality (1)
- Life-Altering Injury (1)
- Lovingkindness (1)
- Masculine/Feminine Dynamics (1)
- MDMA (1)
- Memory (1)
- Military to Civilian Re-entry (1)
- Mind-Body Connection (1)
- Mindfulness Practices (1)
- Moral Philosophy (1)
- Motivation (1)
- Native American Beliefs (1)
- Neuroplasticity (1)
- Nonviolence (1)
- OCD (1)
- Panic Attacks (1)
- Personality Typing (1)
- Positive Thinking (1)
- Problem Solving (1)
- Psychedelic Research (1)
- Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (1)
- Regret (1)
- Rest (1)
- Search for Purpose (1)
- Self-Healing (1)
- Self-Reflection Practices (1)
- Storytelling (1)
- Tarot (1)
- Time Management (1)
- Trust (1)
- Unfulfilled Career (1)
- Weight Concerns (1)
- Western Astrology (1)
- Whiteness (1)
FILTER
TEACHER
- Adyashanti (2)
- Dan Buettner (2)
- Gay Hendricks (2)
- Jennifer Peepas (2)
- Jessica Dore (2)
- Joanne Cacciatore (2)
- john a. powell (2)
- John Gottman (2)
- Karla McLaren (2)
- Kathlyn Hendricks (2)
- Lori Gottlieb (2)
- Mark Nepo (2)
- Shakti Gawain (2)
- Sheila Rubin (2)
- Stan Tatkin (2)
- Tara Brach (2)
- Temple Grandin (2)
- Thomas Moore (2)
- traci ishigo (2)
- Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (2)
- Amma (1)
- Andy Puddicombe (1)
- Anne Lamott (1)
- Brené Brown (1)
- Christiane Northrup (1)
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1)
- don Jose Ruiz (1)
- Elaine Aron (1)
- Elaine Pagels (1)
- Eric Maisel (1)
- Esther Perel (1)
- Ethan Nichtern (1)
- Gabor Maté (1)
- Harriet Lerner (1)
- Harville Hendrix (1)
- Helen LaKelly Hunt (1)
- Hyla Cass (1)
- John C. Parkin (1)
- Jonni Pollard (1)
- Judith Orloff (1)
- Julie Schwartz Gottman (1)
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1)
- Larry Yang (1)
- Lindo Bacon (1)
- Mark Manson (1)
- Mark Wolynn (1)
- Marshall Rosenberg (1)
- Martha Beck (1)
- Melanie Joy (1)
- Michael Pollan (1)
- Mitch Albom (1)
- Monnica Williams (1)
- Nataly Kogan (1)
- Panache Desai (1)
- Parker J. Palmer (1)
- Pema Chödrön (1)
- Rich Roll (1)
- Rick Hanson (1)
- Ruby Wax (1)
- Sally Kempton (1)
- Scott Shute (1)
- Shefali Tsabary (1)
- Simone Biles (1)