High Functioning ADHD Favorites: The Books, Tools, and Supplements That Actually Help
If you're a high functioning ADHD woman who has spent years white-knuckling your way through life, this post is for you. I get asked all the time what I actually use, not what looks good on a shelf.
So here it is. Everything in this post is something either I or my clients have read, tried, or used. No filler, no "influencer must haves." Just what works when your brain is running the show.
A quick note before we start: executive function is the set of mental skills that let you plan, start, remember, and finish things. When those skills are inconsistent, which is exactly what ADHD does, it is not a willpower problem. It is a brain wiring problem.
Everything below is here because it supports executive function in some way, whether that is starting a task, calming your nervous system, or just getting a decent night of sleep.
Some resources mentioned may include affiliate links, including Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, and I may also earn a small commission through other affiliate partners, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and books that align with evidence-informed ADHD support and relational health practices. Thanks for supporting my small business!
Table of Contents
Books
Reading with ADHD can feel impossible at times, especially when a book asks you to sit still and focus for chapters at a time. That is part of why I am picky about what makes this list. These books either respect your attention span or give you something so validating that you cannot put them down anyway.
ADHD and Women by Dr. Jolene Brighten (out October 6, 2026, available for preorder now)
This one is huge for our community. Dr. Brighten is a naturopathic endocrinologist, and this book digs into why ADHD symptoms shift with your hormones, especially during PMS, pregnancy, and perimenopause. If you have ever felt like your ADHD gets worse at certain points in your cycle and wondered if you were imagining it, you were not. Your hormones and your ADHD brain are more connected than most of us were ever told, and this book finally explains why.
I received an advance copy of this one, and I genuinely could not put it down. Dr. Brighten breaks down the science in a way that actually makes sense, without ever feeling like a textbook, and she backs it up with real, practical tools instead of vague advice. The recipes are a great touch for anyone whose executive dysfunction makes meal planning feel impossible, and the quizzes throughout help you figure out exactly where your own hormones and ADHD are colliding, so the strategies actually fit you instead of a generic version of you. If you've ever felt like your ADHD gets worse at certain points in your cycle and wondered if you were imagining it, this book is proof that you were not.
The ADHD Reset Sequence: A 5-Step Tool for ADHD Burnout, Paralysis, and the Loop That Won't Stop by Shannon Keleher
Feeling stuck in an ADHD loop and can't seem to get yourself moving? The ADHD Reset Sequence is my own 5 step digital tool built to help women with ADHD break out of burnout, paralysis, and overthinking, that exact "I know what I need to do, so why can't I do it" feeling. I created it using what I know as an LCSW and ADHD-CCSP, combined with real worksheets and exercises so you are not just learning about your brain, you are actually working through what keeps you stuck.
Inside you will find education on ADHD burnout and paralysis, the five step reset sequence itself, practical worksheets to identify what is actually getting in your way, and guided exercises to move you from overwhelmed to knowing your next step. It is not another complicated system to maintain. It is something you can come back to every single time you get stuck again.
Too Sensitive: Rejection, Resilience, and the Science of Feeling Deeply by Dr. Sasha Hamdani
This is Dr. Hamdani's newest book, and it's all about rejection sensitive dysphoria, when something as small as an unanswered text can send you into an emotional tailspin. If you have ever spiraled over a delayed reply, a short tone in an email, or a comment that probably meant nothing, but your brain treated it like a five alarm fire, this book is going to feel uncomfortably accurate. Dr. Hamdani breaks down the brain science behind why some of us feel rejection so much harder than others, and she does it without making you feel dramatic or broken for reacting the way you do. Instead of just naming the problem, she gives you a real toolkit for catching the spiral before it takes over, so you can start to notice the moment it begins instead of realizing an hour later that you have completely unraveled over nothing.
→ Grab Your Copy of Too Sensitive
Raising Twice Exceptional Children by Emily Kircher-Morris
If you are a parent navigating your own diagnosis while also raising a gifted and neurodivergent kid, this book is a lifeline. It helps you understand kids who are both gifted and struggling at the same time, which is more common than people think and often gets missed, especially because a gifted kid's strengths can mask the areas where they're actually drowning. Teachers and even other parents might only see the bright, capable side and miss that your child is also dealing with executive dysfunction, sensory overwhelm, or emotional regulation struggles underneath it. This book gives you the language to explain what's actually going on, plus real strategies for advocating at school and at home, so your kid gets support instead of just being labeled as "not living up to their potential."
