This Mom and Daughter Photo Series Will Definitely Make You Smile

Week One (October 1st - 6th)

To get our yoga challenge started, we're starting off nice and slow so that your body as well as your senses can awakened. Over the next seven days, let these yoga poses help you center your energy so you can feel present. Trust us - your inbox can wait 10 minutes for you to ease into your day.

Energy-Centering Morning Yoga

Day One

This yoga routine keeps things light by allowing you to perform most movements in the sitting position. They'll help you begin to release any recurring tension you've been feeling.

Day Two

Begin day two of the yoga challenge with another morning stretch that elongates your spine and helps loosen any lingering tension in your hips.

Day Three

Continue stretching your way into day three of the yoga challenge with these soothing stretches.

Day Four

If things are beginning to feel repetitive today, don't give up! The goal is to help your body get used to being stretched before you start powering through your to-do list.

Day Five

If you have an extra five minutes to spare, try this 15 minute morning yoga routine for a slight change of pace.

Day Six

Things are starting to get interesting with this power flow yoga routine. This requires you to finally leave the sitting position and we know you're grateful for that.

For day 7, take the time to give your body a break from your first week of intentional morning yoga stretches! Make your favorite tea or pumpkin spice latte drink and enjoy the crisp fall air! The fun picks back up October 8th!

Figuring Out A Diagnosis

While they can feel similar, there is a difference between having ADHD and just feeling overwhelmed. "On the one hand, feeling overstimulated may emanate from several stimuli, including stress, lack of adequate sleep, excessive noise, or sensory overload," Nwogwugwu says. "ADHD is a neurodevelopment disorder characterized by persistent patterns of inattention, impulsivity that significantly impair daily functioning, or hyperactivity and are present in multiple settings."

So overstimulation is the result of outward elements, but ADHD comes from inside your brain. And while stress can have its up and downs, ADHD and its symptoms are consistent.

Nwogwugwu also says claiming ADHD when you don't actually have it can be harmful. That's why it's important to talk to a pro (like a psychiatrist or a psychologist) instead of using TikTok to self-diagnose.

"Self-diagnosis may lead to misunderstanding, eventually preventing the individual from accessing appropriate support and proper treatment," she says. If you self-diagnose and treat one disorder when you're really struggling with something else, you won't get the help you truly need.

That being said, don't feel like you have to dismiss consistent patterns or habits if they're interrupting your daily life. Nwogwugwu points out a few behaviors that could indicate you have undiagnosed ADHD, like "difficulty concentrating and focusing on tasks that are not particularly interesting or stimulating."

"Undiagnosed ADHD could manifest through impulsive behaviors such as acting without thinking, interrupting others while talking, or a high inclination to risky behaviors," she continues. You might also misplace items, lose track of time, and constantly forget and miss appointments, but that's not all.

"An individual with unorganized and difficulty that results in a cluttered environment could have undiagnosed ADHD [and it] could manifest through restlessness where an individual has challenges relaxing and always feels 'on the go,'" she says. "In addition, it could manifest in challenges in following instructions [or] difficulty in multitasking effectively, and difficulties with impulse control."

Living In The Present

Like so many other areas in the health and wellness space, ADHD can manifest differently in different people! That means that there's no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to getting diagnosed, which emphasizes how important it is to talk to your doctor.

One specific area where it depends on the person? ADHD affects women differently than it affects men.

"Inattentive symptoms are predominant in women, while hyperactive and impulsive symptoms are common among men," Nwogwugwu says. "Besides, co-occurring conditions such as depression, anxiety, and eating disorders are more common in women than men with ADHD."

Women living with ADHD can also end up internalizing their problems, which impacts emotional regulation, self-confidence, and self-esteem.

Nwogwugwu also mentions how important it is to form an individualized care plan to make sure you're taking care of your specific needs — including your mental health. "Hyperactivity, impulsivity, and difficulties with impulse control may lead to interpersonal conflicts and social difficulties, affecting an individual’s self-image and self-concept adversely," she says.

Struggling with organization, attention, and time management can affect the people around you, which in turn might leave you feeling like you aren't meeting expectations for work or your relationships. We've been there, and we also know that stressing about those details can make it easier to mess up next time.

"This may cause frustration, feelings of underachievement, or actual underachievement that would lower an individual’s self-esteem," she says. "Persons with ADHD can face judgment, criticism, and stigma from society and feel rejected by peers because of their poor social skills. The negative experiences could have adverse effects on self-concept and self-esteem, especially among children."

Moving Forward

But the good news is that your life doesn't have to come to a standstill because of an ADHD diagnosis. Whether your doctor recommends lifestyle changes or steps that are a bit more extreme, there are also some calming habits Nwogwugwu recommends adding into your routine.

"Breathing exercises and yoga could help address the feelings," she says. "The techniques slow down the heart rate and reduce cortisol levels resulting in improved and sustained attention and affect." Since breathing techniques are grounding, they help you focus on something besides what's making you anxious.

"Talking to someone who can help, this can be a therapist, friend, a family member, or a counselor can be a great way to get some relief," she adds. "It helps one to express emotions or sentiments openly, which may relief the burden. Expressive writingcould help in regulating emotions through neural activation. In other words, writing could be therapeutic for overstimulated or overwhelmed individuals by helping them feel in control of the situation."

​In which episode does JJ die?

