Remember the story of The Ugly Duckling? Well, here's a slightly different version:
Once upon a time there was a very frustrated little Duckling who felt overwhelmed, overworked, and totally out of place among all the other seemingly more accomplished ducklings. You know the ones: they were always on time, they always looked beautiful, their children were perfect, their houses were spotless, and they actually had time to read the Book Club selection BEFORE each meeting! What was a frustrated little Duckling to do?
Then one day, the little Duckling - running behind, as usual - crashed right into ANOTHER little Duckling who was also running behind. (Turned out, the second little Duckling had lost her keys - again - and was literally running behind the bus while trying to get to work.) They were so shocked by their run-in, that they both burst into laughter, forgot where they were going, and decided to go get a cup of coffee instead. For our little Duckling, it was a life-changing event.
The atmosphere in the coffee shop was chaotic, exciting, and - oh - so familiar! Our little duckling was thrilled to see a roomful of other ducklings, much like herself, with feathers ruffled, purses overloaded, and planners askew. As she watched in awe, she began to hear snatches of conversations as the group laughed and cried and shared insights and support for each other. When they noticed her, they immediately invited her to join the group. Never before had our little Duckling felt so accepted and happy. She no longer envied those "other" ducklings. She had found her place!
One year later: after continuing to meet with the group (which happened to be led by a Life Coach) our little Duckling began to feel much less frustrated. Supported and accepted, she noticed that her feelings of being overwhelmed and overworked began to lessen. She began to establish new habits of organization and time management. Best of all, our little Duckling discovered that she had some amazing strengths and gifts of her own to contribute to the world.
Moral of the story: instead of suffering in silence, try growing with a group!
If you are a woman with AD/HD, live in Tampa, FL, and are interested in joining a Discussion/Study/Support Group for women with AD/HD, contact Andrea for more information.
