Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast

What is the brain dump? Generally, when we’re talking about a brain dump, we’re referring to the big discharge of all the things on your mind that are keeping you from being able to move forward. We know that there is a limit to what we as human organisms can keep in our working memory so we get it all out on paper and can then start doing the work, right? Probably not. This week on the show, Pete...

There is no shame in starting small. That’s the truth, but that’s not often the message we tell ourselves. We’re naturally focused on the sadness that comes from not accomplishing more, from not achieving some sort of greatness that comes when we complete our massive lists. When we tell ourselves that it’s OK to do one thing well, we close the door on any appreciation of modesty and let the shame...

That first rush of relief that you feel when you’re handed the diagnoses of ADHD is exhilarating. You finally have words to describe what you’ve been feeling and experiencing, and a brand new way to relate to the world around you! And that feeling lasts for about three-and-a-half seconds, right up to the moment you ask yourself, what now? Accepting your ADHD diagnosis might be your first experienc...

You’ve sat through all the seminars. You’ve read all the books. You’ve watched all the videos. Your brain is a cup overflowing with new goodies to try… and now you’re overwhelmed, discouraged, and disappointed that you’re not able to just get to it. You’re not alone. And if you’re living with ADHD, you’ve likely squirreled away worksheets and notebooks and PDFs galore that will supposedly support...

This week’s show comes thanks to a listener with a time challenge. School, work, family … they all compound the challenges that come with a life with ADHD. How do you approach the world when you feel like you’re too acclimated to timers and alarms? You can’t trust your own calendar? You feel like you’ve run out of ideas to cope and you’re awash in hopelessness? You try something new. And maybe… ju...

We spend a lot of time building gates and systems to protect ourselves from distraction of ADHD. But, what might we be losing at the expense of saying No? This week on the show, Pete talks about control and ADHD. Spinning off of the concept of Margin as discussed by Shawn Blanc and Richard Swenson before him, what does it mean for ADHD when our systems and processes that we use to protect ourselve...

We had so many fantastic submissions for our "What do you want the world to know about ADHD" poll that we had to do TWO episodes! From judgment to raising kids with ADHD, this week you brought even more incredible insights to share with the rest of us. This is one of our very favorite pairs of episodes and is highlighted by your collective vulnerability and generosity. Thank you. Links & Notes...

There are so many signals coming at us; judgments, criticisms, guidance, and support. But so often, these messages come from those with limited experience with ADHD. This week on the show, asked you a simple question: What is it that you want the world to know about your life with ADHD? You told us how you experience relationships. You told us how your memory impacts your day. You shared your chal...

One of the greatest muscles you can develop to help you relate to the world around you while living with ADHD is to become a better listener. Author Rebecca Shafir brings her communication skills — and her book on the subject — to help us out this week! Rebecca a speech/language pathologist, an ADHD coach for over 25 years, a colleague of Dr. Ned Hallowell and the author of The Zen of Listening: M...

Receiving a diagnosis of ADHD can be hard enough. But what do you do when your partner, friends, or family don't work to understand and support you? This week on the show, Nikki and Pete take on this thorny issue. Yes, in fact, there are two sides, and approaching those closest to us with news that something is not as they’ve always understood it in your relationship can be jarring. Normalizing ar...

It’s hard out there. Why do we make it harder by subconsciously practicing language that devalues us, our contributions, and our abilities? Inspired by recent conversations in our coaching groups, Nikki brings a strategy that can help you build the muscles and triggers you’ll need to both notice when you’re falling into the trap of limiting beliefs, but to correct the pattern with replacement lang...

Yes, you know what ADHD does to your attention. But did you know that part of your distractibility might just be because you're ... human? New research out of Princeton says distraction was an evolutionary benefit and our ability to cycle the spotlight of attention actually serves to keep us safe. Today on the show, we’re talking about the research, and Pete brings three tools that purport to rewi...

