Translating ADHD

In this episode of Translating ADHD, Ash and Cam continue to explore the concept of journey thinking and how it relates to ADHD. They focus on illustrating specific barriers to journey thinning and how ADHD can elevate a destination or fixed mindset. Ash and Cam discuss how ADHD individuals often get attached to certain outcomes, identities, and beliefs, which can hinder their ability to adapt and...

In this episode of Translating ADHD Season 2, Episode 2, hosts Ash and Cam discuss the concept of "journey thinking." They emphasize the importance of journey thinking in the coaching process for both clients and coaches. Journey thinking involves focusing on the process rather than fixating on a specific destination or outcome. They use metaphors like standing on stepping stones in a foggy pond a...

Returning from their summer hiatus, hosts Asher Collins and Cameron Gott introduce the new season of Translating ADHD and explain the changes they've made to the podcast. They discuss the concept of "seasons" and how they will organize the content around specific topics. Ash and Cam see an opportunity of this Season 2 as a reboot of the podcast - to review and revisit key concepts unique to the po...

Ash and Cam discuss their upcoming summer break and reflect on the topics covered in the fourth season of their podcast, Translating ADHD. They mention the importance of taking breaks and planning for the future. They recap the various themes explored throughout the season, such as the complexity of ADHD, lived experiences, race and culture, hierarchy of needs, purpose, relationships, the adrenali...

  The hosts culminate the current theme of disruption and ADHD by exploring how change and disruption can fundamentally change one’s relationship with their ADHD. We often think that once we learn about our ADHD and lock into effective tools, practices and perspectives that our relationship with our ADHD will become fairly immutable. Just like any relationship, though, life events both planned and...

Ash and Cam continue to discuss the topic of disruptions in the context of ADHD. They reflect on previous episodes where they talked about daily hiccups and bigger life disruptions. In this episode, they explore the concept of the new normal all of us are facing, especially post pandemic, and the challenges it poses for those of us with ADHD. They address a paradox with change, where we crave nove...

In this episode, Ash and Cam discuss the concept of life disruptions and how individuals with ADHD can navigate them. They start by reflecting on smaller disruptions and the opportunity to anticipate them to achieve better outcomes. They mention the ADHD assumption that life should be free of disruptions harkening back to the concept of greenlight planning. They then transition to discussing more...

After a deep dive into being misunderstood with ADHD, Asher and Cam pivot to managing disruptions with ADHD. They start by looking at the smaller variety of disruptions that are a part of modern living. Ash separates these into internal and external categories. Small external disruptions are the ones like hiccups in our calendars, when things don't go according to plan. Internal disruptions are th...

Asher and Cam shift from advocating one’s value at work to discussing how to deliver one’s value. This brings in the universal question from one of our earliest episodes (ep 10 and 11) -  Why do I not do what I know I ought to do? Ash and Cam spend considerable time talking about what value work is and typical barriers to delivering value work. Value work is often the work that is not necessarily...

Asher and Cam have discussed advocacy in past episodes but not in the context of the current theme of being misunderstood. The hosts share lots of client examples of advocating for one’s needs and how each situation is dependent on several factors. Is the environment a safe place to share and advocate? Is it more ADHD or more about challenges beyond our control? They discuss how we tend to not com...

Asher and Cam stay with the being misunderstood with ADHD theme and take a big step back to look at the larger context of trying to seek understanding and support in a world quick to judge everything ADHD. Cam shares how a recent BCC investigative news story on private ADHD clinics in the UK unleashed a torrent of follow up stories - common fear-based themes that ADHD is overdiagnosed, that the me...

Asher and Cam continue in the vein of being misunderstood with ADHD, and how we can create our own misunderstanding in the form of red herrings that distract us from the real challenges and real opportunities at work. When we let fear inform our behavior, we can manage by avoidance. Managing by avoidance is to avoid looking bad or to avoid not having the answer. We will avoid rocking the boat or a...

