Anita Robertson: Explaining your ADHD to your non-ADHD partner
Women & ADHD
Katy Weber
4.9 • 685 Ratings
🗓️ 27 March 2023
⏱️ 65 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Episode 130 with Anita Robertson.
“What’s hard for us is easy for everybody else. And what’s hard for everyone else is really easy for us.”
Anita is a psychotherapist in Austin, Texas, and the author of ADHD & Us: A Couple’s Guide to Loving and Living with Adult ADHD.
Anita works with adults and couples, and she created the ADHD Relationship Bootcamp to help neurodiverse couples develop new skills to communicate effectively and improve their relationships. She also works with ADHD adults to make their environments ADHD-friendly: from executive functioning supports to sensory needs.
I reached out to Anita because while there seems to be plenty of advice out there on living with an ADHD partner, I haven’t seen a lot of books that address what it’s like to be the ADHD partner, especially as a woman. Many of us who are diagnosed in adulthood have difficulty explaining our ADHD traits and experiences, especially to our non-ADHD partners. Anita & I talk all about some of the more common stressors in relationships — like clutter or parenthood — and she describes the 5 ADHD relationship pillars and how we can embrace a growth mindset to improve communication and advocate for our needs.
Books & Articles mentioned:
ADHD & Us: A Couple's Guide to Loving and Living With Adult ADHD by Anita Robertson
Blog: When clutter makes your relationship messy
Website: anitarobertson.com
Instagram: @strengthinyourmind
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey friends, it's Katie here. Have you spent your whole life wondering why things feel harder for you |
| 0:05.2 | than they do for everyone else? Do you struggle with motivation even for the things you actually want to do? |
| 0:10.6 | Are you exhausted even though it feels like you're not getting anything done? If you're nodding along, |
| 0:15.9 | then I've got some exciting news. I've recently expanded the women and ADHD team by joining forces with a few |
| 0:22.4 | of my favorite ADHD coaches, each of whom I trust wholeheartedly because they share my values |
| 0:28.1 | of compassionate, neurodivergent affirming support. Consistent one-on-one coaching from someone |
| 0:33.1 | who truly understands what it's like to live with ADHD can make all the difference in life. |
| 0:38.6 | Our women and ADHD coaches provide guidance, support, and accountability you can trust |
| 0:43.6 | with accessible pricing and free consultation calls, so you can find the right coach for you |
| 0:48.6 | without any pressure or pushy sales tactics. Just real support from women who truly get it. Discover what's possible when |
| 0:55.5 | you have the right support. Head to women and ADHD.com slash coaching to book your free consult today. |
| 1:02.5 | I try to bring so much celebration in helping clients and couples or relationships understand the power |
| 1:09.8 | that they have to make these changes. |
| 1:11.8 | Because when they might be getting frustrated that like things aren't getting put away or you're |
| 1:16.0 | forgetting like the kids' doctors appointments or whatever it is, there's also this other part |
| 1:21.1 | of the non-AD partner that also really like, you know, cares for this person and loves this person |
| 1:27.1 | and understands that |
| 1:28.0 | they were hurt, truly growing up all the time. And so when you can hold both and kind of heal |
| 1:33.1 | that part, it's so amazing to see how transformative that is. |
| 1:42.2 | Hello and welcome to the women and ADHD podcast. I'm your host, Katie Weber. I was diagnosed |
| 1:48.6 | with ADHD at the age of 45, and it completely turned my world upside down. I've been looking |
| 1:54.7 | back at so much of my life, school, jobs, my relationships, all of it with this new lens, and it has been nothing short of overwhelming. |
... |
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