Common ADHD Challenges
As a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) therapist based in Brighton and Hove and offering face to face and online ADHD therapy and coaching across the UK, I work with many adults and neurodivergent individuals who face similar challenges. Not everyone with ADHD experiences the same traits, each person has their own unique mix of strengths and difficulties. Below are some of the most common problems people seek CBT or ADHD therapy for:
Difficulties with Attention and Focus
People with ADHD often struggle to regulate their attention. It’s not that they can’t concentrate—it’s that they don’t always have control over when and where their focus goes. Many describe experiencing periods of intense hyperfocus but finding it difficult to stay engaged with tasks that feel boring, overwhelming or non-urgent. This inconsistency can affect work, studies, relationships, and daily responsibilities, often leading to frustration, self-criticism, and burnout.
Through CBT for ADHD, therapy can help you manage attention, develop focus strategies, and improve producvity while reducing feelings of shame. Ultimately helping you to trust yourself and learn that you can achieve whatever you want.
Impulsivity and Risk-Taking
Impulsivity is another common ADHD trait. It may show up as speaking without thinking, making fast decisions without considering consequences, or finding it difficult to stop certain behaviours once they start. This can involve challenges with spending, eating, scrolling, gambling, substance use, or relationship difficulties.This can often present itself as addiction or addictive behaviour and/or personality.
Over time, impulsivity can contribute to regret, low self-esteem, and conflict at work or home. CBT and ADHD counselling and coaching helps individuals understand impulsive patterns and develop tools to reduce their impact.
Emotional Dysregulation and Strong Feelings
Many adults with ADHD experience intense emotions and difficulty regulating them. Small frustrations can feel overwhelming, and shifting out of a low mood can be challenging. These emotional ups and downs may strain relationships, and it can feel isolating when others don’t understand these reactions.
ADHD therapy in Brighton and Hove or online can help you explore emotional patterns, build coping strategies, and develop self-compassion for your neurodivergent experience.
Time Blindness and Time Management Challenges
ADHD often brings difficulties with time perception—sometimes called “time blindness.” This can mean underestimating or overestimating how long tasks will take, losing track of time due to distractions, or impulsively prioritising one task over another. Many clients describe always leaving “just in time,” which often leads to running late. Many people with ADHD have a strong dislike for wasted or dead time and therefore try to optimise the time they have.
CBT and practical executive function support can help you manage time more effectively, reduce lateness, and feel more in control of your schedule.
Executive Functioning Difficulties
Executive functions include skills such as planning, organising, remembering tasks, and managing priorities. ADHD can make these skills inconsistent, leading to missed appointments, unfinished projects, and feeling overwhelmed. These challenges are often misunderstood as laziness or lack of motivation, which can harm self-confidence and trust.
With specialist ADHD CBT support, you can learn tailored tools and routines that build self-trust and make everyday life more manageable.
Hyperactivity, Restlessness, and Sleep Difficulties
Some people with ADHD experience high levels of energy or physical restlessness. This can make it hard to sit still, relax, or wind down at night. Lack of rest can worsen impulsivity and contribute to burnout, making daily functioning even harder.
ADHD-focused therapy teaches techniques for managing restlessness, improving sleep, and learning how to relax when your brain feels “always on.”
Rejection Sensitivity and People-Pleasing
Many neurodivergent adults with ADHD experience heightened sensitivity to criticism or perceived rejection, sometimes known as Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD). Even small signs of disapproval can feel intensely painful, leading to emotional reactions, anxious attachment styles, people-pleasing behaviours, withdrawal from relationships, and feelings of not being “good enough.”
Therapy can help you understand rejection sensitivity, process difficult emotions, and build resilience and self-acceptance.
Co-occurring Mental Health Challenges
ADHD often occurs alongside other conditions such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or addiction. These overlapping difficulties can mask or complicate ADHD symptoms, making diagnosis and treatment more challenging. Many people with ADHD will describe constant or daily anxiety.
Working with a CBT therapist who specialises in ADHD and neurodiversity allows you to address ADHD symptoms and co-occurring mental health issues together, improving overall wellbeing and self-confidence.
Life Transitions and ADHD Burnout
Major life changes—such as starting university, beginning a new job, becoming a parent, or navigating a relationship change—can be especially overwhelming for adults with ADHD. These transitions can increase stress and sometimes lead to ADHD burnout, a state of physical and emotional exhaustion from prolonged effort to cope or “mask” difficulties.
ADHD therapy and coaching (available in Brighton, Hove, and online UK-wide) supports you in developing personalised strategies, routines, and coping skills to handle transitions with confidence and prevent burnout.
