HIListically Speaking with Hilary Russo Ep143 - ADHD: How to Find Solutions with Dr. Connie McReynolds
Is your child acting out and has problems paying attention? What you've been told about their "willful bad behavior" could be wrong and Dr. Connie McReynolds has neurofeedback to back it up. On this episode of the HIListically Speaking Podcast, Hilary Russo asks Dr. Connie how she has been able to Solve the ADHD Riddle and the traumas associated with it. Including, anxiety, anger, panic attacks, conduct disorder, depression, chronic pain, cognitive decline, and PTSD Plus, she answers listeners' questions to help you understand what your child needs in order to thrive. Grab the Book! "Solving the ADHD Riddle" by Dr. Connie McReynolds https://amzn.to/46XfZWR (Amazon)
Take Dr. Connie's free assessment: 7 Signs Your Child May Have Auditory or Visual Processing Problems https:/www.conniemcreynolds.com
Connect with Dr. Connie:
https://www.facebook.com/people/Dr-Connie-McReynolds/100024845513843/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/connie-mcreynolds-ph-d-463502b/
https://www.instagram.com/morningstarneurofeedback/
Connect with Hilary:
https://www.instagram.com/hilaryrusso
https://www.youtube.com/hilaryrusso
https://www.facebook.com/hilisticallyspeaking
https://twitter.com/HilaryRusso
https://www.tiktok.com/@hilisticallyspeaking
https://www.hilaryrusso.com/podcast
Music by Lipbone Redding https://lipbone.com/
Chapters
0:00 Intro
4:25 Neurofeedback and ADHD
7:00 Changing the narrative about behavior
8:40 Information on free assessment
11:00 Hyperactivity, neurodivergence, and bullying
13:55 auditory and visual processing
15:25 You can teach an old brain new tricks: ADHD and adults
22:55 Biggest challenge writing Solving the ADHD Riddle
25:55 Listeners' questions
31:33 Hilary shares the THINK method
39:00 Rapid Fire game
39:56 Dr. Connie McReynold's final thoughts
41:07 Hilary's close: Show and guest info
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Connie McReynolds
And so if we change the narrative and how we think about what's going on and what behaviors mean, if we broaden that discussion, if we open that conversation to a different level, and we understand what's really going on behind the behaviors or underneath the behaviors, what's actually causing the behaviors, then we can guide this child in ways that we would not be able to otherwise.
Hilary Russo
Does this sound familiar? Your child is acting out. They aren't paying attention. They can't even follow simple tasks and whether it's coming from you or the teachers, you're just at your wits end. I know there are a number of listeners out there that are going, Oh, yeah, Hilary , tell me about it. And you're running out of therapies.
You're running out of medication ideas and you're just over it and you want to know if there's other solutions. Well, that is exactly why we have Dr. Connie McReynolds here today. She's a licensed psychologist. She's a professor, rehabilitation counselor. She's also a podcaster. Love my fellow podcasters who is on the road to map the brain to give you alternative approaches to change the narrative around ADHD, whether we're talking about your child. Where we are talking about you because we're going to touch on that today.
So Dr. Connie, thank you so much for joining me on HIListically Speaking, for being a voice and just having the ability to talk about this openly because it really is a topic. I think we're not only hearing about how to manage the ADHD with our children, but also ourselves.
We're finding out these things about ourselves and starting to ask questions.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Oh, thank you, Hilary, for having me. It's a pleasure to be here today and I look forward to our conversation.
Hilary Russo
Your book, Solving the ADHD Riddle, which is the real cause and lasting solutions to your child's struggle to learn.
What was your reason for writing this book? I'm going to show this to those who are watching on YouTube, but what made you go here when you actually, as a psychologist, have been holding space for those who are age five, all the way up to 95? Why the kids?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
So over the 15 years that I've been doing this work, um, I, and I'll back up just a skosh, which is it really goes back to my own childhood, which my mother taught second grade for 32 years in the same classroom.
And so I come from a long line of teachers and people and my mother was quite innovative. In her world, she brought typewriters into the second grade, you know, 30 some years ago, 40 some years ago, because she knew that's where the future was going. And she thought, let's teach these kiddos how to do this.
