Red Lips, Calm Brain

As one writer discovered, what happens when you combine ADHD and anxiety with a skin-focused meditation is anything but routine.

- By Lauren Brown

THERE WAS A TIME when my mornings were an exhausting blur of chaos. My mind would race, tangling into knots of anxiety before the sun even broke the horizon. It wasn't just the everyday stresses of juggling family, work, and perimenopause (which is a wild ride on its own). I've made it to middle age while also figuring out how to manage ADHD and GAD (generalized anxiety disorder)—diagnoses I received only in 2022.

Those letter mashups arrived just after I'd transitioned into a more strategic role at work and right on the heels of the pandemic. My new job required focus, foresight, and a type of mental clarity that I couldn't muster. Being in quarantine, unable to engage in person with peers, seemed to amplify everything—my procrastination, my inability to compartmentalize. As much as I'd always struggled with a racing brain and a level of neurotic worry fit for the lead in a quirky sitcom, I'd still managed to have a successful copywriting career while moonlighting as award-winning indie author L.S. Kilroy (toot toot). But this time my brain was throwing punches I couldn't dodge.

Once I finally sought help, I was hit with a rush of relief from understanding what I was up against.

A Hope to Cope

Grasping the “why” behind the chaos didn’t fully quiet the noise in my head. Mornings were still overwhelming. My brain would shoot thoughts at me like a malfunctioning tennis ball machine, barraging me with everything from work deadlines to concern for my aging parents, a teenager at home, and the “state of the world” (cue the doomscroll regret). I didn’t have an off switch, but I found something better: a pause button, which starts with my makeup routine.