ADHD and Seasons of Struggle: Embracing Rest, Reality, and Future Self-Care

Episode Overview

Podcast: Translating ADHD
Episode: ADHD and Seasons of Struggle: Embracing Rest, Reality, and Future Self-Care
Hosts: Asher Collins (Ash) & Dusty Chipura
Date: February 16, 2026

This episode explores how adults with ADHD can navigate "seasons of struggle"—those times when life feels especially hard, growth feels impossible, and simply getting through the day can be a challenge. Ash and Dusty draw from their personal and professional experiences to normalize these cycles, share strategies for self-kindness and rest, and discuss the importance of adapting self-expectations during difficult periods. The episode is candid, gentle, and packed with immediately useful insights for those living with ADHD or coaching others.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

Defining a "Season of Struggle"

Ash introduces the concept (01:39):
- Seasons of struggle occur when forward progress or personal growth feels impossible due to difficult circumstances—personal, seasonal, or global.
- Common for ADHD adults during late winter, especially when compounded by world events and individual life stressors.
- “It might mean that now is not the time to look for growth or forward progress, but to look more towards managing ADHD and being kind to yourself.” – Ash [03:29]
Empathy and the world’s challenges:
- ADHD individuals are often highly empathetic and absorb the world's stress, making tough times feel even heavier.

Permission to Rest and Adjust Expectations

Rest vs. Productivity Mindset:
- Dusty describes actively giving herself permission to rest, influenced by cultural reminders (like “witchy” winter self-care content). [03:39]
- "It's rare that I give myself permission to be as unproductive as I maybe encourage some of my clients to be." – Dusty [03:52]
Managing Capacity:
- Both discuss realigning commitments to reflect current, limited capacity rather than best-case scenarios.
- “I have a tendency to, like many ADHD [folks], assess what I can do at my highest capacity and engage in a lot of best case scenario thinking … I’ve had enough times where I did way overload my plate.” – Dusty [07:54]

Letting Go and Practicing Self-Compassion

Overcoming All-or-Nothing Thinking:
- Ash highlights how lowered capacity plus high standards can lead to self-denial of rest and joy, worsening emotional states. [06:50]
- Strategy: Take stock of what actually got done to counter feelings of total failure.
- “Rather than letting emotion tell the story, take a moment to sit down and celebrate what wins you did have, whatever they were, no matter how small.” – Ash [10:22]
The 'Ta Da' List Strategy:
- Dusty recommends a “Ta Da list,” where clients write down every single accomplishment, big or small, to reframe the sense of productivity. [12:45]
- “It makes a huge difference on how you feel about your day when you look back and you go, ‘Oh, I did all this stuff.’” – Dusty [13:18]

Prioritizing What Truly Matters

Limited Productive Hours:
- Dusty references a podcast insight: most adults only have four productive hours a day, even fewer when burned out. [13:40]
- “If you have two good hours a day, then you have to think strategically about, like, what is the most important thing, what’s the biggest ball I can’t drop here?” – Dusty [13:55]
Compounding Tasks and Future Planning:
- Ash uses the example of keeping up with dishes: “If I don’t do the dishes every day, it can very quickly go to an overwhelming task.” [16:12]
- Both discuss using bursts of energy on high-impact tasks that will ease future stress.

Logistics and Mindset: Two Sides of Coping

Balancing Task Management and Self-Talk:
- Dusty distinguishes between logistical coping (adjusting tasks and commitments) and mental reframing (adjusting self-talk, celebrating rest). [17:42]
- “There’s the logistics … and then there’s the mental part of how you make sense and how you talk to yourself about it.” – Dusty [17:46]
Success and Struggle Coexist:
- Ash stresses that “success and struggle go hand in hand,” and that even small wins in tough times are signs of real progress. [21:50]
- “Even when struggle is really, really, really high, that’s the opportunity to keep looking for the wins, to keep celebrating where you are being successful.” – Ash [21:50]

Self-Kindness: Gentle vs. Hard Self-Talk

Framework from 'Rewriting the Rules' book:
- Dusty shares the “gentle vs. hard” self-talk framework to combat bullying oneself during tough periods. [23:14]
- Story: Forcing herself to sweep the kitchen while exhausted and in tears, eventually choosing self-compassion over harshness, and finding the task easier the next day.
- “Sometimes if something feels really hard … maybe I can just leave it to [future me].” – Dusty [25:00]

