What Is the ADHD Luteal Phase? A New Way to Understand ADHD & Consistency
How to Take Back Your Power When ADHD Rips Your Routine Apart.
You know that voice in your head when your routine crashes — when ADHD & Consistency stop getting along? You blame yourself for not keeping the peace.
“They were doing so well. What happened?”
“It’s your responsibility to help them get it together.”
“Why can’t you just fix it?”
It’s brutal. Loud. Familiar.
And it probably shows up a lot — especially after a streak of structure and momentum.
We build a rhythm. We feel good. We’re flowing. Then something shifts. The energy dips. The dopamine dries up. The routine unravels. And we turn on ourselves — as if that change means something is wrong with us.
But it doesn’t. It’s not failure. It’s a cycle.
Kali — the Hindu goddess of time, transformation, and fierce protection — reminds me of that.
Her stories are rooted in the cyclical nature of the world. The people who shaped her mythology thousands of years ago understood this truth: life moves in rhythms.
We see it in our bodies. We feel it in our minds. And for those of us with ADHD, we live it — over and over again.
So now, when I hit that wall — when the structure slips and I start spiraling — I call it what it is:
The ADHD Luteal Phase.
What Actually Happens During the ADHD Luteal Phase
There’s usually no big warning when ADHD & Consistency drift apart.
One week they’re in flow — waking up early, knocking things out, going to gym regularly, eating meals that didn’t come from a bag.
The next, everything feels harder: Stalling on basic tasks, skipping routines, and wondering why momentum disappeared overnight.
Here’s why: It didn’t disappear. It shifted.
I decided to call it the ADHD Luteal Phase — not because it’s a defined biological process, but because it feels like the premenstrual luteal phase. That sluggish, irritable, heavy part of the cycle where everything takes more effort.
And once I started seeing it as a cycle, not a failure or something I could control? Everything changed.
The Science Behind ADHD & Consistency
So what’s actually happening here — why are ADHD & Consistency always breaking up, then getting back together? And why does it feel like you’re the friend stuck in the middle, never sure whose side to take or whether they’re even still speaking?
Okay, that metaphor may have hit a little too close to group chat drama — let’s reel it in for a sec.
First, no — the ADHD Luteal Phase isn’t a formal medical diagnosis. You won’t find it in any textbook (yet). It’s a term I made up to describe something very real: The crash that happens after a stretch of focus, flow, and function.
This isn’t just executive dysfunction, the kind that lingers in the background of ADHD life.
This is a full-on dip — in energy, momentum, and self-trust.
You want to do the thing. You know what the thing is. But your brain’s activation system has dropped out, and you can’t access it the way you could last week. It’s a sudden derailment, but it’s not random.
It’s a biological rhythm that ADHD brains fall into when overstimulation, stress, or dopamine depletion start to stack.
Look, executive dysfunction isn’t new — but during this phase, it hits harder.
It’s not just “I don’t feel like doing that.”
It’s “I want to, but I physically can’t initiate the thing.”
It’s “Why am I crying over laundry?”
It’s “How did I forget the one thing I was supposed to remember today?”
When you have ADHD, your brain regulates dopamine differently than neurotypical brains. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter and hormone tied to motivation, reward, and focus — basically, everything you need to keep a routine alive. When dopamine dips, so does your ability to start and finish things, and to respond calmly when life inevitably derails the plan.
The ADHD Luteal Phase is a metaphor. One that helps me stop panicking when the flow disappears and the routine breaks down.
None of that means you’re weak. It means your brain is doing what ADHD brains do — especially under stress, hormone shifts, or overstimulation.
And the reason it feels so awful isn’t just the symptoms — it’s that the systems around us don’t accommodate it. The world has no name for it. No plan for it. No systems built around it.
We were raised in structures built around consistency, performance, and linear progress.
But ADHD doesn’t move in a straight line — and neither do our lives.
But the world doesn’t pull as many resources into studying the rhythms of ADHD brains, especially not women’s.
And while we’re mulling over bullshit systems — can we talk about how erectile dysfunction has been studied more than the entire female PMS hormone cycle? Or how hyper boys were the default for ADHD studies for decades, while girls slipped through the cracks, undiagnosed and self-blaming?
Coincidence? Doubt it.
This is what systematic gaslighting looks like.
This is Why We Rebel
We don’t force our brains into neurotypical timelines.
We build systems that honor the rise and fall.
That leave space for the dip.
That name it — so it doesn’t own us.
So when the flow fades and everything feels like quicksand, you’ll know:
It’s not you.
It’s the ADHD Luteal Phase.
The ADHD Luteal Mantra
Let’s set the scene again: ADHD & Consistency were doing so well. Brunch plans. Matching calendars. The whole vibe. Then Consistency ghosts the group chat, and everything unravels.
So, when the routine slips…
When ADHD & Consistency flip into a new rhythm…
When you feel like you’re back at square one, trying to get them to get back together…
Say this to yourself:
This is the ADHD Luteal Phase.
It’s part of the cycle — not a problem to solve.
ADHD & Consistency may always be in a situationship — but it’s not your problem to solve.
You don’t need to fix it.
You don’t need to coddle either of them.
You just need to remember: This is a phase. It passes. It always does.
And when it does?
You’ll still be you — capable, creative, unstoppable.
You are emotionally powerful as hell.
You are more adaptable than most people even know.
Because solidly being in ADHD’s camp doesn’t just mean challenges — it means flexibility. It means resilience. It means learning to shape-shift and rebuild when others (like Consistency) freeze.
So when the world forgets who you are, or you start to forget it yourself — I’m here to remind you:
You’ve already adapted to systems that was never built for you.
You’ve already overcome more than most people will ever understand.
You’re not fragile. You’re forged.
Let the break up come.
Let it pass.
And stop taking it personally.
You Were Never Meant to Stay the Same
If you take nothing else from this post, take this:
The ADHD Luteal Phase isn’t a failure. ADHD & Consistency are allowed to have phases. Period.
It’s a signal. A shift. A part of their cycle that reminds you to slow down, and not get all up in their business.
And if you need a symbol to hold onto during these cycles — hold onto Kali.
The goddess of time. Of transformation. Of fierce, unapologetic power. Kali doesn’t apologize for destruction. She burns it down to make space for rebirth.
You are the same. And here’s the twist: ADHD & Consistency aren’t exes you need to mediate — they’re both parts of you. You can’t control how they act, and it’s not your job to fix them. But you can stop blaming yourself when they stop getting along.
Every time your routine feels like it’s crumbling, every time your energy stumbles —
You’re not starting over.
You’re becoming.
We’re ushering in the rebellion against broken systems that refuse to acknowledge who we are.
We don’t abandon each other’s experiences or live down our ADHD.
We’re tactically rebuilding the world around us, reshaping it so something truer can take form.
