Your ADHD Nervous System Explained

ADHD Awareness Month 2026: What Actually Helps?

This October, I'm putting community, real experiences and practical support at the heart of ADHD Awareness Month. There are live conversations, Instagram Lives, podcast events and ways for you to share what actually helps in your own life. ⁠⁠Visit the Events page⁠⁠ to see what’s happening and get involved.

If you've ever wondered why some days feel manageable and others feel completely impossible, even when nothing has obviously changed, your nervous system is trying to tell you something.

Welcome to this week's More Yourself Monday episode. Today I'm sharing a clip from one of my workshops on the nervous system, polyvagal theory and how understanding both can genuinely change the way you move through your days with ADHD.

This is not a clinical lecture. This is a simple, accessible explanation of why your nervous system behaves the way it does, what the polyvagal ladder actually means in real life, and how you can start to work with your nervous system rather than against it. I also introduce the concept of glimmers, those small micro moments of safety and joy that can shift your entire day when you learn to notice and actively seek them out.

The full workshop is available on my website, and the link is below.

In this episode, we cover:

What it means to feel grounded, connected and safe in your nervous system, and why so many of us rarely get there

A simple explanation of polyvagal theory and why it matters so much for neurodivergent people

The three states of the polyvagal ladder: ventral vagal, sympathetic and dorsal vagal, and what each one feels like from the inside

Why the ADHD brain so often operates in fight or flight mode, and what that costs us over time

What the dorsal vagal shutdown state feels like, and why it shows up as fatigue, numbness and withdrawal