→ Shop Raising Twice-Exceptional Children
Women with Attention Deficit Disorder by Sari Solden
One of the original books written specifically for women with ADHD, and it still holds up. If you were diagnosed later in life, this one puts words to a lot of what you have been feeling for years without a name for it. Solden was one of the first to point out that ADHD looks different in women than it does in men, which is exactly why so many of us got missed for decades. If you spent years being called scattered, too sensitive, or just not trying hard enough, this book will feel like someone finally explaining the years you couldn't explain yourself.
→ Shop Women with Attention Deficit Disorder
A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD by Sari Solden and Michelle Frank
This one goes further into shame, perfectionism, and self-worth, which are the parts of ADHD that do not get talked about enough. It is less about productivity hacks and more about healing your relationship with yourself. A lot of ADHD books focus on managing your symptoms, but this one focuses on managing the years of feeling not good enough that come along with them. If you have spent your life overcompensating just to feel like you are keeping up, this book gets to the root of that instead of just handing you another system to maintain.
→ Shop A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD
Your Brain's Not Broken by Dr. Tamara Rosier
A great one if you want to actually understand the why behind your ADHD brain, not just a list of coping tricks. Understanding the mechanism makes the tools make a lot more sense. Dr. Rosier breaks down what is actually happening in your brain when you get stuck, overwhelmed, or emotionally flooded, so instead of just memorizing a list of hacks, you start to understand your own patterns well enough to catch them before they take over.
→ Shop Your Brain's Not Broken
ADHD for Smart Ass Women by Tracy Otsuka
If you want validation with a sense of humor, this is it. Otsuka focuses on reframing ADHD traits as strengths instead of deficits, which is a refreshing change of pace. This one is great for anyone who is tired of ADHD books that only talk about what is wrong with you. Otsuka pulls from real interviews with successful ADHD women to show you what your brain is actually good at, not just what it struggles with.
Emotional Regulation Tools
Emotional dysregulation is one of the most exhausting parts of ADHD that nobody warns you about. It is that thing where a small annoyance turns into a five alarm fire in your chest in about two seconds. Your brain struggles to put the brakes on big feelings, which is a wiring issue, not a maturity issue. Neurotypical brains have an easier time putting a pause between a trigger and a reaction, but ADHD brains often skip that pause entirely, which means you go from zero to overwhelmed before you even realize what happened. These tools do not stop the feelings from showing up. They help create a pause between the feeling and the reaction, so you have a fighting chance to respond instead of just react.
A weighted blanket
The deep pressure works like a constant hug for your nervous system. It is one of the simplest tools on this list and one of the most effective when you are spiraling and need your body to come back down to earth. Deep pressure has a real, physical calming effect on your nervous system, similar to the feeling of a tight hug, and it can help shift your body out of that fight or flight state when your emotions are running the show. It is also one of the lowest effort tools here, since it requires nothing from you except lying down and letting the weight do the work.
→ Shop the Ynm weighted blanket
A light therapy lamp
Light affects mood and energy more than people realize, especially if you are inside all day or dealing with shorter days. A light therapy lamp is an easy add to your morning routine that can take the edge off before you even leave the house. Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a type of depression tied to shorter, darker days, and it shows up more often in the ADHD community than people realize. Research suggests around one in four people with ADHD also experience SAD, likely because ADHD brains are already more prone to circadian rhythm disruptions, so less daylight hits harder. Light therapy is one of the most well supported treatments for it, and using a lamp for 20-60 minutes in the morning can help regulate your internal clock and steady your mood through the darker months.
→ Shop the Verilux HappyLight Luxe
Muse headband
This is a meditation device that gives you real time feedback on what your brain is actually doing while you meditate, instead of leaving you guessing if you are doing it right. Great for anyone who has said "meditation doesn't work for me" because traditional stillness never clicked. Muse reads your brain activity while you meditate and translates it into sound, so you actually hear when your mind has wandered and when it has settled, which gives your brain something concrete to work with instead of the vague instruction to "just relax." That real time feedback is what makes meditation finally click for a lot of ADHD brains that need engagement, not just stillness.
