ADHD reWired

In this episode, Jessica Hicksted joins Eric on the podcast!  Jessica was late-diagnosed with autism and ADHD and brings together her life experiences and education to advocate for invisible disabilities.  Growing up the “awkward kid,” she faced life’s rough spots head-on, creating resilience and determination.  These skills proved valuable in completing her PhD and dedicating her research into invisible disabilities to help promote positive social change.  You’ll hear Eric and Jessica talk about workplace success for people with invisible disabilities, masking and executive-function drains, and ableism.  Then, you’ll also hear about how Jessica got diagnosed, self-advocacy, disclosure or nondisclosure in the workplace, what Jessica uncovered in her research, and the benefits and values to businesses for being more accommodating.   Find some of her writing on ADDitude Magazine!   Questions/Topics:  [00:01:06] Introducing Jessica & meeting at CHADD  [00:02:13] Diving into Jessica’s research, and, “How do we–from a systems perspective–help individuals be successful in the workplace?”  [00:05:23] Are the tides really starting to turn in the workplace about invisible disabilities?  [00:06:27] Masking in the workplace  [00:09:25] Jessica’s experience of being diagnosed as an adult after becoming a parent [00:16:14] What is an invisible disability? [00:18:56] Disclosure vs. intended disclosure [00:19:42] What does the data say about disclosure?  [00:21:10] What kinds of questions did Jessica ask while doing her research?  [00:24:24] A conversation on the prevalence of ableism in the workplace  [00:27:58] Transparency and opening the door of communication  [00:33:28] Money talk: What is the benefit and value for businesses to be more inclusive and accommodating for people with invisible disabilities?  What does the data show?  [00:38:30] In Jessica’s data, were there any industries that were ‘better’ with acceptance in the workplace than others?  [00:42:18] What are some questions a prospective employee could ask to try and gauge if they will be entering a friendly workplace for neurodivergent brains?  [00:44:52] If there could be one big change in the workplace to help individuals with invisible disabilities, what would that change look like?   [00:45:53] Closing thoughts  🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community! 🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

Join the ADHD reWired Team every second Tuesday of the month for our monthly Live Q&A!  Get this episode uninterrupted by ads when you become a Patron at $5.00 a month or more by going to adhdrewired.com/Patreon!  Questions/Topics:  [00:01:06] Welcome & introductions [00:02:44] A listener, who has treatment-resistant depression and asks for tips (other than exercise) to help manage ADHD, moods, and depression [00:13:29] “How are you using ChatGPT and how do you think it is most beneficial to someone with ADHD?” [00:22:14] “Why is it that, with ADHD brains, we can think really fast and great in some situations, but fail in traditional work situations?  If our brains work fast, why do we struggle in the real world?”  [00:28:50] A listener asks about non-prescription nootropics [00:34:43] “What is a good password manager?” [00:36:56] One of the panelists asks for tips to help the transition between seasons easier  [00:44:45] “How should I handle the fact that my ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) - Level 1 diagnosis dismissed my ADHD-combined diagnosis in 2019 as being better explained by autism? Am I ADHD or not? And should I stop by ADHD therapy and focus on Autism therapy, in that it might help indirectly with ADHD?”  [00:50:47] “Is there any research that indicates baseline dopamine levels are negatively impacted, over time, by taking stimulant medication?”  [00:52:44] Closing thoughts 🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community! 🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