JJ dies at the end of Outer Banks season 4 episode 10, "The Blue Crown" after rescuing Kiara from his father Chandler Groff. "I feel mad, betrayed, disappointed and heartbroken to say the least," Bruder adds. "JJ went through a lot of crap through the show and he was the one character who deserved his happy ending the most. When the series first came out, people fell in love with JJ and [Kiara]."

While the cast obviously found out about the ending while filming, fans are frustrated with how they chose to promote the show. "Obviously the cast can’t spoil a character death, but to blatantly lie and mislead fans by saying that Jiara was 'evergrowing' and fans would be happy with how the season plays out?" Bruder says. "Jiara fans deserved so much better than what we got, ESPECIALLY when they knew they were killing JJ off."

Why are Outer Banks fans so upset?

The show is the kind of phenomenon that made instant stars out of its cast, but it also made waves because of how the first season portrayed issues like classism, substance abuse, and domestic abuse. "As someone who has been around domestic abuse, I think the handling of the character JJ was detrimental culturally," another fan (who would like to remain anonymous) says. "The character suffered abuse at the hands of a man who was not even his biological father, and the writers almost framed it as if that was okay because in the beginning, his father loved him. Instead of telling a story to victims of abuse about hope and making it through trials, the writers went the opposite way. I also find it interesting that they stated this was a planned death. I think writing a character who is suffering from anxiety and clear mental health issues as well as abuse who is very young like JJ only to let him fall in love and kill him right when he starts to feel happiness doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense narratively."

Another viewer adds that ending JJ's story that way felt "disrespectful...especially when in an interview following the episode, one of the creators literally referred to his death as pointless." She even says "it feels almost like the show died along with him."

Actress Madelyn Cline (Sarah Cameron) called JJ the "heart of Outer Banks"and for a lot of fans, JJ also became a beacon of hope, a reminder that you can endure, persevere, and come out stronger on the other side. Since the first season of the show dropped during April 2020, it's been one consistent, fun thing for TV fans since the COVID-19 pandemic began, which makes the loss feel even greater.

"Seeing him die at the hands of another abusive father was honestly kind of sickening," the viewer adds. "It’s also unfortunate that his death didn’t seem to mean anything. A character death like this would be one thing if it meant something. If he had died protecting his friends or actively protecting Kiara, rather than having already saved her and then getting killed afterward, it might’ve be easier to get past."

"It’s like a connection to something good and steady was just broken," X user @onlykiep4l says. "Killing a character that has literally gone trough so much trauma and was finally happy just doesn’t make sense. It’s not just the character that’s gone — it feels like a part of the show has ended too."

Why does JJ get killed off?

Rumors have been circulating for years about behind-the-scenes drama between actors Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey, which has fans believing Rudy asked to be written off the show(for the record, Outer Banks creators Josh & Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke have said it was the plan from the beginning). With Rudy's exit, the writers had a difficult choice in front of them. JJ isn't the kind of guy to abandon his friends, meaning the writers obviously felt like killing him was the only option. But according to an additional viewer, "Outer Banks hasn't been that type of show."

"To attempt to turn this fun, summer, boat show into some dark, depressing story where the heart of the show is gone destroys everything that the show started out as," she says.

Another anonymous fan calls the choice "a character assassination," adding other moments from the season that feel like a different character than the one fans have come to love: barely reacting to John B. and Sarah's pregnancy announcement, or to the fact Rafe had come to talk to Kiara — especially after his reaction to Rafe catcalling Kie in the first season is a moment that led fans to ship them in the first place.

The fan continues by calling JJ's treatment a "lack of respect" toward the character. "The fact that the writers tried to make us dislike him, to soften the blow of him dying. It didn’t work. It has everyone distraught because many people’s favorite character ended up dying after 'finding happiness' for about 10 minutes in Episode 10."

​Does Sarah get pregnant in Outer Banks season 4?

But JJ's death isn't the only moment that has fans reeling. In addition to the fact viewers are saying the Pogues barely reacted to the death of their lifelong best friend, Pope is now a murderer and Kiara makes an absolutely chilling vow to get revenge on Groff — a far cry from the characters we fell in love with in season 1.

"Outside of the JJ of it all, a lot of plot lines/dynamics in part 2 felt off," one of our anonymous fans continues. "Sarah’s pregnancy plot line, especially when coupled with the quote from a creator about ‘giving her a baby specifically because she wasn’t ready’ feels incredibly tone deaf given the current state of things here in the US. The fact that there wasn’t even a conversation of if she wanted to continue with the pregnancy felt very icky. Overall, episodes 1-4 of this season did feel like Outer Banks, but everything after that felt like it was from an entirely different piece of media."

However, some fans are excited to see where the show goes from here. "JJ was such a strong character and his presence will obviously be missed, [but] I am excited to see how the Pogues react and what they do to get revenge on Groff," Virginia McGrew says in an email. "I also think that the scene of JJ dying with Kiara was extremely well done and emotional, making his passing even sadder. I ultimately believe that JJ’s passing serves as a reminder of the themes the show."

"JJ made the group even more aware of friendship, the importance of chosen family, and loyalty, which was seen throughout the season and especially in the finale," she continues. "Now that he is gone, the other Pogues will have to step up even more, creating a shift in their dynamic. While many believe that Outer Banks might not be worth watching after this finale, I truly think that it is only going to get even deeper and more interesting."