And so fast forward really into my work, I've been a psychologist in the rehabilitation counseling field for well over 30 years now. And my goal has always been strength based assessment and understanding how people are functioning in their life. Looking at these areas that maybe aren't working well for them, it's like, well, what is this?
And then about 15 years ago when I started this new assessment center and institute in Southern California at a university, I had the opportunity to start exploring what this process was that I now use, which I know we'll get into, it's called neurofeedback. But the precursor to all of that and the reason this book is out is because I started seeing what was happening to children You have these auditory and visual processing problems that get labeled as a whole broad host of other kinds of conditions, and these other conditions led to interventions that for the folks that I was working with.
It wasn't working. And so everyone was struggling and really it evolved from understanding, uncovering, discovering what I think is the real cause of a lot of the struggle of people, regardless of age, and then getting this out. So once I had the way to really work with people, no matter where they are, then it's like, okay, get the book out.
So now the book can be out there. Now we can talk about this.
Hilary Russo
You mentioned neurofeedback, and if you can elaborate on that just for folks that might not necessarily know exactly what that means. What do you mean by the neurofeedback?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Well, I start with the definition of biofeedback, which most people have heard of.
Hilary Russo
Mm-Hmm.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Which biofeedback you use a little sensor, you can measure your pulse, you can measure your respiration with this. And by being coached on how to breathe differently or relax your muscles, we learned over time, this has been decades ago, that we could actually affect how our body was operating.
Which became shortened from biological information to biofeedback. And so neurofeedback is the same concept. It's simply reading data from the body, in this case from the brain. It's fed into an instrument, in this case the computer. And then we interact with that data lifetime. In live real time so that a person can affect change in their life.
So they literally are learning how to do their own brain training with the feedback so they can understand what's happening in their brain. It's a, it's a brain boost in a short, short, uh, shortcut to affecting change.
Hilary Russo
I think we could all use a brain boost no matter what age we're at. And I, I imagine catching this, these disruptions. In our lives earlier when we're a child is going to help pave the way for a much better adulthood if we're able to see what need, what the needs are, how to manage what we've uncovered at an earlier age, because I know myself, there have been many times where I'm like, Gosh, am I do I have ADHD? Like we tend to label ourselves, right?
I'm so creative. I've post-it notes everywhere, you know, and we start wondering, What's wrong with me? And putting that label on ourselves is certainly not helpful. And we don't want the children to do that. So how are you approaching this in a way where the children are able to, to look at it as well? I'm sure this book is mainly for the adult, but how, how can a child accept who they are and.Manage something that might make them special, or maybe deal with things a little differently.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Well, that comes from how adults interact primarily with children. And so if we change the narrative and how we think about what's going on and what behaviors mean, if we broaden that discussion, if we open that conversation to a different level, And we understand what's really going on behind the behaviors or underneath the behaviors, what's actually causing the behaviors, then we can guide this child in ways that we would not be able to otherwise.
So, for example, a child who can't remember what's being said is going to look like they're disorganized, not paying attention, inattentive, we give a whole host. of labels. Sometimes words are said such as it just goes in one ear and out the other. Nothing seems to stick. It's like, well, you're actually quite right.
That is pretty much what is going on, but it is not a willful situation. And so when we change the narrative about the behaviors and what the behaviors actually mean. Then everyone relaxes a little bit, and that's the key here. Let's get us out of this kind of fight flight, kind of push pull, tug of war kind of situation, punishment reward basis.
None of that is going to work for the child who has auditory visual processing. Because if they can't hang on to what you're saying or showing, it doesn't matter how many times you say it, or how loudly you say it, or what you take away, it doesn't change the actual underlying cause, which is, this child can't remember what's going on, and it isn't about intellectual.
And I think that's where we're seeing growth in this day and age, especially we're using the word neurodivergence. We're using words that are, that I don't want to say acceptable because everybody should be acceptable, accepted rather, but more of just a better understanding and knowing how we can support somebody who might need additional support in a certain area.
