FLOURISH WORKBOOK 1

Introduction to Flourishing for Women

Welcome to Flourish

You are not broken or in need of being fixed.

You have been surviving in a world that was not built to support how your brain and body actually work.

Flourish is an educational support and coaching group created for ADHD women based on this core idea.

Flourish is:

• A supportive, skills-based space (not therapy)
• A way to shift from survival mode into flourish mode
• A space where your pace is honored
• A group where growth does not have to look like anyone else’s

How It Works

Flourish meets weekly on Zoom for 90 minutes.

You will receive reminders through email and Mighty Networks.

Weekly Group Structure (90 minutes):

• 30 minutes — Watch the video lesson (live or later)
• 30 minutes — Optional peer breakout rooms
• 30 minutes — Full-group community time

You Are Not Required To

• Show up on time
• Turn your camera on
• Speak, share, or interact
• Pay attention in a specific way
• Attend every single week
• Keep up

You Are Welcome To

• Keep your camera off
• Take breaks when needed
• Just show up and absorb at your own pace
• Arrive late or leave early
• Stim, doodle, fidget, or knit

Group Agreements

To help this space feel safe, supportive, and real, we share these values:

• What is shared in this group stays in this group
• You do not have to perform or pretend
• We honor each other’s lived experiences
• Mistakes are part of learning
• You get to show up as you are, not as you should be
• We acknowledge trauma without sharing details
• Be kind to yourself and others

Trauma-Sensitive Space: Sharing With Care

This is a trauma-sensitive space. We keep sharing gentle so everyone can feel safe and regulated.

If you feel overwhelmed, you may turn off your camera or step away. Please take care of yourself.

You are welcome to talk about hard topics, but please avoid graphic details that could overwhelm others.

What trauma-sensitive sharing looks like:

Instead of:

“When the crash happened, I heard the metal crunch, saw the glass fly, and felt my arm snap.”

Try:

“I was in a serious car accident that still affects how safe I feel in cars.”

This allows others to understand the impact without vivid details that could be retraumatizing.

This Is Not Therapy

While many of us are healing, this group is not therapy.

Instead, it offers peer support and education based on the Flourish neurodivergent-affirming model, designed for ADHD women who are often underserved by traditional systems.

What to Expect Here

• Choose your pace. Engagement is always optional.
• Gentle lessons introducing five core skills and their real-life application
• Simple check-ins and reflections to notice emotions and needs
• Practical regulation tools that are short and sensory-friendly
• Exercises to rebuild self-trust and reconnect with your body and boundaries
• Honest, respectful connection with ADHD women who understand

You deserve a space that honors both your story and your nervous system.

Welcome.

Be Yourself

You may have spent years trying to become someone else’s version of “functional.”

You do not have to do that here.

Instead:

• You get to move at your own pace
• Try what works and leave what does not

Pause here and reflect:

What emotions come up when you hear what this group is about?

Different, Not Defective

If you are here, it probably means you have been searching for real help and support.

Maybe you have been told:

• You are too sensitive
• You are too scattered
• You are too emotional
• You are not “together” enough

Maybe you spent years trying to:

• Fix yourself
• Manage yourself
• Hide parts of who you are just to get through the day

Let’s say this clearly:

You are not broken.

This group is not about fixing you.

It is not about becoming neurotypical.

It is about becoming more fully yourself.

Purpose of Our Group and Model Overview

We are not here to become less ADHD.

We are here to become more supported, more aware, and more free.

We are here to:

1. Unlearn shame
2. Create supportive environments for our brains and bodies
3. Practice self-compassion, self-care, self-awareness, self-accommodation, and self-advocacy
4. Understand old coping strategies as intuitive responses to stress or trauma
5. Rebuild self-trust without being asked to change who you are

Getting By in the World With No Support

Many ADHD women learned to cope by:

• People-pleasing
• Perfectionism
• Mistrusting their emotions
• Hiding their authentic selves
• Silencing themselves

These were wise adaptations that helped you survive in a world that rewards compliance and punishes difference.

But now, it may be time to learn something new.

