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Focus Pocus
Finding Inspiration When You’re Overwhelmed (Litha 2023) Everyone has probably felt overwhelmed from time to time, but those who are neurodivergent might experience overwhelming feelings differently, more frequently, or both. It’s easy for us to feel overwhelmed in overstimulating environments, our brains are always scanning the world around us, thinking at what feels like five times the speed of light, making connections upon connections, and our neurodivergent brains don’t help us filter a lot of the noise out. This can leave us anxious, paralyzed, and feeling like we’re stuck or out of control and can act like a huge barrier when we are trying to get ourselves together, especially…
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Focus Pocus
Odysseus Probably Had ADHD Ever since I was diagnosed with ADHD, I’ve been looking for role models I can learn from. There are many celebrities, athletes, and influencers who speak out about their experiences and I find it inspiring to hear their stories. Simone Biles, Emma Watson, and Scott Kelly are just a few of the famous people I admire and hearing about their struggles and their achievements helps me remember that I can achieve a lot of things myself. I also like to observe other people and see if any ADHD-like characteristics emerge, or any other neurodivergent traits. I do this with the intention of better understanding someone…
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Focus Pocus
My Life is Not a Greek Drama, but Thank You Anyway Eris During my year-long journey reading the Iliad and the Odyssey as part of Jack Grayle’s course Godsong, I noticed the way I perceive some of the gods in the stories differently than when I studied the texts when I was in college. Over the years life experience and therapy has shaped how I understand the actions of others and recently I found myself relating to the Goddess of Strife in a way I never expected. She is referred to as Strife in the Iliad Book 4, “whose fury never tires, sister and friend of murderous Ares,…
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Focus Pocus
Working With the Gods When You Have ADHD Athena I recently took Jack Grayle’s online course Godsong, which is a year-long study of Homer’s the Iliad and the Odyssey and the spiritual takeaways that can still be made in today’s world (and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is into mythology and/or classical literature!). One of my key learnings from this course, and particularly from the Odyssey, is how powerful the goddess Athena can be as an ally to those who have ADHD, like myself. First of all, Athena is a great shapeshifter who takes on the form of birds and humans as a method of persuasion and she…
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Focus Pocus
Working With the Gods When You Have ADHD Hekate “Goddess of transitions and thresholds, help me switch my tasks.” One of the fun symptoms of ADHD that I experience on the regular is difficulty with tasks. It’s not just doing the task that can be difficult but initiating the task and moving on to another one can all be equally difficult. For example, it’s hard for me to get out of bed unless I must, like my cats are absolutely starving or I must start work. Not too long ago I was standing in my kitchen annoyed with myself struggling to get something done that needed to be and…