Hilary Russo
Well, we all have, we all need support in a different area, right? We're all needing something special in some area. So for. For kids that are facing auditory and visual processing problems, which isn't a chapter that you cover in your book under the understanding of the real cause, what can we do for that child?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Well, it starts with really being able to figure out what's going on. So I just kind of wax momentarily over to the website, and I'm sure we'll have that information available later. Absolutely. There's a brief free assessment up on the front page. of my website. It's a great starting point because start there, because if you can figure out, okay, are there some factors here that do seem to check the box on how either a friend, myself, or my child is operating, then that gets you in the door for understanding there could be something else going on here.
And then depending on how far you want to go in the book, there are chapters. That are specific to auditory specific to visual processing and there are checklists in there so you can literally go through those checklists. And once you figure out. Oh my gosh, my child is checking, checking 10 boxes here on auditory, or oh my goodness, I've checked boxes in both of these, what am I going to do?
Well, there's a lot that we can do. Once you understand what you're dealing with, you can then decode the behaviors, and when we can decode those behaviors, such as anger, frustration, and lack of follow through, and disorganization, can't remember anything, then there are strategies that parents and teachers can use right away.
To help ease up some of the tension and the frustration and the understanding that it isn't willful bad behavior is the big starting point here. This isn't willful bad behavior.
Hilary Russo
I just had a conversation with some colleagues about this very thing as we're trying to find ways and this is a perfect example of strategies to not only support. The teacher, the educator or the parent, but going back to focusing on the educator, the teacher, it's not just helping them understand how they can support the student and the child. But what about the, the children around that child in that classroom? Is this also giving teachers and educators tools to, while they're supporting that child that needs additional help in this area who might have ADHD? Let's Let's help the other kids in the class understand how they can be a support system too.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Well, I think it does because I think once we get away from thinking there's something wrong or this person's doing something wrong to get to a, what I kind of think of is a more. Uh, sensitive approach or, you know, compassionate approach perhaps to what's going on with the child.
It's so easy to say, oh, just sit still. Well, if this child has hyperactivity, that's not going to do any good. You can say sit still all day long and this child can't do it because they have a hyperactivity function in the brain that's interfering with that. So it's getting away from thinking these, these kids are just acting badly in my classroom.
And then that. If we think about what that subtle and not so subtle message is, then how does that spread out to the children in the classroom and how they view this child as well? And so if we're constantly kind of getting on this child, then this is a set up for bullying that happens for children who are considered divergent or different or however we want to describe it.
But children have an innate ability to sniff out something that isn't quite right. And then depending upon how we guide these children as to whether we accept or reject that person who falls into the so called different category. And if a teacher has a deeper understanding, and many of them do, so I come from a long line of teachers.
I was a teacher. So, you know, I want teachers to know I get it. I know what this is like. I watched my mother deal with this for her thirty two years and it is an issue in the classroom. Yet, if we can understand what this really is about. Um, which I proved at the pilot project in an elementary school, which is the chapter in the book.
I proved that this makes a difference, both in the classroom, in the school, the behavioral outcomes that are needed, interventions that are needed. We can change the trajectory of all of this. When we know what we're looking at.
Is it also giving children tools and different kind of approaches to, as you mentioned, retrain the brain or train the brain?
Hilary Russo
Is it, is it teaching them new social and emotional learning tools? Or like for me, I, I work in the field, the havening technique, which can change your thoughts, moods, behaviors, and habits. And we have used it with children with ADHD or just giving. Kids tools to self regulate for self soothing and self care.
Are those kind of things also addressed in the book and in what you're doing and what you found?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Well, what I will say is all of this can be effective if a child can remember what's being introduced. Ah, yes. So all of these things are great interventions, but if I can't remember what you're asking me to do and what you've shown me to do, it doesn't matter how great that intervention is, I'm not going to succeed at that.
And that's where this narrative has to expand, which is, yes, there are wonderful interventions out there, but I have to be able to hang on to it.
Hilary Russo
And in doing so, if you're, if they're not able to hold on to the information or remember the information, how. Is the approach you're using helping them if they might not be able to remember it?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Well, that's why I assess at the front end because at the front end of the intake before we provide services I'm looking at 37 areas of auditory and visual processing And once we figure out what areas are working great. It's like great. This is your strength These areas are a little bit weaker over here So we need to do some brain training in this area so that we can strengthen this and through practice, which is what the brain training is, it's an organized, systematic, you know, process that the brain learns through, which is repetition.
