Translating ADHD

Asher and Cam dive deeper into the Adrenaline Respon s e Cycle , exploring the Delay phase that preceeds the Intense Activity phase. Last week they explored the Crash-Recovery phases, so the hosts thought it wise to look at the phase that so many of us with ADHD spend lots of time grappling with. In common circles this is referred to as procrastination, but hosts Cam and Ash prefer to not use this...

Ash and Cam continue to look at the dynamic nature of boundary creation and management by revisiting the very popular Adrenaline Response Cycle from Episode 4 . The hosts share how our boundaries naturally adjust as a result of our current mode of activity. For so many of us with ADHD our daily mode is governed by the ARC Model – when we are beholden to the urgency of the current big signal. This...

Asher and Cam revisit boundaries after their initial boundary discussion way back in episode 25 almost three years ago. The hosts discuss why it is so hard for those of us with ADHD to establish and maintain boundaries, and they share ways to create boundaries that can work for a brain wired for context. Ash and Cam bring an inside/out approach to boundary development by asking the listener to thi...

Ash and Cam continue to explore the roles and other factors that contribute to the dynamic that can create dysfunction and associated drama in our relationships. Cam distinguishes dysfunctional moments from the more serious dysfunctional people and relationships. If we can pause, disrupt and pivot around these moments, we can lessen the dramatic outcome. Asher introduces the idea of the executive...

  Co-Hosts Ash and Cam continue to explore relationships and the drama related to them, looking at specific ADHD situations and distinctions. They dig deeper into the Karpman model introduced last week and look at the internal factors that can contribute to external dysfunction and drama.   Those of us with ADHD can focus on getting a need met to the detriment of a larger dysfunction, focused on t...

  Asher and Cam launch a new episode arc on relationships and ADHD. Relationships have already been covered in episodes 83-86 but the cohosts revisit relationships to explore specific ADHD challenges when we interact with the people around us. Today’s episode centers on drama.   The hosts orient listeners to different factors that contribute to drama - that drama is a big signal (episodes 109-110)...

  Asher and Cam make an easy transition from last week’s episode on needs and self-actualization to a focus on ADHD and purpose. The hosts share how purpose is a product of the work that happens in the action/learning model of coaching. As clients identify and operate out of strengths and start to see themselves in the picture, they begin to get insight into their Who. A client’s Who is their sens...

  Asher and Cam finish their exploration of important ADHD distinctions around basic needs as they delve into self-actualization needs from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow argued that people have a need for fulfillment at this highest level. ADHD disrupts this desire in a number of ways. Never short in the creativity department, ADHD people are prone to a scattershot approach when it comes to...

Cam and Asher continue to explore important ADHD distinctions around basic needs as they delve into esteem needs on Maslow’s Hierarchy. Maslow argued that people have a need for appreciation and a recognition of their efforts. The specific ADHD distinction of self-compassion addresses the efforting aspect here and the universal question those of us with ADHD ask - Why do I not do what I know I oug...

  Cam and Ash continue to explore important ADHD distinctions around basic needs as they dig into belongingness and love needs. Humans will often seek out connection more so than other basic needs, especially those in the self care arena. The need for acceptance and validation can be a giant big signal for those of us with ADHD. It feels good to be at the service of others but in overextending or...

  The hosts continue to explore distinguishing ADHD needs using Maslow’s Needs model as the inspiration. Cam and Ash jump right into how daily stressors can directly impact needs regarding safety and security. The challenge here is that those of us with ADHD use stressors like an urgent crisis to create enough stimulation to take action and get things done. When we react and respond our way throug...

  Most models, tools and processes, especially those focused on productivity, are not designed with the neurodivergent brain in mind. Often those of us with ADHD have to improvise to successfully implement a concept or a principle - think GTD or Omnifocus. Malsow’s Hierarchy of Needs model is no different in its highly rigid and linear qualities. Yet, it still is an excellent source to prompt thou...

  This week we turn our attention to the role of needs with respect to our own unique lived experience. Needs often are overlooked when it comes to ADHD primarily because of the very nature of needs. They operate often quietly in the background, and when they do make their presence known they show up as stressors. Needs are those things that make functioning sustainable. When needs go unattended t...

