In 2021 I was diagnosed with ADHD, and since then I have learned so much.
I know I’m not the only one who felt like my diagnosis was like the final puzzle piece finally sliding into it’s place so now I could see the complete picture and everything made sense.
I’ve always known I was different. Things always seemed much harder for me than they were for other people. But like most women, I was so good at masking my symptoms and trying hard to appear “neurotypical”, that my ADHD went undiagnosed until I was in my early 30’s.
But I’ve struggled my whole life.
Positivity has always been a difficult thing for me to achieve. Constantly feeling like I was never good enough led to me becoming bitter, and angry. I didn’t see the point of being positive, because good things didn’t happen to me anyway.
However, I found that affirmations really helped to alter my mindset and were an amazing tool on my journey to self-love and true happiness.
General affirmations are great. However, I’ve found that the ones that are tailored specifically to your own situation and goals are more powerful.
In this article I’m going to share exactly what affirmations are, why affirmations are useful when you have ADHD, and some examples of affirmations for ADHD.
Table of Contents
What is an affirmation?
A positive affirmation is a short statement that helps us to overcome our negative thoughts and become more positive.
By repeating a positive statement many times, those negative statements have less room to take shape in our mind. According to the Cleveland Clinic, positive affirmations can literally change negative behavior and thoughts.
How do affirmations for ADHD help people with ADHD?
People with ADHD often struggle with confidence
I don’t find it very surprising that many of us with ADHD have low self-esteem. When we are constantly being told we aren’t good enough. Or we need to sit still. Or be quiet. Or focus. Or pay attention.
All that critique can leave us feeling like anything we do is never good enough.
It doesn’t help that we often set higher standards for ourselves than we do for the other people in our lives. All of this can leave us with some pretty poor self-esteem.
But by using positive affirmations, we begin to repeat these positive things about ourselves over and over again, which helps to improve our confidence.
ADHD can cause us to self-sabotage
Unfortunately, people with ADHD are no strangers to trying something and failing. It can be frustrating when we feel like other people can do things that seem to come natural to them, but we struggle with those same things.
Wanting to avoid that failure can lead to us avoiding even trying in the first place. When we don’t try we can’t fail. So sometimes our minds present us with excuses, or ways that we can self-sabotage ourselves.
Positive affirmations can fully prepare us to avoid self-sabotaging attitudes and behaviors.
People with ADHD often procrastinate
For those of us that have ADHD, procrastination is often influenced by the symptoms of our condition.
Studies show that teens and adults with ADHD can use procrastination as a compensation strategy. If we have a hard task ahead of us, it can be easier to procrastinate and avoid thinking about that fact that something may be too challenging for our skills or abilities.
Using positive affirmations can help to increase motivation to try these tasks, even knowing that we might fail.
What are some examples of ADHD affirmations?
- I am happy with who I am and who I can become
- I believe in myself
- I am my best source of motivation
- I am strong
- I accept my feelings about ADHD
- I am worthy of all the good things in life
- I am not my disorder
- Every day I become more confident
- It’s okay if I struggle with my ADHD
- I choose positivity
- I am enough
- I value myself
- I believe in my abilities
- I am stronger than my struggles
- I deserve the love I receive
- My differences make me beautiful
- I am improving every day in all ways
- Great things are happening to me every day
- I am stronger than my fears
- My happiness doesn’t depend on other people’s opinions
- I can let go of my insecurities
- I can embrace the fact that I have ADHD
- I am not afraid of the unknown
- I can overcome every setback
- I create my own destiny
- I trust myself
- My feelings matter
- I am loved for who I am
- I don’t need validation from others
- It’s okay to leave my comfort zone
Although affirmations can seem simple, they can be a powerful tool for change. Not only are they free, but they only take a few minutes out of your day. Isn’t that worth potentially improving your life?
Do you have any ADHD affirmations that I’ve missed?
