I Have ADHD Podcast

I’m so relieved to be wrapping up the last episode in the executive function series. This episode focuses on self-motivation, which is quite funny seeing as how I have felt very little of it to get this series done.  The timing of this episode couldn’t be more perfect, however, because we are in the last few weeks before taxes are due! Many of you adults with ADHD may be especially struggling with...

We are now five down with one to go in my executive function series. Part 5 is on self-awareness - the ability to reflect, evaluate and ponder your thinking patterns.  This executive function, also known as metacognition, is closely influenced by emotional regulation and working memory.  For ADHDers, self-awareness can be a very uncomfortable thing to do and it might bring up a lot of shame and gu...

My conversation with Dr. Lindsay Gibson generated pure gold in this week’s episode about emotionally immature parents. It’s important to note that this is in no way parent-shaming but instead illuminates how many people with ADHD were likely raised by emotionally immature adults (and perhaps perpetuating this behavior). We’re often led to believe that we ADHDers are always the problem. But maybe w...

In this special episode, I’ve invited emotional abuse and relationship experts, Katie McKenna and Helen Villiers , to share their perspective on toxic relationships and how they affect ADHDers. You may know these incredible women from their podcast In Sight: Exposing Narcissism . With Helen being a fellow ADHDer and Katie deserving a gold medal for supporting neurodivergence, I’m in great company...

Part 4 in the Executive Function Series is here, and I’m focusing on problem solving. This includes “fun” elements like planning, organizing and prioritizing that many ADHDers struggle with.  The truth is, while those of us with ADHD may be good at solving big, complex problems, facing the breakdown of smaller situations can be a real challenge. In Episode 199, I share info from articles, books, a...

You’ll want to save this episode to re-listen and share with your neurotypical friends because Episode 198 is solid GOLD. In part three of my six-part series on executive functions, I’m diving into emotional regulation and how it’s impacted with ADHD. But the truth is, we ALL can use help getting our emotions under control sometimes. Emotional regulation directly impacts how productive we’re able...

Part two of my six-part series on executive functions is all about inhibition. This one’s a little heavy and a little scary. Those of us with ADHD can attest to how debilitating it is to not have strong, internal self-restraint that can protect us from automatic urges and impulse decisions.  From interrupting conversations to cutting in line to leaping before we look, life with impaired inhibition...

In Episode 196, I am kicking off the anticipated Executive Function series! I’ll be breaking down the six key executive functions that are impacted by ADHD. Today’s focus is all about Working Memory.  Working memory is a temporary storage system that allows you to hold information in your mind long enough to do something with it. I like to think of working memory as an internal bulletin board wher...

Episode 195 welcomes Daniel Jones from The Aspie World as a special guest! PLEASE NOTE: There is strong language used in this one.  Daniel has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 2), ADHD, OCD, and Dyslexia. He’s especially passionate about providing education, support, and diagnosis access to any and everyone.  In this special episode, we chat through the diffe...

This is a very vulnerable podcast for me. I made a goal to talk about one thing, told myself it would be easy, then procrastinated and realized it was more work than I was ready to handle. My mind originally had me living in this fantasy world, and I left it before thinking through the logistics and effort required to get it done and do it right. Have you been here before? At this point in January...

 As an adult with ADHD, I know how hard it can be to fight the way my brain works and spend too much energy shaming myself and wishing I was different. But in Episode 193 of the podcast, I coach three separate, amazing adults dealing with very different life challenges and help them embrace and accept who they are and find ways to live their best lives alongside ADHD. The first coaching session fo...

In the first episode of 2023, I'm chatting with Felicia Broccolo, Director of Operations at I Have ADHD, about impossible goals. This time of year, everyone is setting resolutions — something that can be especially hard for those diagnosed with ADHD. An impossible goal doesn’t have to be something huge and scary though. It can be as small as finishing work every day when you say you’re going to or...

