I Have ADHD Podcast

We get to enjoy the delicious Jen Kirkman on another episode of the podcast! The TV writer, comedian, New York Times best-selling author, podcaster, and FOCUSED member shared part 1 of her ADHD story. Jen’s story of misdiagnosis, navigating a career in the public eye, and figuring out how to use her diagnosis to help other people inspired so many of you. In part 2, we get to learn…  How Jen found...

Today's episode is part 1 of a 2-part interview with my dear client, Jen Kirkman. Jen is currently a writer/producer on the one-hour comedy Etoile for Amazon Prime. She was a writer/producer on 4 seasons of the The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime). Jen hosts a weekly solo podcast, "You Are A Lot" (An ADHD Podcast) - which is about navigating life with ADHD. Jen is a New York Times Bestselling...

How long is your to-do list right now? If you’re like most ADHDers, you’ve got a laundry list of things that you’ve been carrying around for years now — and it’s anchoring you down. It’s time to stop holding this never-ending to-do list over your head and feeling guilty about not accomplishing the things on it. This isn’t serving you. I want to help you remove this unnecessary pressure from your l...

When it comes to ADHD, there are a lot of myths out there. For instance, you may have heard (or believed) that ADHD is an excuse. I can’t tell you how often I see clients worry that they’re using it as an excuse while working to set their lives up for success. Look: ADHD is NOT an excuse. It’s an explanation. It’s an explanation of why certain things are hard for you, why your memory sucks, why yo...

As we look to a new year, most of us start to think about what we want to do over the next 365 days. What do we want to change from 2023?  I’ve evolved a lot in my approach to goal planning over the past year. So I wanted to share a class I just taught in my group coaching program for this podcast episode because I think it will be validating for a lot of you as you look ahead. This is not a shame...

Welcome to the second podcast episode of my series on self-trust. In episode one, we talked about how challenging it can be for someone with ADHD to trust themselves and the decisions they make.  I highly encourage you to start there if you haven’t listened already, but if you only have 30 minutes, this episode will give you tangible takeaways that you can start applying today.  First, I want to t...

One thing that I’ve noticed in myself and other adults with ADHD that I coach is a massive lack of self-trust. We don’t trust ourselves to follow through. We don’t trust ourselves to make good decisions. We don’t trust ourselves to manage money wisely or to curb our impulsive spending habits. We don’t trust that we’re good parents or that we’re good at our jobs. We are never really sure if we’re d...

Have you noticed that your relationships look different than other people? Friendships and partnerships are harder for adults with ADHD, largely due to the fact that we’re highly sensitive to rejection. Research has shown that ADHDers have experienced more rejection than their neurotypical peers. This results in several relational tendencies that can lead to toxic dynamics. Because they know how a...

Over the past three episodes, we’ve been talking about the basics of ADHD and how you can live your best life with this neurodivergent condition. It’s a great beginner ADHD series for anyone who needs a refresher or is curious to learn more. My stance is that ADHD is NOT a superpower, despite what you may have seen on social media or heard from well-respected people in the industry. On the contrar...

Is ADHD a superpower? Is it not a superpower? We’ll talk about that today, in our “Getting Back to Basics” series, part 2. If you’ve been around here a while, you know that my position is – NO! ADHD is not a superpower. It’s not a gift. It’s not awesome! When people say ADHD is a gift or a superpower, they point to traits like creativity, hyperfocus, and inventiveness. So sure, Simon Sinek, if you...

Hello, my friend. I’m so glad that you’re here and that you’re taking steps to live your best life while you’re on this ADHD journey. Today, we’re going back to the basics of ADHD — because sometimes the noise can cause us to forget what’s *actually* going on inside these beautiful brains of ours. 🧠 Those of us who were diagnosed with ADHD as adults often try to mask our symptoms and hide them fr...

When it comes to the way we function as adults, our family history plays a much larger role than many of us think. In this podcast episode, I’m talking with FOCUSED member CJ about generational trauma and its impact on adult ADHDers. Growing up, CJ's parents emotionally neglected her as they were dealing with their own emotional immaturity and symptoms of ADHD. Meanwhile, CJ was struggling with un...

