ADHD Duos • The Flooded Brain: ADHD, Emotion, and the Biology of Overwhelm with Dr. Dodge Rea & Dr. Sharon Saline
Apr 24, 2025
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Dr. Dodge Rea, an ADHD expert known for his unique grace sequence approach, joins Dr. Sharon Saline to discuss the neuroscience of emotional flooding in ADHD. They explore how overwhelming emotions are not flaws but responses shaped by biology and experience. Insights into the amygdala's role, coping strategies like the STAR approach, and the importance of self-compassion offer listeners practical tools for managing emotional dysregulation. They also highlight how humor and community can aid in processing these complex feelings.
Emotional flooding in ADHD is a neurological response driven by an overactive amygdala, complicating emotional regulation under stress.
The cycle of shame and fear significantly worsens emotional flooding, often leading to disproportionate reactions rooted in past experiences.
Utilizing strategies like the 'STAR' approach and self-compassion helps individuals manage emotional dysregulation and regain control during overwhelming moments.
Deep dives
Understanding Emotional Flooding
Emotional flooding is a state that people with ADHD frequently experience, characterized by overwhelming emotions that feel like a tidal wave. This phenomenon can hinder the ability to manage feelings effectively, often referred to as an 'amygdala hijack,' where the emotional brain overtakes rational thinking. For individuals with ADHD, the amygdala is more reactive, leading to heightened emotional responses, and the prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive functioning, is underactive. This results in difficulty distinguishing between real dangers and perceived threats, intensifying the experience of emotional flooding.
The Connection Between Shame and Emotional Responses
The relationship between fear and shame often exacerbates emotional flooding for individuals with ADHD. Feelings of inadequacy or failure can compound stress, particularly when faced with criticism or perceived rejection, leading to a cycle of overwhelming emotions. Those with ADHD may struggle with 'rejection-sensitive dysphoria,' where past experiences inflate their immediate emotional reactions, creating a disproportionate response to current situations. This dynamic reinforces the cycle of shame, causing further anxiety and emotional turmoil.
Breaking the Cycle of Emotional Flooding
To effectively manage emotional flooding, engaging in preventative strategies is crucial. The 'STAR' approach, which involves stopping, thinking, acting, and recovering, helps individuals recognize physiological signs of dysregulation before they escalate. By developing self-soothing techniques, such as taking a brief break or going to a bathroom, individuals can increase their capacity to respond mindfully rather than react impulsively. Such practices foster emotional awareness and improve regulation over time, empowering individuals to regain control in moments of intense emotional distress.
Utilizing the Gray Sequence for Emotional Regulation
The Gray Sequence presents a framework for addressing overwhelming emotional experiences by encouraging individuals to pause and reflect on their bodily sensations. This approach promotes awareness of one's emotional state, helps in assigning compassion to those feelings, and facilitates a connection to external comforting sources. By acknowledging and handling feelings as they arise, it becomes possible to redirect intense emotional reactions into more manageable experiences. Consequently, this practice assists individuals in transitioning from emotional flooding to a state of clarity and agency.
Importance of Self-Compassion and Accountability
Practicing self-compassion and accountability is vital in navigating emotional flooding, particularly for those with ADHD. Acknowledging the impact of one's behavior on others can deepen emotional awareness and promote healthier interactions. As individuals learn to forgive themselves for past mistakes while committing to behavioral change, they cultivate resilience against overwhelming emotions. Celebrating small successes in emotional regulation fortifies this journey, turning each step toward mindfulness into an amplified sense of self-worth and emotional health.
Imagine your brain as a control room. On most days, the switches flick and the dials turn just as they should. But then something small—an unanswered text, a missed deadline, a critical glance—trips the wrong lever. Suddenly, that control room is submerged. The signals blur. The system floods.
This week on Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast, Pete and Nikki sit down with two returning champions of clarity and compassion: Dr. Sharon Saline and Dr. Dodge Rea. Together, they unravel the hidden mechanics of emotional flooding—not as a character flaw, but as a neurological response shaped by fear, history, and a sometimes-overzealous amygdala.
Through stories, science, and metaphor (including rogue trains and Wile E. Coyote’s ill-fated cliff dives), they reveal what happens when the ADHD brain short-circuits under pressure—and what we can actually do about it. Along the way, you’ll learn how shame disguises itself as control, how the body signals what the mind can’t process, and why sometimes the most strategic thing you can do is… go to the bathroom.
This is a conversation about reframing of the narrative so many ADHD adults carry with them: that being overwhelmed means being broken. It doesn’t. It never did.
(02:13) - Support the Show: Become a Patron Today https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
(03:54) - Emotional Flooding with Dr. Sharon Saline and Dr. Dodge Rea
(22:51) - The Consequences
(26:25) - Is Emotional Flooding a sort of Trance?
(30:07) - The Regulation and Recovery Process
(41:35) - The Five C's
(46:05) - The g.r.a.c.e. Sequence
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