ADHD grief isn’t linear — and that’s totally normal

Grief can be overwhelming for anyone — but for people with ADHD, it can show up in surprising ways.Therapist Rachel Hopkins joins host Cate Osborn to unpack the intersection of ADHD and grief. They discuss how time blindness, emotional intensity, and memory challenges can shape the grieving process — and how ADHDers might mourn in nonlinear, unconventional ways. Rachel also offers some insights for anyone struggling to grieve “the right way” while living with a neurodivergent brain.Related resourcesFrom the ADHD Aha! podcast, Love and grief with ADHD (Steve Wesley’s story)Grief-Fueled ADHD: Strategies to Manage A Complex Combination by Rachel HopkinsThe Invisible String by Patrice KarstThe Grand Hotel of Feelings by Lidia BrankovícTimestamps(00:48) A word from Cate on ADHD and grief(03:05) Nonlinear ADHD grief(06:11) Executive function challenges and grief(09:34) Emotional regulation and planning immediately following a loss(11:03) Time perception challenges and processing grief(15:34) Rejection sensitivity and worrying about others’ judgement of our grieving(20:19) Balancing distraction and avoidance(26:24) The importance of acknowledging that your ADHD will affect your grief, and celebrating your wins(27:29) ADHD and delayed grief reactions(29:30) Advice for neurotypical people supporting an ADHDer through grief(30:44) Rachel’s last thoughts and advice for any ADHDer going through grief right nowFor a transcript and more resources, visit the Sorry, I Missed This show page on Understood.org. We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at [email protected]. Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.