Cognitive Dissonance and ADHD: When Your Ideal Self Collides with Reality
If you have ADHD, you’ve likely experienced the exhausting cycle of promising yourself “tomorrow will be different” while repeating the same patterns. This isn’t a character flaw—it’s cognitive dissonance amplified by ADHD’s unique neurological features. Your brain’s optimistic time perception, difficulty with self-monitoring, and tendency toward black-and-white thinking can blur the line between who you aspire to be and who you actually are. Recognizing this pattern helps explain why traditional productivity advice fails you, why you might feel like you’re “faking” struggles, and why self-compassion is essential for genuine progress.