10. QUICK RESET: Why am I bracing for impact when nothing is wrong?

ADHD Mums

If you can’t sit still even when nothing’s wrong...
If you're checking your emails like a debt collector is chasing you...
If your heart races during peaceful moments...

This episode is for you.

In this raw and validating Quick Reset, Jane peels back the misunderstood layers of 'anxiety' to reveal something many ADHD mums live with daily — high-functioning hypervigilance. It's not just worry. It's a nervous system that never learned to feel safe.

This is the episode to save and return to every time you feel like you can’t switch off, even when the house is quiet and the kids are fine. It’s not just stress. It’s survival mode — and it’s unlearnable.

🧷 What We Cover:

• The difference between anxiety and hypervigilance

• Why so many late-diagnosed ADHD and autistic women live in a bracing state

• How childhood emotional mismatch (not just trauma) conditions us to constantly scan

• The link between people-pleasing, masking, and chronic nervous system activation

• What hypervigilance looks like in motherhood (especially if your child is impulsive or unsafe)

• Three practical tools to start calming your system today — no spa day required

🔑 Key Takeaway:
You didn’t get this way by accident. Your body learned to brace because safety wasn’t a given. But it can unlearn. Regulation isn’t a reward — it’s your right.

🔗 Resources & Links:
• Join the Facebook community: ADHD Mums FB Group
• More resources & tools: www.adhdmums.com.au/shop

🔁 SHARE THIS RESET:
If this one hit hard, send it to a mum friend who’s also stuck in survival mode. Let her know: she’s not broken, she’s bracing.

SCHOOL MINI SERIES:

• S1 E41: Camouflaging ADHD + Autistic Traits in Girls with Millie Carr | Spotify | Apple Podcast
• S3 E2: SCHOOL SERIES When School Becomes the Trauma — What No One Tells ADHD Parents | Spotify | Apple Podcast
• S3 E3: SCHOOL SERIES When School Becomes the Trauma — What No One Tells ADHD Parents | Spotify | Apple Podcast

🎧 Listen Now
If you’ve ever left a meeting wondering what just happened – or held back tears while playing nice just to get a referral – this one’s for you. Hit play. Share it with a friend who’s fighting the same fight.

---

TOPICS COVERED:
Hypervigilance vs anxiety, ADHD shutdown, chronic stress, trauma responses, parenting neurodivergent kids, sensory overwhelm, people-pleasing, masking, emotional dysregulation, nervous system regulation, emotional safety, ADHD and trauma, survival mode, ADHD parenting tools, quick nervous system resets, late-diagnosed ADHD, mum burnout recovery, high-functioning anxiety, emotional masking in women, calm nervous system tips, ADHD mental health, trauma-informed ADHD strategies, somatic safety, ADHD nervous system healing, gentle parenting for ND families.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.