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Hey Team!

This week I'm talking with Dana K. White, the creator of A Slob Comes Clean and the author of Decluttering at the Speed of Life, How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind, and her newest book Procrastinators Get Stuff Done: How to Go from Overwhelmed to Finished. Her work grew out of her own struggles with clutter and home management, and she's become known for practical, reality-based strategies designed for people who feel like traditional organizing advice just doesn't work for them.

This was a real fun episode and I just gotta say that I love that title, A Slob Comes Clean - it's a pun, it tells you exactly what to expect and gives that little of hey I was there too and we both can get out. Also as a slob myself, it's very validating. 

So, in our conversation today we work through her decluttering methodology, from where we should start to where something goes to how we really should be using containers. We also talk about clutter thresholds, family-buy-in, ways to reframe what a win actually looks like. She also shares some of the ways her advice has changed over the years, including things she used to recommend and now recommends against.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/315

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. When putting stuff away it's important to decide where you'd look for an item and put it there instead of just thinking about where it "should" go. By putting something where you'd look for it first, when it comes time to look for the thing you know exactly where to go.

   2. While a container's first job is to hold things, it also serves as a way to set limits on how much of something can go in there. When the container is full, that's it, that's the limit and that decision is made for you.

   3. If we can change our goals from "done" to "better" we can shift our entire mentality around cleaning, organizing and decluttering. Instead of needing to set aside a whole weekend to completely upend your house, you can do five minutes and that progress still counts as a win.

Hey Team!

This week I'm talking with Dr. Jolene Brighten, a naturopathic doctor, women's health educator, and author whose work focuses on hormones, reproductive health, and the ways hormonal changes can affect women across their lifespan. She's the author of Beyond the Pill and Is This Normal?, and her newest work, ADHD and Women, coming out October 6th, explores the intersection of hormones and ADHD in women.

I know hormones and ADHD is a topic we've explored before, but Dr. Brighten was a delight to have on the show, and this conversation went in all kinds of directions. So yes, we talked about how hormonal shifts across your life affect ADHD symptoms, why medication can sometimes feel less effective at different points, and some of the ways those changes may show up differently for women with ADHD.

But we also got into the much more practical question of what you actually do when you know your brain isn't going to perform exactly the same way every day, like externalizing executive function instead of trying to remember harder, building small pleasures into the day, and recognizing that sometimes the best intervention isn't the full protocol, it's finding the smallest lever you can actually pull.

Dr. Brighten's Book ADHD & Women: https://drbrighten.com/adhd-and-women/

Dr. Brighten's Website: https://drbrighten.com

Dr. Brighten's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjolenebrighten

Dr. Brighten's Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrJoleneBrighten

Dr. Brighten's Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drjolenebrighten

Dr. Brighten's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drbrighten/

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/314

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. With ADHD it's often said that we know what to do, but have trouble executing on those ideas. For something like exercise, the best idea is then to work towards making it accessible. Instead of focusing on getting the biggest result, we can look toward what we actually enjoy doing and can sustain, even if for just a little bit, we're going to see far more consistent results.
   2. It's important to remember that everything has a cost, even if we're not noticing it at the moment. These costs can compound when we're not paying attention and lead us to wonder why doing just one simple task can leave us exhausted. This doesn't mean that we necessarily need to be doing less, but it does mean we need to pay extra attention to what something is actually going to cost us.
   3. Our brains are not meant to be at peak productivity all month, and that applies doubly if you experience a cycle. As Dr. Brighten says, "that is [just] how you are physiologically designed." This means that it's important that we're giving ourselves grace and letting ourselves block out time on the calendar for when we're not going to be at our peak (and again, we do not need to be at our peak all the time, or even most of the time; it's called the peak for a reason).

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what the paper says, how it was conducted, and try and find any practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called Evaluating Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD: A Review of Current Methods and Issues. And this paper is a narrative review that surveys the current landscape of ADHD diagnosis, where the DSM criteria came from, how they've evolved, and any known problem areas that are in there.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/313

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Hey Team!

This week I'm talking with Dr. Jennie Byrne, a board-certified psychiatrist and neuroscientist with over 20 years specializing in high-achieving professionals and adults with ADHD. She has a PhD in Neurophysiology and an MD from NYU with her psychiatry residency at Mount Sinai (pronounced SIGH-nye). Now she runs Constellation PLLC, a concierge telepsychiatry practice where she helps busy professionals manage their ADHD. In her most recent book, ADHD in Professionals: Embracing Your Brain, Dr. Byrne examines how ADHD shows up at work, and why some individuals thrive while for others everything looks great on paper, but underneath they're struggling.

In this episode, we consider why the idea that "you're too high functioning to have ADHD" isn't a diagnosis and how often that same high performance at work can lead to a crash at home. We also play with the ideas of using anxiety as fuel and the costs that come with that, how productivity advice built for neurotypical brains can backfire for us and our environmental fit can make all the difference.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/312

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Your environment can play an important role in managing your ADHD, but it can cut both ways. A brain that loves working fast and connecting dots could easily be an asset in a high-stress fast-moving environment like the ER, OR or ICU. But then that same brain could fall apart when stuck in front of a pile of emails. Finding the right fit for you allows you to get the results without paying an extra cost you never intended to.
   2. While it is possible to use anxiety as a fuel to get stuff done, it often comes with a physiological cost. And it's important that we acknowledge the cost because it's too easy to let ourselves fall into the trap of letting anxiety provide all of our extra motivation which can then lead to chronic stress, health problems, and even a shorter lifespan.
   3. The idea that you're "too high functioning" to have ADHD often comes from a training gap and it is not diagnostic. High achievers are often able to hold it together at work but then fall apart at home, so it's important that you are able to express the totality of your existence with ADHD and find a clinician that is up to date on the current research.

Hey Team!

This week I'm talking with Dr. Megan Anna Neff, an AuDHD clinical psychologist, author, and educator. She holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from George Fox University, which she completed the same year that she was diagnosed as autistic. Dr. Neff has moved away from traditional clinical practice to focus on creating research-informed, lived-experience-centered, and emotionally resonant resources and training through her platform Neurodivergent Insights.

In our conversation today, we discuss her diagnosis, how ADHD and Autism tend to run in families, and the ripple effects that can happen from there. We get into sensory processing and its role in burnout and self-regulation. We also hit on interoception, alexithymia, and self-care, and round things out with some frameworks and ideas on how we can work with our brains. It's a conversation of identity and self-attunement that I really enjoyed.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/311

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Alexithymia, sometimes called emotional blindness, is a trait where you can have difficulties processing or describing your emotions and is often felt in ADHD with the experience of going from 0 to 100 with an emotion. While this can feel impossible to work on in the moment, learning to name your emotions and tracking how you feel through socio-emotional training can provide measurable improvements.
   2. Self-care starts with figuring out where you're at, but most advice on self-care often assumes that you already know what you need. With ADHD and poor interoception that can be a hard read. When we're feeling dysregulated, often our first step needs to be checking in with ourselves, and as Dr. Neff suggests, creating more sensory predictability.
   3. Masking can train you out of listening to your body because it is a learned way of suppressing yourself. While this insight won't necessarily fix what's going on here, it gives you a starting point to notice when you're not listening to your body because you're just not noticing, versus when you've trained yourself out of it.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what the paper says, how it was conducted, and try and find any practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Psychological Implications of Exclusion in Individuals with ADHD Symptomatology." That's a hard word there. This study asked a deceptively simple question: when people with ADHD symptoms are socially excluded, do their bodies respond differently than those without ADHD?

And so basically, what we're talking about today is RSD, or Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, which is something that a lot of people have really started to resonate with, but there isn't a ton of research on yet. And I think this is a great place for us to kind of dive in on that research. So let's get into it.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/310

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Hey team!

