ADDitude Mag – When Perfectionism Stems from ADHD: Challenging the Fallacy of “Not Good Enough”

When Perfectionism Stems from ADHD: Challenging the Fallacy of “Not Good Enough”

“Perfectionism, when unhealthy, drives a person to exhaustion striving for a flawlessness that’s neither reasonable nor healthy. Though it may seem contradictory, perfectionist traits may stem from ADHD — an overcompensation for past errors or for feeling “not good enough.” Letting go of perfectionism does not mean eliminating worries around mistakes, failure, and judgment, but rather accepting that they are part of life — and one that can help us grow.”

ADDitude Free Download: The Eisenhower Matrix for ADHD Decision-Making

The Eisenhower Matrix for ADHD Decision-Making

The Eisenhower Matrix is a simple, effective decision-making tool for determining which tasks deserve our immediate action, our long-term attention, our delegation skills, and our circular bins.

What Is the Eisenhower Matrix?

“It’s human nature. When a fire sparks up, we drop everything to fight it. But in our ADHD lives, there are little fires everywhere. And we get so busy extinguishing flames sometimes that we can spend a whole day — maybe a week — spinning around and around in a mess of fire retardant. We’re exhausted but have nothing to show for our time or energy. If this sounds familiar, let me introduce you to the Eisenhower Matrix, a decision-making tool devised by the 34th President of the United States — a five-star general who accomplished a dizzying amount of important work in his two terms. Use the chart below to help determine which flare-ups could be delegated or ignored, and which ones actually deserve your precious attention.”

ADDitude Webinar Replay – Perfectionism and ADHD: Making ‘Good Enough’ Work for You

Access the recording of the ADDitude webinar by Dr. Saline on 1/19/22:

“Perfectionism and ADHD: Making ‘Good Enough’ Work for You”

Get access to the webinar replay! “In this webinar, Dr. Sharon Saline will explain how to stop setting unreasonable standards, engaging in negative comparisons to others, and criticizing yourself for living with ADHD. You will learn how to understand and manage the root causes of perfectionism, examine the role of imposter syndrome, decrease negative self-talk, and increase your capacity for personal compassion. You will understand how to improve executive functioning skills related to procrastination and productivity, stop reflexive shame, and create techniques for managing stress. With these resources, you’ll begin to nurture the essential resilience of a growth mindset and accept yourself as you truly are — perfectly imperfect.” In this free, hour-long webinar, you will learn to:

  • Understand the relationship between anxiety, perfectionism, and ADHD
  • Improve executive functioning skills related to procrastination and productivity
  • Set realistic expectations based on previous successful experiences
  • Develop techniques for addressing imposter syndrome, fear of failure, and shame
  • Increase the capacity for mindful self-compassion and self-acceptance

Get access to the webinar replay!

ADDitude Mag – The Best of 2021: Must-Read Articles on ADHD

“From cutting-edge clinical research to features on mental health during the pandemic to a deep dive on social media’s impact on ADHD brains — ADDitude published no shortage of thought-provoking and insightful articles this year. Below, click through to the most riveting reads from 2021, selected by our ADDitude editors.”

Includes two articles by Dr. Sharon Saline:

Read the article!

The Normangee Star – You Are Worthy of Self-Compassion: How to Break the Habit of Internalized Criticism

“Self-compassion allows you to be good enough as you are, with your warts, with your foibles, sometimes off-balanced, sometimes more reactive than you’d like, sometimes disorganized, but fundamentally perfectly imperfect as a human being, just like everyone else.”

Dr. Saline’s article “You Are Worthy of Self-Compassion: How to Break the Habit of Internalized Criticism” was featured in The Normangee Star Newspaper! It’s featured in Volume 109, No.42, page 5, on October 27, 2021. Read the article, originally published by ADDitude Magazine. Subscribe to The Normangee Star Newspaper Serving Normangee, Hilltop Lakes and Surrounding Communities in Leon and Madison Counties of Texas since 1912.

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