  Today Shelly shares very personal news. Shelly, living as a woman for 38 years, has come out as a transgender man. Meet Asher, listeners. Asher shares with Cam his journey to a more authentic life that fits. He discusses when one’s context changes almost overnight, sharing the dysphoria he felt living as a woman and reaching a pivotal galaxy-brain moment when disparate thoughts and feelings gell...

We continue our theme on race and ADHD as we welcome men's mental health advocate John Hazelwood to Translating ADHD. A nuclear engineer by day, in his spare time John advocates for men’s mental health and runs a 13,000 member support group for men with fellow advocate and ADHD coach Marc Almodovar (a PoC Voices guest in episode 136). In this episode, John speaks about his own challenges growing u...

We continue our theme on race and ADHD as we welcome fellow ADHD coach and psychotherapist Inger Shaye Colzie back to Translating ADHD. Inger Shaye helped Shelly and Cam kick off the PoC Voices series back in the summer of 2020.  Inger Shaye shares how a lack of representation at the 2019 Annual ADHD Conference inspired her to become a coach herself and also inspired her to start The ADHD Black Pr...

The show pivots this week to explore race and culture and how they both inform one’s own lived experience. Shelly and Cam welcome fellow ADHD coach and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) advocate Sudhita Kasturi to the show. Similar to the show’s PoC Voices series, the hosts delve into the South Asian-ADHD experience with Sudhita as their guide. Sudhita shares her own story of growing up in Ind...

Have you ever noticed being sensitive to too much noise or visual stimuli? Last week the hosts shared the concept of processing modalities as both strengths and challenges. This week they continue to look at modalities but introduce the concept of a sensitivity scale in addition to the strength scale. Modalities are the modes in which we prefer to process information and build knowledge. For years...

Shelly and Cam continue to explore the ‘your context matters’ theme by looking at how modalities can inform an individual’s lived experience. Processing modalities, sometimes referred to as learning styles, are preferences we exhibit, often associated with physical senses like visual, auditory and verbal or additional areas like intuition and emotion. Much has been written about modalities includi...

Hi, everyone! We had some important stuff come up, and in the name of self-care we chose to take a mulligan. We look forward to returning October 10. Episode links + resources: Join the Community | Become a Patron Our Process: Understand, Own, Translate. About Cam and Shelly For more of the Translating ADHD podcast: Episode Transcripts: visit TranslatingADHD.com and click on the episode Follow us...

Shelly and Cam continue to explore the lived experience theme for the new season with a deep dive into personal narratives. Our personal narrative is the narrative we tell ourselves to explain a situation or rationalize a behavior - ours or someone else’s. ADHD can make it really hard to distinguish our inner dialogue from our experiences in the world. The brain works hard to ‘tell a story’ to mak...

Cam and Shelly kick off the third season of the Translating ADHD podcast entertaining an often-asked question in ADHD circles - Is ADHD a Superpower? It turns out that one’s own experience or context informs how people will answer this question. Many are emphatic one way or the other - that it is totally a superpower! or that it is not at all a superpower! Shelly and Cam, in usual form, explore th...

As season two comes to an end, Cam and Shelly reflect on their learning over the last year in hosting the podcast together. Cam appreciates the focus on practice in the episodes and reflects how he is using this approach to develop a lighter touch on moving his own initiatives forward. Shelly shares how she let go of pursuing or achieving “at the speed of capitalism” and regaining an important per...

Individual context matters and no more when we start to look at the interplay of ADHD and other areas of challenge like trauma or depression. A recent Canadian study that reveals factors and obstacles to succeeding with ADHD is the prompt for this week’s episode. Cam and Shelly talk about how listeners can read between the lines of a study and look for information that is actionable.  At first gla...

This week we are delighted to present another special episode dedicated to exploring the lived experiences of people of color with ADHD by presenting an interview with ADHD coach Marc Almodovar.   Along with being a coach, Marc is an advocate for men’s mental health and runs a support group for men with fellow mental health advocate John Hazelwood. In this episode, Marc speaks about his own challe...