This week I'm talking with James and Sam Brown, co-authors of Focus: The ADHD guide to productivity that actually works - James is a science communicator with a PhD in Biomedical Science, and 20+ years in academia and Chair of the adult ADHD charity ADHDadultUK. Sam, also known as Mrs. AuDHD online, is an Executive Administrator with ADHD-informed PA expertise, an ADHD coach, Director and Secretary of JBHD Ltd, and a Trustee of ADHDadultUK. Together (with Alex Conner) they co-host The ADHD Adults podcast. As both of them were diagnosed as adults, they use their lived (but evidence-based) experience with late diagnosis to help others navigate their own ADHD and Autism.

In this episode we spend some time talking about their book and the very ADHD process in which it was written. But we also cover the gamut of boundaries (both with ourselves and others), the need to keep doing and how hard it can be to give ourselves credit or accept it from others. This is a deep episode where the themes of self-acceptance and how that swirls through burnout plays a big role. And of course we also discuss all the usual ADHD shenanigans and how some days the ADHD just wins.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/309

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. The things we say no to are often just as important as the things we say yes to. With ADHD we often run on a default mode of saying yes to every interesting thing that we come across, but we simply don't have the time or capacity to say yes to everything. By choosing what we're saying no to, it gives us space to really embrace the "yeses" in our lives.
   2. While setting and maintaining boundaries with others can be difficult, it is often even harder to set them with ourselves. Playing directly with what we say no to, James says: "it's sometimes healthier to accept it may be a passion project now, but ask yourself, is it going to be in three months' time when you're stressed with everything else?" It's okay to let things go and change your mind about what's important.
   3. Try Sam's three-at-a-time rule. With two master lists (work and "side quests"), pull three tasks and focus on just doing those three until they're done. Once complete, move them to a done list, and you can move on to the next three. But also remember to periodically go through and delete what's no longer important in your lists. We all build up to-do's that no longer need to be and can be let go of.

Hey Team!

This week I got a chance to catch up with my good friend Brendan Mahan and talk with him about his upcoming book, Overcoming the Wall of Awful. Brendan is one of the first people I got to know in the ADHD space and I feel lucky to have done so because for one he's just an awesome guy, but also because his approach to ADHD has always just felt so real and coming from a place of lived experience. Brendan is the host of the ADHD Essentials Podcast, a board member of the Men's ADHD Support Group and the Director of Professional Resources for Calmer Con: Boston - and also one of the few people I know who gets me to sit down and listen because it's always worth hearing what he has to say.

Today on the show we're going to be talking about a book that Brendan spent a decade being asked to write. After finding his co-writer, Alex Hughes Capell, Brendan brought us the book we've been waiting for. So for those of you who are unfamiliar, the Wall of Awful is a concept that Brendan developed to explain the metaphorical emotional barrier that builds up over time and makes starting basic, everyday tasks feel nearly impossible. Or, in simpler terms, the barrier that keeps us from starting what often feels like a simple task, such as doing the dishes or starting our homework.

In our conversation, we discuss the ways that we build up these walls and also ways that we can work on getting past these walls (and what doesn't work). We also dive into the distinction between burnout and the wall and get into the nitty-gritty of the Wall of Awful.

If you'd like to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/308

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Worth restating here, the Wall of Awful is a metaphorical emotional barrier that builds up over time and makes starting basic, everyday tasks feel nearly impossible. And it's important to acknowledge that we can build this wall from both real and perceived failure.
   2. While smashing through our walls by activating through anger or anxiety often works, it's not always enough to get us completely through the wall. So while it may get us started it doesn't always get us to the finish line. As well, smashing often comes with a cost in terms of relationships, both to ourselves and to others who are hurt in the process of smashing through the wall.
   3. It's important that we're able to distinguish our walls from preferences and boundaries. While our walls are built out of the emotional response to failure, preferences aren't built out of failure. It may be something we don't like doing but we can get past it without reaching for our wall tools. And boundaries are choices that we make not out of our sense of failure but instead our sense of who we are.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our research recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what that paper says, how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways. In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "The Experiences of Adults with ADHD in Interpersonal Relationships and Online Communities: A Qualitative Study."

This study looks at how young adults with ADHD navigate real-world interpersonal relationships, how they mask their symptoms to fit into a neurotypical world, and what happens when they turn to online platforms like TikTok and Facebook.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/307

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

We're diving back into the vault today to bring you a foundational episode on one of my favorite ADHD strategies: Automation.

We all know the struggle—if it's interesting, we're all in. If it's boring? It's nearly impossible to start. Because so much of "adulting" is inherently repetitive, automation allows us to frontload our work so our "future selves" don't have to rely on willpower alone.

Top Tips from this Rebroadcast:

• Frontload your effort: Save time and brainpower by making decisions once and letting tech handle the rest.

• Systematize first: Learn why reducing steps in a task is often more important than the gadget you use to do it.

• Automated Accountability: How to let your teammates know you've finished a task without having to remember to send that "done" email.

• Smart Home, Clear Mind: Exploring the possibilities of smart speakers and sensors to keep your household running on autopilot.

Support the show on Patreon

Find the show notes at HackingYourADHD.com/automation

Hey Team!

Welcome back to a special encore presentation of Hacking Your ADHD.

I'm dipping into the archives this week to bring back an episode that has only become more relevant since it first aired. We're talking about misinformation—a topic that feels like it should be easy to define and identify, but as we know, the ADHD brain loves a rabbit hole, and not every rabbit hole leads to the truth.

We've all seen those posts online where we roll our eyes and think, "How does anyone actually fall for this?"

But here's the kicker: that exact feeling of immunity is what makes us vulnerable. When we think we're too smart to be fooled, we stop looking for the subtle stuff. We stop looking for the information that "rhymes" with the truth—the kind of stuff that's just close enough to be believable but just far enough off to be dangerous.

With the explosion of ADHD content on social media, we have more access to help than ever before, but we're also swimming in a sea of oversimplifications. Today, we're revisiting the rules of engagement for evaluating what you see on your feed.

Revisiting the Top Tips:

As you listen to this rebroadcast, keep these three guardrails in mind:

1. Credibility is Key: Always verify the source, especially when it involves health or medication. It's easy for a "fact" to go viral when it's wrapped in a relatable meme, but relatability doesn't equal accuracy.

2. Look for the "Why": Most misinformation doesn't come from a place of malice; it comes from oversimplification or well-meaning errors. People (including me!) make mistakes. Being vigilant doesn't mean being cynical; it just means being careful with your mental health.

3. The "Compared to What?" Filter: To get the full context of any advice, ask yourself: Compared to what? Is this tip a universal truth, or just something that worked for one person in one specific context? Focus on the big wins that actually move the needle for you, rather than getting bogged down in the minutiae.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what the paper says, how it was conducted, and any practical takeaways we can find.

In this episode, we're discussing a paper called "Time Perception in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Does Task Matter? A Meta-Analysis Study." This study looks at how children with ADHD process the passage of time across different senses and experimental conditions. It investigates the exact mechanics behind "time blindness," confirming that our internal tracking systems don't just fail universally; they experience a predictable collapse the longer an interval drags out—specifically stretching past the five-second mark. We're going to get into all of this because it's fascinating how relevant this really is.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/306

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

We're diving back into the archives today to revisit one of our most-requested episodes. Does the hum of the refrigerator feel like a jet engine? Does a scratchy shirt tag ruin your entire afternoon? You aren't alone.

With ADHD, our "filters" often don't work the way we want them to. We can't simply ignore the background noise or the overwhelming scent of a neighbor's perfume. In this encore presentation, we explore the world of hypersensitivity and what it means to be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) while navigating ADHD.

In this episode, we revisit:

• Why our brains struggle to prioritize what to focus on.

• The five senses and how they can lead to sensory overload.

• The emotional side of sensitivity, including Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD).

Top Tips from the Archive:

• Audit Your Environment: Reduce daily friction by choosing tagless clothing, using noise-canceling headphones, and adjusting your lighting.

