Life Abroad with ADHD

From Survival to Thriving: A Guide for Expats and Third-Culture Adults

Is it burnout, overwhelm or ADHD?

Moving abroad isn’t just a logistical journey - it’s a nervous system journey. For those of us with ADHD, change can be exhilarating and destabilizing. When the scaffolding of familiarity falls away, old coping strategies can start to unravel. If you’ve recently relocated and feel like your brain suddenly "stops working," you’re not alone - and you’re not failing. You’re simply adjusting to a new world with a brain that processes more, feels more, and sometimes needs more.

The Hidden Cost of Familiarity

ADHD often hides in plain sight when we live in familiar environments. The people, places, and routines we grew up with become unconscious anchors - buffering sensory overload, decision fatigue, and executive dysfunction. Moving abroad removes these anchors. Suddenly, tasks that once felt easy - grocery shopping, making appointments, meeting new people - become daunting.

Reflection Prompt:

  • What aspects of your daily life back home provided subtle support or comfort without you necessarily thinking about it at the time? (e.g. a friend who reminded you of things, a store where you knew exactly where everything was)?
  • What have you lost that you didn’t realize you were depending on?

The ADHD & Expat Iceberg

What’s visible isn’t always the whole story. Many expats find themselves suddenly forgetful, exhausted, short-tempered, or anxious. But underneath that surface is often sensory overload, loss of routine, culture shock, and the emotional labor of reinvention.

Above the Surface (What others see):

  • Missed deadlines
  • Disorganization
  • Irritability
  • Forgetfulness

Below the Surface (What’s really happening):

  • Loss of routine
  • Social fatigue
  • Executive dysfunction
  • Masking burnout
  • Grief and identity shifts

Use this iceberg as a way to name what’s really happening, so you can respond with compassion instead of criticism.

From Coping to Capacity

Coping is what we do to survive. Capacity is what we build to thrive. When you’re no longer surrounded by what used to hold you up, the invitation is to build something new - consciously, and with your brain in mind.

Reflection Prompts:

  • Which coping mechanisms have you outgrown in this new context?
  • What’s one small daily ritual that helps you feel grounded here?
  • What does support look like now?

Reset Rituals for Your New Life

Creating structure as a neurodivergent person abroad doesn’t have to mean rigid schedules. It’s about creating consistent cues, energy-saving defaults, and soft places to land. Here are a few gentle rituals that can help:

  • Start each day with a five-minute intention check-in
  • Choose one store, one route, and one meal to repeat often
  • Build a weekly “reset ritual” (laundry, meal prep, admin)
  • Use external tools (timers, visual planners, accountability partners)
  • Give yourself permission to cancel or renegotiate plans

When to Consider ADHD Coaching

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the invisible weight of living abroad with ADHD, you don’t have to do it alone. Coaching can help you:

  • Understand how your brain is processing transitions
  • Find clarity around what’s working and what’s not
  • Build strategies tailored to your needs and your new environment - not your old one

It’s essential to find a coach you feel safe with - someone who not only understands ADHD, but who is qualified to support you with evidence-based approaches. Coaching is not a regulated industry, so be sure to check credentials and affiliations. Yann recommends to check your coach is registered in one of the official coaching associations who commit to the NL Professional Coaching Code of Conduct: https://beroepscodeprofessionelecoaching.nl/ Yann is registered to The National Association for Supervision and Coaching (LVSC).

Yann Ghisalberti, founder of Coach4ADHD, offers coaching in English and French, in-person and online. As someone who has ADHD and has moved to the Netherlands with his neurodivergent family, he brings both professional insight and lived experience. Learn more at https://coach4adhd.nl/

Exclusive Offer for House of Peregrine Members: Yann is offering a special discounted package to our members. Log into the House of Peregrine app to access the code and claim your offer. Listen to the full episode here.

Next Step: Download the companion worksheet, "Rebuilding From Within," to help you process the ideas in this guide and begin designing your support system abroad, step by step.

“Building From Within” Guide created by House of Peregrine, in collaboration with Yann Ghisalberti - 2025.