And so when we use this concept of repetition, it's very targeted, it's very structured, then the brain learns how to do things better. And then all these other things can come into play if they're still needed some of them we found because I can now remember better. I might be able to follow through better in the classroom or do better at home.
So maybe I'm not so mad anymore that people are on me all the time. I'm a little person. So maybe I can do better now. In other cases, there are other behaviors, uh, sometimes with autism, there can be other types of behaviors and with some other kinds of disorders. So that's where there could be some of these other supportive techniques that once a child can remember what this is, can hang on to the information, can conceptualize it and work with it.
Then you can move forward, and I've always said you, you have to get all this in the right order for folks. You have to figure out what's first, and if I can't remember something, talking to me all day long isn't going to make any difference because I can't remember what you're saying.
Hilary Russo
Are these the same kind of tools that you would use with a child that you would An adult age?
I mean, is it going to be different depending on the age and where you are in your life, your experiences? I imagine you take a lot of things into consideration.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Well, the intake certainly is extensive. It's an hour and a half process that I do. And a few minutes at 27 minutes of that is the computer based assessment.
But part of it's really understanding how does this person live their life, what's happening in the day to day world. Again, what are those strengths areas, what are those areas where they're tripping or falling or not doing well or whatever it might be. Uh, and so it, it's really brain processing. It's the concept of neuroplasticity, which means virtually anyone at any age can train their brain.
So I have people, I have a unit down in a retirement center working with senior citizens because they either want to tune it up or they don't want to lose it. So, that's a big
fear. I mean, experiencing that as we have having elderly parents and just being around that, that one of the biggest fears is not being able to remember or losing that sense of independence.
Hilary Russo
And, you know, when we have, A sense of uncertainty. Obviously, the brain is going to go to the negative first. We have to retrain it to find like you're okay. All is well.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
You can do this. Is it tougher with the adults than it is with children because they've had so much learning. It's like teaching the old dog new tricks. Well, the good news is we can teach old dogs new tricks. So, yay.
Hilary Russo
Yay to that.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
It is. Actually, there's a great clip I use. Uh, from this gentleman is a professor at the University of Florida who put some, um, research out that he had done. And he actually uses that as his closing statement. He said, it's true.
You can teach old dogs, new tricks because he had his average age was 72 in this large study that he did with senior citizens with neurofeedback and longitudinal. So he would come back and assess their cognitive abilities without any further. Neurofeedback, and they continue to show, um, an increased cognitive level of functioning over people who had not been, uh, using neurofeedback.
So it's doable. It may take my 90 year old a little bit longer than my 5 year old to perhaps learn how to use the mouse, first of all. We've had to teach mouse skills to older mature adults. Oh, yes, of course, we've had to do that social media.
So once you're going to get the mouse skills down, it's surprising how well they can do. They do very well. And they're so motivated because they want to improve their brain and children. just want to get along. They just want to do what people are asking them to do. They don't want to be in trouble. They just, you know, just want to be held and loved and cuddled and have fun and learn and grow and do all those great things without the punishment and the, oh, the discord that happens so often with all of this.
That's a very painful childhood. When people don't quite understand what's going on and don't know what your needs are.
Hilary Russo
And also, and fitting in, like just being heard and fitting in, you know, with your peers. And also, you know, I was a child, uh, my brother was 12 years older than me. So it was kind of like being an only child. And I think being around adults, uh, caused me to tune in, um, in a different way and being heard was really important. You know, but you wound up being, you wind up being very creative because as kind of an only child in the home, at least you find creative ways to keep yourself busy. Do you think sometimes that a lot of, do you see rather, do you see where there is a higher level of ADHD in certain kind of family dynamics?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Well, I think that's an interesting question because There are times, and there have been quite a few of them over the years, where parents will bring their child in, we'll do the assessment, I'm going through the results of the assessment, and one of the parents will say, Oh, he or she's just like me, he or she's just like his father or his mother, or we have an aunt or an uncle or a grandparent or someone that has similarities in these behaviors and what's going on.
So there's kind of an awareness within some families that there may be a trait Here. Um, that's a tendency toward maybe struggling with some of this. Um, other times I can tell you there could be four or five children in the family and there's one that for some reason is struggling like none of the others ever have the parents are scratching their heads or pulling their hair out because everything they did with all the other children isn't working.