• Understand RSD: Recognize that extreme emotional sensitivity to perceived rejection is a common ADHD trait—and while it's painful, it is temporary.

Connect with the Show:
Support the show on Patreon
Find the full show notes at: HackingYourADHD.com/hypersensitivity

In this special rebroadcast, we are revisiting a conversation about a phrase many of us use at the start of a new project or a new year: "I want to hit the ground running."

Often, we start with great momentum, but it doesn't take much—like an unexpected illness or a change in schedule—to throw a snag into our plans. For those of us with ADHD, we tend to thrive on speed and urgency. We don't want to wait around, and that "emergency" energy can be a powerful motivator. However, living from one urgent task to the next often means we never get around to the things that are important but don't have an immediate deadline.

In today's episode, we explore how to use urgency as a tool without letting it run our lives, and how we can intentionally make space for the tasks that truly matter in the long run.

• Urgency vs. Importance: Just because a task feels urgent doesn't mean it is actually important. We often feel an internal pressure to act immediately, but it's essential to pause and evaluate if that task truly requires our instant attention.

• The Deadline Trap: We frequently use deadlines as our primary source of motivation. However, living deadline-to-deadline ensures that only "urgent" tasks get finished, while the "important but not urgent" goals—the ones that often lead to the most growth—continually fall by the wayside.

• Creating Artificial Pressure: Since important but non-urgent tasks lack a natural "fire" to get us moving, we can use accountability to bridge the gap. Creating artificial deadlines or engaging in co-working and body-doubling sessions are great ways to ensure we follow through on our long-term plans.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what the paper says and how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Bidirectional Association Between Allergic Rhinitis and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." This is a comprehensive study looking at the relationship between allergic rhinitis—which is more commonly known as hay fever—and ADHD. All right, let's get into it.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/305

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Hey team,

We're dipping into the archives this week to revisit one of my favorite high-energy conversations! This episode features the incredible Rachel Scanlon—stand-up comedian, actress, writer, and co-host of the podcast Two Dykes and a Mic. You may have seen her on Don't Tell Comedy or Comedy Central, bringing her signature positivity to the stage.

In this classic episode, Rachel and I dive deep into her ADHD journey and the intentional choices she's made to manage it. We also explore the fascinating intersection of ADHD and queer identity. Whether we're talking about the struggles of the classroom or the magic of finding your voice through podcasting, this conversation is a masterclass in the power of embracing your unique experience.

Support me on Patreon

Feel free to ask me a question on my Contact Page

Find the full show note at HackingYourADHD.com/149

This Episode's Top Tips

• Challenge the Labels: ADHD is often unfairly linked to being "lazy" or "scatterbrained." Let's shift the focus to our real strengths: drive, engagement, and compassion.

• Embrace Your Brain: Understanding your neurodivergence is liberating. Stop trying to fit the neurotypical mold and start celebrating what makes you you.

• Explore the Intersections: There is a unique overlap between the queer and neurodivergent experiences. Self-reflection and introspection are vital tools for self-discovery.

• Find Your Outlet: Creative self-expression is a superpower. Lean into your strengths to find fulfillment in what you do.

Hey team,

As we look at ways to refresh our systems, we're rebroadcasting a fan-favorite episode featuring ADHD coach Shane Thrapp. We're diving deep into the world of Focus101, a free digital body-doubling platform designed to help you reclaim your focus.

If you struggle with task initiation or follow-through, this episode covers the essential mechanics of body-doubling. Shane and I discuss how working in the presence of others—even virtually—can dramatically reduce distractions. We also touch on the "productivity stack": using Pomodoros, alarms, and task-splitting to make your work sessions even more effective.

This Episode's Top Tips (A Refresher):

1. The Power of Presence: Body doubling is a technique where working in the presence of another person provides the external accountability many ADHDers need to stay on track and motivated.

2. Stack Your Tools: Body doubling is even more effective when paired with "micro-productivity" tools like Pomodoro timers, scheduled alarms, and breaking large projects into tiny, actionable steps.

3. Focus101: As discussed with Shane, Focus101 is a free, specialized tool that combines body doubling with accountability groups and timing features specifically for the ADHD community.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we look at a single research paper—or, in today's case, multiple papers—and dive into what they say, how they were conducted, and try to find practical takeaways.

The first paper we're discussing is called "The MTA at Eight Years: Prospective Follow-Up of Children Treated for Combined-Type ADHD in a Multisite Study." This is about the MTA, the Multitreatment Study of Children with ADHD, which was the largest, most expensive, and most influential study conducted on ADHD treatment, originally published in 1999. It had a huge impact on how we view ADHD, especially in highlighting the shift toward thinking of ADHD as a chronic condition that requires sustained management rather than just something you "cure." Let's dive in and talk about what's going on in this eight-year follow-up study.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/304

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Hey Team!

I've been on a bit of a break this summer, but I wanted to help celebrate International ADHD Awareness Day by dropping a new episode.

We often think that achieving big things requires feeling miserable during the process. We buy into the myth that if a task isn't agonizing, it isn't worth the time we put into it. My guest today is Jia Jiang, an expert in rejection resilience, a Duke MBA graduate, and the founder of Wuju Learning. After stepping away from a stable corporate career at Dell and LinkedIn to launch a tech startup, Jia realized his deepest bottleneck wasn't a lack of talent, but a profound fear of rejection. Fueled with this insight, he launched 100 Days of Rejection Therapy and filmed himself requesting absurd things from strangers daily. And this is actually when I first came across Jia 11 years ago, so it was quite the treat to get to talk with him and learn about his new book, Easy Discipline.

Jia brings a unique lens to the table because he's battled his own severe, late-understood ADHD and procrastination loops since growing up in Beijing when ADHD just wasn't considered a thing. In this episode, we talk about shifting away from transactional, anxiety-inducing task completion and moving toward what he calls the "Artist Mindset." We also break down how masking and over-indexing on how other people perceive us turns into a form of self-sabotage, where we pre-reject ourselves before we even give our true traits a chance.

Jia's Easy Ambition substack- https://substack.com/@jiajiang

Jia's New Book- Easy Discipline: An Unconventional Way to Achieve Ambitious Things

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/303

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Stop declaring war on your own brain by trying to grind through tasks using sheer willpower. Willpower is a finite biological resource that inevitably runs out, and relying on it just triggers a cycle of broken resolutions and self-blame. Instead, shift your strategy to working with your human nature by building environment-based systems that remove structural friction from the start.
   2. If your daily routine constantly feels like Sisyphus endlessly pushing a heavy boulder up a mountain, you are fighting psychological gravity. Instead of forcing yourself through tasks with external pressure, anchor the process in intrinsic enjoyment so the activity becomes your default state. When you flip the physics this way, the boulder starts rolling downhill, meaning it actually takes more active energy to stop your momentum than to keep going.
   3. Masking and over-analyzing how others perceive you creates an intense cognitive tension that completely paralyzes the ADHD brain. Break out of this by adopting the "Artist Mindset"—reframing stressful interactions or projects not as rigid transactions where you need approval, but as unreplicable opportunities to express your authentic presence. Focusing on full creative expression in the moment completely bypasses the perfectionism trap and lowers social anxiety.

Today, we are dipping into the archives to revisit one of our most important and requested conversations. We're joined by Dusty Chipura, a passionate advocate and ADHD Coach, to explore the often-overlooked world of ADHD and pregnancy.

Even if you aren't currently pregnant or planning to be, the insights shared here regarding healthcare gaps and self-advocacy are vital for everyone in the ADHD community. Since this episode first aired, the need for better information has only grown, making Dusty's expertise as relevant today as ever.

Sign up for my Newsletter: Any And All Distractions
Have a question? Contact Page
Full show notes and resources: HackingYourADHD.com/184
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hackingyouradhd
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips:

• Acknowledge the Research Gap: There is a significant lack of data regarding ADHD and pregnancy. Because of this, you may need to be your own strongest advocate, as you might end up more informed on the subject than your primary caregivers.

