🏆 Fighting your thoughts with CBT doesn’t work for Women with ADHD

🥊 Excerpt: The CBT Trap

For the adult woman with ADHD, years of struggling with executive function deficits are often met with self-criticism and internal hyperactivity. When engaging in traditional CBT, the process of "fighting the thought" inadvertently gives it immense power.

The effort to refute the thought locks the woman into an internal tug-of-war . By engaging in the fight, the critical thought becomes the single most important thing in the room, consuming valuable executive function energy that could have been spent on the task itself.

The result? She is paralyzed, believing that the task is impossible until the critical voice is completely defeated—a fight the ADHD brain can rarely win.

🔑 The ACT Realization

This is why Brilla Counseling leads with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT teaches a crucial skill: Cognitive Defusion—seeing thoughts as mere words, not commands.

The realization is transformative:

"I can take action even when my thoughts are telling me I can't. If I can get unhooked from the need to feel 100% capable, I can move forward."

We help you take small, values-aligned steps while the critical thought is still present, proving it is just noise, not a barrier. Stop fighting your brain. Start building the life you value.

— Brilla Counseling Services, Sacramento & Online CA