Living Beyond ADHD

In this foundational episode, DrB delivers the message that sits at the heart of everything she teaches: it is not your fault — and you are 100% responsible for what happens next. These two truths are not a contradiction. Together, they are the most liberating framework an adult with ADHD can internalize. If you've been waiting for permission to stop blaming yourself and start building — this...

Why do ADHD strategies always seem to work for a week and then collapse? DrB answers this question with a concept almost no one in the mainstream ADHD space is teaching: pre-skills. Before executive function can be built and integrated, there are foundational skills that must come first — self-awareness, nervous system regulation, understanding your own brain, and a relationship with yourself not...

"Executive function" gets thrown around constantly in ADHD conversations — but rarely explained. In this episode, DrB breaks down exactly what executive function is, walks through every core skill (working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, planning, task initiation, emotional regulation, and time management), and delivers the most important reframe in ADHD education: the...

It took DrB fifteen years to finish a four-year degree — not because she wasn't capable, but because she was searching for an education and kept finding a factory. In this episode, she shares her full story and connects it to a message she received from a high school student halfway around the world who asked the question she hears from almost every student: why can't I concentrate, and...

After a three-year hiatus due to health challenges, DrB returns to Living Beyond ADHD with a message that hasn't changed — and a conviction that's stronger than ever. In this comeback episode, DrB lays out the truth about adults with ADHD: you are bright, gifted, and capable of extraordinary things. What's holding you back isn't a disorder — it's missing pre-skills and exe...

How often do you do the prep work for your tasks?   Do you know what I mean by prep work?   Most people I know really dislike the prep work and just want to get down to doing the task.   They even feel that the prep work is a waste of their time because it isn't getting the job done.   And, they are short on time as it is, so this is just a non-essential thing to do.   But is it really?   Eve...

Do you have the blueprints to build a new model of yourself?   One of my favorite quotes is by Buckminster Fuller, who said, "You never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete ."   Thinking along the same lines as Fuller, I realized years ago that with so much that happens on our journey from birth to...

Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria or RSD is a hot topic these days.   It is one manifestation of emotional dysregulation, which is a common but misunderstood and under-researched symptom of ADHD in adults.   Individuals with RSD feel unbearable pain (physical and emotional) as a result of actual or perceived rejection, teasing, or criticism.   And, this symptom is not alleviated with cognitive or di...

I often hear from many accomplished adults that they feel like imposters.   They have been able to hold things together and advance in their career, yet the toll on them is huge.   They have created workarounds to get the job done but fear being found out.   Work takes so much time and leaves little if any time for pursuing their dreams, hobbies or even cherished time with family and friends.   Ov...

I've been giving a lot of thought to what is commonly believed to be the process we adults need to go through if we suspect ADHD. That process takes time and money. And depending on what part of the world you live in, your access to a specialist may be limited. For that reason or others, many adults are self-diagnosing these days. Some are questioning what having an official diagnosis will gi...

This episode is a little different than most.   It's kind of a public service announcement - a message in the public interest that is meant to raise awareness about an important issue and change behavior.   This episode is dedicated to you, my listeners. The topic was inspired by a few emails I received this week, and they brought back the strong feelings I have about what I have been called...

Whether you are dating, are in a committed relationship, living together or married, your well-developed Executive Function Skills make a difference in many aspects of your relational life.   And, even though I focus on helping you develop your Executive Function Skills for yourself, that does not mean that their development isn't essential for a healthier and happier marriage.   Let me expla...

Desmond Tutu once wisely said that "there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time." What he meant by this is that everything in life that seems daunting, overwhelming, and even impossible can be accomplished gradually by taking on just a little at a time. Robert Maurer, Ph. D. tells us in his book, "One Small Step Can Change Your Life – The Kaizen Way" that small s...

Procrastination is simply the act of delaying or postponing something; nothing more. Most people think of procrastinating as a negative thing. We procrastinate on filing our taxes, paying our bills, keeping our homes tidy, returning phone messages and responding to important emails. We even procrastinate on making plans for our summer vacations. These are all just the act of delaying or postponing...

Hi Aspiring Achievers,  There is a serious, widespread problem with the educational requirements in the mental health field.  Most professionals are studying the same outdated information about ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, Trauma and Addictions in preparation for licensure. They aren't studying what happens to your executive function development because of those conditions.  The most common tre...

Toxic shame is a killer. It's an internal message that tells you that you are defective, bad, wrong, and not valuable.  Toxic shame isn't personal; it's like poison. It doesn't matter who gives you the poison or who does the shaming, either one will eat away at you and take you down. And, when shame comes flooding in and causes us to retreat into ourselves, our transformation i...

Executive function skills are important for us to function well as an adult, whether this means raising children, running a household, working for a company or ourselves, or being in healthy relationships. These skills are necessary so that we can get things done and not be in a constant state of overwhelm or frustration because we can't keep up with our adult responsibilities. We all need to...

Hi Aspiring Achievers! Do you have any or all of the following challenges? Limiting beliefs that hold you back and make it impossible for you to succeed? An outdated sense of yourself or identity that is a limited version of you; not a version that is able to move forward with confidence and conviction? A disempowering relationship with time, where you find it difficult to manage yourself within t...

In this podcast episode, Dr B answers the question from Christine in Florida:  "Does Codependency often play a role in executive function deficit?"   Developing your Executive Function Skills and shifting your limiting beliefs is the fastest and most effective way to overcome ADHD limitations, find focus, gain confidence, and a newfound freedom in your life! My mission  is to put an end...

In this episode, we're doing something a little different. I was on a call a few days back with a couple of my team members. And I realized that that conversation would make a great mini podcast that I wanted to share with you my listener, because it's how I feel about the work that I'm honored to do with you, and why it matters so much to me. So, here's a brief bit of that con...

What if we're doing it all backwards and wrong? People start identifying that they have ADHD and they want to fix it.  Or people start identifying they have underdeveloped executive function skills and they want to fix it.  And everything is oriented towards fixing something that's deemed to be broken. But what if it's not broken?  What if what we're identifying is the cause; t...

There's a difference between what you say you  want  and what you say you  intend  to have.  One is "desire" and the other is "it will happen."  When we set our intention, we are willing to go to any lengths for it to happen.  We are willing to become a better or upgraded version of ourselves; to take with us the best of who we are and leave the rest behind.  Are you willi...

Let's jump straight to what's important here.  You definitely need certain capabilities to succeed in life.  These capabilities help you to get and keep a job, provide appropriate care for children, manage a household and contribute meaningfully to your community.  They also enable you having a satisfying personal life with whatever is most important to you.  And based on what you are sh...

If you're on the Information List for ADDventures In Achievement Foundational Skills Program, then you've been receiving some exclusive emails this week. As I was reviewing the emails you've been receiving again, I was thinking of how easy it would be very easy for you to not believe what I'm saying in the emails, and maybe not even believe what I say in my podcast show because...

Have you been suffering long enough? Whether your suffering is due to your limiting beliefs or outdated identities or missing pre-skills or underdeveloped EF skills – if you're suffering, then you're suffering – no matter which of these are the source of your suffering. In this episode, I talk about: Suppressing emotions Stories you tell yourself that keep you suffering How to break free...