Come say hi 👋 👉 https://app.adhdharmony.com/community This is just the start 💛

I have been exploring for the past year the possibility that I have had ADHD, and that has included quite a bit of research, reading, webinars and such. About a month ago I took what was for me a brave step of approaching my mom about my thoughts on this. My mom loves me (and I, her) but we had gotten to where we have a mostly superficial relationship. I stopped sharing much personal or "deep feeling" stuff with her a long time ago, after decades of feeling like she didn't really "get me" anyway and we were too different of people. (Plus she has the habit of turning every conversation back to herself, which makes it hard for a reflective introvert like to have time to put my feelings and words together before the moment is gone.) But as I said, I approached her about a month ago to open the door on this topic. She knows little about it and I shared some reasons why I thought it applied to me and about late in life diagnosed women, etc. Skip ahead to this week, and I was watching some videos for women with ADHD or AuDHD or who are parenting girls with those traits. I carefully selected 3 videos that I thought were good introductions to my situation (late diagnosis, RSD, general info) and sent her the links and asked her to watch them if she had time. Yesterday I got a text back that said, "Thank you for sending the link to the videos on ADHD. I watched all three yesterday and took notes. I do believe you are correct in your assessment of yourself. If only we could have been enlightened many years ago. Can we talk about it when we have some time together to do so? ❤️" I cried right there in the car reading that. It was like I suddenly I had someone who had watched me my whole life who confirmed or validated what I had been thinking and that there was maybe hope to move forward with her having a greater understanding of me after a lifetime of feeling misunderstood or just unknown. I know it's not as easy as all that, but I was so encouraged by this step and that I can use this framework to explain certain things about me to her now.

Did anyone else have their check in look different tonight (Friday night in US) and have their spoken words show up as they spoke instead of speaking it all and then having it transcribed all at the end? Just curious. By the way, 22nd check-in in a row!

Okay everyone, I am so extremely excited. This week I've gained so much insight and so many new ideas, and I think I really found something that is going to change ADHD Harmony and my AI Twin in the best possible way. This is going to be the biggest update since I started this community, and I'm sooooo hyped about this. I will be sharing some updates here over the next coming days, so stay in touch. We're cooking!! 💛

Saw this interesting blurb on my news shorts this morning: Sleep Research May Shift Thinking on ADHD Scientists say those with the condition often have dysfunctional circadian rhythms Generally speaking, people with ADHD tend to have trouble sleeping. But new research suggests that sleep problems might not merely be a symptom of the condition but at the root of what's causing it, reports the Washington Post. A perspective paper (not a clinical trial) in Frontiers in Psychiatry sees a strong correlation between ADHD and people with dysfunctional circadian rhythms, which govern when we sleep and wake. Physician Brandon Luu and co-author Nicholas Fabiano pull together "convergent" evidence that people with ADHD often run on a significantly later internal schedule: up to 78% show delayed sleep timing, with melatonin kicking in much later than is normal. "In other words, some people with ADHD may not simply be 'bad at going to bed,'" observes a post at Proactive Psychiatry. "Their internal clock may actually be shifted later." The researchers urge clinicians to routinely screen for circadian disruption and use sleep tracking as a cheap, low-risk tool for ADHD. The wider field is moving that way, too: Psychiatrists are probing whether misaligned body clocks underlie conditions from depression to schizophrenia, and testing fixes like morning light therapy, structured wake times, and timed exercise to "phase shift" patients closer to society's demands, notes the Post. The thinking is that in at least some cases, recalibrating the clock could ease the mind. Back to Denise now. Sounds like strategies to overcome are in line with what we've learned.