Are you ready for a change but keep hitting roadblocks?
Dorsey McFadden is a certified ADHD coach, educator, and advocate through training from the ADD Coach Academy (ADDCA), holding credentials from both ADDCA and the Professional Association of ADHD Coaches (PAAC). Based in Richmond, she lives with her husband and pets. With over 20 years of experience in digital marketing, she brings a wealth of strategic insight to her coaching practice. Dorsey holds a double BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Political Science & Communications and International Security Studies & Rhetoric.
As the founder of Live Happy ADHD Coaching and FlexYourADHD.com, Dorsey is passionate about helping adults with ADHD and parents of children with ADHD build happier, more fulfilling lives. She partners with her clients to create personalized strategies that harness the strengths of the ADHD brain, focusing on empowerment, self-understanding, and practical support systems.
Dorsey's mission is simple: to help people stop fighting against their ADHD and start thriving with it.
difficulty with planning and prioritizing
feeling unfulfilled and unsuccessful
impaired communication or social skills
trouble getting started/lack of initiative
difficulty maintaining focus
poor self-care (exercising, getting to bed, etc.)
difficulty explaining their ADHD to others
getting easily distracted and overwhelmed
challenges with working memory
poor time and energy management
lack of organizational skills
trouble harnessing motivation and interest
impulsivity/lack of inhibition
procrastination (sometimes extreme and high stakes)
poor communication skills
difficulty with planning and prioritizing
feeling unfulfilled and unsuccessful
impaired communication or social skills
trouble getting started/lack of initiative
difficulty maintaining focus
poor self-care (exercising, getting to bed, etc.)
difficulty explaining their ADHD to others
getting easily distracted and overwhelmed
challenges with working memory
poor time and energy management
lack of organizational skills
trouble harnessing motivation and interest
impulsivity/lack of inhibition
procrastination (sometimes extreme and high stakes)
poor communication skills
For some it will look like completion of a project while, for others, it may be development of self compassion and self
awareness which enriches all areas of their life.
For some it will look like completion of a project while, for others, it may be development of self compassion and self
awareness which enriches all areas of their life.
The definition of Coping Mechanism is:
(noun) (Psychology) an adaptation to environmental stress that is based on conscious or unconscious choice and that enhances control over behavior or gives psychological comfort.Compare defense mechanism (def. 2).
Coping mechanisms are the strategies or skills people use to manage a problem. For people with ADHD these coping mechanisms help us manage life better.
When you have ADHD, you’ll need to develop coping mechanisms. In my mind it’s simply another way of saying “trick”. In other words, we can trick ourselves into building good habits.
Think of coping mechanisms as the tricks we use to get around our executive functioning deficiencies.
Understanding how ADHD manifests in yourself is key to successfully implementing coping mechanisms.
You may intentionally develop these or naturally adopt them.
My coping mechanism for the hellish time I have with medication management is to use several pill boxes.
Here are examples of a few for me:
I put my keys in the same place every time I come in the door (otherwise they’ll end up someplace strange).
I schedule reminders throughout the day.
I organize my prescriptions in pill boxes for the month at one time.
The first step is recognizing you have a problem. ADHD is a big problem in most of our lives, whether we want to admit it or not. It affects our executive functioning skills which translates into a myriad of problems we’ll get into later. When you notice yourself repeating a negative behavior repeatedly, that’s a good sign that you need to find a different way to approach the problem.
Let’s take a look at one of the coping mechanisms I developed for myself starting with recognizing the problem. The problem was that I kept losing my keys, getting mad at myself, slipping into a shame spiral, and lost time trying to find them. I needed an easy to remember solution. I also needed a trigger or signal to my brain to implement the solution. The trigger part was using my keys to unlock my door at home. The solution is to put them in the same place every time. To make it easy that place is right next to my back door where I most frequently enter.
How easy is that?
We are smart people. We just have to look at the problem differently to figure out what works for us.
I bet if you examine your life you’ll find you’ve already got all kinds of coping mechanisms in place.
So tell me below, what works for you? Do you have any coping mechanisms you want to share?
As a coach, I will ensure we make the most of your time. My role is to be your sounding board, mirror, and champion your efforts. I will provide models and structure to help you organize your thoughts, beliefs, and values. I will help you to bring details into focus to reach a deeper understanding and appreciation of yourself. I will hold you accountable for your decisions and actions and challenge you to be compassionate with yourself while setting realistic and achievable goals.
However, I will never tell you what to do. Coaching sessions offer an opportunity for you to learn something new about yourself, a different way of thinking about a situation, or uncover a belief that was limiting the options you thought were available to you. The “work” to apply this learning toward changing your life continues beyond the coaching session.
ADHD Life skills & Executive Functioning
Relationship Skills
Friendship and Support System
Parenting Children with ADHD
Organizing Skills
Addiction Dangers
Emotional Regulation
Mindset Improvement
Work/Life Balance
Communication Skills
Self Awareness
Self Compassion & Mindfulness
Study Skills
Self Care Skills
Time Management
Task Management
Advocating Skills
Routines and Systems
Healthy Boundaries
Managing your life
Planning & prioritizing
Putting plans into action, task initiation
Goal-directed persistence
Taking actions that align with your physical & emotional needs
Learning new strategies to manage executive functioning
Navigating neurodivergent relationships
Self-regulation & interoceptive-awareness
Emotional impulsivity
Communication strategies
Physical health and wellness
ADHD Coaching & Consulting by Dorsey McFadden
Located in Richmond, VA
Accepting clients Worldwide
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