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How to Escape the Shame Spiral

Jesse J. Anderson
2 min readMar 13, 2021
Photo by Sylas Boesten on Unsplash

One tiny mistake is all it takes to set off a chain reaction of shame.

For people with ADHD, there is learned behavior of assuming everything is your fault.

If you had only tried hard enough, this wouldn’t have happened.

When we fail, it reminds us of the authority figures we failed as children, and we blame ourselves.

Shame Spiral

I made a mistake -> That was stupid -> I always make this mistake -> Why am I such a failure -> I’m not doing enough work -> I should quit -> I’m worthless

The shame spiral lies. It tells you that you are a burden and don’t deserve happiness.

It’s imposter syndrome on overdrive, and can happen suddenly, even when we have evidence to the contrary.

Escape Plan

You must plan an escape when disaster is at your doorstep:

Find your reset

Seek out experiences that allow you to refresh your emotional strength. Yoga, meditation, taking a bath, taking a walk, playing with a pet, hugging family, reading a book, etc.

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Jesse J. Anderson
Jesse J. Anderson

Written by Jesse J. Anderson

ADHD Creative. Designer, developer, writer, and productivity nerd.

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