Anxiety, imposter syndrome, and ADHD (Mallory’s story)

Mallory Band was diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety when she was 8 years old. She has two brothers with ADHD, but their ADHD looked different. They were hyperactive on the outside. But Mallory felt hyperactive on the inside. She struggled with perfectionism, people pleasing, and big emotions. As with many women who have ADHD, imposter syndrome set in as she got older. Mallory’s “aha” moment came well after her ADHD diagnosis — when she was in graduate school learning about executive function. It was the first time she had stopped to think about how her own brain worked, and how burnt out she was from pushing herself against it. Now she’s an executive function coach who helps people with ADHD lean into the power of saying “no.” Understood.org is a resource dedicated to shaping the world so the 70 million people in the U.S. with learning and thinking differences can thrive. Learn more about “ADHD Aha!” and all our podcasts at u.org/podcasts. Copyright © 2023 Understood for All, Inc. All rights reserved. Understood is not affiliated with any pharmaceutical company.