Our Letterlife ADHD Coach Jolanta shares her journey with ADHD. From the struggles of a late diagnosis to the fulfillment in coaching others. How she by embracing neurodiversity transformed her life. Discover how you, too, can start your path to self-realization – it’s just one decision away!
My name is Jolanta. I work as an ADHD coach at Letterlife. In this blog, I thought I’d share a bit more about who I am, what I do and why I have the best job in the world!
Today, I see myself as a courageous woman with ADHD who consciously takes care of my holistic health. Someone who considers my neurodiverse condition and has come to terms with my diagnosis.
The path to mental balance has been long, winding, and filled with ignorance, ill-health, feelings of inadequacy and suffering.
Receiving my diagnosis in my 40s meant a long period of misdiagnoses, struggles and often lost trust in the healthcare system that never seemed to understand me. However, playing the victim or feeling sorry for myself has never been an option for me. I’ve always had a strong drive to fix, solve and find answers.
“Today I know it’s my brain’s way of getting essential dopamine kicks.”
Thanks to this, I never gave up and never fully bought into the explanations formulated by the healthcare system about me being depressed and burnt out.
How could I have missed that I also had ADHD when my son was diagnosed at the age of six you may wonder? A reasonable question considering today’s knowledge! But 20 years ago, it simply wasn’t on the radar that adults could have ADHD. Especially not adult women, who might have completely different symptoms than a lively little boy.
I’ve always been perceived as the responsible, well-balanced woman with an impressive academic record and a successful career in the education system.
As early as 2011, I took my first courses in coaching and psychology. Have you ever experienced the “helper’s high” that comes from suddenly realizing that you can help others solve their problems?
It’s a dopamine kick if anything; supporting and taking care of others is something the ADHD brain really loves.
So, I became a teacher, mentor, coach, principal and supervisor. Often, I heard things like: “Wow, we look up to you, you really have it all together” or “You’re so good at x and y, and you know so much.” Yet, I experienced none of this internally.
“Instead, I struggled with self-criticism, low self-esteem and a constant strive for more.”
Crash after crash, and then finally that nurse at the sleep clinic asked:
ADHD? Huh? Me? No, but…?
That’s when my journey began. Through the primary care center where I reluctantly let the doctor screen me for ADHD. Only to hear him conclude that “we probably need to refer you to the psychologist; he has better forms.”
It was a journey where I also encountered much doubt and resistance, but where I ultimately managed to push this realization forward.
“I chose to openly share my situation and eventually opted for a private evaluation.”
Six months later, I had my report in hand. There it was, in black and white, stating that I had ADHD, combined form, with autistic traits. I tried to find answers outside of myself, but most psychologists at the primary care center don’t have ADHD themselves. And most lack knowledge of how to adapt their treatment methods for adults with ADHD.
Instead, I started devouring all the knowledge and research about female ADHD that I could find. It became a joyful hyper-fixation that continues to this day. My brain loves learning new things, and I get a dopamine kick from every new study I come across.
I refuse to get stuck in frustration over the past. In 2019, I began my coaching training, and today, I’m an internationally accredited coach with several hundred hours of coaching experience behind me.
And for the past few years, I’ve had a dedicated coach myself: The best investment I’ve made in my life because our brains are plastic, whether we have ADHD or not.
We can change behaviors, mindsets, and our health situation.
In coaching, I learned to take control of my life and to never see myself as a victim of circumstances. As well as not letting my brain be hijacked but working in line with my natural strengths.
Now I use my ADHD as an engine for change and grow through challenges.
I don’t let my diagnosis define me; instead, I embrace the opportunity to learn and develop through my own experiences.
I have accompanied over a hundred clients on the same journey and can do it together with you too. Do you want to start your journey toward growth and self-realization?
It’s just one decision away!
Interested in a coach?
At Letterlife we can help you find your potential and match match with an ADHD Coach.
Jolanta Eriksson has 16 years of expertise in neurodevelopmental disorders and is a trained educator, leader and accredited coach.
She was diagnosed with ADHD three years ago and draws on personal experience as a parent of children with ADHD.
Together, you can focus on vital health areas, measuring, evaluating and adjusting goals for improved everyday function and quality of life. Tracking factors like hormones, medications and life phases will be a joint effort.
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