From "Too Much" to Authentically Me: My Journey with ADHD and Motherhood

Trading the Pressure of Perfection for the Power of Authenticity

I was born in Sweden to my Lebanese immigrant parents. From a very early age, I stuck out as different. I was outgoing, determined, social, and expressive—I showed every emotion the moment I felt it. I was told I was too loud, too bossy, too emotional, too dramatic. So I started shrinking myself to avoid the criticism. I was so sensitive to everything and everyone around me that I just... shut myself down. I did my best to fit in, and it still wasn't enough.

The Rebellion and the Pressure to Conform

Then puberty hit, and something in me flipped. My mom told me years later that I basically changed overnight. After years of shrinking, it was like I had to explode. I frequently got into trouble at school and was sent to the principal's office several times until I was expelled by the end of 7th grade. The wild part? I was still getting perfect grades. I felt like nobody saw the good in me, only my mistakes.

When I was 14 I moved to Lebanon to live with my dad and grandparents, and I quickly learned that being a rebel there meant real consequences: severe punishment and shame. So I became the good girl everyone expected me to be. I served, I solved, I helped. That pattern followed me all the way into adulthood. I said yes to almost everyone and everything because I wanted to be loved and accepted. When I became a mom, all of that fear of rejection became very loud in my head. I wanted to make sure my children wouldn't grow up hating me, so I did everything I could to keep them happy and satisfied—at my own expense.

The Breaking Point and the Path to Clarity

After Easter 2023, everything I had tried to uphold just broke. I was burned out. I couldn't keep pushing myself to perfection anymore. I realized I had to put my oxygen mask on first, as selfish as that felt. I couldn't afford to put myself aside anymore. In January 2024, I was diagnosed with ADHD. Suddenly, all of it made sense: the too loud, the too bossy, the too emotional. That wasn't me being too much. That was me being undiagnosed my whole life.

Living Unapologetically and Empowering Others

Today I am loud, unapologetic, and myself in almost every room I enter—still practicing. It's scary sometimes, but I'm becoming more comfortable in my own skin. I don't want to fit in anymore; I'd rather stand out and be true to who I am.

I don't want another woman to go through what I did, because I know what it does to the mother, her children, and her partner. She loses income and she feels completely useless. That's why I started coaching ADHD moms. I want to help them find calm in the chaos, so they can get energized for their work, their families, and their passions again.

From Shrinking to Standing Out

My journey took me from a childhood of "shrinking" to fit cultural expectations in Sweden and Lebanon, through a period of intense people-pleasing and eventual burnout in 2023, to a life-changing ADHD diagnosis in early 2024. Today, I use my experience to coach other ADHD mothers, helping them reclaim their energy and trade the pressure of perfection for unapologetic authenticity.

Key Takeaways for ADHD Mompreneurs:

  - Your "Too Much" is Your Power: The traits often labeled as "too loud" or "too dramatic" are frequently the engines of entrepreneurial drive and creativity; a diagnosis can transform a lifetime of shame into a blueprint for self-understanding.

  - Prioritize Your Oxygen Mask: Burnout is a signal that you can no longer afford to put yourself last. Protecting your energy isn't selfish—it’s a prerequisite for sustaining your business and your family.

  - Release the "Good Girl" Narrative: People-pleasing and seeking external validation are recipes for professional exhaustion. Standing out and being true to yourself is more sustainable than shrinking to fit a mold that wasn't built for you.