→ Check out Muse and save 15% on the Muse Headband with code: UNMASKEDADHDTHERAPIST
A CBT thought journal
CBT stands for cognitive behavioral therapy, and it is built around the idea that your thoughts shape your feelings. This journal gives you a structured place to catch a spiraling thought and challenge it before it takes over your whole day. Instead of a blank page asking you to figure out how to process what you are feeling, a CBT journal walks you through specific prompts that help you identify the thought underneath the emotion, question whether it is actually true, and land on something more balanced. That structure matters, because in the middle of an emotional spiral is not when your brain has the bandwidth to build a coping process from scratch.
→ Shop the CBT Thought Journal
Supplements
I want to be upfront here. I am not a doctor giving you a prescription, and this is not medical advice. Always run new supplements by your doctor first, especially if you are on medication or have other health conditions. As a Certified Mental Health and Nutrition Clinical Specialist, I pay close attention to the research on how nutrition and supplementation intersect with ADHD, and what I can tell you is what shows up again and again in that research and what I personally use.
Magnesium glycinate
This form of magnesium is easier on your stomach than other types, and it is often used to support sleep and calm a wired, anxious nervous system. A lot of women with ADHD run low on magnesium without knowing it, and low magnesium has been linked to more anxiety, worse sleep, and a harder time winding down at night. Since so many of us with ADHD already struggle to turn our brains off at bedtime, supporting your magnesium levels can make that process feel a little less like a fight. The glycinate form specifically is bound to an amino acid that also has a calming effect on its own, which is part of why this type gets recommended so often for anxious, overactive brains.
→ Shop Thorne Magnesium Glycinate
Omega 3s
These healthy fats show up again and again in the research on brain function and focus, and for good reason. Omega 3s, especially DHA and EPA, are a major building block of your brain cell membranes and play a role in how well your neurons communicate with each other. Some research has looked at omega 3 levels in people with ADHD and found lower levels compared to people without ADHD, and studies looking at omega 3 supplementation have shown modest improvements in attention and focus in some people. It is not a replacement for other treatment, but it is one of the more well studied nutrients when it comes to brain health. Fish oil or algae based options both work, so pick whichever fits your routine and diet.
→ Shop Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega
→ Shop the algae based Nordic Naturals option
→ Shop Thorne Super EPA
Creatine
Not just for the gym. Creatine helps your cells produce energy more efficiently, and your brain actually uses a surprising amount of energy just to function normally. There is growing research looking at creatine and cognitive performance, including focus, mental fatigue, and working memory, which is the part of your brain that holds information for short term use while you are working through a task. This matters even more for ADHD brains, since they tend to burn through mental energy faster than a neurotypical brain, especially during tasks that require a lot of focus or working memory. Supporting that energy supply is one more way to help your brain keep up with what you are asking it to do.
AG1
A solid daily greens and multivitamin powder covers a lot of nutritional gaps at once, which matters more than people realize with ADHD. Executive dysfunction can make regular meals genuinely hard, whether that looks like forgetting to eat, grabbing whatever is fastest, or going hours without realizing you never had lunch. Nutrient deficiencies from inconsistent eating can then make ADHD symptoms like focus, energy, and mood even harder to manage, so a greens powder is a low effort way to build in some nutritional insurance on the days your eating does not go as planned.
→ Shop AG1
Vitamin D
Vitamin D does a lot more than support bone health. It also plays a role in brain function and mood regulation, and research has found that people with ADHD tend to have lower vitamin D levels compared to people without ADHD. Some studies have even linked low vitamin D to more severe ADHD symptoms, including issues with attention and hyperactivity. Since most of us do not get enough sun exposure or dietary vitamin D to stay at optimal levels, especially living somewhere with real winters, supplementing is one of the easier, lower effort ways to support your brain from the ground up. It will not fix ADHD on its own, but it is one small, consistent habit that can make a real difference over time.