This week, Eric is joined by Abby Wilson!  Abby runs a global facilitation, mediation, and coaching practice from her beloved home in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.  She uses methods from the design field–A.K.A. design-thinking–to help individuals navigate career change, and helps organizations to lead with empathy, reframe challenges, and generate ideas.   Her ADHD diagnosis, 8 years ago at the age of 35, is one of those before-and-after life moments that so many of us can probably relate to, and is thrilled to be connecting the dots between design-thinking, her life’s work for the last 12 years, and her naturally “curly” mind!  Abby’s “curly” mind has lived in 6 countries, she has birthed a child she adores, has worked in many governments, and has enough letters after her name for a competitive Scrabble game!  In this conversation, you’ll hear Eric and Abby talk about design thinking, how it’s beneficial for ADHD folks, the messiness of the creative process, and solving for the right problem.  You’ll also hear about how having a lot of great ideas also means having a lot of not-so-great ideas, prioritizing, risk-taking, the importance of specificity, and why design-thinking is helpful for relationships, tapping into your creativity, and more.   Get in touch and learn more about design thinking and Abby at her website: abbywilson.com   Questions/Topics:  [00:01:10] Introducing Abby [00:02:41] What is design thinking?   [00:04:11] Abby on teaching iterative process, roadblocks faced during design thinking, and the messiness of the creative process  [00:05:13] Eric shares a real-life example and asks Abby about applying design thinking to this situation [00:07:09] The most basic framework for a design process is…  [00:08:04] The “Rose, Thorn, Bud” method for being endlessly curious and to start to add an additional layer of meaning  [00:11:35] Abby on finding a specific problem-definition and methods to help reframing  [00:13:55] What do we do when one idea spawns 20 other ideas?  How do we go back to the original idea when we get sidetracked with other ideas? [00:21:27] A discussion on prioritization: What do we do first? How do we say no?  [00:22:56] The sweet spot of ideas and Abby’s favorite method for prioritization: The Importance/Difficulty Matrix [00:25:42] Eric asks Abby, “What kinds of questions do you ask yourself when you’re trying to identify a ranked order of importance?” and defining “importance”  [00:27:21] Executive function use, observing energy and emotional investments, and emotional temperatures [00:32:17] Why do design thinking skills matter?  [00:37:12] Whether it’s a boss, a partner, a friend, or a group: How do we help them understand the value of design thinking?  [00:39:50] What do we do and how do we communicate when ideas happen “too fast?” [00:42:33] Abby shares a book recommendation [00:43:27] Connect with Abby and closing thoughts Resources: Article: The Double Diamond: A Universally Accepted Depiction of the Design Process  Article: Framework for Innovation: Design Council’s Evolved Double Diamond at designcouncil.org.uk  Article: Rose, Thorn, Bud at luma-institute.com Article: The Importance/Difficulty Matrix at luma-institute.com Book: The One Thing by Gary Keller Book: What Do You Do With an Idea? By Kobi Yamada Website: Stanford d.school at dschool.stanford.edu    Honorable Mentions: “...the things that we have captured become a participant in the conversation.”  “We can only define our challenges effectively if we’ve got good data and observations.”  “We don’t have to kill our darlings.”  “Design thinking helps us harness our natural curiosity and creativity to bring new things into the world.”  🌟 Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network by going to adhdrewired.com/podcastnetwork 🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community! 🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