Building and maintaining strong friendships is critical to emotional well-being. When we announced that we were doing a show on friendships and ADHD, you spoke up. This week on the show, we’re walking through a collection of questions from you, from setting better boundaries to navigating unbalanced relationships and so much more! Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! ★ Support thi...

Building and maintaining strong friendships is critical to emotional well-being. But ADHD characteristics can put a damper on social convention. How to cope? It starts with developing a keen understanding of how your brain and your own relationship with ADHD impacts how you relate to people important to you. This week on the show, we’re talking about the skills and traits you’ll need to develop to...

Memory is a fickle beast. With ADHD, you’re saddled with the unpredictability of having a terrific and accurate memory one day to a devastatingly terrible memory the next. This intermittent reinforcement makes the ADHD memory unreliable, sure, but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. From executive functioning to working memory and prospective memory, understanding where your memory is impacted is...

The thing about routines is that they’re as easy to break as they are to start, no matter how well they were working for you. With ADHD, it’s so simple to move to another task blindly that without developing a real muscle around task switching awareness, it’ll only take a few missed steps to forget you had a routine in place at all. This week on the show we’re talking about routines… those we’ve s...

We’ve been working hard over the last few weeks to talk about how we define success. The lesson, from your own contributions, is largely that we as a group need to get better at it. We’re stuck in a place where success, to us, means defiant win . But the space between our big wins can feel like a chasm. And the isolation and judgment that comes with ADHD can make that chasm unusually dark. That’s...

Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast Acknowledging our successes is not an easy thing to do for many of us — and it's even harder when wading through the judgment of ADHD. So how do you celebrate your successes and pat yourself on the back? This week on the show, we’re talking about how we go about defining and cataloging success, how we frame...

How can you tell the difference between a legitimate reason you’re not able to do something and an excuse that you’ve started telling to get yourself out of it? Strange as it may sound, we’ve gone to the Oxford English Dictionary for help and — spoiler — that just made things worse! Nuances of language, culture, and context aside, we push through today to offer a framework for approaching excuses...

Do you have FOLI? Never heard of it? Don’t worry, we hadn’t either. But if you’re living with ADHD, once we tell you about “Fear of Losing Interest,” we’re pretty sure you’ll be able to relate. Credit to one of our fantastic listeners for coining the acronym, we’re thrilled to be able to talk more about it today and spread the word! Links & Notes Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Pa...

If you're living with ADHD, you know what it's like to feel misunderstood. That isolation can lead you to a place where advice like, "you should just get out more," is tough to take seriously. Today on the show, we're talking all about loneliness. But first, an important safety tip: 1Password 7 for Mac was released this week which offers direct access to a new tool that you need to know about — wh...

We’ve seen a flood of comments about expectations over the last few weeks and they all seem to zero in to the same general area: the to-do list is out of hand. But it’s more complicated than just having too many things on your list. In fact, your overflowing to-do list likely has more to do with your lack of practice in estimating time for individual tasks, and lack of a system to visually connect...

What motivates you? That’s the principal question around rewards, and it’s harder to answer for folks who are living with ADHD. The complications of reward systems are many; are you taking care of yourself? Do you remember to reward yourself? Do you question whether you “deserve” a reward? Does the reward actually keep you motivated to continue to move forward on your projects? This week on the sh...

James and Jules Ochoa are back! The OTHER dynamic duo in ADHD podcasting have just wrapped their first season of The Complex, a podcast that approaches ADHD through the lens of a fictional apartment complex and it’s many ADHDer residents. They’re here today to share a bit about their experience and lessons learned in approaching the ADHD community through a podcast platform. For more background on...

We’re going back to our roots this week with a trip down organizing lane! That’s right, it’s our ANNUAL SPRING ORGANIZING episode! Trouble getting started? Trouble finishing? Trouble narrowing down how to start? All that and more as Nikki and Pete revisit their tolerations and share strategies for overcoming the practical and emotional hurdles of tackling spring organizing with ADHD! Links & N...