Organization
Here is the truth about organization systems and ADHD: the fanciest planner in the world will not help you if it does not match how your brain actually works. Executive dysfunction makes the "just write it down" advice fall apart, because remembering to check the list is its own executive function task. The right system has to meet you where you are, not where you wish you were.
Todoist
This app lives on my phone and it is where every task goes the second I think of it. If it is not written down somewhere outside your brain, it does not exist, and Todoist makes capturing it fast enough that you will actually use it. What makes it work for ADHD specifically is how low the barrier is to add something. You do not need to organize it perfectly or file it into the right project right away. You just dump the thought in, and you can sort it out later, which matters a lot when your brain generates ten ideas a minute and needs somewhere fast to put them before they disappear.
A Skylight calendar
A shared digital calendar on the wall means the information is not just living in your head anymore. It is one less thing you have to remember to check. This is especially useful if you live with a partner, kids, or roommates, because it gets everyone's schedule in one visible place instead of scattered across different phones and apps. You walk by it in the kitchen, and it catches your eye without you having to actively remember to look for it, which takes the pressure off your memory entirely.
A magnetic dry erase board or magnetic calendar
Something visible on your fridge or wall catches your eye in passing, which works with your brain instead of expecting you to remember to check an app. Out of sight really does mean out of mind with ADHD, so anything tucked away in an app or a drawer is easy to forget entirely. A board on the fridge gets seen multiple times a day just by walking through the kitchen, which means the information reaches your brain without you having to put in any extra effort to find it.
→ Shop the magnetic dry erase board
→ Shop the magnetic calendar
Packing cubes
Travel is one of those areas where ADHD brains tend to fall apart fast, because packing requires planning ahead, remembering everything, and staying organized for days at a time, which is a lot to ask of executive function all at once. Packing cubes take a chunk of that off your plate by giving every category of item its own designated space, so instead of one chaotic suitcase where nothing has a home, you have a system that stays organized from the moment you pack to the moment you unpack. It also means you are not unpacking your entire suitcase just to find one shirt buried at the bottom, which matters more than it sounds like when you are already overwhelmed in an unfamiliar place.
A Panda Planner or Full Focus Planner
Paper planners built with ADHD or high performers in mind tend to break your day into smaller chunks instead of one big blank page, which is a lot less overwhelming to look at. A blank page asks your brain to build the structure from scratch, and that is exactly the kind of open ended task that ADHD brains struggle to start. These planners already have the structure built in, with sections for priorities, gratitude, and time blocks, so all you have to do is fill it in instead of design it yourself.
→ Shop the Panda Planner
→ Shop the Full Focus Planner
A label maker
Labeling bins, drawers, and shelves takes the guessing out of "where does this go," which matters more than people think when your brain does not naturally sort things into categories. Without labels, organizing systems tend to fall apart within a few weeks because putting something back requires a decision every single time. A label already made removes that decision. You just match the item to the label, and the system stays intact a lot longer than it would otherwise.
Periods
This one does not get talked about enough. Your hormones and your ADHD symptoms are deeply connected, and your cycle can make executive function noticeably harder in the days leading up to your period. Focus drops, emotional regulation gets harder, and tasks that were manageable last week suddenly feel impossible. This is not in your head. It is biology.
Electrolytes
Hormonal shifts can throw off your hydration and energy, and a lot of women notice brain fog gets worse around their period. A good electrolyte mix is a small thing that can help you feel more steady. Estrogen affects how your body manages fluid and sodium, so as your hormones shift throughout your cycle, your hydration needs can shift right along with them. Staying properly hydrated supports your energy and focus in general, so keeping electrolytes on hand during the harder parts of your cycle is a simple way to take one variable off the table.
Oura Ring
Tracking your cycle alongside your sleep and body temperature can help you start to see the pattern between your hormones and your ADHD symptoms, instead of feeling blindsided by it every month. When you can see the data laid out, you start noticing things like your focus reliably dropping a few days before your period, or your sleep getting worse right around ovulation. Once you can see the pattern, you can actually plan around it instead of wondering every single month why you suddenly feel like you cannot keep up.
