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I Was 32 When I Found Out I Had ADHD

A therapist's question changed everything. Now I help others navigate the same journey—and build systems that actually stick.

For most of my life, I thought I was just broken. I'd set ambitious goals on Sunday, completely derail by Tuesday, and beat myself up by Friday. I tried every productivity system—GTD, time-blocking, fancy apps—and none of it stuck. I'd blame myself. "If I just had more discipline..." Sound familiar?

Then I was in therapy for what I thought were just life problems. My therapist asked casually: "Have you ever been evaluated for ADHD?"

I laughed. ADHD was for hyperactive kids, right?

She didn't laugh. She knew. I didn't.

That conversation led to an evaluation, and the results were crystal clear. Suddenly, 32 years of struggles made sense. I wasn't broken. My brain was wired differently—and that's actually a superpower when you work with it instead of fighting it.

Everything changed after that. I stopped trying to force myself into neurotypical systems. Instead, I built frameworks designed FOR how my brain actually works. External structures. Visual accountability. Dopamine-driven motivation. Rigid deadlines I actually keep.

The difference? Night and day.

Now I'm obsessed with helping others discover this too. Not the diagnosis itself (that's between you and a doctor), but the frameworks that make ADHD brains thrive. Every framework I share has been tested, refined, and proven on a brain that works like yours.

You're not broken. You just need systems built for how you actually think.

That's what Awakened Insights is all about.

— Shawn Garland, Maine native & former cruise ship adventurer, now helping fellow ADHD brains thrive