Our story.

I was first told I had ADHD as a young child. At the time, Ritalin was recommended, but my mom decided not to put me on medication. Instead, she did everything she could to help me in other ways.

Growing up, I was all over the place. My mind was constantly racing. I struggled with focus, attention, emotions, impulsivity, and more. I assumed that was just who I was.

Fast forward a few decades. By my late thirties, life felt like it was beginning to fall apart. My mind was in constant chaos. I was overwhelmed, frustrated, and emotionally exhausted.

After many conversations with my wife, we decided I should meet with a therapist. We initially thought I needed help managing my anger.

A few sessions in, my therapist asked me a question that completely changed my life. "Have you ever been evaluated for ADHD?" I honestly thought he was wrong. In my mind, ADHD was something little boys had when they couldn't sit still in school. I had never considered that it could explain what I had been struggling with my entire life.

I went home and told my wife. She immediately started reading about adult ADHD. I started reading too. The more I learned, the more everything clicked. For the first time, my life made sense.

I remember asking my wife if her mind worked the way mine did. Did she constantly have thoughts colliding with each other? Did every sound pull her attention? Did emotions feel so immediate and intense? Did her brain seem like it never stopped? She looked at me and simply said, "No." I was stunned. I had spent nearly four decades believing everyone's mind worked like mine. I just thought I wasn't handling it as well as everyone else.

Looking back, I wish I had understood ADHD much earlier. Not because those years were wasted. They absolutely weren't. Those years gave me an incredible wife. Nearly twenty years of marriage. Six amazing children. A master's degree. A career I genuinely love as a product designer. But I also wonder how much unnecessary shame I carried because I didn't understand what was happening inside my own mind.

Learning about ADHD changed more than my focus. It changed my self-esteem. For years I asked myself questions like: "Why can't I just do this?" "Why is this so easy for everyone else?" "What's wrong with me?" Today, I don't ask those questions anymore. Instead, I understand that my brain simply works differently.

My wife jokes that I have alien antennas.

I'm constantly picking up on things happening around me: sounds, changes in someone's tone, facial expressions, little details that others don't seem to notice. My mind is always scanning. Sometimes that's exhausting. Sometimes it's overwhelming. But other times, it's become one of my greatest strengths.

As I've learned more about ADHD, I've stopped asking, "What's wrong with me?" Instead, I've learned to understand how my mind works and build tools that help me work with it rather than against it.

Many of those tools eventually became Centered Space.

The very first tool I built is called Release. It's a digital version of guided imagery, one of the first techniques that genuinely helped me. I imagine placing a difficult thought, emotion, or worry onto a leaf floating in a gentle stream and simply watching it drift away. I don't have to fight the thought or force it to disappear. I can acknowledge it, let it exist, and let it pass.

Another tool is Mantra. Sometimes my mind needs something simple and true to return to. A short phrase that reminds me who I want to be, what matters, or what is actually happening instead of what my anxious mind is trying to convince me is happening. Those few words often help me slow down and regain perspective.

Then there's Balls.

This one is surprisingly simple, but it's one of my favorites. There are no levels. No scores. No timer. Just colorful balls moving naturally around the screen. I can flick them, watch them collide, and let my attention follow something calm and predictable for a few moments. It gives my mind somewhere gentle to rest when everything else feels loud.

Every tool in Centered Space has a story like this. None of them were created because I thought they would make a good app. They exist because they helped me first.

That doesn't mean every tool will resonate with everyone. Our minds are different, and what works for me may not work for you.

My hope is simply that you explore them with curiosity until you discover the ones that become part of your own toolkit.