Resistance to recovering from a physical or emotional injury or sickness takes its toll on neurodivergent individuals. Why is this the case? Well I believe there are two forces behind the psychological resistance to recovering. Firstly, masking symptoms is a natural adaptation for a neurodivergent person and when we are sick we naturally try to hide this from others. This is adaptive response can become habitual leading to maladaptive behaviour. We find that overworking, is a curse for the high achiever! Secondly, ADHDers especially are highly sensitive individuals. We feel deeply. We are also more prone to emotional reasoning. We feel first then we subconsciously align our narrative to make sense of this feeling. This allows us to resonate fully. Right now I am tackling a hideous head cold. The old me would have masked this, pushed through, taken medication to sedate the symptoms then told myself things are overwhelming and then created undue pressure to keep going. A vicious circle delaying my own recovery. The new me? Well I’m enjoying a day or two of rest, watching reruns of old tv series I never had the patience to watch in my twenties, chatting with my kids and spending some time catching up on some social media comments and reading. My new internal narrative is nothing is life threatening, and everything can wait. My kids are happy, my business is robust and growing. My clients are incredibly resilient and supportive. Plus when I need to do something to a tight deadline (very soon) I will step up and smash it. Life is good. 😊 Also I was reflecting that the lead up to Father’s Day is often a very challenging time for me and this year I decided to let myself grieve. To feel things deeply. There is no time limit on grief. Tomorrow is a new day! What is your relationship to rest and recovery? I’m also diving into a new book called Aligned on this exact topic, watch this space! Stay human, Dr Kim ✨