When My ADHD Brain Broke
I woke up one day to get ready for work and my brain just blue-screened. I froze. I couldn’t do it.
What I didn’t know at this point was that I had an underlying condition that caused this burnout. That condition was responsible for the intermittent stress and anxiety around work.
I had been working under stress for 20 years, not knowing there was a root cause to my issues – I had undiagnosed ADHD.
Marketing With ADHD
Marketing wasn’t built for ADHD brains.
As a marketing manager and executive for over two decades, I learnt this the hard way – through countless notes, forgotten meetings, and finally, a complete burnout that changed everything.
But here’s the thing: that burnout led to a breakthrough that transformed not just my career, but my entire approach to business.
The Wake-Up Call
It happened on what should have been just another workday.
Instead of my usual morning routine, I found myself frozen—literally unable to move forward. My brain had simply said, “Nope.”
I didn’t realise then that this wasn’t just ordinary workplace stress. This was twenty years of trying to fit my neurodivergent mind into a neurotypical world.
Learning Self-Acceptance
I still make mistakes when working – though less frequently now that I understand my brain better – but the real difference is in how I handle them. I no longer over-apologise or beat myself up. I’ve learned to accept that mistakes are part of who I am. Fix, apologise and move on.
From Survival to Strategy
Through years of trial and error, I’d developed effective methods without realising why I needed them differently from others.
Getting my ADHD diagnosis didn’t suddenly fix everything, but it was like finally receiving the manual for how my brain worked.
I could now see why certain approaches I’d developed worked so well for me, while others failed miserably.
With this understanding – and some deeper work through compassionate inquiry and nervous system regulation (stories for future posts!) – I refined my existing strategies into something even more powerful.
The coping strategies I’d created under pressure weren’t just random – they were intuitive responses to how my ADHD brain naturally works. Now I could make them even better.
These weren’t just survival tactics anymore – they became intentional, refined strategies that turned my ADHD traits into strengths.
Moving Forward
Now, I help other ADHD entrepreneurs do the same – because marketing doesn’t have to feel like you’re constantly fighting against your own brain.
Be kind to yourself, Jay
