EP. 282: The Power of Persistence: Arielle Paul’s Story
May 29, 2024
auto_awesome
Arielle Paul, a resilient individual overcoming academic challenges due to ADHD and dyslexia, shares her journey to success. She highlights the impact of neurofeedback therapy, meditation, and supportive tutors. Her story sheds light on turning struggles into strengths, leading to academic achievements and a successful journalism career. The podcast explores topics like self-acceptance, empowerment, spiritual practices, and embracing neurodiversity.
With support and strategies like neurofeedback and tailored education, women with ADHD can triumph over academic challenges.
Turning learning disabilities into strengths, Arielle Paul's journey emphasizes growth through academic hurdles to journalistic success.
Blends program aims to provide daily positivity and mindfulness for ADHD brains, challenging the narrative around the condition.
Deep dives
Creating Blends for ADHD Brains
Blends, a daily program of coaching, teaching, mindfulness, and inspiration, was created to support ADHD brains by grounding, bringing positivity, and calming the nervous system in 10 minutes or less each day. Designed to offer encouragement, humor, and optimism, Blends aims to start the day with a boost of positivity, available for a special early supporter rate.
Highlighting ADHD Success and Strengths
The podcast challenges the narrative surrounding ADHD by showcasing successful individuals like Greta Gerwig and Simone Biles who have excelled with the condition. It questions why the focus often overlooks the 43% of people with ADHD in excellent mental health, advocating for positivity, hope, and acknowledging strengths over weaknesses.
A Journey of Overcoming Learning Challenges
Ariel Paul's journey from struggling with ADHD and dyslexia at a young age to graduating summa cum laude with a double major reflects resilience and determination. Discovering meditation, neurofeedback therapy, academic success despite testing anxiety, and ultimately gaining acceptance to Berkeley with a compelling college essay, Ariel's story exemplifies overcoming obstacles and achieving success.
Journey Through Academic and Professional Discernment
The podcast episode delves into the speaker's journey through academic and professional discernment. It highlights how the speaker's struggle with AP English led them to discover a passion for storytelling and journalism despite initially aspiring to be a performer. The pivotal moment in a seemingly English remedial class where a teacher recognized the speaker's potential as a journalist planted the seed for a future career. This episode emphasizes the speaker's complex emotions of simultaneous relief and perceived failure when considering career paths and true passions.
Navigating Personal Growth Through Adversities
The podcast episode also explores the speaker's journey of personal growth through adversities, neurodiversity, and self-discovery. It details the speaker's experiences with addiction, eating disorders, and relationships, leading to profound realizations and transformations. Through mindfulness practices, therapy, and medication, including a complex relationship with Adderall, the speaker reflects on finding balance and utilizes tools to navigate challenges. The episode underscores the importance of celebrating personal accomplishments, embracing neurodivergency, and cultivating self-love amidst life's tribulations.
Teachers once said, “She’ll never amount to anything academically,” but Arielle proved them wrong.
This podcast episode celebrates the resilience and brilliance of women with ADHD, featuring Arielle Paul's remarkable journey. Her story is a powerful reminder that with the right support and strategies, such as neurofeedback and tailored education, triumph is within reach.
Arielle's story highlights the challenges of ADHD and dyslexia, showing how she turned her struggles into strengths. Her journey through academic hurdles to becoming a successful journalist illustrates how every challenge can lead to incredible growth.
Arielle Paul is a writer, musician, adventurer, and lifelong student and practitioner of Kriya Yoga.
Diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia at ten, she couldn't read or write. Despite teachers saying she would “never amount to anything academically” and suggesting Ritalin, her parents had other plans. Through neurofeedback therapy, tireless work with tutors, and meditation, she eventually graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UC Berkeley with a double major in English and Performance Studies.
Turning learning disabilities and the written word into something tangible and meaningful has been the cornerstone of Arielle’s journey. She wrote for the Los Angeles Times for six years, penning the My Favorite Room column and covering design, architecture, and mental health stories. Now, as a contributing reporter for The New York Times, she writes on development in live-work-play spaces intersecting with sustainability and climate change. Her feature on excess water consumption in Dubai, which appeared on the Business and International front pages, brought desalination to the forefront at last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Arielle is also the proud mother of three adorable cats – Frodo, Hobbes, and Drogon.