Support for ADHD and Neurodiversity
Living with ADHD brings unique challenges, but also strengths and creativity. With the right therapeutic support, it’s possible to manage symptoms, build resilience, and live more confidently as a neurodivergent individual.
I offer ADHD CBT therapy in Brighton and Hove, as well as online ADHD counselling and coaching across the UK, helping adults develop practical strategies to improve focus, emotional regulation, time management, and self-esteem while embracing their neurodiversity.
Common ADHD Myths
1. “ADHD is just laziness or lack of discipline.”
This is one of the most dangerous misconceptions about ADHD. ADHD is not about being unmotivated or having no discipline—it’s a neurodevelopmental condition that affects brain function, particularly in areas linked to planning, organisation, and attention regulation. This belief leads to. A lot of shame and leads to people constantly ‘trying harder’ and getting stuck in a negative spiral. Support to learn how to do things differently can really help people to trust themselves and get out if this pattern.
2. “Everyone has a bit of ADHD.”
While many people occasionally feel distracted or forgetful, ADHD is not the same as normal distraction. ADHD is a recognised condition that significantly affects daily functioning and requires tailored support and treatment.
3. “ADHD only affects children.”
ADHD is often thought of as a childhood disorder, but for many people, symptoms continue into adulthood. Many adults in the UK are diagnosed with ADHD later in life, sometimes after struggling for years without understanding why.
4. “People with ADHD can’t focus on anything.”
This is a common misunderstanding. People with ADHD can sometimes focus very deeply on topics or tasks they find engaging (called hyperfocus). The difficulty lies in controlling and shifting attention, not a total inability to focus.
5. “ADHD is overdiagnosed or made up.”
Some believe ADHD is just a modern invention or bad behaviour being medicalised. Scientific research clearly shows ADHD is a real and well-documented condition, with strong genetic links and measurable differences in brain activity.
6. “ADHD is caused by poor parenting or bad discipline.”
This myth unfairly blames parents. ADHD is not caused by parenting styles. However, understanding ADHD and learning supportive approaches can help children and adults manage symptoms more effectively.
7. “People with ADHD are always loud, disruptive, or hyperactive.”
While hyperactivity can be a symptom, many people—especially women—have inattentive ADHD, which often looks like quietness, daydreaming, or internal restlessness rather than visible hyperactivity.
8. “Medication alone can fix ADHD.”
Medication can be helpful, but ADHD treatment is most effective when combined with therapy, coaching, and practical strategies. As a CBT therapist offering online ADHD therapy across the UK, I work with clients to build personalised tools for managing symptoms beyond medication alone.
9. “ADHD only causes problems.”
ADHD also brings unique strengths, including creativity, innovation, high energy, and the ability to hyperfocus on passions. Therapy helps people recognise and use these strengths while managing challenges.
10. “Successful or organised people can’t have ADHD.”
Many high-achieving professionals live with ADHD. Success doesn’t mean they don’t experience difficulties—it often means they’ve developed coping strategies or are masking symptoms, which can sometimes lead to stress or burnout.
ADHD Support and Neurodiversity Awareness
Breaking down myths about ADHD is essential to improving understanding and support. If you’re seeking adult ADHD therapy in Brighton and Hove or online ADHD counselling anywhere in the UK, working with a specialist therapist can help you better understand ADHD traits, challenge misconceptions, and develop practical ways to thrive as a neurodivergent individual.
Thriving with ADHD: Building on Your Strenghts
Living with ADHD often means you’ve spent years hearing about the things you “should” change—be more organised, stay focused, stop being impulsive, be on time blah blah blah. But the truth is, ADHD is not a character flaw. You don’t need to become a different person to live well with ADHD. Instead, the goal is to learn how to manage ADHD in ways that work for you, and to start seeing the strengths and talents that come with your unique brain.
As a CBT therapist in Brighton and Hove offering online ADHD support across the UK, I work with clients to help them reframe how they see ADHD—moving from self-blame and frustration towards understanding and empowerment. This is the “come as you are” approach: acceptance first, strategy second.
Seeing What’s Strong, Not Just What’s Wrong
It’s common to only see ADHD through the lens of challenges: trouble concentrating, impulsive decisions, or feeling disorganised. Just like its common to only see yourself through the lens of failure. But alongside those difficulties are qualities that many neurodivergent people naturally have, including:
- Creativity and innovation – seeing solutions and connections others might miss.
- Hyperfocus on passions – the ability to deep dive into topics of interest.
- High energy – bringing enthusiasm and drive to work and relationships.
- Resilience – managing ADHD means you’ve already learned to adapt and persevere.
- Pattern recognition - People with ADHD often excel at spotting patterns others miss.
- Empathy and sensitivity – many people with ADHD are highly attuned to others’ emotions.
