Taking Control: The Adhd Podcast

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 experience of an ADHD storm, a term coined by our guest today. He’s the author of Focused Forward: Navigating the storms of Adult ADHD, he’s host of The Complex: Shiny Shorts podcast, and he’s released a new video education series ADHD — From Answers to Action. We’re thrilled to have our friend James Ochoa back on the show to help us unravel the complexities of accepting your ADHD diagnosis. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 you in changing your life for the better. Today on the show we’re talking all about the practice that comes with making change, and how you can turn that library of notes and resources into something you can manage — one new skill at a time. Download the ADHD Strategy Worksheet on the website! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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… just maybe… that new thing is seeking help from your friendly neighborhood ADHD podcast. This week on the show, we start with the premise that ADHD time is different that time for many people… and that’s perfectly OK by us! Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 ourselves and our focus cause us to run out of margin in our lives and run headlong into a broader world that doesn’t understand us? Links & Notes Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! Giving up Control at Work — Shawn Blanc Margin from The Focus Course — Shawn Blanc Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives_ by Richard Swenson ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 CBS Sunday Morning — Hiring Autistic Workers ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 challenges with intimacy. You talked about how hard it is to respond to well-meaning strangers who know a thing or two about gluten. You came at us with glorious gusto. So please join us today for part one of what has become a two-parter and hear how your peers would like to share their ADHD experience with the world. Thank you for listening, and even greater thanks for sharing! Links & Notes Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! The Pre- & Post-Diagnosis Journey with ADD Crusher Alan Brown — The ADHD Podcast Episode 270 Lessons in Love & ADHD with Melissa Orlov — The ADHD Podcast Episode 311

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: Mindful Communication in the Age of Distraction. With over 30 years experience working with students and professionals to improve well-being, personal productivity and communication, she’s in the perfect position to teach us all to move on from active listening and become a truly mindful listener! And, her book is now available on Audible! Support Rebecca and this show by starting your free Audible account today at audibletrial.com/theadhdpodcast. Start your trial then search for the book and start listening today! Our great thanks to Audible for their sponsorship of this podcast. Links & Notes Thank you for suppo

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 around this big new thing is the first step, then you can move on to the business of figuring out the rhythm of your relationship going forward. But what if you run into an ideological brick wall? That’s another story. Links & Notes Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! I Don’t Believe in ADHD by Rick Green, TotallyADD.com XOXO Festival ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 language. Discord fan? Our general chat is open to all in Discord and we’d love to have you there! Sign up and join the fun! If you’re a Discord user and you’re already supporting us on Patreon, make sure to connect your account to get access to all the supporter-level channels available to you! Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 rewire your brain through sound! Links & Notes Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast Here’s Scientific Proof your Brain was Designed to be Distracted Brain.fm Behind the Brain: Theory & Algorithms — White Paper Focus@Will Noiz.io ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 this podcast on Patreon ★

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 grow stronger and healthier human connections! Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 key to determining the strategies that will work best for you, to help you remember what you need, when you need it. We're talking about memory this week, the functions of memory that may be impaired with ADHD, and strategies for improving your memory that come from some unlikely sources. Links & Notes More Attention, Less Defecit by Ari Tuckman The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci by Jonathan Spence Hannibal by Thomas Harris — This is where Pete was first inspired to explore memory palaces. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 started, those we’ve broken, and how we can work to change our definition of success in our routines so we’re not so deeply tied to the perils of consistency. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 why the success stories today are so important. Because in each, no matter how dark they begin, they reveal an effort to celebrate the act of movement, of taking action, of trying something new. We applaud everyone who wrote in, called in, or even thought about reachout out to us to share a success, and encourage you all to keep pushing through, to leap the chasm and find your own success. We’re off for the month of July. See you right back here in August! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 our own pride in our accomplishments and set the stage for a whole episode devoted to your success stories next week! Email your successes to info@takecontroladhd.com before Wednesday, June 20th! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 through logic, building the muscles that allow us to see when we’re not being honest with ourselves, and learning to live by fact and truth — as hard as that is for us to do sometimes. Links & Notes Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast Sign up for Summer Accountability Coaching! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast Sign up for Summer Accountability Coaching! Check out Pete’s Podcast: What’s That Smell? — and binge season 1! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 — whether you use 1Password or not. That tool is HaveIBeenPwnd.com and it’s going to help you stay on top of data breaches hacks — and keep your user accounts safe. Links & Notes Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast Have I Been Pwnd? 1Password Dr. Robert Brooks Mortality: Insights into Meaningful Living by Robert Brooks ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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 your work to the time you have available to do it. Today, we’re talking all about that, plus a plug that can help you free yourself from the self-judgment and shame that comes with feeling like you’ve failed when you can’t check everything off your list each day! Links & Notes Thank you for supporting The ADHD Podcast on Patreon! — https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast Download the Daily Schedule Worksheet Accountability Coaching with Nikki! — Join the Waitlist! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★