And so there's something unique about this child. And again, yeah. Depending on kind of how the parents are wired, you know, are they perceiving this as something they're doing wrong? Are they perceiving that there's something wrong with this child? Or are they kind of in a different place? And so really the orientation of where the parents are coming from drives a lot of what's happening within the family as it naturally would.
Hilary Russo
Hmm. Okay. One thing I noticed from the book is that you do mention specific children and their names and their actual situations. And I imagine that these are actual, um, clients, patients that you've met with, or at least changing the name to, to protect the innocent or sweet innocent kids. But these are actual real situations.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Yes, they absolutely are. And yes, their names have been changed. Of course.
Hilary Russo
They're sweet names though. I like your choices.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
I worked hard on that actually. I'm trying to make sure it wasn't anyone in the database.
Hilary Russo
Right. And oh, that's, I didn't even think that's very true, but also names that kind of names could have a feeling to them.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
MMhm.
Hilary Russo
Right. So when I was looking at the names, like the Abigail's and the. Jeremy's and the Zoe's, I can almost envision who they are. So I imagine that was something you thought about, like, who is this person and how are they represented?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
I did. I gave quite a bit of thought to that. It was, you know, kind of, okay, what does this feel like? Knowing that I didn't want to do anything that could make someone feel uncomfortable and people had signed releases anyway, but, um, you know, you still want to make sure everyone is okay.
Hilary Russo
Right. So when I was lookOf course. Yeah. So there's a lot that you cover in the book from the interventions for teachers to empower the children.
You mentioned some about the neural feedback and how the brain works. And of course, the auditory and visual process. I'm curious, like, what was the most challenging area of this book? And by the way, let's just mention the book again, Solving the ADHD Riddle, The Real Cause and Lasting Solutions to Your Child's Struggle to Learn by Dr. Connie McReynolds. And so happy to have you as a guest. And by the way, she did mention before, if you go to her website, which we will put in the list of notes, you can download and do the free assessment on her website to that might answer some questions you might have. So definitely take advantage of that.
And that will be in the list of notes. But again, going back to the question, what. What was the most challenging part of writing this book?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
That is such a great question. Um, it was really kind of the process was I didn't want to put this book out there until I had the solution that anyone could really access because I really didn't want it to be just something else that I was adding to information perhaps but didn't have solutions to it.
So really it was making sure that the solutions or the suggestions or what is in there are doable or workable that we had used in the clinics, uh, that we tested with people over the years, um, and that schools can use. And so part of this was really making it a usable tool. For both parents and teachers that when you go in there, I have information about IEPs and 504s and you know, how do you try and advocate for your child because that's important.
A lot of parents don't know that they can do this. So it was just, I will say it's a labor of love. It took a while to do it because it had to be right. And I just absolutely labored over. Literally, um, all of it, uh, as time went on, it was, you know, setting the stage for this, it's like, how do I tell the story?
How do I make it meaningful to parents? How do I make it? So it's relatable for parents and teachers. How do I and here was the big piece. How do I get this out of the academic jargon? That's in my head. Of 25 years where I've written for professional journals and a journal editor and all of that going on that is a language that most people don't appreciate outside of academe and really dialing it in, dialing it in to where it was as if the person studying in my conference room and I'm having a conversation with them about this is what's happening with your child.
This is the good news, bad news, good news, good news, bad news, good news, whatever you want to call it. This is what's happening. This is why they're doing what they're doing. And this is what we can do about it. And I wanted it to be conversational in its approach so that it felt Digestible and understandable, beautiful, love that and really it is a book that is very easy to read.
Hilary Russo
It's actually pleasant to even look at like it that just pulls me in the cover, just seeing children and the happy it gives a happy like there's a there's a solution. That's what it says, and which there is many.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
There is. Yes.
Hilary Russo
And, and when we're talking about solving the ADHD riddle, I know the focus in the book mainly is for children and, and we're for helping our children for the educators and teachers and parents out there.
If you don't mind, I'd love for us to take some questions from those who have HIListically Speaking and just see what your thoughts are about that. Is that.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Love to. Let's go for it.
