Self-esteem is usually defined as an overall evaluation of self-worth. Many people want to have high self-esteem, which they feel good about themselves and believe they're capable. But high self-esteem is not always healthy. Healthy self-esteem is not about feeling great all the time. It's about having a steady sense of your own worth, even when things go wrong.

Self-compassion is the practice of treating yourself with warmth, understanding, and patience you'd naturally extend to someone you care about. It's not about letting yourself off the hook or avoiding accountability. It's about meeting your own pain, failure, or imperfection with kindness instead of judgment.

For people who live with ADHD, the gap between "I know what I need to do" and "I can actually make myself do it" can feel enormous since an ADHD brain manages attention, motivation, and time differently.