Part of getting into a better place amidst a period of burnout and instability is to surround myself with others who know what it’s like.

I went to the Nottingham Adult ADHD Support Group tonight in person, my first ever meetup since diagnosis in November and it was really good.

I’m protecting the safety and integrity of the group by not identifying individuals or fine details but in essence the two-hour session was split into two parts. The first part was a ‘show and tell’ format where a number of people (6/7? 😂) took up to five minutes to showcase things about them, talents and interests. What then ensued was singing, music, tales of sporting achievement, research and support apps, storytelling and more. A rich mix of interesting experiences where we go to find out more about people in the group.

The second part of the meeting was dedicated to discussion and sharing experiences, in this case mostly centred on the benefits of mindfulness and difficulties that neurodivergent people can have with quietening their racing brains.

This group meets every month and I think that there were around 30 people there and it was well-facilitated. There is an option to chip in to help the running of the group and people took homemade cookies and goods to share.

What an uplifting but also humbling evening. I’ll be back in July.

I’d encourage folks to search for similar groups in your area as it may help you to feel less alone, isolated, misunderstood, missed.