If you can’t sit still even when nothing’s wrong…
If you’re checking your emails like a debt collector is chasing you…
If your heart races during peaceful moments…

This episode is for you.

In this raw and validating Quick Reset, Jane peels back the misunderstood layers of ‘anxiety’ to reveal something many ADHD mums live with daily — high-functioning hypervigilance. It’s not just worry. It’s a nervous system that never learned to feel safe.

This is the episode to save and return to every time you feel like you can’t switch off, even when the house is quiet and the kids are fine. It’s not just stress. It’s survival mode — and it’s unlearnable.

What We Cover:

• The difference between anxiety and hypervigilance
• Why so many late-diagnosed ADHD and autistic women live in a bracing state
• How childhood emotional mismatch (not just trauma) conditions us to constantly scan
• The link between people-pleasing, masking, and chronic nervous system activation
• What hypervigilance looks like in motherhood (especially if your child is impulsive or unsafe)
• Three practical tools to start calming your system today — no spa day required

Key Takeaway:
You didn’t get this way by accident. Your body learned to brace because safety wasn’t a given. But it can unlearn. Regulation isn’t a reward — it’s your right.

Resources & Links:
• Join the Facebook community: ADHD Mums FB Group
• More resources & tools: www.adhdmums.com.au/shop

SHARE THIS RESET:
If this one hit hard, send it to a mum friend who’s also stuck in survival mode. Let her know: she’s not broken, she’s bracing.

Other Quick Reset Episodes:

• S3E8 Advocating for Your Child Shouldn’t Break You — But It Often Does: Spotify | Apple Podcast
• S3E12 I can’t stop snapping when my child does this one thing: Spotify | Apple Podcast

• S3E14 I Cancel Plans Because I Don’t Have the Energy to Fake My Personality: Spotify | Apple Podcast
• S3E15 He wants the Maldives but we can’t even manage the park: Spotify | Apple Podcast
• S3E16 No meds, No plan, and no help….. but yet they’re still calling us undiagnosed: Spotify | Apple Podcast
• S3E17 How we survive the 3- 6:00 PM shit show when kids are coming down off meds. Spotify | Apple Podcast
• S3E18 Why you are bad at asking for help and what to do instead. Spotify | Apple Podcast

Listen Now
If you’ve ever left a meeting wondering what just happened – or held back tears while playing nice just to get a referral – this one’s for you. Hit play. Share it with a friend who’s fighting the same fight.

TOPICS COVERED:
Hypervigilance vs anxiety, ADHD shutdown, chronic stress, trauma responses, parenting neurodivergent kids, sensory overwhelm, people-pleasing, masking, emotional dysregulation, nervous system regulation, emotional safety, ADHD and trauma, survival mode, ADHD parenting tools, quick nervous system resets, late-diagnosed ADHD, mum burnout recovery, high-functioning anxiety, emotional masking in women, calm nervous system tips, ADHD mental health, trauma-informed ADHD strategies, somatic safety, ADHD nervous system healing, gentle parenting for ND families.

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