The Flourish Model: Core Skills Shift

In this group, you will gradually replace old survival strategies with tools that support how your brain and body work.

You do not have to master these all at once.

You will learn them simply by showing up.

You can trust yourself to:

• Start where you are
• Keep what works
• Let go of what does not

What Is ADHD?

You may have heard terms like:

• Executive dysfunction
• Inattention
• Hyperactivity

ADHD is a different neurotype.

It reflects differences in how the brain regulates attention, energy, emotion, and motivation.

Struggles arise not from defects, but from mismatches between ADHD brains and environments not designed for them.

Reflection

Pause and notice your thoughts.

Question 1:

Have you been taught that your brain works differently, and that this makes you “less than”?

Question 2:

What is it like to know your brain is not wrong or defective, just different?

What ADHD Struggle Feels Like

Many ADHD women describe:

• Wanting to start but being unable to
• Forgetting something important, then spiraling into self-criticism
• Feeling everything at once
• Energy spikes followed by sudden crashes
• Hormones impacting focus, mood, and motivation
• Feeling like you have a different brain every week
• Always feeling behind
• Getting stuck on small decisions
• Losing time in hyperfocus

And also:

• Hiding internal chaos behind a composed exterior
• Working twice as hard to keep up
• Sensory overwhelm
• Emotions arriving instantly or much later
• Neglecting self-care until exhaustion
• Anticipating rejection
• Feeling broken for struggling with “easy” tasks

How ADHD Brains Work Differently

ADHD affects:

• Time perception
• Memory (often emotion- and image-based)
• Prioritization
• Sensitivity to feedback
• Transitions
• Stimulation needs
• Hormones
• Emotions
• Energy variability
• Attention and hyperfocus

Despite this, many ADHD girls were expected to behave in neuronormative ways.

Coping and masking followed.

The Birth of Coping Skills

When a brain does not match dominant expectations, this is not a personal failure.

It is a mismatch between person and environment.

Repeated mismatch can lead to shame.

Many ADHD girls internalized the message:

“I am the problem.”

Does this feel familiar?

Avoidance of Shame

To survive, many ADHD girls learned to:

• Push harder than others
• Strive for perfection
• Stay invisible
• Hide emotions
• Overachieve
• Become what others needed

These strategies made sense.

But they came at a cost.

The Cost of Chasing Neuronormative Standards

Long-term coping can lead to:

• Loss of self-trust
• Chronic burnout
• Disconnection from needs
• Over-functioning for others
• Under-supporting yourself
• Physical illness

Activity: Recognizing Your Patterns

Pause here.

Which coping skills have you used?

(Check all that apply.)

• People-pleasing
• Silencing your voice
• Self-criticism
• Perfectionism
• Never asking for help
• Over-apologizing
• Hiding struggles
• Pushing through exhaustion
• Working twice as hard despite health costs

Other: _________

The Flourish Skills: Out With the Old, In With the True

You do not have to abandon old tools right away.

We are simply offering more options.

Next, we will explore the five core practices of the Flourish Model.

The Five Flourish Skills

Self-Compassion

Responding to yourself with care instead of criticism.

Self-Awareness

Noticing thoughts, emotions, and body signals without judgment.

Self-Care

Meeting real needs, not performing routines.

Self-Accommodation

Adjusting life to fit your brain.

Self-Advocacy

Expressing needs with honesty and clarity.

These are not achievements.

They are practices you will absorb over time.

Setting Intentions

You may name what you hope to grow, change, or explore.

Examples:

• Less shame
• More understanding
• Safer unmasking
• Stronger self-trust
• Asking for what you need

My Flourish Intentions

(Check all that apply or add your own.)

• Speak to myself with more kindness
• Understand and loosen masking
• Stop chasing perfection
• Practice self-compassion
• Create real accommodations
• Name and meet my needs
• Say no without guilt
• Rest without apologizing

Takeaways and Next Steps

Remember:

• You are not broken
• ADHD is a different operating system
• Your coping made sense

What’s Next:

The next workbook explores neurodiversity and stigma in ADHD women.