This week, Faigie Kobre joins Eric on the podcast for a discussion on reigniting creativity.  Faigie is a creative coach for people who don’t feel artistic but love art!  She works with people who have creativity scars and think they “aren’t creative” because they can’t draw.  She has a passion for reconnecting people with their inner creativity to bring calm, color, and joy into their lives.   In this conversation, you’ll hear about Eric’s journey with music, why people stop tapping into their creativity, why Faigie is trying to bring art back to everybody who wants to come back to it, and her start as an early childhood educator.  Then, you’ll hear about creativity scars, comparison, perfectionism, the healing and sensory benefits of creativity, and how anyone at any age can tap into their creativity. Get in touch with Faigie, reignite your creativity & take her micro-course at CreativityReignited.com!    Questions/Topics:  [00:01:45] “Everybody is born creative.” - Faigie [00:04:52] “There’s so many ways to do art where you don’t have to know how to draw.” [00:05:19] What was it that drew Faigie to not just creativity and art, but also using creativity and art to connect with others and help other people?  [00:07:26] Faigie gets hooked on mixed-media art and getting people back to their childhoods  [00:08:45] A discussion on play in the realm of creativity and allowing it to flourish  [00:11:33] An intersection between being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and interest in artwork [00:12:59] What is T.A.B.? (Teaching for Artistic Behavior) [00:13:42] “In schools [...] it’s more about how the art makes the teacher look” and being punished for the expression of an idea [00:18:13] What are creativity scars?  [00:20:28] “Comparison is the thief of joy,” learning to create, and enjoying the process [00:21:51] Eric shares his journey with painting and a discussion on cleaning up after an art session  [00:24:08] Using an art journal and how general creativity can help someone combat perfectionism [00:26:01] Faigie shares five mediums of art that have tremendous opportunities for creativity  [00:27:47] Eric asks why art is such an impactful medium for people with ADHD: “How is this helping us?”  [00:34:23] A discussion on getting started when we don’t know where to start [00:38:48] Eric asks, “As an artist with ADHD, how do you know when a piece of work is done?”  [00:40:09] Color schemes and color wheels [00:45:17] Closing thoughts Resources: Book - The Creativity Cure by Carrie Barron and Alton Barron Book - Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom Kelly and David Kelly Book - Healing the Child Within: Discovery and Recovery for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families by Charles L. Whitfield Book - Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child by John Bradshaw Book - The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron Video - Do Schools Kill Creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson Website - Sir Ken Robinson at SirKenRobinson.com   Website - Danny Gregory at DannyGregory.com   Website - Sketchbook School by Danny Gregory at SketchbookSkool.com   Website - CreativeConfidence.com   Article - Johari Window on CommunicationTheory.org Honorable Mentions: “...so many adults feel non-creative because of how they were squashed when they were kids.” “Comparison is the thief of joy.”  “The idea of play is that you’re doing it for no purpose other than the enjoyment of it.”  🌟 Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network: ADHD Essentials with Brendan Mahan Hacking Your ADHD with Will Curb ADHD Diversified with MJ Siemens 🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community! 🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

In this episode, Eric is joined by Jesse J. Anderson, a.k.a @ADHDJesse.  Jesse is a writer, speaker, developer, and content creator who was diagnosed with ADHD at 36.  He is the co-founder of Polar Habits, a guilt-free habit app, and he writes a weekly newsletter called Extra Focus.  He is the author (rather, soon-to-be-author!) of Refocus: Thriving with Adult ADHD.  He also has two podcasts and more!  You’ll hear about leaning into mistakes, what Polar Habits is all about, how breaking a ‘streak’ of habits doesn’t undo your progress, and how changing our environments can impact our habits.   Then, you’ll hear more about habits, perfectionism, prioritization, and the importance of being vulnerable while having a curious and non-judgemental mindset.  Finally, you’ll hear Jesse fill us in about his creative writing process and what prompted him to start writing his book.  Timestamps coming soon!  Resources: Find Jesse on Twitter and Instagram as @ADHDJesse  Jesse’s Website: Adhdjesse.com    Get Jesse’s newsletter & the waiting list for his book at ExtraFocus.com   Polar Habits at polarhabits.com   Podcast: ADHD Nerds   Honorable Mentions: Tool: Llama Life   ADHD reWired episode #47 - ADHD at 55 MPH   ADHD reWired episode #453 with Marie Ng   Book: Change Your Questions, Change Your Life by Marilee G. Adams   “So much of managing ADHD is just like learning my patterns, and then trying to build systems around catching those patterns.” - Jesse  “...one of the most important ingredients of a good coachee [is] curiosity [...] That’s gold.  If you have a non-judgemental curiosity towards how things are going, you’re going to figure it all out.  It just takes time.”  - Eric 🌟 Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network: ADHD Essentials with Brendan Mahan Hacking Your ADHD with Will Curb ADHD Diversified with MJ Siemens 🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community! 🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