• Build Your Team Early: Prioritize a support system that includes healthcare providers who understand ADHD, as well as a community that can offer emotional and practical help.

• Prepare for Executive Function Shifts: Pregnancy can significantly impact organization and time management. Be proactive in developing strategies and tools—and lean on your support network—to help mitigate these challenges.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper, dive into what it says and how it was conducted, and try to find practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Mindfulness-Oriented Meditation for Primary School Children: Effects on Attention and Psychological Well-Being." The study investigates mindfulness-oriented meditation and its effects on attention and emotional health in seven- to eight-year-old children. So, let's get into it.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/302

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

We're diving back into the vault this week to bring you my conversation with Ying Deng (ADHD Asian Girl). I'll be honest: for a long time, meditation felt like one of those things I should do, but didn't really get. Talking with Ying changed that.

We're rebroadcasting this episode because her approach to mindfulness is perfectly tailored for the ADHD brain. We move past the "popular media" version of meditation and get into the nitty-gritty of how to actually build a practice when your mind won't stop racing.

Today's Top Tips:

1. Micro-Mindfulness: You don't need a mountain top; you can practice while putting on your socks.

2. Keep it Novel: Mix up your routine with guided sessions, nature walks, or mindful movement.

3. The Power of Partners: Use body doubling to stay accountable to your practice.

4. Duration Doesn't Matter: Five minutes is better than zero minutes. Start small!

Find more from Ying through her Mindfulness Course and grab the full show notes at HackingYourADHD.com/169.

We are diving back into one of our most popular and highly requested conversations! In this rebroadcast, host William Curb sits down with Maddy De Gabrielle to talk about moving past the struggle of adult ADHD and building a highly personalized, practical toolkit for daily survival.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by neurotypical advice that demands the very executive function you're short on, this episode is your permission slip to stop trying to fix your memory and start accommodating it instead.

• The Myth of Neurotypical Sleep Hygiene: Why traditional "wind-down" routines can backfire for an ADHD brain—and how a pair of sleep headphones and a late-night treadmill walk completely flipped the script for Maddy.

• Low-Tech, High-Impact Hacks: From an $8 plastic medication dispenser that removes the executive burden of record-keeping, to using an unexpected "grabber bar" to tackle messy floors with the kids.

• Defeating Time Blindness: The power of a waterproof shower clock to manage transition anxiety and conquer the daily "getting in vs. getting out" hurdle.

• Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Why Bluetooth trackers (like AirTags and Tiles) are crucial health support devices for an ADHD brain's short-term memory limits.

• The Shared Vocabulary of ADHD: Powerful phrases like "I'm stuck" and the difference between "climbing the wall" vs. "staring at the wall" that can transform communication with your partner or family.

"My life got so much better when I stopped trying to improve my memory and instead treated myself like someone who had a memory problem." — Maddy De Gabrielle

This Episode's Top Tips 

1. When we're looking at what goes into our tool kit we need to be thinking of both the physical and mental items that can assist us throughout the day.
2. It's important to work on getting past the idea of how we "should" be able to do certain things and look at what tools will let us actually do those things.
3. It's important to work on understanding and accepting ADHD as a chronic condition. We need to recognize ADHD's impact on our daily life and work on employing practical tools and strategies to mitigate those challenges.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our research recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what the paper says, how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called Virtual Reality Interventions for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review. This paper is actually a review that provides a comprehensive look at how virtual reality is transitioning from a high-tech novelty to perhaps more of a legitimate clinical tool for managing ADHD. Also, as a note, this was a listener-submitted paper and definitely something I would have never thought to look into on my own, so I was really excited to get this submission because I had no idea that this was something people were doing.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/301

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

We are kicking off our summer archive series with one of our absolute favorite, high-impact episodes from the vault . Originally airing at the start of the year, this conversation with Alyece Smith—founder of Socially Awesome, neurodivergent entrepreneur coach, and host of the ADHD CEO podcast—is the perfect reality check we all need as we try to navigate summer schedules without completely burning out .

In this episode, Alyece and William dive deep into the exhausting ADHD trap of feeling like you constantly have to earn the right to sit down and rest . They unpack the difference between being truly productive and engaging in "fake productivity"—inventing random, low-priority tasks just to keep our brains in overdrive and avoid basic needs .

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• The "Earned Rest" Trap: Why the ADHD brain struggles to recognize non-business achievements (like household chores) as real work, leading to chronic overworking and severe burnout .

• Protecting Your "Spark Times": How to map out your day based on your natural biological energy peaks rather than traditional clock-based schedules, saving your best brainpower for things that actually matter .

• The Power of Voice Dumps: How Alyece uses voice-to-text apps (like VoicePin) to execute a "60-second brain dump" right out of the shower, preventing mid-day context switching and freezing .

• Removing Daily Decisions: Tactical ways to systematically eliminate decision fatigue from your life, from building a personal "uniform" to outsourcing your product research to AI or a trusted partner .

• Bypassing the Monetization Trap: A honest look at the pressure to monetize every single creative hobby and how to search for authentic clarity and fulfillment instead .

Whether you're an entrepreneur struggling with a complete lack of office boundaries or just someone tired of trying to force a square peg into a round hole, this episode is full of permission slips to stop, breathe, and put your hands down .

Connect with the Show:

• Newsletter: Sign up for Any and All Distractions at hackingyouradhd.com/newsletter .

• Patreon & Discord: Support the show and join the community at hackingyouradhd.com/patreon .

• YouTube: Watch us at youtube.com/@hackingyouradhd .

Today's Moment of Dad:

"Since it's a brand new season, I decided to get some shoes with clocks on them... you know, so I can watch my step."

Welcome back to the Hacking Your ADHD rewind queue, team. In this highly requested rebroadcast, host William Curb sits down with illustrator, podcaster, and creative powerhouse Andy J. Pizza (host of Creative Pep Talk) to unpack the exhausting realities of masking and what it truly looks like to live "right side out." Using a hilariously relatable mishap involving a graphic T-shirt at a family memorial service, Andy illustrates how neurodivergent individuals slowly clip away their own tags and forget who they are just to blend into a neurotypical world. The two dive deep into the heavy emotional toll of constantly performing rather than just being, exploring that liberating "pro-being pride" that only happens when you step out of a performance and into a space that actively celebrates individuality.

Beyond the philosophy of self-acceptance, this conversation serves up an essential masterclass in ADHD-friendly productivity, hacking the rigid definitions of habits, and managing creative burnout. Andy and William challenge the traditional advice of doing things consistently, revealing that the real secret to sustaining momentum for an ADHD brain is doing the same task differently to feed our constant craving for novelty. From bundling tedious chores like mowing the lawn with juiced-up playlists, to embracing the natural "incubation" period of the creative process, this episode delivers a vital reminder: stop trying to hate yourself into changing, and start building dynamic systems that allow your unique brain to thrive.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/221

YouTube Channel

My Patreon

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Masking isn't inherently a bad thing, but it certainly is when we're doing it all the time and unconsciously. We want to be intentional about when and why we mask, and aim for authenticity when possible.
   2. It's okay to embrace opposing truths. We need structure and flexibility, goals and play. We don't have to fall into all-or-nothing thinking, and this can help us balance some of these ADHD "contradictions".
   3. Celebrate difference, don't just tolerate it. Safe spaces are good, but celebration spaces—where your uniqueness is actively valued—are better. Look for relationships or communities where people enjoy your way of being, not just what you can do

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what the paper says, how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "ADHD as a Circadian Rhythm Disorder: Evidence and Implications for Chronotherapy." Now, this is a perspective paper looking at the available research on circadian rhythm dysfunction in ADHD and what works for correcting some of that dysfunction.

So as we get into it, I think a great place for us to start is to talk about what a perspective paper is, because it's a little different than what we usually take on.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/300

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Hey Team!

