E162: It's Just One Glass of Wine! Groundhog Day Drinking: How to Stop the Vicious Cycle of Self-Medicating your ADHD with Alcohol with Carolyn Robistow LPC

You wake up in the morning and think, "Dang it! I wasn't gonna drink last night." Now you feel like crap and don't want to get out of bed.  A lot of us live in the middle ground: you wouldn't consider yourself an alcoholic, but you also aren't exactly happy with your relationship with alcohol. It’s an awkward place to be.  …Maybe you're making up rules for yourself like you'll only drink on weekends, on special occasions, or with friends.  …Maybe you say you'll have just one glass of wine, but it turns into two or the whole bottle. …Maybe you're a Groundhog Day drinker… Every morning you make a pact with yourself and you inevitably break it. Again and again.  Let's pause the spiral of shame and have an open conversation about how alcohol is a popular and culturally acceptable method to tone down the chaos in your mind so you can chill out in the evenings - particularly useful when you have ADHD and loud children.  Let me be clear: I'm not here to tell you never to drink again. I want you to have the relationship YOU want with alcohol, no matter what it looks like.  Today's guest is Carolyn Robistow, LPC, and host of Brain Unblocked: The Brainspotting Podcast. Carolyn helps high-achieving, health-minded perfectionists squelch brain blocks and unhelpful habits. She is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs get out of their heads, stop drinking, and start living optimized AF. Carolyn side hustles at her private practice, The Joy Effect, an in-person and virtual counseling practice in The Woodlands, TX, where she specializes in Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).   You don't have to painfully shame yourself into a new way of doing things. Let's dig into the tough conversations, Successful Mama! Learn more and connect with Carolyn:  Website: www.carolynrobistow.net Practice Website: https://joyeffectcounseling.com Instagram: @carolynrobistow Facebook: Carolyn Robistow  Free Download: Patricia's Secret to Overcoming Time Blindness To read the transcript and view the show notes visit the Motherhood in ADHD Blog.  

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Productivity, Parenting, and Education for Moms with Adult ADHD Are you overwhelmed by the never-ending to do list of motherhood? Are you burnt out and barely keeping your head above water? Are you confused and frustrated by how all the other moms make it look so easy? And somehow you're still floundering despite trying even harder... Your purse is as overflowing as your mind, you never feel like a good enough mom, and you don't dare have anyone over to visit to witness your messy home. You just want the best for your kids, but you can't figure out how to manage the chaos, both in your mind and in your house. Oh, I've been there, mama. Some days, I'm still there. Parenting with ADHD is hard! We want to be structured for our kids, yet we can't seem to stay consistent even for ourselves. But I'm letting go of everyone else's perception of a "good mom" and stepping into loving who I am a little more each day. Will you join me? Whether you have ADHD like I do, or think you might, here is your permission slip to let go of the pinterest worthy visions of organization and structure fit for everyone else. Let's do life like our brains do life: creatively, lovingly, and with all your might. Moms with ADHD have a superpower of always trying their best, even when it doesn't pan out. How do I know? I have known about my ADD for over twenty years, and I want to share all of this hard-earned ADHD knowledge with you, making your adjustment a lot easier and faster than mine was. What does Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder look like in women? We'll dive into emotional regulation, motivation, executive function, hormones, medication, and natural treatments. Women with ADHD share their diagnosis stories with us, whether inattentive, hyperactive or combined, from childhood through adult diagnoses. We also talk about ADHD's so-called friends like depression, anxiety, addiction, disordered eating, other learning differences, and what I've learned through therapy and CBT. Science is my jam and learning about how our brains work through the lens of scientific research helps us understand who we are. ADHD is not just for little boys; it looks different in girls. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a neurological medical condition, not an excuse for lazy, stupid, unmotivated people to not live up to our potential. Let's agree to throw that thought in the trash. Once we understand how our brains work, we can dive into the practical strategies like structuring our day, minimalism, money, nurturing our relationships, daily rhythms, using a planner, and improving our sleep. I want to help you build your version of a joyful family life. We talk about everything from ADHD to Zebras, because that is how Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder works: to us, our thoughts are clearly connected, but non-linear to everyone else. I want you to love being a zebra in a world full of horses. We were born as unique, gorgeous creatures, not meant to blend in with the usual nor mundane. When we embrace who we are and how our brains work, we can figure out how to live out lives successfully and in turn, lead our families well. At the end of the day, we just want to be good moms. Spoiler alert: you are already a great mom. If you're ready to see that with your own two eyes, hit play and listen in as we love ourselves a little more each day of our ADHD lives. ADHD does NOT mean you're doomed to be a hot mess, mama! You CAN rewrite your story from shame spiral to success story, and I'll be right here beside you to cheer you on! With love, Patricia Sung, a fellow mama with ADHD Free Resources and Transcriptions at: motherhoodinadhd.com Connect with Patricia Sung on Instagram: www.instagram.com/motherhoodinadhd Join like-minded mamas in our Successful Mama Meetups online community: https://www.patriciasung.com/meetup Sign up for community, courses, coaching, and tons of free resources to learn about ADHD: www.patriciasung.com