My Story

Newsletter written by Ceri Sandford.

For more videos, follow @ceri.sandford on IG or @adhdcompassioncoach on TT.

If you want to find out what happens when you learn to ride your ADHD rollercoasters and design a neurodivergent-friendly life, then this is the perfect publication - full to the brim with shitty first drafts, motivation experimentation, and inconsistent chaos.

This is a community is somewhere you can come to remind yourself that:

your neurotype is one of many.
you are not flawed, lazy, broken, or wrong.
your needs are valid - and always have been.

Come be a founding member to support my book writing dreams and access the articles that are “too much” for public consumption. Ha! This is a safe place for storytelling and truth-sharing. If my message resonates, this is a perfect place for you.

What the heck is a substack subscription?

Subscribe below and you’ll find out. For the cost of a coffee each week, you’ll get full access to every piece of writing or recording that I’m uploading every month-ish. It’s paid peer pressure to keep writing, sharing, and showing up. Every article will be delivered directly to your inbox - like neurodivergent love letters.

Ready for some oversharing?

Good. That’s my specialty. I’m a thirty-something online entrepreneur living in Australia with my husband, Will, and our two border collies, Dahlia and Maggie. I’ve always been a walking contradiction; messy and neat, loud and quiet, thoughtful and reckless, realistic and hopeful, energetic and exhausted…

If I had to choose a favourite colour, I would probably say forest green, which would be an absolute lie because I don’t believe in choosing a favourite anything. It changes with every day, mood, and situation. I’m definitely indefinite, reliably unreliable, and consistently inconsistent. How can anyone ever be so certain of one choice?

I love wearing comfortable clothes and despise high-heeled anything. I’m a sucker for personality tests. Projector in Human Design. ENFP in Myer Briggs. If you want more scientific surveys, you can look up your character strengths here. My top signature strengths are humour, creativity, social intelligence, love of learning, and gratitude.

I’ve used my love of storytelling to build wholesome communities online, including Instagram (40K) and TikTok (30K). If you want some uplifting joy and upfront honesty, check out either of my podcasts: ‘Wine with Teacher’ and ‘Embrace Your ADHD Chaos’. Community is… well, it’s how I’m able to do what I do every day.

Grateful is an understatement.

Share The Rollercoaster

Blessed with a confusing name, I’ve rarely met a person who has pronounced Ceri correctly on their first try. How did you read it the first time? Seri? Cherie? Carrie?

It’s Ceri, with a hard C. *awkward smile* It’s Welsh, and means ‘love’.

I completely overhauled my life in 2020, for what felt like the fourth quarter life crisis before 30, and resigned from my permanent job as a primary school teacher. With weekly workload-related anxiety taking a toll, I knew that this was the right decision.

I had a small chunk of savings in the bank, a strong nudge from my intuition, and the desire to create a digital business. Thanks to my online community of teachers, I was able to bring new dreams and ventures to life.

A shop that offered resources, magazines, stationery, and merchandise.
A podcast that hosted conversations and stories from teachers around the world.
A wellbeing community that focused on small, sustainable changes.

Then, I discovered some identity-shifting news.

After starting therapy, I discovered my neurotype was (and always had been) ADHD. I spent months processing the news and figuring out if I wanted to use my platform to paint my own picture of Adult ADHD. Advocating for awareness and support, sharing my nuanced experience that directly contrasted against the commonly accepted and expected “young hyperactive boy in class”.

I started to acknowledge and allow the ADHD-related difficulties and needs. I forgave myself for all the blame, guilt, and disappointment that had been unfairly piled on top of my shoulders for years. I grieved for not knowing sooner and also celebrated that I finally had answers and could stop measuring myself against a neurotypical standard.

~~I should be able to do this…~~
~~I should be better than this…~~
~~I just need to try harder…~~
~~I need to be better…~~

‘What do many late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults have in common? Shame. From a lifetime of internalised negative messages that we were too unreliable, forgetful, messy, and selfish. Without understanding why, our executive function challenges were scarring our self-esteem, leaving us feeling broken or wrong. For many of us, we found the easy things hard and the hard things easy.’

I’m starting this newsletter because I have ADHD and I love to write… I’m starting it to connect with a whole NEW community. I’m excited to see how this one will grow and change. I’m kind of like a mad scientist who throws themself into an experiment. I’ll be sharing whatever feels important, mainly the rollercoaster of life with ADHD.

Normalising riding a rollercoaster of fluctuating energy and emotions. Normalising riding a rollercoaster of new motivations and interests. Normalising being different.

PS: You can download and listen to my ADHD Pep Talk here. It’s designed to support you with unmasking and showing yourself a little more compassion.