Simon Pepper:Reset & Rise

02/01/2026

No sooner has the dust started to settle after the busy festive period and New Years Eve celebrations, and the inevitable onslaught of “New Year, new me”, posts from friends, colleagues, family & even strangers have arrived all over your social media feeds.

You may feel pressure to follow the herd and set some arbitrary ‘life-changing’ goal for yourself, but my advice for what it’s worth, is don’t do anything for the first week of January, just allow your energy levels and social battery to recover.

Deciding to make big changes to your life or creating some vague long term goal whilst exhausted, will likely end in tears.

Once you feel recharged, sit down and think about what you’d like to achieve or do differently this year, it doesn’t have to be some monumental shift like changing jobs or running a marathon, it could be deciding to go to bed 1 hour earlier, washing your hair at least once a week, or putting your laundry in the basket every night.

- Small goals are (generally) easier to plan & to achieve, but they are no less pleasing when completed.

- Small changes compounded over time can lead to bigger changes.

- Small achievements are still achievements and build confidence.

You don’t need to impress, reinvent, or change yourself for anyone, let alone strangers on social media, you are already good enough.

18/12/2025

Don’t leave presents until Christmas Eve.
Not because you’re lazy — because urgency hijacks your brain.

One gift.
One click.
Start now.

3… 2… 1… GO.

18/12/2025

Christmas can be overwhelming with an ADHD brain.
Noise, people, broken routines, big emotions — all at once.

You don’t have to love it.
You just have to get through it.

Lower the bar.
Protect your energy.
Eat properly.

11/12/2025

ADHD + Energy Drinks: Why We Love Them… and Why They Hit Us Harder

Let’s be honest, if you’ve got ADHD, energy drinks can feel like rocket fuel for a tired brain.
A hit of dopamine, a kick of caffeine, a moment where everything suddenly feels possible.

But here’s the catch: our nervous systems are already running hot.
So that “kick” can quickly turn into:
• Jittery anxiety
• Heart palpitations
• A crash that wipes out the rest of your day
• Even worse sleep (which then makes ADHD symptoms louder)

It’s not about willpower. It’s chemistry. ADHD brains chase stimulation… and energy drinks deliver too much of it at once.

A few swaps that still give you a lift without frying your circuits:

🔥 Matcha – slower caffeine release, less spiking
💧 Electrolyte water – hydration alone boosts focus more than people realise
🌿 Herbal teas like peppermint or ginseng – gentle stimulation without the crash
🥤 Half-caffeine coffee – same ritual, fewer jitters
🍫 A square of dark chocolate – tiny dopamine bump, no heart-racing madness
🥛 Protein first thing in the morning, steadies your energy so you don’t crave a caffeine gr***de at 11am

If energy drinks are part of your daily routine, try swapping just one a day at first.
Your body will thank you, and your focus will actually be more consistent.

What’s your go-to ADHD “boost” right now?

10/12/2025

Why people with ADHD struggle to share their wins, and why I’m pushing myself to do it anyway

A lot of people with ADHD find it strangely hard to talk about the things they’re proud of.

Not because we don’t care.
Not because the achievement wasn’t real.
But because it often feels uncomfortable to take up space in that way.

When you grow up being told to “focus more,” “be more consistent,” or “stop being distracted,” it becomes second nature to notice your mistakes and ignore your successes.
Wins get dismissed as luck.
Progress gets brushed off as “not a big deal.”
And half the time, we forget them as soon as they happen anyway.

Sharing something good can also feel risky, like it invites pressure, or judgment, or the fear that you won’t be able to maintain it.

But the truth is: acknowledging your own progress matters.
Especially with ADHD.
It helps build confidence, motivation, and a sense of direction.

So here’s me practising exactly that…

Recently, I had the chance to speak at one of the West Sussex mental health conferences led by the High Sheriff of Sussex.
I was mentioned in media across the region for sharing my own mental health journey with more than 100 delegates.

Seeing it in print really had an impact on me, not because I wanted praise, but because two years ago I wouldn’t have believed I’d ever be doing something like this.

It’s a reminder that progress does happen, even if we’re not great at recognising it.

If you’ve had a win lately, big or small, try not to talk yourself out of it.
Say it out loud.
Give it space.
It might encourage someone else to do the same.

09/12/2025

ADHD time blindness is no joke.
You sit down to do something “for 10 minutes”… and suddenly an hour’s vanished and you’re wondering how you got there.

It’s not bad planning.
It’s not laziness.
Your brain just doesn’t track time the way everyone assumes it should.

That’s why timers, alarms, visual countdowns, anything that externalises time, can completely change how your day feels.
Less chaos. More clarity. Fewer “how is it that late?!” moments.

If this is you, comment “time” so you don’t feel like the only one living in a time vortex.

08/12/2025

08/12/2025

You’re not unreliable.
Your executive function just isn’t a straight line, it rises, crashes, resets, and repeats.

One day you’re smashing through tasks like you’ve finally figured life out…
The next day you’re staring at basic jobs like they’re written in another language.

That swing isn’t laziness.
It’s the ADHD cycle, energy spikes, dopamine drops, brain fog, pressure, restart.

And here’s the bit nobody tells you:
You can build systems that survive the dips.
Routines that still hold when motivation disappears.
Safety nets that stop you falling as far as you used to.

The goal isn’t to be consistent every day, it’s to stop the lows from wiping you out.

So tell me…did you know this is why your consistency is all over the place?

05/12/2025

You’re not too emotional.
You’re not dramatic.
You’re running a brain that feels everything at full volume, especially stress, rejection, and pressure.

Most people experience emotions like a steady tap. ADHD often feels more like a burst water main.

A comment that wasn’t meant personally suddenly feels sharp.
A bit of pressure turns into panic.
A small disagreement escalates before you’ve even had time to think.
And when it all gets too much?
Shutdown. Silence. Retreat.

This isn’t a character flaw, it’s emotional dysregulation, one of the most overlooked symptoms of ADHD.
It explains a lifetime of “overreacting,” apologising, misunderstandings, and trying to explain feelings you didn’t even have words for in the moment.

The good news?
Once you know what’s happening, you stop blaming yourself.
You start building space, tools, and habits that help your emotions land softer instead of hitting like a freight train.

You’re not broken.
You’re just wired to feel deeply — and there’s strength in that once you learn how to manage it.

If this hits home, drop a 🔥 in the comments
(Not to self: don’t put an emoji in your notes because you’ll get stuck when you get to it 😂)

04/12/2025

The comparison Trap

ADHD makes you compare your potential to your actual output, and it hurts.
But the gap can get smaller.
What’s something you’re working on closing the gap with?

04/12/2025

ADHD has a nasty way of making you compare the person you are, with the version you think you should be… and that gap can sting.

You know your potential.
You can see the version of you who’s organised, consistent, calm, on top of things.
And then there’s real life, the distractions, the forgotten tasks, the bursts of energy followed by nothing, the days where motivation evaporates for no logical reason.

That mismatch isn’t failure.
It’s the ADHD brain at work.

The good news?
That gap can get smaller; Not by becoming someone else, but by learning how your brain actually works and building systems that match it, not fight it.

One small shift at a time.
One habit you can actually keep.
One win that builds the next.

What’s something you’re working on closing the gap with right now?