Fidgets
Fidgeting is not a distraction from focus. For a lot of ADHD brains, it is what makes focus possible in the first place. Movement in your hands can help regulate your nervous system and free up mental bandwidth for the actual task in front of you. ADHD brains often run on lower baseline levels of dopamine, the chemical tied to motivation, reward, and alertness, and small repetitive movements like clicking, rolling, or spinning can help bump that up just enough to make sitting still and focusing actually possible. This is the opposite of what most of us were taught growing up, where fidgeting got treated as a sign you were not paying attention. In reality, taking the fidget away is often what makes it harder to focus, because your brain is left trying to self-regulate with nothing to do it with. The right fidget gives your hands somewhere to put that extra energy, so your brain has more room left over for the task you actually need to do.
Ono rollers and sliders
These are quiet, smooth, and satisfying to use without drawing attention, which makes them a great option for meetings or anywhere you need to fidget without anyone noticing. The rolling and sliding motion gives your hands just enough to do that your brain stops looking for other distractions, without making any noise or drawing looks from the people around you. That combination of subtle and satisfying is why these tend to become the fidget people reach for the most.
A textured worry stone or fidget ring
Small, pocket sized, and easy to carry everywhere. These work well for anyone who needs a fidget on the go without carrying a whole bag of sensory tools. You can keep one in your pocket, your bag, or your car, so you always have something to reach for the second you feel restless or anxious, without having to plan ahead or remember to bring anything special.
→ Shop the worry stone
→ Shop the fidget ring
A fidget cube
This one packs a bunch of different textures and movements into a single small tool, so you can find whichever motion actually calms your brain down in the moment. Some days a clicking motion is what your hands need, and other days it is a smooth glide or a spinning dial. Having all of those options built into one object means you do not have to guess ahead of time which fidget you will actually want.
A magnetic fidget clicker
Satisfying, repetitive, and quiet enough to use anywhere, including places where a louder fidget would not fly. The repetitive click and pull gives your hands a steady rhythm to fall into, which can help settle a racing mind during long meetings, phone calls, or anywhere else you need to sit still but your brain has other plans.
Attention
Attention with ADHD is not about having less of it. It is about having trouble directing it where you want it to go. That is why "just focus" is some of the most useless advice you can give someone with ADHD. If anything, a lot of us have plenty of attention. The problem is that it goes wherever it wants, not necessarily where we need it to go, whether that is getting pulled into a task that is more interesting than the one you are supposed to be doing, or losing an hour to something that only mattered for five minutes. That is why willpower was never really the missing piece. You cannot white-knuckle your way into directing an attention system that was not built to take direction on command. The tools that actually help work by removing friction or adding structure, not by demanding more willpower. Instead of asking your brain to just try harder, these tools change the environment or the task itself, so staying focused takes less effort in the first place.
A Time Timer
This shows time passing visually instead of just as numbers, which helps with something called time blindness. That is when your brain has a hard time sensing how much time has actually gone by, so tasks either take forever to start or suddenly you are late. Watching the colored section shrink gives your brain a visual cue it can actually process, instead of relying on an internal sense of time that is not giving you accurate information. It works especially well for kids and adults alike who lose track of time in the middle of a task and look up to find an hour has disappeared.
Noise canceling headphones
Cutting out background noise removes one whole layer of distraction your brain has to fight through just to focus on the thing in front of you. A lot of ADHD brains have a hard time filtering out background noise the way other brains naturally do, so a conversation two rooms away or a hum from the refrigerator can pull your attention just as hard as something right in front of you. Removing that noise entirely frees up mental energy that would otherwise be spent tuning it out.
→ Shop Sony noise canceling headphones
FocusMate
This pairs you with another person online who is also working, so you are both quietly focused on your own tasks together. It is called body doubling, and it works because having another person present, even virtually, makes it easier to start and stay on task. Something about knowing someone else can see you, even through a screen, adds just enough gentle accountability to get you moving on a task you have been avoiding. It is not about pressure or judgment. It is simply harder to scroll on your phone when someone else is quietly working right next to you, even if that person is a stranger on a video call.