Join the ADHD reWired Team every second Tuesday of the month for our monthly Live Q&A by going to adhdrewired.com/Events Get the full uninterrupted version of this episode when you become a Patron at $5.00 a month or more by going to adhdrewired.com/Patreon!  Questions/Topics:  [00:01:07] Welcome & introductions. [00:02:48] Hello to our special guest panelist. [00:03:25] A listener asks about laziness and ADHD: “Does laziness exist?” [00:13:22] The Sleep With Me Podcast has over 1000 episodes. Eric asks Scoots if he ever gets bored from doing the same thing over and over again. [00:16:19] “What are some ways that you trick yourselves into getting up in the morning when the prospect of life is overwhelming?”  [00:28:00] “After finally finding the right medication (for ADHD), what is the next step? Self-help books, podcasts, and routines are great but don’t stick long enough. Coaching options?”  [00:29:31] A listener shares feeling shame around their ADHD diagnosis, then asks the panelists for tips on accepting and loving oneself with it.   [00:32:03] Scoots has a mix of working in coworking spaces and from home but has been experiencing back pain from working on the couch.  Then, he asks about options for changing scenery.   [00:40:34] “Just lost three months to a game. Deleted the game - how do I start to get back on track?”  [00:47:54] A listener asks Scoots, “How did you come up with the ‘Sleep With Me Podcast’ style you use? Was it a default process or were you intentionally embracing and capitalizing on the pointless meandering train-of-thought?  [00:52:59] “One of my main problems is paralysis when I start to feel overwhelmed.  I have so much to do that I can’t decide what to work on so I do nothing.  How can I calm that feeling without ignoring all the things I’m behind on?”  [00:58:57] A question related to the national medication shortage.   [01:01:17] Scoots does an on-the-fly Sleep-With-Me-style summary of today’s episode [01:04:47] A moment of dad…    Resources & Honorable Mentions: Sleep With Me Podcast   App: Wake N Shake Alarm Clock 4+ ( only)  Alarm on Wheels   Book: The One Thing   Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network: ADHD Essentials with Brendan Mahan Hacking Your ADHD with Will Curb ADHD Diversified with MJ Siemens Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community! Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

In this episode, Eric is joined by T. Perran Mitchell, the crafter of stories and maker of things! Comics are his favorite medium and have been for as long as he can remember.  Growing up with ADHD, dyslexia, and anxiety, comics not only fostered a love of reading, they were the key to learning to read.  He has also been with the same company for nearly 20 years running their quality control department.  T took a circuitous path to writing comics by first graduating from Drexel University with a degree in Information Science and Technology.  Every term, he took at least one class for himself that had nothing to do with his major, which led him to accidentally minoring in Philosophy and nearly attaining a minor in literature.  He uses these various interests to inform his writing.  Find out more about T. Perran Mitchell on his website at TPerranMitchell.com!   You can also find T. Perran Mitchell on LinkedIn, and on Twitter and Instagram as @TPerranMitchell  Other Questions/Topics Answered in this Episode: [00:02:07] Eric asks T about his ADHD story and life growing up  [00:04:03] T shares his experiences in college and the classes he was interested in vs. the classes he attended  [00:07:54] How has T been able to stay with the same company for nearly 20 years?  [00:09:30] Eric and T talk about distractions at work, music, and noise-canceling headphones  [00:12:28] A discussion on finding time to write, creative blocks, distractions, and being your own boss [00:18:12] Eric asks T about his comic writing and recreating manifestations of his life  [00:20:17] Are T’s comics specifically about ADHD or anxiety?  [00:21:31] As a creative, what does T’s workflow and writing process look like?  [00:25:52] Eric and T have a discussion about collaboration and leaning on the the skills of others  [00:32:40] ChatGPT, AI art generators, and how they affect creatives [00:40:16] An exchange on handwriting, voice-to-text, and spell-check  [00:43:05] Eric asks T about managing hyperfocus  [00:46:05] Where to find T. Perran and closing thoughts Resources & Honorable Mentions: Editor’s Choice: Studio / Monitor Headphones - Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro   Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network: ADHD Essentials with Brendan Mahan Hacking Your ADHD with Will Curb ADHD Diversified with MJ Siemens Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community! Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

