This week, I was talking to a lovely breathwork class attendee about ADHD.

She’s been to numerous events of mine, and said she only realised from a recent social media post that I have ADHD, like her. She was surprised as I always seem so calm.

At one time, I would have felt like a fraud for this. Because inside, I would not have matched up with the front I was trying to put on for the world.

Some of you may know I was training as a person-centred counsellor, alongside my somatic practitioner training. I quit the former a few months ago, after passing Level 3. I was, for the most part, really enjoying studying with my peers and tutor in class each week, so it was a hard decision.

How many of us can relate to having the thought that our suffering must mean there’s something wrong with us? Yet there are so many common experiences we all have, that we feel alone in. Because we give our pain the meaning that something in us must be broken.

We're all emotional human beings, but we're putting on a front most of the time. Whether it’s because we don’t feel comfortable sharing emotions, or it doesn't seem appropriate, or we're in a society which is all stiff upper lip, or whatever. All of these reasons are understandable and valid, and deserve acknowledgement.

“Anxiety makes it feel impossible to detach from the spiral of negative, repetitive thoughts. Connecting with your body and quieting the mind can then feel like a mammoth task. But we can loosen the grip of mental overwhelm in mere minutes, when we know how to bring ourselves into embodied presence (and commit to practising it repeatedly, like with any skill).”

In the second week of my Come to Life course, we explored the theme of Hearing What Your Emotions are Telling You. I loved leading practices on the rich and oh-so-human topic of emotions.

Someone pointed out on the call that emotional work is hard. So true. Yet that work is so necessary; our emotions have so much valuable information to give to us. They connect us with who we are and show us the truth underneath everything; all of the masking, reactionary emotions and patterns that we have. The protective behaviors, the limiting beliefs that aren't really helping us and don't really feel productive anymore, yet we don't know how to change them.

Every single emotion you feel is valid. Emotions arise so your body can process something, then it can free you of it. Curiously, compassionately validating emotions connects us to who we are deep down. Our thoughts can lie to us about that; emotions can’t. The body, unlike the thinking mind, always tells the truth.

At this year’s Great British Food Festival, I was asked to speak on the talk stage panel about ADHD in women, and how breathwork can help with some of the symptoms. As you may know, there has been a huge rise in ADHD diagnoses in women since 2020. A large contributing factor to this was the fact that so many people had more quiet time with themselves during the Covid-19 pandemic.

How I found purpose through a need for connection

Failing and trying to do self-care better

Breathwork has been a game-changer for me, after being diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago.

I’ve already been so moved hearing group members talk about why they made this decision to be in this space and show up for themselves. Why it’s important to them to start connecting with their bodies, recognising the importance of slowing down to live better in 2025.

It’s not just about understanding our past, but bringing ourselves fully into the present.