ADHD & RSD Coach Jen - Jen Lewis-Preston at JLew HQ

Reminded at my workout today that I’d rather have my colourful random ADHD brain. Someone had brought their little puppy dog and it was in a basket watching us all.
Workout trainer: side planks everyone.
Me: imagine the dog just popped out their leg, bent it and side planked with us.
Cue everyone laughing
A neuro typical brained lady: what a bizarre thought.
Me: oh really? You should be in my head all day.
NT lady: looking bemused and slightly like wow that would be hectic. “Well I could maybe do it for an hour…”

At the end of the workout NT brain lady: well the dog doing a side plank is going to be in my head all day now.

Me: walks off thinking really?! You mean you won’t have another 999 random and funny thoughts of other stuff all day.

All hail our free all day entertainment 🌈💪

2 weeks until our Understanding our RSD Triggers live workshop. Come along and map out your own triggers in real time so you can understand how the "RSD Jolt" happens and how to manage it in the moment and process it through quicker!

ADHD Coach In Sydney | RSD and ADHD Life Coaching Experienced ADHD coach in Sydney, Jen specialises in supporting adults and parents with ADHD and RSD using personalised strategies, tools & supportive guidance.

OK ADHD community, next up is the annual RSD workshop - come along and learn what on earth this RSD thing is all about, how it actually gets created (the mechanics and science of how we inadvertently grow it or shrink it) and importantly the non negotiable keys to develop out of it. The top 3 manifestations of RSD in ADHD are People Pleasing, Risk Aversion and Perfectionism. If any of these resonate with you and take up time and energy, this workshop will give you such valuable context and development tools out of it. Hopefully see you there :-)
Click the workshop banner at the top of the page

ADHD Coach In Sydney | RSD and ADHD Life Coaching

RSD turns everyday moments into emotional landmines.

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜 — 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Your brain says “𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭.”
But your body already heard “𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥.”

And when that internal alarm sounds, reason alone won’t quiet it. Safety will.

Back in Apr il, I sat down with 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 to talk about my ADHD journey — the twists, the breakthroughs, and the lessons I wish I’d knownBack in April, I sat down with 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 to talk about my ADHD journey — the twists, the breakthroughs, and the lessons I wish I’d known in Apr il, I sat down with 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 to talk about my ADHD journey — the twists, the breakthroughs, and the lessons I wish I’d knownBack in April, I sat down with 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 to talk about my ADHD journey — the twists, the breakthroughs, and the lessons I wish I’d known sooner.

We explored how being connected to myself, courageous vulnerability, and reframing my perspective had me leaning into my natural strengths & passions, and creating a whole new relationship with myself.

If you’ve ever wondered what life can look like beyond the overwhelm — or how to create safety within yourself to feel and live without fear — this conversation is for you.

🎧 Full episode link in comments

When RSD hits, reason takes a back seat.

You admire others for resting, setting boundaries —
but can’t offer yourself the same grace.

This isn’t a mindset flaw. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐲𝐬𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞.

And the way forward?
Understanding the pathway here, and soothing, not striving.

An RSD hangover lingers long after the trigger’s gone.
Even when everything’s “fine” again - the ick stays.

But when you 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 yourself - when you stop labelling yourself as broken or “too much” - something shifts.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬.

That’s the power of self-validation.

It’s not just in your head —𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦, 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐦.

When boundaries feel dangerous or a ‘no’ sends you spiraling,
your body’s telling you it doesn’t feel safe.

The path forward?

𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬.

🌀 That’s the cycle RSD traps us in.

We feel the sting of disconnection,
and then we compound it by disconnecting from ourselves.

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡.

🤔 Ever stuffed down a feeling, only for it to explode later over something tiny?

𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫.

They hide.

And they resurface.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 — without judgement and process through the stuck triggers — is the most radical kind of safety.

🫣 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲?

Like something small set off something 𝘣𝘪𝘨 — and you don’t even know why?

That’s not random. That’s a nervous system response.

The RSD trigger isn’t just “in your head” — it’s in your 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, and there’s always a path that got you there.

Start tracing it back with curiosity, not criticism. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞.