ADHD break ups: Impulsive texts and overthinking regrets

Guest Appearances
November 19, 2024•2 min read
Custom HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT

About Sorry I Missed This

It can be hard to navigate relationships when you have ADHD. Host Cate Osborn has ADHD, a background in sex education, and a whole lot of questions like “How do I know what I want out of a relationship? How do I remember my friends exist? What can I do to handle conflict better?” Tune in to Sorry, I Missed This to learn about topics like social skills, boundaries, communication, intimacy, and sex. Join Cate in unpacking the taboo, painful, and often hilarious challenges of being in a relationship when you have ADHD.

Episode Summary

Sometimes, romantic relationships just don’t work out. And breaking up with someone can be really tough — including having the breakup conversation. With ADHD, overthinking, people-pleasing, and rejection sensitivity can make it even harder. 

This week, ADHD coach and author of I Don’t Hate My Ex-Husband Jess DuBose visits Sorry, I Missed This. Listen to learn how to check in with yourself about your relationship, and some tips to help you through a breakup conversation.

✨ Highlights & Takeaways

  • ADHD adds emotional layers; rejection sensitivity, people-pleasing, and overthinking make breakups harder to navigate.

  • People-pleasing is protection; it’s often rooted in past trauma or learned safety—not just being agreeable.

  • Fear of hurting others keeps people stuck; many ADHDers stay too long to avoid being “the bad guy.”

  • The ASPIRE process supports change; Jess’s framework helps unlearn old patterns and build self-trust.

  • Your body holds truth; a guided visualization can bring surprising clarity about whether to stay or go.

  • You don’t owe post-breakup friendship; healing takes time, and not all connections need to continue.

📚 Resources Mentioned in This Episode

📖 I Don’t Hate My Ex-Husband
Part love story, part grief story, part self-trust revolution. A raw and real look at what it means to love someone—and yourself—deeply.
https://www.amazon.com/I-Dont-Hate-My-Ex-Husband/dp/B08BDXM764

🔨Tool: ASPIRE Framework — The Growth Process
Awareness → Shift → Persist → Interrupt → Repeat → Embody

ADHD and breakupsADHD relationship adviceADHD emotional regulationpeople pleasing and ADHDADHD rejection sensitivityhow to end a relationship with ADHDsomatic check-in for relationship clarityJess DuBose I Don't Hate My Ex-Husband
Jess DuBose is an ADHD coach and writer who uses words the same way she approaches coaching—with honesty, humor, and a deep respect for the messy human experience. She’s a published author whose work explores what it means to live, rest, create, and grow in a world that often demands too much. Through both writing and coaching, Jess helps ADHDers build lives and businesses that honor their energy instead of shaming it—and she writes to remind people they’re not alone in the chaos.

Jess DuBose

Jess DuBose is an ADHD coach and writer who uses words the same way she approaches coaching—with honesty, humor, and a deep respect for the messy human experience. She’s a published author whose work explores what it means to live, rest, create, and grow in a world that often demands too much. Through both writing and coaching, Jess helps ADHDers build lives and businesses that honor their energy instead of shaming it—and she writes to remind people they’re not alone in the chaos.

LinkedIn logo icon
Instagram logo icon
Youtube logo icon
Back to Blog

©Coaching with Jess 2025

All Rights Reserved

Portland, OR