Why it’s Hard to Get Things Done With ADHD, Autism, and Anxiety (and how to do them anyways)
A groundbreaking, practical guide to accomplishing your goals and thriving in life, written for people with ADHD, autism, trauma and anxiety.
“Overcoming the Wall of Awful is not only endlessly validating, but epically empowering. This book needs to be in the hands of everyone who has ever failed at anything.” —Jessica McCabe, New York Times bestselling author of How to ADHD
We’re afraid to talk about it—that feeling we all get when we need to do something as simple as cleaning the kitchen or sending an email and we just … can’t. It’s not because we don’t want to, it’s because we feel paralyzed. We’re not aimless. We’re not lazy. Our brains are working against us! We have purpose, we just need guidance.
This is that guide. Just like bricks, negative emotions and experiences can build up until they feel like an impenetrable wall between us and our goals. Brendan Mahan, MEd., MS. calls this the Wall of Awful—and he’s lived it. Diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, Mahan has made it his life’s work to help people overcome their own Walls of Awful and accomplish their biggest, scariest ambitions.
Mahan draws on twenty years in teaching, counseling, and coaching people with anxiety, ADHD, autism, and trauma. He teams up with writer Alex Hughes Capell in Overcoming the Wall of Awful to present his comprehensive model. The book explores:
- How anxiety works and why it gets in the way
- Ways people try to get past the Wall that don’t work—and what does
- How to climb your Wall of Awful and take back control
Learn how to identify key emotions, the bricks in your Wall. Then, learn the tricks, systems, and habits you’ll need to not just climb one Wall—but to overcome your blocks throughout your life, one step at a time. The Wall is real, but you are stronger than you know.
First, I want to thank Brendan Mahan, MEd, MS., Alex Huges Campbell, and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with this book so I can bring this review to you.
Brendan made me smile as dedicated this book to his father, Bill Mahan, who has always supported his writing and without this book wouldn’t have happened. He also tugged on my heart strings when he dedicated this book in memory of his Mom, Peggy Mahan. He wishes you were here to see what all that studying you helped him do lead to. Brendan, I bet she would be extremely proud of all your accomplishments!
Brendan starts out his book with a very beautifully written and insightful forward from Jessica McCabe who is a creator and host of How to ADHD. She shares with the readers how she first met Brendan and how she learned about The Wall of Awful. She shares all the invaluable lessons that she had learned from attending his program. Jessica is proud of Brendan for climbing the Wall of Awful! If both Jessica and Brendan can do it then for sure anyone that picks up this book can do it as well!!
Brendan was very mindful when planning on writing this book! He wanted this book to be geared towards every reader! I appreciate how considerate he was of the population that would be reading this specific book. Specifically the neurodivergent community. So to help with this he put in multiple supports that can help. For example the parts he found important he stressed in bold print.
You will see side bars, bullet lists, landmarks at each chapter level at the beginning of each chapter you will have one sentence summary at the beginning of the chapter a mini review and action step guide at the end of the guide.
I think it was very important to know upfront that this book does not have to be read in order from start to finish. That for this book of ideas and that you can pick and choose which section you would like to focus on.
I found this crutial and I actually think Brendan should have mentioned this sooner in the book. If you are reading this and suffering a mental health crisis this is not the book for you. Getting help in stability is the first step.
However, if you are in a non crisis situation or managing a chronic or long term mental health condition then yes this book could serve you additional help. You would have never guessed it but for years I have suffered from anxiety, overthinking, ptsd, and social awkwardness (or so my sister calls it). It wasn’t till I changed my mental health therapist from a male to female to get a different perspective on things over this summer and was introduced to an low dose anxiety med. Let me tell you those two changes and a few others have really made an impact on my life in a positive way! So, when I was offered to read and review this book by the publisher it was a no brainer that I agree to it. It came at the perfect time when I was open to taking it all in and learning more about what could help better myself. So, thank you Grand Central Publishing for sending this book and for Brendan for writing it.
Small world! Brendan is friends with author Caroline Maguire who is the author of Friendship Skills for Neurodivergents that ironically I just read and reviewed for her. It is a phenomenal eye opening book if you have not read it you definitely should. In his book he refers to her under the topic of social skills.
For me change has always been hard. So accepting the situation and changing your self talk of the situation is very hard for me. Then bravely moving on from it sometimes is not so easy.
At the end of the book in the appendix Brendan gives a great extra bonus tool kit with breathing exercises, the 5-4-3-2-1 method, sensory regulation strategies, the mammalian driving technique and Immediate distraction technique. You will also find a climbing the wall of awful quick start worksheet.
After reading this book you can tell Brendan really has a gift for what he does for a living. Not only that but a passion for helping people seek help they need. If you or anyone you know are suffering from anxiety I highly suggest you read this book! This book would also be a great addition to any mental health office, school library, etc.
