Be Curious About You

Strategies & Tools

Turn ADHD-fuelled Curiosity into Self-awareness and Strategy

| with guest Justine Munro |

Be Curious About You, ADHDifference StrategiesAs CEO of the Neurodiversity in Education Project, Justine advocates for large-scale systemic change but her most powerful strategy is surprisingly personal. It’s curiosity. Applied daily. To herself and others.

Instead of jumping straight to judgment when emotions spike or behaviour falters, Justine has learned to pause and ask: What’s going on here? What’s this moment telling me about my needs, or someone else’s?

“Whenever I feel a big emotion now, I can pause and think — is this because I haven’t eaten? Am I tired? Am I trying too hard to be ‘normal’ in a space that isn’t made for me?”
— Justine Munro, ADHDifference

This habit of curiosity allows her to respond with understanding rather than criticism – to herself, her children, and the young people she works with every day.

Why It Works

For ADHDers, self-awareness doesn’t always come easily. Emotional responses can feel sudden and intense, and our inner narrative may default to blame or shame. Curiosity helps interrupt that pattern. It creates a gap between reaction and reflection. That gap is where insight and self-compassion can grow.

It also invites collaboration. Curiosity fosters empathy and understanding in relationships, helping us to communicate rather than criticise.

Most importantly, curiosity already comes naturally to many ADHDers. We’re often driven by a hunger to learn, explore, or figure out how something works. We chase patterns. Follow rabbit holes. Obsess over interests. This strategy asks: What if you turned that curiosity inward? What might you learn about yourself?

When to Use This Strategy

This approach is helpful in any moment of friction or confusion, especially when:

  • You feel overwhelmed or flooded by emotion
  • You don’t understand why you’re procrastinating or shutting down
  • A child’s or colleague’s behaviour feels confusing or frustrating
  • You’ve started telling yourself an old story like “I’m just lazy”
  • You want to build empathy in tough conversations or relationships

How to Practice It Daily

Here’s how you can start building a habit of self-curiosity, ADHD-style:

  • Name the feeling: “I’m anxious,” “I’m restless,” “I’m shut down.” Naming it reduces its power.
  • Ask why, gently: Is it hunger? Sensory overload? Rejection sensitivity? Masking?
  • Turn curiosity inward: Explore your patterns like you’d explore an interest.
  • Share the process: “I think I’m reacting this way because…” is a powerful opener in relationships.
  • Stay curious, not critical: When something goes wrong, ask “What’s missing?” not “What’s wrong with me?”

The Science Behind It

Adults with ADHD tend to have poorer interoceptive awareness which s, a reduced ability to accurately sense internal bodily cues such as heart rate, hunger, or tension. Because interoception is foundational to emotional regulation and self monitoring, this deficit helps explain why many people with ADHD struggle to recognise internal signals like fatigue, overwhelm or sensory overload, leading to dysregulated responses rather than intentional ones.1

An article proposes that ADHD traits such as distractibility and hyperfocus may stem from high trait curiosity, which in modern environments becomes a mismatch. The author argues that curiosity, innately strong in many people with ADHD, can be reframed as a strength when harnessed intentionally rather than letting it randomly divert attention. This supports the strategy of turning curiosity inward (observing how your brain works) rather than letting it hijack behaviour.2

💬 Final Thought

Curiosity is not passive. It’s powerful. It replaces judgment with insight. It turns stuck moments into solvable ones. And it helps us treat ourselves and others with more empathy, clarity, and care.

By practicing curiosity, ADHDers don’t have to become someone else. We simply reconnect with one of our greatest strengths: the desire to understand.

“When we start asking questions instead of making assumptions about ourselves, our kids, our students, that’s when change becomes possible.”
— Justine Munro

🎧 Listen to the full episode S2E13 here 🎧

REFERENCES:

  1. Kutscheidt, K., Dresler, T., Hudak, J., Barth, B., Blume, F., Fallgatter, A. J., & Ehlis, A. C. (2019). Interoceptive awareness in patients with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). 
  2. Le Cunff, A. (2024). Distractibility and Impulsivity in ADHD as an Evolutionary Mismatch of High Trait Curiosity.
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