As many of you know, I have a passion for writing, and so I'm excited that today we are diving deep into that world and why it often feels like an uphill battle when you have an ADHD brain. I'm talking with Susanne Schotanus, an expert ADHD coach who holds the unique distinction of being the world's first dedicated ADHD writing coach, as well as the founder of the annual Basecamp to Brilliance writing summit. Susanne brings a wealth of clinical and practical insight from her years spent coaching everyone from burnt-out university professors to memoirists struggling to organize decades of research.

In our conversation today, we discuss why standard linear approaches to writing clash so intensely with our multi-dimensional thinking styles. Susanne explains the mechanics of the "messy middle" in long-term projects, how our constant craving for novelty can derail a draft after just two weeks, and why we might want to reconsider our view of consistency. We also explore practical ways to gamify your workflow and create structural frameworks that adapt to your brain rather than forcing your brain to adapt to them.

And while this episode's core focus is on writing, I think there is a lot to get out of this when considering any kind of long-term pursuit.

Susanne's Website - https://passionatewritercoaching.com/

Free Guide - https://passionatewritercoaching.com/hackingyouradhd/ 

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/299

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Waiting until you magically feel motivated to start a task is a losing game because our brains require action to generate momentum. To trick your brain into gear, lower the barrier to entry by making the first step absurdly small. Writing a single sentence or fixing a minor typo requires almost zero initial effort, but that tiny completion can give your brain the dopamine boost it needs to transition into work mode.
   2. Your note-taking and organizational systems are here to serve you, not the other way around. Using a brand new productivity tool for two glorious weeks and then completely losing interest isn't a personal failure; it's just the natural lifespan of a novelty-driven dopamine source. With this in mind, keep your architectures simple, make sure your data is easily exportable, and make it easy if you need to switch tools in the future.
   3. ADHD brains run on an system driven by interest, novelty, challenge, urgency, and passion. Most of us default to novelty (which leaves us with a mountain of half-finished projects) or panic-induced urgency (which runs us straight into burnout). To break the cycle and handle long-form projects, start intentionally leaning into the underutilized levers of challenge, gamification, and genuine playfulness.

Hey Team!

When I moved into my neighborhood, most of the houses weren't built.  So I got to see over the course of a few years, a lot of the work that went into putting those houses up, all the day-to-day progress that always kept happening, and how every step seemed to set them up for the next step. Now, nobody expects a brick wall to just materialize out of midair on pure willpower or a house to get completely built with no effort. yet when it comes to managing our daily routines, that's exactly what we try to do. We expect our internal motivation to keep us on track despite our own track record, and then we get frustrated when they fall flat.

In this episode, we're taking a look at why our attempts to build traditional habits often doesn't work with ADHD, and why it isn't a moral failure or a lack of trying. We're going to explore the critical mechanics of external scaffolding versus internal habits, digging into how we can stop burning through our limited supply of daily executive function and start building physical infrastructure that does the heavy lifting for us

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/298

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Traditional habits rely on an internal dopamine reward to lock them onto autopilot. Because ADHD reward chemistry is wildly inconsistent, that "autopilot" switch rarely flips. Instead, we want to work on designing our environment through systems to help make our intentions inevitable.
   2. Passive reminders are entirely too easy for an ADHD brain to ignore. Instead, use design psychology to create physical roadblocks that force conscious awareness. Putting your clean laundry basket directly on the couch cushion where you want to sit forces your brain to actively negotiate with the task before you can proceed.
   3. Human brains naturally drift toward the path of least resistance. Take advantage of this by manipulating that friction. Lower the friction for positive intentions by creating one-step solutions, like a dedicated key basket by the front door, or crank up the friction for distractions by doing things putting your phone completely out of reach so you can't just pick it up without thinking about it.
   4. Your physical environment is never neutral; it is actively directing your behavior right now, whether you designed it or not, which means relying on willpower is a losing game. Treat environmental design as a handoff between two versions of you: let your "Good Brain Day" self build a physical world that protects and supports your "Bad Brain Day" self.

Hey Team!

Today I'm sitting down with Ron Capalbo, known to many as @adhd_ron on the socials. I've gotten to know Ron at a number of ADHD conferences and had a great time at Neurodiversion talking with him about Dungeon Crawler Carl and figured it was time to have him on the pod.

Ron is an AACC-certified coach through the ADD Coach Academy who specializes in strengths-based development and helping adults navigate the messy "shame cycle" that so often accompanies an ADHD diagnosis. He's spent years building a community focused on honoring unique brain chemistry rather than fighting a losing battle against it.

In today's episode, we explore the "why" behind our perfectionism and how the fear of complacency often keeps us from being proud of our progress. Ron breaks down how to identify your brain's unique operating system, the value of the elevator pitch for self-confidence, and why hitting a seven when you started at a two is actually a massive win, even if your brain is trying to convince you it's a failure.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/297

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Try out the 2-versus-9 scale for Expectation Management. We often fail to start because we set the entry-level bar at a 9 (like, cooking 7 nights a week), which can often feel impossible. If instead we intentionally lower our aim to something that's more like a 2, we bypass the brain's "frozen" state and create a low-friction path to initiation.
   2. All right, this is a long one, but it's worth it. Many of us with ADHD actively avoid giving ourselves credit because we've been conditioned to fear that if we're satisfied, it will lead to complacency. Mechanically, however, withholding credit creates a narrative vacuum in our operating system - our brain assumes it just didn't happen. It looks at everything left to do, decides we're failing, and triggers a total system freeze, what Ron calls a "cement wall". The fix here isn't forcing toxic positive affirmations your brain knows are fake. It just takes factual data entry. Take a second to acknowledge that you moved from a level one to a level two. You're not throwing yourself a parade; you're just hitting "Save" so your brain has the baseline level to keep moving forward without crashing.
   3. Setbacks are inevitable, but the duration of the setback is determined by your level of self-shame. Implementing a grace period or a mental hug isn't about being soft; it's a strategic tool to reduce the time spent in a frozen state and get back to baseline faster.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Watterson for our research recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what the paper says, how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called A Quantitative Analysis of Fidgeting in ADHD and Its Relation to Performance and Sustained Attention on a Cognitive Task. And so, yeah, this study is investigating the functional role of fidgeting in adults with ADHD and how that affects their performance when doing tasks. Let's get into it.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/295

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Hey Team!

This week, I'm talking with Christine Lane, an accredited financial counselor (AFC) with a master's degree in psychology. Christine has ADHD herself and, luckily for the rest of us, her hyper-fixation happens to be on personal finance. She's the founder of Mind Over Money, where she focuses on the psychological hurdles that make traditional budgeting feel like a personal failure rather than just a glitch in your executive function.

In our conversation today, we get into her "Four-Bucket Banking System" and why we need to stop making our money multitask. We also explore the concept of using "friction" as a tool for impulse control and why simulating the physical loss of cash can be a great way to get your limbic system to play ball. We also talk about the specific tools she uses to gamify spending, why detailed categorization is often just a form of productive procrastination, and how to set up "set it and forget it" systems that protect your bills from your worst impulses.

Christine's website: Mindovermoneysite.com. 

Also for your listeners who are interested in the 4 bucket banking method here's a freebie to help:   4 Bucket Banking Calculator

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/296

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Modern digital spending, such as our cards and phones, provides a "gain" without the physical feeling of money leaving. To help bridge this gap, tools like a calculator, where you can subtract the cost at the moment of purchase, can help the limbic system register the loss, balancing the emotional input so you feel protective of your remaining funds.
   2. When we let our savings accounts multitask, we can end up imagining that the same $5,000 can cover both an emergency and a vacation. By using something like the Four-Bucket Banking System (Bills, Variable, Periodic, Emergency), you create "object permanence" for your money, ensuring that essential funds are physically separated from your spending urges.
   3. Willpower is a finite resource that often fails when we are stressed. Instead of "trying harder," we want to focus on bending external structures (like deleting the Amazon app or removing saved credit card info) to create enough friction to let our executive function outpace some of our more impulsive spending choices.

