What's Up Team!?!
There are a lot of different ideas in my head. Lots of topics to address. My skill set, professional experience, and educational background make me uniquely qualified to handle some of the problems we’re facing right now in the shadow of COVID-19. Obviously, I’m not a doctor, but the challenges around maintaining our mental health, homeschooling, working from home and parenting during this time? Those I can handle.
I think the most important place to start, though, is to remind all of us (me included) that self-care matters. Take the time to care for yourself and your family. That matters more than school, or work, or cleaning out your closets.
Also, set healthy boundaries around your social media and news consumption. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the information available to us. Especially because we’re at home, with easy access to it, and little pressure to avoid the rabbit holes.
And speaking of boundaries, set some for you expectations of yourself and your kids, too. Your kids are just as anxious as you are, if not more so. That means they’re going to make mistakes, and get frustrated and sad, and angry. Don’t take it personally, but help them bounce back. And frame social distancing so they know it’s not a time to be scared. Social distancing right now is like looking both ways before you cross the street. We don’t do it because we’re scared, we do it because it’s a strategy to keep us safe.
As for yourself, set reasonable expectations. You’re not going to do all the things you think you’re going to do.
You don’t need to be all things to all people. You don’t have to be a great spouse, and a great friend, and a great parent, and a great homeschool teacher, and a great housekeeper. Allow yourself to be thoroughly ok at some of them, the important ones, and crappy at the rest. Support those who need it if you can, but pace yourself to keep some gas in your tank.
If I’m honest, this is a lesson I’ve had to learn over the last few days. Because I know ways to navigate this situation, I feel very much like I should be helping everyone else. And because it feels urgent, I want to help everyone RIGHT NOW! I want to post a podcast episode every day, and start a YouTube channel to share tips and strategies that I know will help. But to do that, I would have to ignore my own family. I just can’t drop the ball on my kids to help everyone else with theirs, and then claim I know how to be a good parent. I have to prioritize the important over the urgent.
So, here’s how I’m going to do that. I’m wrapping this episode here. But I will post at least twice next week – somewhere in the middle of the week, I will post a COVID-19 tip show for those who want the help. And on Friday, I will post an interview episode like usual for those that want a break from all this.
If you’re anything like many of the folks I’ve been in contact with, you probably fall into both of those groups. If there’s anything specific about maintaining our mental health, homeschooling, working from home, or parenting during this time you want me to address, send an email to Brendan@ADHDessentials.com, and I’ll address your concern on the mid-week show.
That said, this is going to pass. Things will be okay. Take care of yourselves, and each other. And give yourselves and each other the grace to make mistakes, feel uncertain, and be not-quite-good enough. That’s where ADHD lives, after all. Our comfort in that space might just help us navigate this uncertain time more effectively than others.
Again, email me at Brendan@ADHDessentials.com if you have any questions you want me to address in the mid-week show. I’m here to help. I love you all, I believe in you. We can handle this. Together.
BONUS EPISODE: A Slice of Life, with Nathan and Gavin Mahan, sons of a father with ADHD
Excuse My ADHD, with Jeanette G. ADHD Mom and Podcaster
Reading is a Complicated Process, with Beth Dinelli and Alex Fortuna, Reading Specialists
Pumpkin Spice ADHD, with Brendan Mahan your Autumnal Auteur
Event Planning Motherhood with Danielle Frisby of Unboxing Change, Event Planner & Mother of a Son with ADHD
IEP Meetings, The Family Medical Leave Act, and Advocating for Our Kids, with Aelan Mosden, Parent of Children with Special Needs
Free to Choose Your Own Path: ADHD, Counseling, and Dungeons & Dragons with Matt Fahy, LMHC, and Heroic Group Counselor
ADHD, Vaping, and Substance Use with Amy Leone, LMHC Addiction Expert and Owner of Community Impact, Inc.
Back To School Thoughts, with Brendan Mahan, your Accessible Academic Advisor
Resistance, Execution, and Executive Function with Seth Perler, Executive Function and 2e Coach, Founder of The Executive Function Online Summit.
Two Dads Talking About Self-Care and Listening to Where Each Other is At, with Adam Wilson Director of Calm Passion, and father of a son with ASD, Anxiety, and ADHD
Teaching and Organizing with ADHD, with Lindsey Steele, a High School Teacher with ADHD
The Power of Being Seen by Others Affected by ADHD, with Doug Harris of ADHD Synergy
Wonder and Problem-Solving, with Jarra Meltzer of The Interactive Learning Center
ADHD, Self- Esteem, & The Stories We Need to Hear, with René Brooks of Black Girl Lost Keys.
Executive Function, Volcanoes, and Why ADHD Rarely Travels Alone, with Monica Hassell of Connect ADHD
Going All In with the ADHD Population, with Gail Oakerman, Counselor, College Professor, and Educational Consultant
Today's Awesome: Finding What We Look For, with Brendan Mahan, the Host You're Looking For
When Your Kid Becomes a Puddle: Anxiety, Movement, and the Physical Side of ADHD, with Krista Gordon, Mom, and founder of Tranquil Little One
Organizing in Shared Spaces, with Cindy Jobs, Professional Organizer & ADHD Coach
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