EP. 280: Dr. Sharon Saline: The Stress-Anxiety-ADHD Nexus
May 15, 2024
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Dr. Sharon Saline, a seasoned psychologist, delves into managing ADHD, anxiety, and time management for smart women. She distinguishes between productive and toxic anxiety, offers practical tips on emotional balance, and discusses navigating menopause challenges. Dr. Saline emphasizes self-awareness, realistic goal-setting, and visual meditation techniques to empower women with ADHD. Her expertise shines through in promoting self-acceptance, managing perfectionism, and fostering community support for neurodivergent individuals.
Understanding the difference between productive and toxic anxiety is crucial for managing ADHD and emotional regulation.
Dr. Saline emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, realistic time goals, and visual meditation techniques for maintaining emotional balance.
Managing ADHD requires strategies like setting alarms and allowing extra time to combat rushing and feeling overwhelmed.
Deep dives
Supporting a Podcast that Empowers Women with ADHD
The podcast episode emphasizes the importance of supporting the show to continue changing the conversation around ADHD and women. By mentioning successful women with ADHD like Greta Gerwig and Simone Biles, the episode highlights the need to talk about the achievements of the 43% of people with ADHD who are in excellent mental health.
Overcoming Anxiety and Embracing ADHD Strengths
Guest Dr. Sharon Saline discusses her personal journey with self-diagnosed ADHD and how going through menopause led her to understand and embrace her ADHD diagnosis. She delves into the connection between anxiety, time management challenges, and emotional control, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness in managing ADHD.
Impact of ADHD in Adulthood on Time Management
The episode explores how ADHD traits can impact time management in adulthood, drawing parallels between personal experiences and struggles with estimating task durations accurately. Strategies like setting alarms and allowing extra time are recommended to combat the internal pressure of rushing and feeling overwhelmed.
Challenge of Balancing Various Responsibilities with ADHD
The podcast sheds light on how ADHD can affect responsibilities like project management in families, creating a need for balance and realistic expectations. The discussion touches on how ADHD individuals may feel overwhelmed by juggling tasks and outlines the importance of self-care to prevent burnout.
Navigating Anxiety through Mindfulness and Social Interaction
Dr. Saline provides insights on managing anxiety by staying present in social interactions and using mindfulness techniques. The episode showcases strategies to address social anxiety, such as practicing stepwise exposure and learning to respond assertively to avoid triggers and reduce feelings of shame and self-criticism.
Did you know there's such a thing as productive anxiety and toxic anxiety? One can give you a boost, while the other can drag you down. Managing ADHD, anxiety, time management, and social expectations can be tricky, but they also open doors to self-discovery and growth. Dr. Saline, with over 30 years of experience and a strengths-based approach, offers down-to-earth advice to help you tackle social anxiety, emotional regulation, and time management, especially during life transitions like menopause. Her personal and professional insights help smart women manage their busy brains and use their intelligence as a tool, not a mask.
In this episode, Dr. Saline breaks down how to understand and handle anxiety. She helps women tell the difference between productive anxiety, which can be a helpful motivator, and toxic anxiety, which can feel overwhelming. Her tips include being self-aware and using practical strategies like setting realistic time goals and trying out visual meditation techniques to stay emotionally balanced.
Dr. Saline, author of the award-winning book What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew, specializes in working with ADHD and neurodivergent individuals of all ages, helping them improve cognitive and social skills, resilience, self-confidence, and personal relationships. She consults internationally with schools, clinics, and businesses, runs a private practice, and is a part-time lecturer at the Smith College School for Social Work. Additionally, she is a blogger for Psychology Today, a contributing expert on MASS Live, and hosts a bi-weekly Facebook Live event for ADDitude Magazine. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including MSN.com, The Psychotherapy Networker, Smith College Studies in Social Work, and Attention Magazine.