Coming Home to Your Core Self: A Gentle Return for the ADHD Mind.
Let’s pause for a second
Take a breath.
Let everything else fall away the noise, the shoulds, the pressure to keep up.
Now, ask yourself this:
If no one was watching,
if there were no expectations,
no comparisons,
no ‘doing it right’,
What would you choose?
What would light you up just because it feels good?
Not for productivity.
Not for praise.
Just for the joy of being you.
Somewhere underneath the habits,
the roles you play,
the pressure to keep it all together.
There’s something quieter.
More honest.
More you.
A soft knowing.
A gentle ache.
A tiny whisper that says,
this version of me? It’s not the whole story.
The version of you that existed before the world got loud
Maybe you’ve lost touch with it. That grounded, steady part of you.
The version of you that existed before everything got so loud.
Before masking.
Before burnout.
Before the million tabs open in your brain.
Therapist Rachel Eddins calls this your core self.
Your inner wisdom.
Your truth-teller.
Your nurturer.
Not the anxious loop.
Not the voice that spirals or second-guesses.
Not the version of you that’s always in survival mode.
But the part that’s clear,
calm,
rooted.
Quiet, yes, but powerful.
Why “just be positive” doesn’t work here
This is why just be more positive doesn’t work for ADHD brains.
Because it skips the part where we meet ourselves fully.
Not the version trying to be impressive or acceptable.
But the one underneath the pressure.
The one that longs for more alignment,
more truth,
more peace.
A gentle return
To come home to your core self, you don’t need a whole new system.
You don’t need to fix everything overnight.
You don’t have to burn it all down.
You just need to begin.
Gently.
Like a nervous system learning to trust again.
Like a tide turning, not dramatic but undeniable.
This is the ADHD healing path.
Not about becoming someone else,
but returning to you.
A life where your energy doesn’t scatter in a thousand directions,
but flows purposefully.
With balance.
With clarity.
Not based on what looks good on the outside,
but what actually feels right inside your body.
Let it be simple. Let it be true.
You don’t need to perform.
You don’t need to rush.
You don’t need to know every step.
Just keep choosing the tiny, true things.
The small shifts.
The grounded habits.
The daily returns.
This is where we begin.
Not with perfection, but with presence.
You already have the compass.
Now we just learn how to follow it.
Together.
References
Eddins, Rachel. Core Self and Authenticity in Psychotherapy. Psychotherapist and author focusing on the inner wisdom and true self beneath anxiety and survival patterns.
