The document is still closed, isn't it?

You can explain your theoretical framework for twenty minutes without notes. You've read more papers than anyone around you. Ask you about your topic and you light up.

Then you sit down to write, and something slams shut.

You've tried planners. The pomodoro apps. The "just write every morning" advice from people whose brains apparently cooperate with them. Each new system works for four days, and every time one fails, you add it to the pile of evidence that something is wrong with you.

Nobody in your department will say this out loud: the block was never about knowledge, and it was never about discipline. For a doctoral researcher with ADHD, the block is emotional. Fear of what the draft might prove about you. Feedback that lands like a verdict. The exhaustion of pretending you're fine in every supervision meeting.

You'll want to be in this room if...

• You say "it's going well, thanks" in supervision meetings while your chapter sits untouched, and you're tired of performing fine.

• There's a document you haven't opened in weeks, and the guilt about it visits you every night around 11pm.

• You wait days to open your supervisor's feedback, and then you finally do, it's never as bad as the dread was.

• You're motivated at 9am and flat by 11 with no idea why, and every dip feels like proof you can't do this.

• You're still replaying that seminar question from March. The person who asked forgot it by dinner.

One hour, five patterns, your questions

In the first half, I'll walk you through five emotional patterns I see most often in doctoral researchers with ADHD, and what each one looks like inside a PhD specifically:

1. Masking, and the isolation it builds. Why performing "fine" in every meeting leaves you feeling unseen by an entire department, and where it's safe to put the mask down.

2. Emotional task avoidance. Why the chapter stays closed (laziness has nothing to do with it), and the one question to ask before you ask "how do I manage my time".

3. Mood swings. Why advice built for stable moods keeps failing you, and how a "low tide list" keeps a dip from becoming a lost day.

4. Rejection sensitivity. Why track changes can feel like an attack, and how separating the receiving from the responding changes your whole relationship with feedback.

5. Ruminating. Why yout brain replays that awkward moment on loop, what it's costing your working memoery, and how to get the loop out of your head.

The second half is yours. Thirty minutes of open Q&A: bring me your real situations, your supervisor, your deadline, your closed dicument. Ask by voice or type in the chat, both are equally welcome.

You'll be able to name which pattern is actually blocking your writing, with one small thing to try that same week.

• When: Tuesday, August 25 at 7pm (EEST)

• Where: Live on Zoom. Camera on or off, your choice.

• How long: 60 minutes.

• How many: 20 seats maximum. Small enough that your question gets answered.

• Price: €49

This is the first time I'm opening a session like this. The price reflects that, and it won't stay there for future rounds.

I'm Maria Stefanidi, Your PhD Coach. I coach doctoral researchers with ADHD, and this session exists because of a sentence I keep hearing on my calls: "I know exactly what I want to say. I just can't sit down and write it."

I've heard it from first-years and from people six months out from submission. The researchers saying it are smart, well-read, and completely stuck, and they all believe the problem is discipline. My work is showing them what the problem actually is, and what to do about it.

Usually that happens privately, in my 1:1 sessions and inside the ADHD Academic, my 3-month program. This is the first time I'm doing it in a room of twenty! If you've wanted a way in that doesn't start at €397, this is it!

Do I have to talk or be on camera?

No. Camera off and chat-only participation are fully welcome. Plenty of people ask their best questions by text.

Will there be a recording?

No recording. That's deliberate: people share honestly when they know the room is closed. What's said there stays there. But you will get a summary from me after the end of this session.

Is this therapy?

No. I'm a coach, and this is coaching: practical, specific to the PhD, focused on what you can try this week. If something feels bigger than that, I'll say so and point you toward the right kind of support.

I don't have a diagnosis. Can I still come?

Yes. If the patterns on this page read like your diary, the sessions will be useful, paper or no paper.

What if I can't make it live?

Since there's no recording, only book if you can attend. If the time doesn't work, message me on LinkedIn and I'll put you first in line for the next round!

What happens after I pay?

You'll get a confirmation with the Zoom link and one short questionnaire to answer, so I can shape the session around what the room actually needs.