In this rebroadcast of Hacking Your ADHD, host William Curb returns to the fundamental concept of coping—redefining it not just as an emotional reaction, but as a proactive problem-solving toolkit designed to mitigate predictable ADHD mishaps. Curb explores the critical shift from "reactive" stress management to "proactive" strategies, such as building calendar buffers and utilizing visual organization systems like hooks and "point of performance" reminders. By distinguishing between effective tools and maladaptive habits like self-defeating humor or impulsive spending, the episode emphasizes that the ultimate ADHD coping skill is "giving yourself slack" and building systems that work with, rather than against, your unique brain.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/120

Support me on Patreon

Feel free to ask me a question on my Contact Page

This Episode's Top Tips

1. While ADHD coaching and therapy can seem similar, they are distinct practices, with therapists often focused on healing in the past and present and coaches more focused on future-oriented goal setting.
2. When seeking out help in either of these domains, it is important to remember that they do not work like magic, and you are going to have to put in work to see results. Additionally, the individual you see will usually become much more important than their profession.
3. Accountability is a tool that we can use to take ownership of our actions, and when used in conjunction with others, it can help create salience and clarity in what we are doing to follow through with our intentions.

Hey team, today I'm talking with Liz Tenuto, more widely known as the Workout Witch. Liz is a somatic specialist with a degree in psychology from UCSB, who has spent over a decade helping people release chronic stress through movement. She's also the author of Moving Through Trauma, which hit shelves in January. Liz's work bridges the gap between psychology and physical health, specializing in how trauma and stress manifest as psychological issues like gut problems, insomnia, and chronic pain. In our conversation today, we're diving into the world of somatic exercises, which are slow conscious and gentle movements designed to enhance the mind-body connection and nervous system regulation. 

We talk about how traditional no pain, no gain fitness often backfires for the ADHD brain, the nuances of introception, and why your body might feel stuck in a functional freeze without you even realizing it. If you'd like to follow along on the show notes notes page, you can find that at hackingyouradhd.com. All right, keep on listening to find out how to get your body and brain on the same page.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/294

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episodes Top Tips

1. While random stimming may help us cope in the moment, it doesn't necessarily lead to long-term nervous system regulation. By intentionally performing certain somatic exercises, we can actually shift our baseline physiology over time.
2. When we are in a state of functional freeze or understimulation, the goal isn't to lower our energy levels, but instead to move from a shutdown state up into a regulated and alert state of ease known as the ventral vagal state.
3. Because ADHD involves a bottom-up nervous system, our mental state is often a direct reflection of our physical tension. By consciously relaxing, we can trigger an immediate emotional shift, even if we don't realize our own stress levels. 

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our research recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper, dive into what the paper says, how it was conducted, and try and find any practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Prevalence, Patterns, and Predictors of Sleep Problems and Daytime Sleepiness in Young Adolescents with ADHD." And so this is a study that's investigating the high prevalence of sleep-related issues in adolescents with ADHD, and this paper is also trying to distinguish between, like, nighttime sleepiness disorders and daytime sleepiness. So the story here being that, hey, maybe ADHD might not be caused by poor sleep quality alone, but there are, like, strong links to other things like sluggish cognitive tempo, which we'll all get into. So how about that? Let's dive in.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/293

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Hey Team!

Today I'm talking with Jenna Free, a Master's-level Canadian Certified Counselor and ADHD coach, who focuses on polyvagal theory, which is to say, she helps people understand their nervous system. She works specifically with neurodivergent adults to move them out of the "fight, flight, or freeze" responses that make ADHD symptoms feel ten times heavier than they need to be.

In our conversation, we're moving past the usual "tips and tricks" to look at the biological hardware of the ADHD brain and, more specifically, on nervous system regulation. We discuss the mechanics of dysregulation, why we often use anxiety as a secondary motor, and how to identify when our bodies have been stuck in survival mode for so long that we've forgotten what "calm" actually feels like.

Be sure to check out Jenna's book The Simple Guide to ADHD Regulation: The Secret to Finding Balance, Getting Things Done, and Enjoying Your Life

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/292

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. It's important to recognize that dysregulation is a physical state where blood flow moves from the brain to the limbs to prepare for danger. When we are in fight, flight, or freeze, our ADHD symptoms are amplified because our brain's higher-level processing is offline in favor of survival.
   2. While it is easy to rely on anxiety and panic to provide the "urgency" needed to start tasks, this can create a "frantic-crash cycle" where we use future resources to survive the present. When we focus on regulation, it can allow us to find a "sweet spot" of motivation that is sustainable rather than explosive.
   3. People-pleasing is often a survival strategy intended to keep others regulated so that we feel safe. By recognizing that our safety doesn't actually depend on everyone else liking us, it allows us to stop over-committing and resenting our schedules.

Hey Team!

I've been thinking a lot about the idea that thinking about planning isn't the same thing as planning. When we're just thinking about planning, sure, we're imagining the steps, the obstacles, the finished results, but we often get stuck in the execution gap, where we think we know exactly what we need to do, but can't actually find a way of getting ourselves to do it.

We often view planning as this rigid, formal structure, a grand design that has to be perfect or it's not worth doing. But really, planning is just a gift for our future selves. It's about making decisions now so that the "future us," who is more than likely tired and overwhelmed, doesn't have to. 

So today, we're going to look at the mechanics of how we build those plans. We'll talk about the hierarchy of goals, strategies, and tactics, and how we can stop letting the "shoulds" dictate how we spend our limited cognitive energy.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/284

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. That the "feel-good" sensation of visualizing a plan can actually be a trap. When we think about a successful outcome, our brain releases dopamine as if the task is already done, which in turn kills the motivation needed for the actual execution.
   2. Instead of seeing a plan as a set of rules that box you in, try viewing it as a way to protect your long-term desires from your short-term impulses. We want to think of planning as a form of self-advocacy rather than as a punishment.
   3. If a goal feels like an obligation rather than a genuine interest, it will likely fail. Digging into the "Why" behind a goal can help you find a hook that activates your interest, providing the "stick-to-it-iveness" required to see it through.

Hey Team!

So we've got a bit of a different kind of episode today. I am talking with Derek Hales, the founder and editor-in-chief of NapLab, a mattress review website. While that might not scream ADHD, I was interested in having this conversation because so many of us with ADHD have issues around sleep. And what really impressed me with Naplab is how they've really focused on turning mattress testing into actual science, moving away from just "it-feels-soft vibes" and towards using thermal cameras, accelerometers, and other gadgets to really see what's going on with each of these mattresses. 

And I know how that sounds, but it is actually kind of cool. 

Anyway, in our conversation today, we talked about a lot of what goes into choosing a mattress, what makes something good for one person and not the right fit for someone else. We spend time talking about this systems-first approach to sleep, how your bed frame, sheets, and even the light from things like your alarm clock can either support or sabotage your REM cycles. Of course, we also touch on some of the unique challenges of ADHD and sleep, from circadian rhythm delays to just trying to get our brains to quiet down at night.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/290

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. ADHD brains can have even more trouble filtering out background stimuli, such as lights and sounds, in the bedroom, which can make it even harder for us to fall asleep. Things like blackout shades and earplugs can create an environment that's more conducive to getting more restful and restorative sleep.
   2. Your body's ability to shed heat is a biological requirement for deep sleep. To help with this cooling, look for materials that actually facilitate moisture-wicking and air flow, rather than relying on stuff that just has a surface-level cool-to-the-touch feel.
   3. A lot of marketing from the mattress industry often uses a "more expensive equals better sleep" model, pressuring us to spend more and more on mattresses. Derek suggests a $1,500-$2,000 price range as the performance peak, where the highest-quality materials are used, and you get the most bang for your buck.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what it says, how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways that we can give you.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Brain potentials reveal reduced attention and error processing during a monetary go/no-go task in procrastination." This study looks at how procrastinators handle mistakes and try to stay focused, especially when tasks get harder, and how those differences in rewards and punishment affect those outcomes. So, there is a lot there—and I'm going to tell you, this paper has a ton of acronyms. Let's get into it.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/289

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Today I'm talking with Katy Weber, a certified ADHD coach and the creator of the top-rated Women & ADHD podcast. After a career in journalism and wellness, Katy was diagnosed with ADHD at 45. Following that diagnosis, she has built a platform helping neurodivergent women move past the shame of late diagnosis and into a place of radical self-acceptance.