Trusting Your Future Self

Future Self as Caretaker:
- Ash reframes the notion of always “taking care of future self.” In tough times, trust that future-you will handle what current-you cannot. [28:55]
- “Maybe … let future you take care of you and you put your focus on how can you be present with where you are right now.” – Ash [31:06]
Emotional Permanence:
- When struggling, it feels like things have always been bad and always will be (“emotional permanence”). Bringing in nuance can help forecast a better future. [26:22]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“In a season of struggle, sometimes you don’t have control over the fact that behind might just be necessarily where you have to be.” – Ash [05:03]
“Once you feel behind, you can’t benefit from rest … every minute that you sit down and try to rest is coming at the expense of later stress.” – Dusty [04:35]
“Rather than letting emotion tell the story, take a moment to sit down and celebrate what wins you did have.” – Ash [10:22]
“We get into this all or nothing thinking… the worse I’m feeling, the less executive function I have, the higher I start thinking, ‘I have to do this, I have to do that, everything’s important...’” – Dusty [26:40]
“Beating myself into the ground about not being able to do it right this second is not going to help me get there.” – Ash [30:43]
“In a season of struggle, let future you take care of you.” – Dusty [31:04]

Timestamps of Key Segments

00:14 — Episode context & personal updates on struggle
01:39 — Defining "season of struggle" & factors contributing
03:39 — Importance and challenges of rest for ADHD
06:50 — Discussion around inability to “catch up” and adjusting standards
10:22 — The “Ta Da List” and reframing small wins
13:40 — Only having a few productive hours per day & prioritization
16:12 — Compounding effect of tasks and preemptive actions
17:42 — Logistical vs. mindset adjustments
21:50 — Coexistence of success and struggle
23:14 — Self-talk: gentle vs. hard; Dusty’s floor sweeping story
26:22 — Emotional permanence and breaking the cycle
28:55 — Trusting future self during seasons of struggle
31:06 — Letting future you help; wrapping up

Tone and Takeaways

Ash and Dusty model exactly the gentleness and adaptation they recommend. The mood throughout is open, honest, supportive, and practical, with each host affirming the other's insights and weaving humor and real life into the discussion. The episode offers reassurance: it’s natural to hit rough patches, recognizing and adjusting to your true capacity is an act of self-care, and trusting yourself through ups and downs is foundational to living well with ADHD.

Ideal listeners: Adults with ADHD, ADHD coaches/therapists, or anyone seeking permission to rest during hard times—and practical, real-world strategies to make those times a little more manageable.

Episode Overview

Podcast: Translating ADHD
Episode: ADHD and Seasons of Struggle: Embracing Rest, Reality, and Future Self-Care
Hosts: Asher Collins (Ash) & Dusty Chipura
Date: February 16, 2026

Key Topics & Discussion Points

Defining a "Season of Struggle"

Ash introduces the concept (01:39):
- Seasons of struggle occur when forward progress or personal growth feels impossible due to difficult circumstances—personal, seasonal, or global.
- Common for ADHD adults during late winter, especially when compounded by world events and individual life stressors.
- “It might mean that now is not the time to look for growth or forward progress, but to look more towards managing ADHD and being kind to yourself.” – Ash [03:29]
Empathy and the world’s challenges:
- ADHD individuals are often highly empathetic and absorb the world's stress, making tough times feel even heavier.

Permission to Rest and Adjust Expectations

Rest vs. Productivity Mindset:
- Dusty describes actively giving herself permission to rest, influenced by cultural reminders (like “witchy” winter self-care content). [03:39]
- "It's rare that I give myself permission to be as unproductive as I maybe encourage some of my clients to be." – Dusty [03:52]
Managing Capacity:
- Both discuss realigning commitments to reflect current, limited capacity rather than best-case scenarios.
- “I have a tendency to, like many ADHD [folks], assess what I can do at my highest capacity and engage in a lot of best case scenario thinking … I’ve had enough times where I did way overload my plate.” – Dusty [07:54]

Letting Go and Practicing Self-Compassion

Overcoming All-or-Nothing Thinking:
- Ash highlights how lowered capacity plus high standards can lead to self-denial of rest and joy, worsening emotional states. [06:50]
- Strategy: Take stock of what actually got done to counter feelings of total failure.
- “Rather than letting emotion tell the story, take a moment to sit down and celebrate what wins you did have, whatever they were, no matter how small.” – Ash [10:22]
The 'Ta Da' List Strategy:
- Dusty recommends a “Ta Da list,” where clients write down every single accomplishment, big or small, to reframe the sense of productivity. [12:45]
- “It makes a huge difference on how you feel about your day when you look back and you go, ‘Oh, I did all this stuff.’” – Dusty [13:18]

Prioritizing What Truly Matters

Limited Productive Hours:
- Dusty references a podcast insight: most adults only have four productive hours a day, even fewer when burned out. [13:40]
- “If you have two good hours a day, then you have to think strategically about, like, what is the most important thing, what’s the biggest ball I can’t drop here?” – Dusty [13:55]
Compounding Tasks and Future Planning:
- Ash uses the example of keeping up with dishes: “If I don’t do the dishes every day, it can very quickly go to an overwhelming task.” [16:12]
- Both discuss using bursts of energy on high-impact tasks that will ease future stress.