Hilary Russo
So that first question, let's, let's go step away from just the children for a second. And how would an adult with ADHD find the best kind of support? And that is from Amy from Pennsylvania.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
So it's the same process because this cuts across no matter what the age is. So the techniques in here that are maybe written for a child with ADHD, the feedback I've had from parents and adults who have ADHD who've read this, it's like I've seen my Self through this entire book as an adult.
These are the things I've been struggling with. And now I have an answer for what this is like. I've worked with adults all over the, all over, uh, who have these attention problems. They just thought. They weren't smart enough. They just felt like there was something wrong with them that they had to work so much harder than everyone else.
So that latter statement is true because if you're swimming upstream all the time, and other people are swimming downstream, you are working much harder to get to where you want to go. And the beauty is, if we can uncover this and help you with this and figure out what's going on and train your brain, then guess what you get to do?
You get to turn around and float down the stream instead of working so hard.
Hilary Russo
That is such a great way of putting it. And it kind of leads into my follow up, which you kind of answered, but in all curiosity, With adults, once you have a diagnosis or you have answers, you're able to manage things or know what to do with the next step.
So, with somebody like Amy who has adult ADHD or somebody who's like, I think there's something I, something's resisting with how I feel about myself. Once somebody does find out that they might be dealing with ADHD, is there a next step?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Well, yes. And so it really there's kind of two schools of thought here that I've learned about.
One is the traditional approach. And so there are very traditional approaches. Some people choose that it may work well for them. So it could be medication. It could be just learning how the techniques are to work harder or work smarter. Uh, the other, of course, is what a lot of folks are choosing to do, which is really train their brain.
So if I can train my brain to tackle the underlying cause of what's going on in my life, and it tends to hold, so I don't have to keep going back to that therapist. I'm a therapist. I love my clients, but I want them to do well and go on out the world.
Hilary Russo
Well, and the antithesis of what we do for a living in this, in this world.
The career that we've chosen is that we never want to see our clients again because you want people to come in, get it figured out, implement the new way of being to hit their goals. So you can go on and do what you want to do in an easier manner in your life. And so we can clear out. You know, this, whatever you want to call it, clear out the fog, clear out the, the barriers, clear out all of these things that aren't really working, that are really causing you to work so much harder than the next person and you don't have to.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
In other words, if there's a way that you can actually do something to help your brain get stronger in these areas, and it tends to hold. Hmm. Seems like people might like that and that's the feedback I've been getting for 15 years is that I've treated people with anxiety, severe anxiety, severe trauma, and they write or they call me or they come in years later and they say, I just want you to know it just keeps getting better and better.
Hilary Russo
Yeah, once you have answers, it's nice because it's scary to get the answer sometimes, but at least you have information and knowledge is power and hope the correct knowledge, because obviously I'm sure people have been misdiagnosed in the past or diagnosed themselves and that can be very scary.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Yeah.
Hilary Russo
That could be dangerous too. I mean, you start going down the rabbit hole, you know?
Well, and people do because they have a symptom or two and they hear something from someone and then our lovely world where anything's available to us at the touch of our fingers, uh, we can go down rabbit holes that really are not productive.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
And so the question is, is the information enlightening you and helping you make choices? Or is it pulling you down and making you feel powerless? And so you're wanting to look for those solutions that are going to lift you up, give you a way out up into the world that you want to live. And that's what's so important is getting the right help, figuring out what's really going on and then making those changes in your life.
Hilary Russo
And sometimes we all need help.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Yeah. So sometimes we can't do it on our own. But, you know, hopefully, that's a short term process to where we can get this going for you. And then you can go on and just sail. It's like we want you out there just sailing and flying and doing fantastic in your life. And that's the real testament to this work is that yes, we have the assessments and yes, we can measure the progress.
And yes, we have the data. The true measure for me is how are you doing in your life? You know, are you seeing changes? Are you living differently? And is it a natural process? And with neural feedback, it's such a nice, subtle process that people will come in and say, you know, I just reflected on something that happened yesterday and I realized that in the past I would have blown up.
I would have stayed angry for days on end. This situation happened and I realized a couple of hours later I'd completely forgotten about it. And that's my life now.
