Confessions of an ADHD Blogger
After a year and a half of sharing my life, I suddenly realized that I have never explained where A Dose of Healthy Distraction came from. So this is the story of a blog.
Can we say, ADHD? I should have written this post ages ago. Instead I taught myself how to use WordPress (not always well) and how to communicate on social media. Not that I am an expert. By all measures this is still a small blog.
A Dose of Healthy Distraction is taken from the acronym ADHD. It was important to me to include ADHD without putting it directly in the name of the site because I am about more than just ADHD. I like my choice, but sometimes I think I should have gone with something shorter and snazzier.
[bctt tweet=”I am not an attention grabbing person. I am an introvert with ADHD who has a blog. http://wp.me/p60iCk-pR” username=”HealthyADHD”]
What makes this website different?
Through research I found the big websites out there. I admired them from afar. But I felt like most of what was out there was coming from published authors and therapists. Some of the websites were membership only or geared toward selling book and products.
I am not a therapist or a published author. As I have said before, I have no letters after my name. I didn’t want my site to read like a college term paper.
I wanted more of an informational entertainment site. If such a thing exists. Not that I am particularly entertaining, I just like making people feel better. Women living with ADHD need a safe space to learn and grow.
The Healthy ADHD Brand
Pretty early on I realized I needed to create a brand. I knew I was interested in connecting with other women living with ADHD, but I didn’t have a clue what a brand really was. So I spent some money and got help from a wonderful brand and graphic designer.
My mission is to offer a dose of healthy distraction from our complicated daily lives.
Yep, this is my whole mission. To distract you from the stuff that stresses you out. Well…and to offer some advice, encouragement and understanding.
My Values
Laughter – “Everyone has issues, sometimes we just need to laugh.” To laugh at yourself, laugh at life, laugh period, because it is good for you.
Parenting – Parenting in the hardest sense of the word. Always trying to better yourself and learn as you go.
Marriage – Being not only a great wife, but a great partner.
Authenticity – We (women) spend so much time beating ourselves up. We don’t look the right way, our home doesn’t look the right way, our children don’t behave the way we want them too. I want to take away some of the negative energy and replace it with positive community support.
Community – I’m a good listener. I can sense how others are feeling. I am at my best when I am supporting and working with others closely. I prize relationships above all else.
Accessibility – I am not a big blogger. I want my readers and community members to always have access to me through email and otherwise. I will never be a good sales person, but I am a pretty good mentor. The only guarantee I can offer is my lifetime of experiences and perspective.
My services
I now offer Meal Planning Services. Eventually I hope to offer other types of ADHD mentoring and info products. Because of the nature of ADHD, it takes me some time to develop these types of products and services.
In the next week or so I will be sending out a survey to learn more about you and how I can help. The idea of calling myself a coach is a little uncomfortable, so I prefer to think of myself as a mentor.
Oh and in case you were wondering – I will never charge thousands of dollars for my time. It just seems over the top to me. I want my insight to be accessible to everyone.
Vision for the future
This is what I want for this website going forward:
I want to be a clearinghouse for information about women and adults with ADHD. So I need guest posts and contributors. Having an opinion is a good thing.
I want to offer more info products, courses and distractions for women and mothers with ADHD.
I want to grow a community of supportive women that discuss all the messy parts of our lives in an honest way. No judgment.
I want to build a brand that promotes self-acceptance, self awareness and fun! And the longer I do this the more passionate I become about our cause.
We are ADHD women. We are smart and capable. All we need is acceptance, support and laughter.
I cannot find the original source of this quote.
For more info on my personal story check out this post.
If you would like to communicate with me directly send me an email.
If you are a blogger – why did you start writing?
Do you think there are enough accessible resources for women living with ADHD?
You know, when I first started my blog, I focused a lot on giving advice. It was my husband who eventually said, “you realize you’re not an expert. What qualifies you to write like one?”
Point taken, though I still love to give advice. But I shifted my focus more to myself: telling my story, and weaving in what has worked for me, what has helped me build a good life and family, and how I think that could apply to others with ADHD. It’s a special advantage for us personal bloggers.
I love that you share so much of yourself, because I think it makes others feel like they can do it, too. You’re so approachable and you’ve created such a supportive environment. Women with ADHD need that 🙂
So…thanks for sharing!
Your husband is absolutely correct! I love that we can weave personal stories in with our practical advice. In many way I am an open book, but in other ways I am totally introverted. I just like connecting with people.
Thank you for stopping by, I am excited to do a twitter chat!