Liz Melling ADHD Coaching and Holistic Wellbeing

I'm curious to know...

What's one piece of advice you've been given that just doesn't work for your ADHD brain?

There are so many well-meaning suggestions out there, but not all of them feel helpful.

Sometimes they can even leave us feeling more frustrated, especially when we've tried them over and over again, and they still don't seem to fit.

I'd love to hear what's never worked for you.

You never know... someone else might read your comment and realise they're not the only one.

Let me know in the comments xx

When people think about ADHD, they often think about distraction, forgetfulness or struggling to stay organised.

What doesn't get talked about nearly as much is just how exhausting having ADHD can be.

Not the kind of exhaustion that comes from being busy, but the kind that comes from constantly trying to keep up, second-guessing yourself, overthinking, masking, and wondering why everything seems to take so much more effort than it should.

For many late-diagnosed women, this has been going on for years, sometimes decades. You become so used to pushing through that you stop noticing how much energy it's taking just to get through the day.

When you've been living like that for so long, it's easy to believe that you're the problem. That you're not trying hard enough, or that everyone else has somehow worked out something you haven't.

But what if the exhaustion isn't a sign that you're failing? What if it's a sign that you've been carrying far more than anyone realised?

For many women, that's the point where things start to make a little more sense. We stop asking, "What's wrong with me?" and begin asking, "What do I need?" That shift doesn't solve everything overnight, but it can be the beginning of understanding ourselves in a kinder, more compassionate way.

I'd love to know if any of this resonates with you. Let me know in the comments xx

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One of the things I value most about coaching is creating a space where women feel able to be themselves.

Many of the women I work with have spent years feeling misunderstood, wondering why life seems so much harder than it should, or feeling like they have to explain themselves all the time.

So when Becky shared these words after our coaching sessions, they really stayed with me:

"I thoroughly enjoyed being coached by Liz and cannot recommend her highly enough. Her calm and gentle nature made me feel safe and able to talk openly, without any fear of judgement."

Feeling safe enough to explore what's really been going on can make such a difference.

It gives you the space to make sense of your experiences, understand your patterns and discover what works for you.

That's the kind of space I hope to create for every woman I work with.
I'll have a small number of one-to-one coaching spaces available from September.

If you're curious about working together, comment READY and I'll send you the link to book a free Curiosity Call, where we can have a chat and see whether it feels like the right next step for you.

Want to hang out with this handsome little chap?

You should know he has absolutely no respect for personal space... or Zoom etiquette.

Meet Merlin. Self-appointed agent of chaos.

Whether he's wandering across the camera, investigating my art supplies, or rolling around right on top of the artwork I'm working on, he somehow manages to be completely unhelpful... whilst also being ridiculously cute.

Thankfully, Creative Pause is all about embracing the unexpected. We slow down, get creative, have a chat, and if Merlin decides to make a guest appearance, we just go with it.

If you'd like a relaxed hour of creativity (and quite possibly a feline cameo), you'll find the details in the comments. x

By the time many women come to work with me, they're often exhausted.

They've been doing their best to keep going, wondering why everything seems to take so much more effort than it does for everyone else. They're looking for a space where they can take a breath, make sense of what's been going on, and begin to understand themselves in a different way. Somewhere they don't have to explain why they feel the way they do. Somewhere they can explore their patterns with curiosity instead of criticism.

That's what I aim to offer through my one-to-one coaching.

My approach brings together my lived experience, professional training and a range of different approaches, including ADHD and AuDHD coaching, nervous system support, creative wellbeing practices, emotional regulation strategies, and practical tools that fit into everyday life.

Together, we'll discover what works for you.
Because there isn't a one-size-fits-all way to live well with ADHD.

There is your way.

If you're curious about working together, comment READY and I'll send you the link to book a free Curiosity Call. It's a chance for us to chat, explore what's been going on for you, and see whether coaching feels like the right next step.

I spent most of my life feeling like a contradiction of myself. I couldn’t understand the constant conflict going on inside my head. Things like:

Wanting routine but resisting it at all costs.
Wanting connection but also needing space.
Feeling overstimulated and yet still craving something more.
Having a system work for me one day and not the next.

None of it felt consistent, and none of it quite made sense.

What I understand now is that a lot of this comes from the different needs that can exist alongside each other in an AuDHD brain. My autistic brain often wants structure, predictability and calm, while my ADHD brain seeks novelty, stimulation and movement.

It can feel like a constant back-and-forth. A quiet tug-of-war running underneath everyday life.

It’s easy to assume that you’re the ‘problem’, or that you’re ‘just being difficult’. But when you understand what’s actually going on, you can start to unpick things and find ways forward that support those different needs.

Sometimes that means adjusting things. Other times it means trying a different approach. And sometimes it’s simply recognising which need is louder in that moment.

There isn’t always a perfect answer, but there can be more understanding, more flexibility, and a bit more compassion for yourself in the middle of it.

I've been thinking a lot about capacity recently, and particularly about what it means to actually plan for the days when I have less of it.

It's all very well making plans when I've got the energy, headspace and executive functioning to think everything through. The problem is that I'm not necessarily going to have that same capacity when it comes to actually doing the thing.

Food is a really good example for me. I might plan to cook a proper meal, but sometimes by the time it gets to the evening, I simply don't have the capacity to cook what I'd planned. So I make sure I have options available for those days.

I often cook a little bit more than I need and put an extra portion in the freezer. And when I say that, I don't mean spending Sunday afternoon doing some enormous batch-cooking session... I often just cook an extra portion of what I'm already making.

I also try to have things around that make feeding myself easier: eggs, baked beans, frozen vegetables, microwave rice, soup, wholemeal pasta and a jar of tomato sauce, or a ready meal that I can just put in the microwave.

For me, planning for fluctuating capacity means not just having a Plan A. It's making sure I've got an easier option available for the days when Plan A asks more of me than I've got to give.

And I think this applies to much more than food.

Instead of creating one plan and expecting ourselves to follow it regardless of how we're functioning that day, perhaps we can build in different options for different levels of capacity.

I'm curious: is there anything you've made easier for your lower-capacity days? I'd love to know what's worked for you.