Hilary Russo
This reminds me so much of the think method. You know, the things that we tell ourselves, and I know you know what this is, but to the listeners out there, the think method, which you've heard me talk about before, ask yourself before you go down that rabbit hole, is what you're telling yourself true?
Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? And is it kind? Think, think before you speak or speak to yourself because the words we use and choose towards ourselves are sometimes more damaging than what anyone else could. ever possibly say to us, you know, your own worst bully, sometimes great.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
We really are. And in the book, I actually speak to that because there's a section in there for parents, but it's for us too. It's for every adult who might be picking this book up. It's really, what are we saying to ourselves and how can we change that narrative up? And it's so important because we have to be our own best friend, our own best advocate, uh, to live our best life.
Hilary Russo
Yeah. Including your own. Best health advocate to ask questions. If you don't know what a doctor is telling you, or if you challenge something, that's okay, too. I think we've gotten to this mindset that what the doctor says goes. And I think now in this alternative and integrative approach to medicine, where we're blending the Western and Eastern medicine, we're seeing these holistic alternative possibilities. And it's allowing us to say, you know what? I'm I don't know if I want to go that route that that might be a band aid. I'd like to see what my body can do to heal itself first if I need to go to that.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Right.
Hilary Russo
But then I guess for those who are already maybe taking medication, this is in no way. By the way, this is no way saying stop the meds. Do not do that without a doctor's, um, you know, advisement, but it could move you to a place where maybe you are taking a lower dosage. Maybe eventually you're weaning yourself off of something with a doctor's care because you are practicing integrative approaches to bettering your health and wellness.
That's being a health advocate.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
It really is. And it's absolutely true because we have parents who've come in who said, you know, my child is on medications. It's helped. It doesn't help. It helps. It doesn't help kind of thing. And, uh, we have side effects of some people. Not everyone has side effects, but those who do, they can, they can really be a concern for people.
And so with this, what we're seeing is that as time goes on, if the brain starts working better and I can remember better. Then what happens is the child or the adult may feel over medicated a little bit, and that's where the conversation comes in, you need to go talk to your, you know, physician, your treating physician, whoever's writing those prescriptions for you, and let them know that you have made some changes, and you feel like maybe this is too strong now, and what can they do about that.
Hilary Russo
Great. One other question that I'd like to put out there, this actually didn't come across as a question, but I'm going to twist it around here a little bit, because I'm curious. Deborah from New York shared, she said she doesn't have ADHD, but hormones have never been her friend. And she also has anxiety and medical PTSD from cancer.
By the way, she's a cancer survivor. So yay you. But how can we as a collective or just individually rather, how can somebody who is facing that in their lives, you know, maybe it's a medical condition on top of finding out. That they are thinking differently or, um, going through hormonal changes. I mean, that's a big one.
Those are growing pains to how do, how does somebody support that when they're already dealing with something else?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
You know, it's such an important, um, thing for us to look at these alternatives, to look at integrative health, to look at the bigger picture. Because there aren't more answers out there, there are more ways that we can manage our health.
And an article that had come across years ago out of the Cleveland Clinic, and I used to live in Ohio and was not too far away from the setting, but one of the women who ran a cancer support group for women had herself survived breast cancer. And had developed brain fog. And so she was dealing with, uh, chemo fog is kind of the other term that they talk about for that.
And so she discovered neurofeedback and did it for herself. And found that she improved. And it was such a change for her that she actually created a study for the women in her support group. And they did a study, there was about 25 or 26 women in this group. And I think of the 25 of them who did the neurofeedback had great relief.
From the brain fog. So it's looking for these alternatives hormonal problems. Oh my gosh, you know, you just feel overpowered Yeah, by this some days. It's like what can I do for my health and it's looking for you know There's the blend of Eastern and Western that you talked about sometimes homeopathic medication can be an approach that People resonate with nature apathic folks might have some remedies or that that's more natural if you're looking for Uh, some of those remedies that may be a little bit different from Western medicine, everything has its place.
Hilary Russo
And I think part of it is just figuring out what's right for each person, right? Each of us is a little bit different. And so sometimes there's a trial and error process with this, but when you get the right combination, it can make the difference.
When I was, when I was studying, uh, integrative nutrition, we learned a lot about bio.
