Mother Plus Podcast

Send us Fan Mail ADHD, high functioning anxiety and perfectionist-based procrastination go together like peanut butter, jelly and banana.  We’re former hard-working, top-of our class, good girls who masked our high functioning anxiety our whole lives, and then we became mothers, and the masks are falling apart. They are WORN OUT. And we just can’t keep them together anymore. Today, I’m going to sh...

Send us Fan Mail Steph reviews the new Taylor Swift album, The Tortured Poets Department.  But this episode isn't really about music or being a Swiftie—it's about women's voices, rage, community, and connection.  Steph had a few viral posts that brought up a LOT of issues—namely, why do women sometimes tear each other down?  We talk about the "therapy" of Taylor Swift musi...

Send us Fan Mail I used to be fun—what happened?" In this Stace and Steph episode, we explore what happens when an ADHD mom feels like she lost her fun.  ADHD women are before we had kids—we want to reclaim some of the fun of our 20s and 30s that we lost.  We all go through an inevitable unwilding and rewilding of ourselves, and as a mom of older kids, Steph gives us a glimpse of how much fun...

Send us Fan Mail Guess what? We found a professional organizer who has ADHD. This episode is all about how to actually get our homes -- and our lives -- in a place that makes our minds feel more at peace. But we're not doing it with the typical organizing advice. Because, as you likely already know, that doesn't work for the ADHD brain. Today, Esmeralda Simonelli, Steph, and Stace cover...

Send us Fan Mail When you’re a mom, and you surround yourselves with moms telling their motherhood stories, baring their souls, laughing, crying, and being brutally honest, it is a powerful thing.  Listen To Your Mother is a national series of live storytelling shows where local writers share their original pieces about motherhood. And today, Steph brings you the piece she read at last year's...

Send us Fan Mail We begin part two with this doozy: Tracy Otsuka shares that she never struggled with motherhood.  Why? Her husband served as her executive functioning, and they split tasks based on what they were both good at. Revolutionary, huh?  In this episode... Tracy gives us the most beautiful reality check about what it really means to be a "good mom." It's about emotional c...

Send us Fan Mail Organization Graveyard: The place where all the organizational tools you buy from Amazon, Target, and The Container Store go to die.   They are unwrapped, unused, and riddled with guilt, a constant reminder that you are a spacey, unorganized ADHD mom. Not. Anymore. Stacey takes you through -- step by step -- how to actually tackle the graveyard. How to go through all the items, op...

Send us Fan Mail In Part I of our conversation with the incomparable Tracy Otsuka, we share the story of how we came to find her, and introduce her podcast and incredible book to our listeners. We discuss Tracy's superpowers as a woman with ADHD, and how her story may be unlike other ADHD women because of her confidence and comfort level with being "different." The Cliff's Note...

Send us Fan Mail This Tedious Task of the Week is putting the laundry away—we hate doing this! Steph shares her step-by-step guide to pouring out the laundry basket, sorting the clothes, and getting it put away in a less soul-crushing way. We are all about making dreaded household care tasks less painful, so let's tackle it together!  Here's the Cliff's Notes: Steph shares how Stace...

Send us Fan Mail Did you ever imagine a day where you could go to your therapist office, and pull out the tarot cards?  Today, we’re talking to holistic therapist, yogi, meditation teacher and author, Chris McDonald. "Tarot friendly" is literally on her about page. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take her seriously.  By the end of today’s episode, you will understand how th...

Send us Fan Mail What is one thing you can do for your tomorrow self today?  The answer to this question will give you all the material you need to create love notes for yourself, i.e. beautiful gestures throughout the house to help ease that scattered ADHD brain of yours.  We’re going to talk about: How the book “Mindful Loving” by Henry Grayson changed the way Stacey looks at relationships and h...

