ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka

Ep. 190: PTSD, Trauma, and EMDR: When Your Career Makes You Sick with Former Lawyer, Lara Connolly

Aug 24, 2022

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ANECDOTE

Diagnosis Moment With Her Son

Lara realized her own ADHD when her son's ADHD diagnosis clicked with her during a psychiatrist conversation.
She recognized combined-type ADHD after seeing shared symptoms like racing thoughts and emotional dysregulation.

INSIGHT

Body Signals Burnout From Masking

Lara's chronic physical exhaustion came from overworking to maintain a professional wall while managing neurodivergent kids.
She now sees her body was signaling overload caused by sustained effort to hold everything together.

ANECDOTE

Medication Opened New Experiences

After starting ADHD medication Lara's anxiety dropped and she did adventurous things she previously avoided.
She and her son led a swim with giant manta rays that she never would have attempted before medication.

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Talk therapy can be a valuable resource, but what happens when you’re all talked out and still feel your body is holding onto trauma? This is where teacher’s assistant Lara Connolly found herself after years of trying talk therapy and never feeling like it was quite enough to help alleviate her physical exhaustion and stress. It wasn’t until she tried EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), a form of psychotherapy designed to alleviate the distress caused by traumatic memories, that she finally started to feel her body come back to life.

Looking back, Lara can see how much shame and rejection was stored in her body after a lifetime of having untreated ADHD and how significantly it had been impacting her emotional regulation and physical health. Lara not only took the steps to heal her trauma, but she also made real changes to her lifestyle that provide more balance and prioritize joy; her dedication to living an authentic ADHD life is truly inspiring, and I’m delighted to bring you this conversation.
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Instagram: @theaddventuresoflaraandfrida

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