In our conversation, we talk about the systemic stressors that often trigger a late-life ADHD "breaking point," particularly for women navigating career, parenting, and hormonal shifts. We get into the mechanics of masking, why we often use anxiety and shame as our primary motivators, and the overlap between neurodivergence and physical health, looking at how chronic stress manifests in our bodies.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/288

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Recognize that "having it all together" on the outside often comes at a high cost. When people ask, "How do you do it all?" the answer is usually through extreme masking and "white-knuckling," which leads directly to burnout and chronic anxiety rather than true stability.
   2. Many ADHDers wait until the last possible second and use anxiety as a fuel source. While this can work as an effective short-term strategy, keeping yourself in perpetual anxiety to drive productivity is detrimental to long-term mental health.
   3. Broaden your view of ADHD to include the autonomic nervous system and physical health. Katy notes a high correlation between ADHD and "invisible" physical issues like autoimmune disorders, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain, suggesting that a neurodivergent nervous system reacts to stress in ways that affect the entire body, not just cognitive function.

It's 11:20 right now and I'm eating a brownie, but tomorrow, no more sweets - it's zero sugar for me. And exercise, all of it. Every day. And cleaning? My house is going to be spotless. Email? Say hello to inbox zero. And no more TV or video games, only highly enriching activities for me from now on.

All I have to do is follow the plan. What is the plan? That's not important right now. I'll figure that out tomorrow. For now, I'm going to bask in the glory of what is to come.

All right, let's get back to reality - although I really did write this at 11:20… and while those may not be my thoughts exactly, they aren't that far off from ideas I've had in the past. I mean, they weren't good ideas, but ideas nonetheless.

So today we're talking about midnight motivation - that late-night urge to turn your life around that somehow doesn't translate into the next day. We're going to be talking about why, in the quiet of the night, we become these master architects of our own lives, designing sprawling mansions of productivity because we don't have to worry about the cost of materials or even the laws of physics. But when we wake up, we're no longer the architect; we're the contractor. Or maybe even more accurately, the subcontractor who has been handed some hastily drawn out plans on the back of a bar napkin. So in this episode, we're going to look at why our ADHD brains love building these "theoretical" lives when the world is on pause and how we can start translating those blueprints into something we can actually build during the daylight hours.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/284

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. We need to understand that late-night motivation isn't really potential energy(pulling back the bowstring), but rather it's theoretical energy (you're just thinking about the bow). Recognizing this distinction is important in understanding why we never "release the arrow" in the morning; we never actually pulled the string back in the first place.
   2. While it does feel like planning, thinking about doing something isn't the same as planning, and thinking about planning also isn't the same thing as planning. This is important to remember because even though it's not really planning, it still feels like we are, and when we don't follow through with those not-plans, it also still feels bad.
   3. We want to shift our focus from the Vision (the dopamine-heavy end goal) to the Logistics (the boring friction). A plan isn't a plan if it isn't accounting for all those logistical pieces. If the logistics aren't there, your brain will bail the moment you hit a "hidden" step.
   4. By moving "theoretical" plans into a physical calendar, we are better able to see our existing commitments in a visual space. We don't have infinite time, and if we want to start something new, we have to be able to fit it into the calendar.

Hey Team!

Today I'm talking with Meredith Carder, author of It All Makes Sense Now. Meredith is an ADHD coach and the creator behind the popular Instagram account @hummingbird_adhd, where she focuses on neuro-affirming strategies for adults. With a background in psychology and an MBA, she brings a unique perspective on how we can bridge the gap between our high-level professional goals and the executive dysfunction that often gets in the way.

I got to meet Meredith at the 2025 ADHD Conference in Kansas City and then got to hang out with her again recently at NeuroDiversion in Austin. She's a ton of fun to talk with and while this episode had a few hurdles to get over in terms of actually recording it, was a ton of fun.

In our conversation today, we get into the concept of "Ambition vs. Capacity," that frustrating space where our big ideas don't quite match what we are actually capable of doing in the moment. We talk about why we feel so much shame over "adulting" tasks like laundry and dishes, and how changing our mental models of what an "adult" looks like can free up bandwidth for things that actually matter. We also get into Meredith's specific systems for planning her week and how she uses a "Monday Planning Meeting" to set realistic expectations before the week even starts.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/287

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. Often, we conflate the ideas of "simple" with "easy," and because simple tasks can lack the stimulation of more complex problems, they sometimes require more deliberate strategy and support, not less.
   2. High-level ideation can be a strength, but it is separate from executive function. We must learn to reconcile our big dreams with our actual current bandwidth to avoid the cycle of "losing self-trust" when we fail to reach unrealistic goals.
   3. Being "good" at something doesn't mean you have to or even necessarily need to do it, especially if it isn't something you are particularly interested in. Selecting goals based on personal values rather than just skills helps ensure that the "20% of boring stuff" required to reach a goal doesn't outweigh the "80% of interest" that keeps us going.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our research recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper, dive into what it says and how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Time Perception in Adults: Findings from a Decade Review." In this paper, they analyzed a decade of research—from 2012 to 2022—investigating the specific nature of time perception deficits for adults with ADHD. Time is a little bit more complex than we often think, so let's get into how complex it really is.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/286

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

Hey Team!

We've all had those moments where we walk away from a conversation and immediately spiral into a "self-regulation hangover," wondering if we said too much or if we were just being "tolerated" rather than included. Feeling like maybe this whole friendship thing maybe just isn't for us.

This week, I'm talking with Caroline Maguire, a veteran social skills coach and the founder of the Social Excellence training program. She holds a Master's in Social Emotional Learning and is one of the few experts who approaches social skills as a "muscle" that can be built, rather than an innate talent you either have or you don't. Her first book, Why Will No One Play with Me?, became an instant staple for neurodivergent families helping children struggling with social skills to make friends. And with what she learned from that book she is now bringing to her upcoming book, Friendship Skills for Neurodivergent Adults: A Guide for the Anxious, Uniquely Wired, and Easily Distracted.

In this episode, we're looking at the mechanics of friendship through a neurodivergent lens. We talk about the importance of proximity and "shared interest fuel" in bypassing the awkwardness of small talk. We also touch on the "rejection lens" and how our history of being bullied or marginalized can often color our current adult relationships. Caroline also walks me through some of her most practical frameworks, including the "Ice Cream Scoop" method for building trust and why having a "third place" is essential for creating low-pressure social friction.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/285

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. ADHD impulsivity often leads to "oversharing," which creates a "self-regulation hangover" of shame. The shift here is to view sharing as taking one "scoop" at a time, waiting for the other person to match your level of intimacy before offering more, which protects your trust and your energy.
   2. Our brains naturally hang on to negative social stories like Velcro while letting positive ones slide off like Teflon. Recognizing this biological bias allows you to challenge the "rejection lens" and realize that a friend's lack of a text might be about their own hard time rather than a reflection of your worth.
   3. Making friends isn't a 1-2-3 prescriptive step; it's about "social friction" and proximity. By prioritizing showing up at the same place consistently, you allow people to get used to you, which lowers the barrier for entry into community and future friendships.
   4. Remember, deep friendship doesn't happen instantly and takes work. Don't be discouraged if you're first attempts don't work out, keep at it and build up those friendships over time.