Send us Fan Mail In part 2 of our discussion with Dr. Rebecca Richey, we talk about the impact of going undiagnosed, whether by chance or by choice. We focus on treatment options, including medication and holistic options, and Dr. Richey explains how individualized treatment can be for women with ADHD, and that a multi-modal approach works best. Dr. Richey explains the impact that peri-menopause a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we cover: We went viral last week with a reel about 1990s Gifted and Talented Girls with ADHD, anxiety, perfectionism who are "now immersed in a spiritual journey," and it must have struck a nerve—today we are exploring the connection between women who have ADHD and are into all things spiritual and woo.  We wonder if the creative, intuitive, daydreamy q...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we cover: The diagnosis process can be fraught. Dr. Richey says that you do NOT need a diagnosis to start giving yourself love and compassion. You don't need a label to understand yourself.  The DSM is very limited, and is inadequate when it comes to diagnosing women and girls as well as the BIPOC community.  Dr. Richey breaks down the difference between scre...

Send us Fan Mail Stace and Steph have a dirty secret—their computers' storage and memory are AWFUL.  Do you have a "thing" like this that makes you feel embarrassed, ashamed, and overwhelmed? Something that feels like a weight on you but you can't seem to make yourself address it?  Steph decided to clean up her computer's storage over the weekend—here's how she did it...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we cover: What internalized values have contributed to women with ADHD feeling like a failure, and how do we shake off cultural beliefs and gender roles that we do not subscribe to?  ADHD moms have interest-wired brains: We talk about the impact of having our interests align with our children's and how much easier it is to connect with them when we aren'...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we're going to spend 10 minutes talking about ADHD and losing it. As in, your temper and your mind. In this quickie episode, we're going to cover: How ADHD and losing your temper are related What Leah Barnes mentioned in the previous episode: "I was struggling to begin with, but now, instead of keeping track of my own life, I've also got to keep track of...

Send us Fan Mail Steph and I are more than ready to talk about ADHD for moms with a professional. Welcome Leah Barnes, licensed clinical mental health counselor with a specialty in ADHD for adults. We ask her EVERYTHING about ADHD in women and ADHD in motherhood. Here's what we cover: The phenomenon of moms realizing they have ADHD after getting their kids diagnosed (which actually happened t...

Send us Fan Mail Steph tackles her chaotic fridge in today's Tedious Task of the Week episode.  Step 1: Throw out the questionable stuff—no guilt, just toss it!  Step 2: Remove leftovers you know you aren't going to eat and put the containers on the counter.  Step 3: Take out trashy items your kids left in there (or you did, oops) like cardboard packaging and half-consumed smoothies.  St...

Send us Fan Mail ADHD meds—what it's supposed to feel like, how it's going for Steph, and the challenges of getting meds right now.  Our favorite books on ADHD—especially for women—and the things we love about them. Applying the ADHD filter to our lives and our motherhood feels embarrassing at times, like it's all we can talk about. But the integration, healing, and reclamation are...

Send us Fan Mail Today is our very first episode and our series that we were calling big tedious task of the week.  Big Tedious Task =  The really seemingly menial, tedious little things that every other mom seems to have no issue with, but you feel like it's equivalent to climbing Mount Everest. One of the challenges with ADHD or a neuro divergent brain, is that it doesn't think in orde...

Send us Fan Mail It can feel vulnerable and uncomfortable when you learn something major about yourself and it's all you want to talk about—like, for example, a brand new ADHD diagnosis.  Looking back at your life through a new lens is an important part of integration and healing.  Steph has always been a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland, and shares her lightbulb moment when she realizes that...

Send us Fan Mail  Welcome back to the ADHD in Motherhood Series. It's been a ride. Today, we cover: The process to getting an ADHD evaluation can be tricky, which sort of feels like a sick joke when you're already struggling to complete tasks you don't like.  Be prepared to feel big feelings after your diagnosis: anything ranging from grief to relief.  You may experience the regret...

Send us Fan Mail Let's talk about the positive qualities about women with ADHD—because, yes, we have our own superpowers! We had a major breakthrough about our "Remember her?" moments when we are longing for our pre-mom selves: Of course we miss the person we used to be before all the things we struggled with became magnified.  Motherhood + ADHD can wreak havoc on self-esteem, and i...

Send us Fan Mail **TO JOIN US AT THE NEW MOON VIRTUAL RETREAT, CLICK HERE: https://www.motherplusser.com/new-moon-retreat ** We are so excited to share the first episode in a 5-part series for moms who basically feel like they suck at this whole motherhood thing.  Stace and Steph look at motherhood through the lens of ADHD; getting a diagnosis opened Steph's eyes to a major puzzle piece as to...