http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.annieromanos.com en-us Tue, 17 Mar 2026 18:59:23 +1300 Rocketspark http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/post/133654/coaching-or-therapy/ Coaching is a special professional partnership. It thrives on safety, respect, trust, openness, goodwill, honesty, and creativity to propel you forward.ADHD & Neurodiversity coaches help you become an expert in your unique brain wiring and behaviour.  In the context of ADHD, Autism and other neurodivergences, there’s an extra emphasis on empowering you to thrive by applying your strengths and quirks, while knowing what your needs are for productivity, performance and wellbeing, and ho... Fri, 16 Aug 2024 13:17:50 +1200 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/#post133654 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/post/109666/know-your-push-and-pull/ One of the idiosyncrasies of ADHD is that it's a neurotype primed to respond.It thrives and excels on demand.It's been called a "gene for certain behaviours" that has evolved to respond in the moment (Thom Hartmann). In Hartmann's book, Hunter in a Farmer's World, he quotes physician Will Krynen, who, when researching indigenous hunting societies, saw - ".. the constellation of behaviours that we call ADHD… are highly adaptive.. [among people who are] constantly scanning th... Fri, 01 Sep 2023 12:02:42 +1200 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/#post109666 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/post/108108/adhd-and-negative-self-appraisal/ One of the greater challenges for those of us with ADHD is that our brains amplify negative self-talk coupled with a propensity to experience emotional hyperarousal.These two key features of ADHD mean that we’re quick to judge and blame ourselves, and then get stuck in the painful feeling of that thinking. This experience is known as rumination - a persistent perspective and feeling of doom and gloom.Why are we prone to this? The ADHD brain is wired for interest, constantly drawn to thinking a... Mon, 19 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/#post108108 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/post/108107/masking-and-adhd/ Certain behavioural norms are entrenched in society. Things like being still when someone speaks to you, looking directly at someone addressing you, being patient while waiting your turn, being polite, saying the right thing at the right time.While this is especially true for childhood, when we mature, the expectation of behaving the ‘right’ way can be even more demanding: not being overly emotional, having an aptitude at organising and prioritising your actions, completing things by due dat... Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/#post108107 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/post/103190/nz-herald-article-on-body-doubling/ Co-working (or body-doubling) can be exceptionally anchoring for an ADHD person, particularly if they’re hyperactive. So that’s physically anchoring, but also anchoring in terms of attention.” I shared some thoughts with the NZ Herald recently about the productivity and focus benefits of body-doubling for people with ADHD... Click here to read the full article.... Fri, 14 Apr 2023 01:05:36 +1200 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/#post103190 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/post/103191/adhd-and-routine-why-adhd-brains-need-structure-even-if-they-hate-it/ ADHD: the “I’ll do it my way, when I want” can’t stand the concept of a routine, but then actually needs and is healthier with it.Routine is “scaffolding” for the dopamine deprived brain.It’s a healthy constraint that our wide open meandering mind needs to: Start stuff Complete stuff Feel in control Feel that things are manageable Get results and be proud of our work.And yet… the seduction of having a wide open space to do what we want is really compelling.But when we get that.. ... Fri, 14 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/#post103191 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/post/88577/breaking-the-bias-in-neurodiversity/ In March 2022 I featured in the Womanhood Journal for International Woman's Day, about my ADHD journey and what it can mean for all of us when we're ready to #BreakTheBias.... Sun, 18 Sep 2022 21:25:03 +1200 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/#post88577 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/post/71511/my-adhd-journey/ It took me 49 years to receive a diagnosis of ADHD after which many of my own challenges suddenly made sense. Although I was brilliant at activating and motivating others, I felt a near paralysis when it came to doing what I needed to do for myself and my business unless it deeply interested me. I struggled with important but mundane tasks, not being able to apply a "just do it" ethos, and couldn't work out why. I was consistently inconsistent with things that I started unless these we... Fri, 03 Dec 2021 17:04:25 +1300 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/#post71511 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/post/74604/the-adhd-self-leadership-pyramid/ One of the best ways we can reliably thrive in the world with our ADHD is to take leadership (or ownership) of our own wellbeing. And it starts with self-prioritisation. Self-prioritisation is a dealmaker for us. While we hyperfocus on the next thing that catches our attention, or the most urgent task in front of us, our attention actually needs to be given to caring for ourselves and creating the conditions for us to thrive before we can be of value and service in the work that we do. This is p... Tue, 23 Nov 2021 11:35:18 +1300 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/#post74604 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/post/74528/getting-out-of-the-adhd-rut/ One of the best things we can do for helping overcome chronic ADHD paralysis is getting a diagnosis. A diagnosis shifted my perception of the difficulty I had taking action, from one of self criticism and self loathing, to accepting that there is a good reason for my struggle. A reason based on the neurobiology of my brain. A diagnosis is one of the first critical steps we can take to changing the narrative about who we are.  When we realise we're not dealing with a character defect an... Sat, 20 Nov 2021 08:26:05 +1300 http://www.annieromanos.com/blog/#post74528