Tag: emotional dysregulation
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How to Get Things Done When You’re Completely Overwhelmed + PDF Download (Neurodivergent Edition)
When your brain hits overwhelm, it’s not because you’re lazy, unmotivated, or “bad at adulting.” It’s because your capacity is maxed out — emotionally, mentally, or sensory-wise — and your executive function system has flipped into low-power mode. If you’re neurodivergent, this can happen fast: one too many tasks, noises, interruptions, expectations, or decisions… and…
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Reflections on Especially Slow Mornings: Executive Function, Parenting, and Self-Compassion
Ten years ago, I’d open my eyes to a new day and spring out of bed. Every morning felt like a clean slate — a fresh chance to take on the world. Now that I have young kids and much less control over how I structure my day, my mornings feel completely different. Sometimes I…
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When Identity Feels Like a Battleground: A Gentle Guide for Navigating Self-Criticism and Overwhelm
The SOS page of the ThriveMind Planner is something I’d been envisioning for a long time. It’s designed for those horrific internal moments — the moments when everything feels like it’s crumbling, and despite your best efforts, you just can’t seem to escape as it all comes crashing down. In those moments, I tend to…
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10 Adult ADHD Coping Strategies for Beating Executive Dysfunction
Executive dysfunction is one of the most frustrating and invisible challenges of living with ADHD. You know what you want to do. You want to do it. And yet… the moment to act comes, and your brain slams on the brakes. Whether it’s starting a simple task, remembering what you were doing, or managing your…
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Emotional Regulation Daily Log: A Simple but Powerful Tool for Neurodivergent Adults
We often talk about time management and productivity when it comes to executive function support, but what about emotional regulation? For neurodivergent adults, managing emotions isn’t just about staying calm—it’s also about navigating overwhelm, avoiding shutdown, identifying patterns, and staying grounded enough to do what matters most. This is where an emotional regulation daily log…
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7 Subtle Signs of Emotional Dysregulation (and the EF Skills Behind Them)
In the previous blog post, we examined what emotional dysregulation is and isn’t, exposing how misunderstood and mischaracterized the related concepts are. The science also leaves something to be desired, considering the wide range of prevalence estimates for emotional dysregulation and adult ADHD (estimates suggest emotional dysregulation affects between 30% and 70% of ADHD adults).…
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Emotional Dysregulation in ADHD Adults: Executive Function, Neurobiology, and the Neurodivergent Experience
If you’re a psychology buff, it might interest you to know that chronic emotional dysregulation is said to “lie at the heart” of borderline personality disorder—which is widely recognized as one of the most difficult personality disorders to treat. It can be easy to assume emotional dysregulation only refers to so-called “negative” emotions, like anger…