Meet Anna

• Certified ADHD Coach, Consultant, Trainer, Mentor

• OCN Level 4 Qualified Neurodiversity Workplace Needs Assessor 

• CIPD Level 5 Qualified

• Travel Industry Professional

• Member of ILM (Institute of Leadership Management)

• Insured & DBS checked

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Hi I’m Anna,

Being diagnosed with ADHD and Autism (AuDHD) in my 40's answered many life-long questions.

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To friends, family, colleagues, it looked like I lived a successful and exciting life, and I did! My own home, a lovely group of friends, supportive family, an amazing support dog, constantly travelling to and living in exciting places for work and pleasure.

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But what they didn’t see were my struggles to put roots down, stay connected to family and friendship groups, stay organised and manage my internalised strong emotions. The strategies I developed to be ‘normal’, and the ‘mask’ I wore for 16 waking hours a day around people was exhausting and would lead to periods of burnout, and the need to shut myself away.

 

Like lots of people, the pandemic made me stop, the mask came off home alone, I had time to sit and look at my thoughts and behaviours. Once the world opened again, I could see my usual coping strategies were no longer working so I sought diagnosis for autism and came away with two-for-one, autism, and ADHD, plus some peri-menopause thrown in for fun!

 

This led to a rollercoaster of feelings (grief, relief, sadness, elation and back around again & again!) and questions; Who was I now? Was I still Anna? Was my life up to now a lie? Now I had this life-changing diagnosis, what was important to me and how did I want MY life to look, as opposed to the stereotypical norms and expectations.

 

ADHD coaching helped me realise I’d been trying to be someone I wasn’t. I was trying to make my neurodivergent brain slot into a neurotypical world. Coaching helped me learn how my brain works, discover my strengths, and give me a practical ‘tool’ kit to go and ‘manage’ life better. Something I hadn’t managed with traditional life coaching, therapy, and CBT. It gave me a sense of purpose and goals for the future for the first time.

 

What made the biggest difference was the compassion and forgiveness I felt I was finally able to give myself. I didn’t need to beat myself up anymore, maybe I wasn’t stupid because I didn’t thrive in education and have ‘formal’ qualifications. Maybe I wasn’t just lazy because I couldn’t face cleaning the bathroom or tidying up the 'floordrobe', or that I was never just enough as me.

 

Coaching gave me a space to feel compassion towards myself. To see that I’m enough, there isn’t something wrong with me, my brain is just wired differently.

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I’m now a certified coach, trained by ADHD Works & a qualified neurodiversity workplace needs assessor. 

I want diagnosed and undiagnosed people to have the skills and tools to navigate the challenges of everyday life at home, and at work. 

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