Logistics and Mindset: Two Sides of Coping

Balancing Task Management and Self-Talk:
- Dusty distinguishes between logistical coping (adjusting tasks and commitments) and mental reframing (adjusting self-talk, celebrating rest). [17:42]
- “There’s the logistics … and then there’s the mental part of how you make sense and how you talk to yourself about it.” – Dusty [17:46]
Success and Struggle Coexist:
- Ash stresses that “success and struggle go hand in hand,” and that even small wins in tough times are signs of real progress. [21:50]
- “Even when struggle is really, really, really high, that’s the opportunity to keep looking for the wins, to keep celebrating where you are being successful.” – Ash [21:50]

Self-Kindness: Gentle vs. Hard Self-Talk

Framework from 'Rewriting the Rules' book:
- Dusty shares the “gentle vs. hard” self-talk framework to combat bullying oneself during tough periods. [23:14]
- Story: Forcing herself to sweep the kitchen while exhausted and in tears, eventually choosing self-compassion over harshness, and finding the task easier the next day.
- “Sometimes if something feels really hard … maybe I can just leave it to [future me].” – Dusty [25:00]

Trusting Your Future Self

Future Self as Caretaker:
- Ash reframes the notion of always “taking care of future self.” In tough times, trust that future-you will handle what current-you cannot. [28:55]
- “Maybe … let future you take care of you and you put your focus on how can you be present with where you are right now.” – Ash [31:06]
Emotional Permanence:
- When struggling, it feels like things have always been bad and always will be (“emotional permanence”). Bringing in nuance can help forecast a better future. [26:22]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“In a season of struggle, sometimes you don’t have control over the fact that behind might just be necessarily where you have to be.” – Ash [05:03]
“Once you feel behind, you can’t benefit from rest … every minute that you sit down and try to rest is coming at the expense of later stress.” – Dusty [04:35]
“Rather than letting emotion tell the story, take a moment to sit down and celebrate what wins you did have.” – Ash [10:22]
“We get into this all or nothing thinking… the worse I’m feeling, the less executive function I have, the higher I start thinking, ‘I have to do this, I have to do that, everything’s important...’” – Dusty [26:40]
“Beating myself into the ground about not being able to do it right this second is not going to help me get there.” – Ash [30:43]
“In a season of struggle, let future you take care of you.” – Dusty [31:04]

Timestamps of Key Segments

00:14 — Episode context & personal updates on struggle
01:39 — Defining "season of struggle" & factors contributing
03:39 — Importance and challenges of rest for ADHD
06:50 — Discussion around inability to “catch up” and adjusting standards
10:22 — The “Ta Da List” and reframing small wins
13:40 — Only having a few productive hours per day & prioritization
16:12 — Compounding effect of tasks and preemptive actions
17:42 — Logistical vs. mindset adjustments
21:50 — Coexistence of success and struggle
23:14 — Self-talk: gentle vs. hard; Dusty’s floor sweeping story
26:22 — Emotional permanence and breaking the cycle
28:55 — Trusting future self during seasons of struggle
31:06 — Letting future you help; wrapping up

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Summary

Episode Overview

Key Topics & Discussion Points

Defining a "Season of Struggle"

Permission to Rest and Adjust Expectations

Letting Go and Practicing Self-Compassion

Prioritizing What Truly Matters

Logistics and Mindset: Two Sides of Coping

Self-Kindness: Gentle vs. Hard Self-Talk

Trusting Your Future Self

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Timestamps of Key Segments

Tone and Takeaways

Transcript

Summary

Episode Overview

Key Topics & Discussion Points

Defining a "Season of Struggle"

Permission to Rest and Adjust Expectations

Letting Go and Practicing Self-Compassion

Prioritizing What Truly Matters

Logistics and Mindset: Two Sides of Coping

Self-Kindness: Gentle vs. Hard Self-Talk

Trusting Your Future Self

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Timestamps of Key Segments

Tone and Takeaways