Barbara Arrowsmith-Young overheard her first-grade teacher telling her mom, “Barbara really isn’t going to amount to much.” Growing up, Barbara struggled to learn to read and write. Back then, there was no such term as “learning difficulty” — the understanding was that your brain was fixed forever. To Barbara, it felt like a life sentence. Today, she is known as “the woman who changed her brain.”...

The only way to be a perfect parent is to toss out the word "perfect" altogether. Our expectations and emotions can easily get in the way of effective parenting when we make things all about US instead of all about what our kiddos need. In episode 190, I'm serving some spicy advice on ways we can all grow and improve as moms and dads to our little ones. You'll find that my tips don't have a lot to...

Do you or do you not have the extra cash to spend on holiday gifts this season? Episode 189 includes a recorded excerpt from the FOCUSED ADHD group coaching program with tough questions to ask yourself ASAP in order to properly prepare for holiday gift-giving without going into debt or feeling shame. Those of us with ADHD know how easy it is to overspend due to feelings of guilt and/or anticipatio...

Facing the holiday season can be intimidating. Normal everyday life is complicated enough living with ADHD, and yet so much more is expected of us in the last few months of the year. Our inner child may have this beautiful fantasy of a perfect holiday season, but we feel let down when it doesn’t all go according to plan. So how can we approach this year differently to make sure we make the most of...

This one’s for all the neurotypical friends and family who have a loved one living with ADHD. There are SO many misconceptions about this diagnosis, and it can be super challenging for us to communicate our experiences to you effectively. Societal shame and childhood upbringings have played a huge role in diminishing the voice of ADHDers. But there are so many things we’d like you, our friends and...

If you’re guilty of adding too many tasks to your to-do list and then feeling guilty for not completing them, this message is for you! To-do lists are meant to be useful for prioritization and recollecting what needs to get done — but it’s easy to lose ourselves in the list itself and struggle to cross anything off at all, leading to procrastination, dread, and shame. It may sound scandalous, but...

Big, impossible goals are sexy. That’s what the world wants us to think. We have to do all of the things and be great at each one. But unrealistic goals are a challenge for adults with ADHD, and they set us up for failure. Michelle Carter is an American shot putter and three-time Olympic athlete who took home a gold medal in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. But more importantly, she’s an adult with ADH...

If you're an adult with ADHD who struggles with hobbies, all I have to say is, "SAME!" I find that a lot of us ADHDers struggle to rest and play, and we have all the drama about participating in activities that are not 'productive.' Want to stop over-working and actually get a hobby? I've got 7 doable steps for you! You'll learn why we struggle to have hobbies and how to go out and actually find s...

We end our relationships series by circling back to the most important relationship: the one we have with ourselves. Dr. Russell Ramsay is here with us to chat about why self trust is especially difficult for adults with ADHD, and what we can do to build it. Dr. Russell Ramsay is co-founder and co-director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program and a professo...

Saying no can be very difficult for any human, but I believe it's especially hard for adults with ADHD. In this episode you'll learn: Why saying no is hard for us What executive functions are involved in saying no Practical tips on exactly HOW to say no ADHDer, the more you say no when you want to, the more you are in the driver's seat of your own life. Enjoy! Visit www.ihaveadhd.com/focused for m...

ADHDers are notoriously bad at setting boundaries. So many factors go into this, but I believe it’s mostly because we feel poorly about ourselves, we don’t have a lot of self-trust, and we are embarrassed about our annoying ADHD symptoms. The result of this is that we ADHDers often don’t believe we even deserve to set boundaries. Additionally, many of us were not raised in families that talked abo...

We are on a mission to improve all of our relationships, and today we discuss the difference between someone who is safe verses someone who is unsafe. This has been a critical (and truthfully, painful) exercise that I have gone through in my own life that has improved my experience of every single relationship that I have. Tune in to hear why it's important to understand safety in relationships an...

In this episode, we talk about surrounding ourselves with people who are willing and able to meet our needs. AND we talk about the importance of being willing and able to meet THEIR needs, too. It's both/and. You'll learn my 4-tier system for prioritizing relationships and I'll give you permission to let some relationships go. If you want to take these concepts deeper, join my coaching program FOC...