Fair warning: this episode brings the heat. This is a topic I’ve felt compelled to discuss a lot lately, and I’m not holding back. As adults with ADHD, our brains are reactive. This means that when there’s a stimulus (aka phone notification, a child calling for you, etc.), our brains are naturally triggered to react. We lack impulse control, so our instinct is to respond immediately. Someone who's...

When I discovered Stacy Scott while scrolling through Instagram, I immediately knew I had to get her on the podcast. Stacy is an internationally known decluttering expert, feng shui practitioner, and occupational therapist with three wildly successful decluttering workshops. Unlike a lot of other organization and decluttering coaches, Stacy focuses on recognizing how trauma impacts your ability to...

We have a unique episode this week, covering a topic I’ve honestly never known how to approach here: cannabis use for adults with ADHD. First things first, you need to know that this episode will be only one perspective on a subject I’d never pretend to be an expert in. Joining me is a very special guest, Natalie Chien, @Natalie. C.ADHD who is not only a member of my group coaching program FOCUSED...

Tamara Rosier, Ph. D., has joined me for a discussion on my absolute favorite sections of her book, Your Brain’s Not Broken . Tamara is a fellow ADHD coach and the founder of the ADHD Center of West Michigan . We waste no time at all diving into her personal journey to an ADHD diagnosis at 40 years young and what living day-to-day with this neurodivergent disorder has looked like throughout her li...

I’m going to be very honest. This episode is a dedicated “b**** fest” on how hard it is to get the medication prescribed for ADHD. If any of you adults out there have been through this, sometimes it’s therapeutic just to let out all the frustration and feel seen and heard and commiserated with, and that’s what this episode is for. You all should know by now that I take ADHD medication, but you may...

My colleague and friend, Annahid Dashtgard, really elevates the podcast this week with a specialized look at racialization within the mental health space. I love that we’re able to broach this topic together as Annahid is so well-versed in creating safe places for people to have hard conversations. Annahid is the CEO and Co-Founder of Anima Leadership , a consulting firm that helps organizations w...

Most of Ellen's life was spent feeling like a whirling dervish without direction. Everything was a struggle, from school to maintaining a job to arriving anywhere on time. She learned how to use her big, bold personality to fake it and make it through, even though she regularly battled feelings of inadequacy, shame, and judgment. Life, as it often does, hit Ellen hard with challenges through her y...

Today's episode is all about how to be PROactive not REactive. ADHDers spend so much time putting out fires and reacting to everything happening around us. But if we're going to truly make forward progress on our own dreams and goals, we're going to need to put down the fire hose and start making some purposeful decisions.  BUT HOW? Tune in how to find out: How to create a vision even if you can't...

Danica @theempoweredtherapist specializes in healing from attachment wounds, sexual assault, emotional neglect, vicarious trauma, intergenerational and identity-based trauma, and work or academic trauma.  In this DEEP convo, Kristen and Danica discuss the following topics:  Complex Trauma Is it ADHD or CPTSD? Attunement Attachment Somatic Experiencing How to Identify a Trigger The Complexity of He...

I’m really enjoying these episodes with my FOCUSED community, and I hope you are too! Today, Sue Peters is with me, and we dive into the difficult world of chronic pain through an ADHD lens. When Sue was finally diagnosed with ADHD in her mid-twenties, she had already identified that there was something different about her and had even tried reaching out for help. But ignorant and insensitive “exp...

Christine Hargrove is a a Ph. D. candidate at the University of Georgia whose primary focus is on exploring financial therapy and ADHD relationships - an important and rare combination! We very quickly realized one episode was not enough, so stay tuned for part two with practical tips. Before we dive into money talk, Christine shares her own story about how she came to receive her own ADHD diagnos...

In this episode, I’m joined by my FOCUSED client Michael Johnson, who shares his ADHD journey that led him to being coached and now becoming a coach himself. I love our conversation because Michael is so open and honest about his weaknesses and the self-discovery that led to him evolving into a much more self-aware and balanced person today.  If you've struggled with horrible self-talk, disordered...

Maggie Patterson is a vocal advocate for humane business practices rooted in respect, empathy and trust. She’s the host of the BS-Free Service Business podcast, and the co-host of Duped: The Dark Side of Online Business. In this episode we are SPILLING ALL THE TEA. Maggie and I talk about:  Self help, cults, and MLMS Scammy online business practices Mystery offers "If I can do it you can do it" St...