When therapy focuses only on “fixing” what’s hard, these strengths can be overlooked or undervalued. A balanced approach recognises both sides—building tools to manage challenges and celebrating what makes you, you.
Working With Your Brain, Not Against It
Therapy is not about turning you into someone who colour-codes every diary entry and sits still for hours (unless that’s truly what you want). It’s about understanding how your brain works best and making adjustments to support it. That might mean:
- Using reminders, alarms, and visual cues to help with memory.
- Structuring your environment to reduce distractions instead of relying solely on willpower.
- Building your life up in a way that facilities the changes you want to make
- Finding movement-friendly ways to work or learn.
- Creating routines that allow flexibility without chaos.
- Trusting yourself to do things a way that you might be told is “bad”
The aim is not perfection—it’s self-trust. Knowing you have strategies that work for your real life, not an idealised version of yourself.
Challenging the “Masking” Habit
Many adults with ADHD have spent years masking—hiding traits they fear will be judged or have been judged in the past. Then pushing themselves to meet neurotypical expectations at the expense of their mental health. This can lead to exhaustion, burnout, and a sense of being “not enough” no matter how much effort you put in.
Part of thriving with ADHD is learning when to drop the mask and live more authentically. This can mean setting boundaries, being honest about needs, and surrounding yourself with people who value you as you are. Therapy offers a safe space to explore what unmasking might look like for you and how to do it without feeling exposed or unsafe.
Thriving Is Personal
Thriving with ADHD doesn’t look the same for everyone. For some, it might mean feeling calmer and more in control of daily tasks. For others, it’s about reconnecting with creativity, rebuilding self-esteem, or deepening relationships. The important thing is that your version of thriving starts from where you are now—not where someone else thinks you should be.
Through CBT and ADHD-focused therapy, we can work together to:
- Reframe unhelpful beliefs about yourself and ADHD.
- Build a more healthy Mindset around ADHD and yourself
- Develop practical systems that fit your life.
- Build emotional resilience and self-acceptance.
- Identify and use your ADHD strengths every day.
You don’t have to change who you are to thrive—you just need the right tools, the right mindset, and the right support.
How ADHD Therapy Can Help You
Many people with ADHD come to therapy thinking they need to “fix” themselves. They’ve often tried countless self-help strategies, been told to “just try harder,” or compared themselves to others until they feel exhausted and defeated. The truth is, ADHD therapy is not about becoming a different person—it’s about understanding your brain and learning to live in a way that works for you. This allows you to achieve the things you may have been struggling with.
As a specialist ADHD CBT therapist in Brighton and Hove, I also work with clients online across the UK, helping them manage symptoms, improve emotional wellbeing, and live more confidently as their authentic selves.
Understanding, Not Judgement
The first step in ADHD therapy is creating a safe, non-judgemental space where you can talk openly about your experiences—without fear of being misunderstood or criticised. For many, simply having their struggles validated and explained through the lens of ADHD can be life-changing.
We explore your patterns, your challenges, and your strengths, looking at how ADHD affects your relationships, work, self-esteem, and daily routines. Understanding why we behave in certain ways, is key to learning how to change this.
Practical Strategies Tailored to You
CBT for ADHD is a hands-on, skills-based approach. Instead of generic advice like “be more organised,” we break down your specific challenges and create personalised strategies that work with your natural style.
This might include:
- Time management tools that account for ADHD time-blindness.
- Focus strategies for both stimulating and less engaging tasks.
- Impulse control techniques that help you pause before acting.
- Emotional regulation tools for managing overwhelm or frustration.
- Systems for organisation that reduce chaos without feeling rigid.
- Building a positive / self compassionate mindset that is crucial for managing change
The aim is to create a toolkit you can use immediately—not something theoretical or unrealistic.
Changing the Way You Think About ADHD
A big part of ADHD therapy is shifting your mindset from “I’m broken” to “I work differently.” This is where the “come as you are” philosophy comes in—embracing who you are while making small, sustainable changes that make life easier.
We work on:
- Challenging self-critical thoughts.
- Reframing setbacks as learning opportunities.
- Dealing with failure and recognising it as inevitable and helpful (its not how hard you can hit, its how hard you can get hit and still keep moving forward)
- Recognising and celebrating achievements (even the small ones).
- Building self-compassion and confidence.
- Building a structure and a life that works for you instead of constantly challenging you
Living Authentically With ADHD
Ultimately, ADHD therapy and coaching is about helping you live authentically, without constant masking or pretending to be someone else. It’s about finding a balance between managing the parts of ADHD that get in your way and leaning into the parts that make you unique.
Whether you’re newly diagnosed, have suspected ADHD for years, or are simply struggling with focus, organisation, or emotional regulation, you don’t need to face it alone.