PAST - Positive Assessments Support and Training

10/10/2026

Apparently today is World Mental Health Day. I only found out because I happened to see a post on social media.

And I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about these awareness days.

Autism Awareness Day. ADHD Awareness Month. Mental Health Awareness Day.

Of course, raising awareness is important. But sometimes I wonder whether we’ve become so focused on having a designated day, week or month for everything that we forget what awareness is actually supposed to achieve.

Because mental health matters every single day, not just when there’s a hashtag trending.

It matters on the days when someone is struggling to get out of bed. When they’re smiling on the outside but falling apart inside. When they’re overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious or simply trying to get through another day.

And I’m not ashamed to say that my own mental health has been the worst it’s ever been over the last 18 months.

I share that not because I want sympathy, but because I genuinely believe we need to be more open about our mental health if we’re ever going to remove the stigma that still surrounds it.

We can be strong, capable, successful, passionate people and still struggle with our mental health. The two are not mutually exclusive.

And perhaps if more of us felt able to talk openly about our struggles, fewer people would feel they had to hide theirs.

We don’t just need more awareness. We need more understanding, acceptance, compassion and meaningful change.

And that takes considerably more than a day.

10/10/2026

The amazing Sharren Bridges has created this incredible project in memory of her daughter Jen.

Please do check out the website - there is so much helpful information and brilliant resources too.

Children Grow Their Own Way

10/10/2026

Why did I always go for the bad boys? 🚩

I write in my ADHD book about being drawn to men who were unpredictable, unavailable and unreliable.

One gave me so little that I became “desperate for the tiny bit of attention he paid me.” And I now know there’s a word for that: breadcrumbing - giving someone just enough attention to keep them emotionally invested.

Looking back, I wonder…

Was I attracted to “bad boys” or was my ADHD brain attracted to the uncertainty, the chase, the rejection and then the huge high when the attention returned.

This links to my recent post about neurodivergent women and abusive relationships but I want to make an important distinction:

Being attracted to excitement or unpredictability does NOT cause abuse. And experiencing abuse is never the victim’s fault. Abuse is a choice made by the person perpetrating it.

What we can do is understand the patterns that may make some of us more vulnerable to unhealthy relationships.

Because sometimes unpredictability can feel like excitement.

Sometimes anxiety can feel like chemistry.

And intensity isn’t necessarily intimacy.

09/10/2026

October’s issue of The PAST Post is all about ADHD. 💛

To mark ADHD Awareness Month, I will be sharing practical, thoughtful ways to support ADHD children, young people and adults, whether at home, in school or in everyday life.

You will also find news from PAST and a spotlight on one of my books.

If you would like it to come straight to your inbox, you can sign up here: https://past-2.kit.com/5546582fcd

Please share with anyone who might find it helpful.

Thoughtful support, straight to your inbox.

08/10/2026

Like so many other neurodivergent women, I have always had some dodgy stuff going on with my hormones.

Although there is already plenty of evidence that oestrogen impacts our moods and behaviour, and there are plenty of neurotypical women who suffer with their hormones, researchers are only now really starting to understand the link between hormones and ADHD.

The hormonal changes we experience that start in puberty and continue through adulthood seem to really have an impact on women with ADHD.

It would appear, however, that ADHD can really amplify hormone-related issues, and as a result, many women with ADHD struggle even more than their neurotypical peers with many of the wonderful things we have to endure as women.

Find more information on this in Chapter 3: ADHD, Hormones and Menopause, where you will also find suggestions of what else could help and some useful links.

https://uk.jkp.com/products/the-slightly-distracted-womans-guide-to-living-with-an-adult-adhd-diagnosis?_pos=1&_psq=laura+kerbey&_psid=9a8d59f62&_ss=e

illustrated by Missing The Mark

06/10/2026

Today I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel about ADHD and Work with Dr Miguel Torino-Mateas and Alex Partridge from The ADHD Chatter Podcast for JKP Books as part of ADHD Awareness Month.

We covered a huge range of topics including balancing hyperfocus, self care, how hormones can impact your work and of course, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD.)

Thank you Jessica Kingsley Publishers for inviting me to be part of such an interesting and important discussion.

06/10/2026

Chapter Two of my book explores parenting, and it is one of the chapters that stays with me most.

The women who contributed describe postnatal depression that went unrecognised, sensory overwhelm, relentless self-doubt and the constant question of whether they were "a good mum". So often, undiagnosed ADHD sat quietly underneath it all.

Parenting is hard. Parenting with unrecognised ADHD can be harder still, which is why recognition, diagnosis and understanding for women matters so much.