Uh, individuality, like what you just said, it's really each person and each situation is going to be different from somebody else. So what might work for you might not work for somebody else. And it's really finding your own way and your own path. And you know, going back to Deborah, who is a rock star for everything that you're doing to better your own health.
You even said that you find nature helping you. It helps you to slow down. So that's wonderful that you're finding something that helps you slow down when you need to slow down, right? It's finding your own way in this world so that you're running a, you're running a good operating system.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Hilary Russo
Yeah. That's beautiful.
Well, I do want to mention again that Dr. McReynolds, Dr. Connie has graciously put on her website, a free. Brief assessment. If you have questions, if you're listening to this and it's piquing your interest, you already have questions because you're here listening and you're standing there kind of in the resistance, like, is it me?
Is it my child? Maybe I have something to think about, but don't forget that knowledge is power. Having information allows you to move to the next step. And we've talked about a lot of that. And with Dr. McReynolds book, solving the ADHD riddle, the real cause of lasting solutions to your child's struggle to learn.
Boy, oh boy, where was this book when we were younger, everyone? Like, where was this book so that we could have been approached differently and, and spoken to differently? I mean, we're seeing more of that now, but there's definitely a space for this even in this day and age. So thank you for writing this book.
It's so, it's so needed and so appreciated.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Well, thank you for allowing me to get the word out. Through your program here.
Hilary Russo
Oh Absolutely.
So I want to play a little game with you. If you have a moment, a little brain game, let's, let's see how your brain works.
This is my favorite part of the show. Uh, so I do a word association at the end of every episode and I've collected words that we've said in conversation. Most of them have come from you. And what I want you to do is just come back with the first word that comes to mind. Little word association. Let's see where Dr. Connie is. Alright, you ready?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Sure, let's go.
Hilary Russo
Holistic.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Healing.
Hilary Russo.
Behavior.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Understanding.
Hilary Russo.
Brain.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Powerful.
Hilary Russo.
Discord.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Uncomfortable.
Hilary Russo.
Bullying.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Sad.
Hilary Russo.
Neurofeedback.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Brilliant.
Hilary Russo.
Attention.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Focused.
Hilary Russo.
ADHD.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Hmm. A lifeline to a different life.
Hilary Russo.
Hmm. Great. That is such a positive note and, and let that be, let that be a moment where we sit on that, that it could be the beginning of something new, new answers, a new possibility, right?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Yeah.
Hilary Russo.
So if you could leave listeners with one thing, what would it be?
Dr. Connie McReynolds
There's hope for a different future for anyone who has been diagnosed or struggling. With any kind of situation, there's hope you can make a change in your life and you can change it in a direction that works well for you.
Hilary Russo.
Beautiful. Thank you so much, Dr. Connie. This was really wonderful. I think I've learned something that I want to do differently and take some steps for myself. I definitely am going to take the assessment. You know, because I have questions as we all do. I mean, mainly having guests on the show is because my interest is piqued because I'm a human being living in this world, just like the rest of you, you know, so I hope that this conversation has touched, moved and inspired you.
If it has definitely leave a rating, a review, I'd Let me know how you think this conversation went, share your comments and let Dr. Connie know I'll absolutely share them with you as well. Download that free assessment, get a copy of the book Solving the ADHD Riddle and Say thank you to Dr. Connie for spending time with us.
So thank you. Dr. Connie. It's been a pleasure.
Dr. Connie McReynolds
Thank you for having me It's been a pleasure being here.
Hilary Russo.
Okay, my friend you have solutions and it starts with picking up. Dr Connie's book solving the ADHD riddle and while you're at it take Take that assessment. It is free. It's on our website. I will have all of the links to share with you in the listen notes.
So do not pass that by. And if you found that this episode is helpful in any way, consider passing it along to someone who may find it valuable too. You might help someone else where they were struggling and found a solution right here. So definitely pass it along. You can also leave a comment or review wherever you tune into this show.
HIListically Speaking is edited by to market media with music by lip bone reading and loved by you. So thank you. Thank you for keeping this mic on for yet another year. And remember this, you can train your brain, but first remember to be kind to your mind. I love you. I believe in you. And I will see you next week.