Ash and Cam shift their focus to the workplace with regard to the current story arc on being misunderstood with ADHD. Leading with Yours-Mine-Ours, Asher and Cam talk about ADHD challenges in the context of larger potential workplace challenges that can plant the seeds for misunderstanding. There are some environments and some managers where no amount of ADHD management will make the situation ten...

Ash and Cam dig deeper into the being misunderstood theme by looking at the very unique ADHD phenomenon of trying to explain our ADHD when our ADHD is acting as a roadblock to new awareness and learning. Cam uses an example shared by a Patreon/Discord member on how she struggles with this challenge. The member illustrated the difference between “front” emotions and “underlying” emotions and how it...

Cam and Asher continue to explore the topic of being misunderstood with ADHD. Nowhere does this play out more dramatically than in our primary relationships. It’s nearly impossible to articulate thoughts and feelings and advocate for oneself if you are not clear on what is actually going on. The first barrier of ADHD is awareness, and we can feel the frustration and emotion from a particular situa...

Ash and Cam begin a new series on a ubiquitous ADHD experience - being misunderstood. ADHD operates out of sight and in the background, yet its impact can have enormous consequences. Additionally, ADHD and related executive function challenges make it very difficult to bring the ADHD out into the open to generate new understanding and awareness for the individual and for others. The hosts kick off...

Ash and Cam often speak of the Understand, Own, Translate model that is so ubiquitous to the mission of the Translating ADHD podcast - that to live fully and to have success one must understand, own and translate their ADHD experience. Today, Ash and Cam explore this model in depth through a single coaching session with one of Ash’s clients. Describing this single session checks many of the boxes...

Cam takes Ash and listeners on a field trip to the land of ADHD causation, introducing listeners to Cam’s own Meaning Maker (MM). Veteran listeners will recall the challenge for ADHDers to get to causation from the Mt. Rainier Model introduced in episode 10. They will also recall Cam speaking about his Big Idea Generator (BIG). The Meaning Maker is first cousin to the BIG and is a part of everyone...

Following up on last week’s episode of emotional autopilot, Ash and Cam explore some of the motivations for this behavior. We do what we need to to get through our days, and emotional autopilot is a coping mechanism for managing strong emotions and the limiting stories that can accompany them. Cam shares three specific examples of limiting stories and how we can uncover the ADHD that is operating...

Ash and Cam continue to pull the thread on getting distance from the Adrenaline Response Cycle as they explore common emotional responses when faced with uncertainty and challenge. Today they share the concept of emotional autopilot. We can approach our days and plans in an autopilot fashion expecting our day to go off without a hitch. We can also set our emotions on autopilot or conveniently set...

To be untethered can mean a lot of things in mental health circles. Often it is referred to as one not being grounded or tethered to reality. With respect to ADHD, it can take on a whole different meaning. Ash and Cam discuss how as coaching clients unravel themselves from the react and respond mode of the Adrenaline Response Cycle, they can find themselves in a rather uncomfortable in-between pla...

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 advocate and influencer Rach Idowu. When Rach’s own diagnosis was disrupted due to the Covid pandemic, she took it upon herself to educate herself about ADHD. When she didn’t find what she was looking for, she started to share...

Ash and Cam bring the conversation down to earth from last week’s big picture view on journey thinking and detaching from outcome. Chasing big signal items like drama, shiny objects or avoiding conflict has us beholden to the Adrenaline Response Cycle of delay, hyper-focus, crash, recovery. This is often fueled by destination thinking and attaching to outcomes. Both Ash and Cam bring in examples o...

Ash and Cam continue to discuss the Adrenaline Response Cycle and ways to create some distance from ARC. The hosts revisit the concept of Journey Thinking - a cornerstone of coaching principles and a common theme on the podcast. Those of us with ADHD are prone to Destination Thinking or a propensity for attaching to specific outcomes. Both Cam and Ash share their own examples of Journey Thinking a...

Ash and Cam shift from exploring the phases of the Adrenaline Response Cycle to discussing how to become less beholden to the cycle. The hosts share that this work is central to any ADHD coaching relationship - locating motivators other than urgency and hyperfocus to get things done. Ash and Cam focus on three main discussion points in today’s episode. Building awareness around how we can rational...