Is it possible to take ADHD off "Hard Mode"?

We often hear that living with ADHD is like playing a video game where the difficulty slider is permanently stuck on "Hard." But while the challenges of executive dysfunction are very real, we sometimes make things even more difficult for ourselves by insisting on doing things the "right" (read: hardest) way.

In this classic monologue episode, William Curb explores the concept of Easy Mode. What would it look like if your morning routine felt effortless? What if your workspace didn't feel like a barrier to your productivity?

By utilizing the "Focusing Question" from Gary Keller's The One Thing, William breaks down how to find the lead domino that makes every other task easier—or completely unnecessary.

• The "Easy Mode" Vision: Defining what a low-friction life actually looks like (and why a perfect life might actually be a bit boring).

• The Focusing Question: Learning to ask, "What's the one thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"

• The Domino Effect: Why focusing on small, strategic tasks creates the momentum needed to tackle the big ones.

• Environment Design: Using the three parts of a task (Setup, Doing, and Cleanup) to reduce the cognitive load of starting.

• Progress over Perfection: Shifting the goal from "fixing" your ADHD to simply sliding that difficulty scale down a few notches.

• The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

• The "Walls of Awful" concept (shoutout to Brendan Mahan)

• Checklists & Automation: Tools to make remembering "unnecessary."

"Sometimes life is hard because our ADHD is making it harder, and sometimes it's because we're choosing to do things in the hardest way possible."

Find the full show notes and transcript at: hackingyouradhd.com/191

Support the show on Patreon: patreon.com/hackingyouradhd

Hey Team!

We often talk about the "internal" struggles of ADHD, the messy desks and the forgotten appointments, but we don't always talk about how the outside world reacts to those traits. I'm joined by Brooke Schnittman, an ADHD coach and the best-selling author of Activate Your ADHD Potential. Brooke has worked with thousands of individuals to help them develop sustainable systems for focus and emotional regulation, but today, she's here to talk about a global study she conducted on the link between ADHD and bullying.

So in today's episode, we're talking about how this study was conducted and what we can garner from that data. We also discuss the "invisible disability" penalty, where our symptoms are misinterpreted as character flaws, and how "masking" can actually prevent us from progressing because we're too busy being chameleons. And we also cover some practical ways to identify safe people and build a "reciprocal" support system that helps buffer against the impact of chronic criticism.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/283

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. When faced with a threat or bullying, the ADHD brain often experiences a physiological "freeze" where the parasympathetic nervous system takes over. It's important for us to understand that we're not always in control of this shift, and not to be self-critical about how we react in the moment and give ourselves grace to do better in the future.
   2. To effectively manage a bullying situation, we have to understand the framework: repetition, power imbalance, and harm. Recognizing that a power imbalance can be "social status" or "neurotypical norms" rather than just a boss-employee hierarchy allows us to identify why a situation feels "off".
   3. Many ADHDers stay in bullying situations because the executive function required to leave (interviewing, onboarding, starting over) feels more overwhelming than the bullying itself. Shifting the perspective to "body data"—how your nervous system feels around that person—can be a more reliable indicator than your internal pro/con list.
   4. Since bullying often triggers a survival response that shuts down your executive functions, you can't rely on logic in the moment. To combat this, Brooke suggests focusing on nervous system regulation tools (like EMDR or grounding) to help your body feel safe again. You have to train your brain before the situation occurs so that "doing X when Y happens" becomes a more automatic habit.

Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our research recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper, dive into what it says, how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways.

In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Improvement of Anxiety and ADHD following goal-focused cognitive remediation: a randomized controlled trial." This study investigates goal-focused interventions and looks at whether they can improve executive function and emotional well-being for adults with ADHD. There's not too much to the intro, so let's get into it.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at https://HackingYourADHD.com/282

https://tinyurl.com/56rvt9fr - Unconventional Organisation Affiliate link

https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk - YouTube

https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD - Patreon

If you only listen to one episode this year to ground your understanding of ADHD, make it this one. We are dipping back into the archives to bring you a masterclass from Dr. Stephen Faraone, a world-renowned expert ranked in the top 0.01% of scientists globally.

In a world of 60-second TikTok "diagnoses" and viral misinformation, Dr. Faraone joins William to discuss the ADHD Evidence Project. They strip away the noise to look at what 208 internationally supported research statements actually tell us about the ADHD brain.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/202

What's Inside This Encore:

• The "Pyramid of Evidence": Why a charismatic story on social media isn't the same as a peer-reviewed meta-analysis.

• Debunking the "Modern Invention" Myth: Did you know ADHD was described in medical texts as far back as the 1700s?

• The Truth About Environment: From "Screen Time" to "Bad Parenting" and what actually causes ADHD (and what definitely doesn't).

• The Medication Gap: A look at the real-world costs of not treating ADHD, including the staggering statistics within prison populations.

• The "Default Mode Network": A fascinating look at why the ADHD brain struggles to flip the switch between daydreaming and "Executive Mode."

Why We're Re-Sharing This: This episode serves as a vital "BS detector" for anyone navigating ADHD. Dr. Faraone reminds us that while ADHD is a significant part of our lives, it doesn't define our entire identity: it's just the operating system we're working with.

In today's special rebroadcast, we're revisiting a deeply personal and essential conversation from the Hacking Your ADHD archives. When the world feels heavy and focus feels like a luxury we can't afford, how do we keep moving forward?

Will opens up about the "surreal" experience of navigating life's mundane demands: laundry, dishes, and school runs all while grappling with the sudden loss of his mother. It's a raw look at the cognitive dissonance of surviving a personal tragedy while the rest of the world refuses to hit the pause button.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/212

What You'll Re-Learn:

• Numbing vs. Resting: How to tell if you're actually recharging or just hiding from your feelings.

• The "Go Big or Go Home" Trap: Why your ADHD brain loves a fantasy plan, and why "going home" is usually the result.

• The Power of the Bucket: Shifting from the despair of being alone to the strength of community.

• Self-Grace: A much-needed reminder that being hard on yourself is never the productivity hack you think it is.

Whether you're hearing this for the first time or the fifth, William's insights on "resisting despair" are as timely today as they were when this episode first dropped

Hey team!

This week, I'm talking with Dr. Anupriya Gogne, a psychiatrist at Brown University Health in Rhode Island. Dr. Gonge works at the crossroads of addiction psychiatry and neurodevelopmental disorders, with a specific focus on treating ADHD during pregnancy and the postpartum period. She's dedicated to clearing up the misinformation surrounding medication safety during pregnancy, which can be seen in her book, Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Adult Women: Special Considerations in the Perinatal Period.

In our conversation, we dive into why hormonal fluctuations turn ADHD symptoms into a "perfect storm," the actual science behind "mom brain," and why your internal systems for keeping your life together tend to implode the moment a baby enters the picture. We also get into the nuances of how ADHD presents in women versus men, specifically regarding internal hyperactivity and emotional regulation.

If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/281

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD

This Episode's Top Tips

1. 1. When ADHD symptoms suddenly appear or worsen, it's often not because the brain has changed, but rather that the environment's demands have finally exceeded the brain's compensatory systems. When life transitions occur, such as having a child, external chaos disrupts the systems that previously helped keep the ADHD in check.
   2. Chronic sleep deprivation isn't just being tired; it's also a failure of the memory consolidation system. While we are in deep sleep, our brain is encoding the day's events. If you aren't getting those stages, your working memory cannot function properly. These memory issues then compound with ADHD symptoms which can make it feel like you are experiencing early-onset dementia.
   3. In many adults, and especially in women, hyperactivity often isn't physical; instead, it's mental. It can manifest as negative self-talk on a loop, racing thoughts, or just feel like you have too many tabs open in your brain. Shifting the mental model to see internal ruminating as a form of hyperactivity helps identify the need for mental breaks rather than just physical outlets.