Guest Contributor – Erin McNulty

Living With ADHD

For much of my life, I felt a sense of being different without fully understanding why. I was diagnosed with ADHD in second grade, but I didn’t talk about it. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I kept it to myself. I was afraid of being judged or treated differently, so I pushed it down and tried to blend in. It wasn’t until college that I slowly started to mention it to close friends—mostly because it became hard to hide. The more time people spent around me, the more obvious it became.

But it wasn’t until I got sober that I really began to understand my ADHD. Sobriety gave me the clarity and space to start looking inward with compassion instead of shame. I began opening up about my experience and connecting with others who also lived with ADHD. Over time, I started to talk about it more—without minimizing or apologizing. I began to embrace this part of me instead of hiding it.

Recovery and Self-Acceptance

As I navigated life with ADHD, one of the biggest challenges was managing the constant feeling of having so many tasks to do and getting overwhelmed. Sometimes, it felt like I needed to get everything done at once, which often led to moments of hyper-focus on just one thing, leaving other tasks behind. Even now, those feelings can still come up, but having the awareness and understanding of my ADHD has made a huge difference. Now, when I notice those patterns, I remind myself that it’s just part of my ADHD and use different techniques to manage it.

In recovery, one of the biggest steps was accepting that I’m an alcoholic. But over time, I realized there were other layers of acceptance I needed to embrace—whether it was certain habits, emotions I had held onto, or just understanding and loving my mental health and neurodivergence. I’ve learned that I can be really hard on myself, but I’m practicing more self-love. In those moments of feeling all over the place, I take a step back and remind myself that everything is okay, and I’m okay. It doesn’t have to be so serious all the time, and that realization has been incredibly freeing.

Today, I show up for myself with love and compassion. I’ve learned that recovery is not just about staying sober—it’s about healing, growing, and learning to live life as my truest self. I’m proud of the journey I’ve walked, and I hope that by sharing it, someone else might feel a little less alone and a little more empowered to keep going.