Mindfulness
Traditional mindfulness advice can actually backfire for ADHD brains. Sitting in total silence with your thoughts is genuinely hard when your mind moves fast and jumps around. The mindfulness tools that work best for ADHD tend to be more active or more structured than the stereotypical version. Guided practice gives your brain something to follow instead of asking you to sit in blank silence, which makes mindfulness actually doable instead of another thing you fail at. A voice walking you through each step gives your mind something to hold onto, so instead of your thoughts wandering off in ten directions, you have a clear path to follow. The journals work the same way, giving you specific prompts to respond to instead of a blank page that expects you to know where to start.
→ Shop Mindful meditations
→ Shop the Mindful gratitude journal
→ Shop Mindful affirmation cards
Sleep
Sleep and ADHD have a rough relationship. Your brain does not want to power down on command, which is why so many of us describe lying awake with our brain suddenly wide awake right when our head hits the pillow. It is one of the strange parts of ADHD that a brain which struggles to stay focused all day can suddenly kick into high gear the second you try to fall asleep, running through conversations, ideas, and random thoughts right when you finally have nothing else pulling your attention away. Part of this comes down to a delayed circadian rhythm, meaning a lot of ADHD brains are naturally wired to feel alert later at night and groggy earlier in the morning, which fights against a typical sleep schedule from the start. Poor sleep also makes every other ADHD symptom worse the next day, so this is not a small piece of the puzzle. Focus, emotional regulation, and impulse control all take a hit after a bad night of sleep, which means a rough night does not just cost you rest, it costs you the tools you need to get through the next day.
Hatch Restore sound machine
This combines a sound machine with a sunrise style alarm, so it helps you wind down at night and wake up more gently in the morning instead of getting jolted awake. The white noise gives your brain something steady to focus on as you fall asleep, which helps quiet down the mental chatter that tends to show up the second your head hits the pillow. The sunrise alarm in the morning works with your body's natural rhythm instead of jarring you awake with a loud beep, which makes waking up feel a lot less like a fight.
A sleep mask
Blocking out light completely helps your brain get the signal that it is actually time to sleep, which matters even more if your mind is already racing. Even small amounts of light from a phone charger, a streetlight, or the sun coming up early can be enough to disrupt sleep for a brain that is already prone to waking up easily. A good sleep mask removes that variable entirely, so your body gets a clear, consistent signal that it is still nighttime.
Philips SmartSleep alarm
Another sunrise style alarm option if you want something dedicated just to waking up gently instead of combined with a sound machine. It gradually brightens your room before your alarm goes off, which mimics a natural sunrise and helps ease you out of sleep instead of yanking you out of it. For ADHD brains that already struggle with mornings, waking up gradually instead of abruptly can make the first part of your day feel a lot less jarring.
Where to Start
None of this is about fixing yourself. You are not broken and you never were. Your brain just runs on different rules than the ones you were handed growing up, and the second you start working with those rules instead of against them, everything gets a little lighter.
Start with one thing from this list. Not all of it, just one. Maybe it's the magnesium, maybe it's finally picking up Dr. Hamdani's book, maybe it's just noticing which fidget actually helps you focus instead of buying five more that sit in a drawer. Small changes add up faster than you think when they're actually built for your brain. You do not need to overhaul your whole life this week. You just need one tool that finally works with you instead of against you, and then another one after that, until you look up one day and realize you built a life that actually fits how your brain works.
If this post named something you have been feeling but couldn't explain, you are exactly who I made it for. Save it, send it to a friend who needs it, and come back anytime you need the reminder that you're not lazy, not broken, and not alone in this. You are working with a brain that has never had the right instructions, and now you finally do.
*The information in this article is for educational purposes only and should not replace medical advice. If you think you may have ADHD, talk with a qualified healthcare professional about a comprehensive evaluation.*
Shannon Keleher is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Certified ADHD Clinical Services Provider (ADHD-CCSP), and Certified Mental Health & Nutrition Clinical Specialist (CMNCS) specializing in helping women with ADHD navigate anxiety, executive functioning challenges, and the overwhelm of high-functioning ADHD. Through evidence-based education and compassionate support, she empowers women to better understand their brains and build lives that work with them—not against them. For more research-backed insights on ADHD in women, anxiety, and executive functioning, follow her on Instagram at @unmaskedadhdtherapist or subscribe to her newsletter.