Today, Eric is joined by Nate!  Nate is a program manager for the Department of Defense and a graduate student at Columbia University.  He received an ADHD diagnosis in 2016 at age 24 and a bi-polar diagnosis in 2022.  After better understanding his mental abilities and inabilities, he realized how incompatible he was with the person the world expected him to be.  This experience has led Nate down a path to highlight the tremendous potential and value that neurodivergent individuals can bring to an organization despite the story someone’s resume may or may not tell.   You’ll hear about how Nate found success despite being ‘punted’ from 5 schools, how education and opportunities are geared towards the ‘majority’, having a responsibility to our community to enable the changes we’d like to see, and how Nate received his ADHD diagnosis during active duty.  Then, you’ll also hear how being neurodivergent can bring different perspectives to the table, why age or rank doesn’t increase or decrease the worth of someone’s perspective, being curious and resilient, and that you don’t have to have a degree to offer a valuable insight.  Get in touch with Nate at nsr2143@columbia.edu  Other Questions/Topics Answered in this Episode: [00:02:16] How did Nate, a late-diagnosed ADHDer, become a program manager for the Department of Defense?  [00:03:09]  “Quantification does not equal the qualification”  [00:5:55] Why was Leadership as Nate’s undergrad important? What about college?  [00:18:34] What does it take for someone who’s been fired multiple times, tried higher-education multiple times, to have that resilient spirit to keep on going? [00:26:52] “I never looked at your rank or your position and thought that made you smarter or have a better opinion than me.”  [00:27:12] Speaking up and presenting a different view of the world in a diplomatic way [00:29:14] Experiencing pushback, managing those encounters, and reflecting on those who are pushing back [00:31:09] How does one navigate a scenario where they’ve pushed too hard or misread a situation? [00:35:53] Nate shares his experiences with bi-polar and how it shows up for him  [00:42:28] How does Nate manage the cyclical nature of bi-polar?  [00:48:14] Closing thoughts, the importance of curiosity and resilience, and how you can reach Nate  Resources & Honorable Mentions: “Your Potential can only rise to the occasions its presented” - Nate “Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” - Alan Turing  Book - - An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison () Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network:  ADHD Essentials with Brendan Mahan  Hacking Your ADHD with Will Curb  ADHD Diversified with MJ Siemens Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community! Interested in group coaching? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired's award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

The spring season of ADHD reWired's award-winning intensive Coaching & Accountability Groups starts in less than one week, going from March 30th through to June 8th! Want to get to know our coaches?  Give episode 475 a listen where you'll hear from Kat Hoyer and even more from Kristin Marts!  If you love what you hear, or if you've been on the fence for a while and you're ready to take the leap, there's still time to join us!  Go to coachingrewired.com to get started with your pre-registration process so you can join us for our last spring registration event on Monday, March 27th at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern.  If that time doesn’t work for you, then we are also holding an all-day open-house event on Tuesday, March 28th from 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern, until 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern!

In this bonus non-stop episode, Eric is joined by fellow ADHD reWired Coaches: Kat Hoyer and Kristin Marts!   You may have heard Kat Hoyer on the podcast before and her journey, first as a coaching group member in season 9 of ADHD reWired’s Coaching & Accountability Groups, to becoming a peer mentor, now an ADHD reWired coach!  Want to know more about Kat?  We have ADHD reWired podcast episodes with Kat listed below!  Then, we have Kristin Marts, who you may have met or heard from in our Live Q&A episodes!  But, if you haven’t heard much about Kristin, then this is the episode you need to hear!  Kristin is involved in musical theater, is a dancer by trade, is a licensed clinical social worker, and a loving mom to special-needs kids.   You’ll also hear about her growth journey as a member of the coaching groups, how she started listening to ADHD reWired, and how being a dancer masked her ADHD.  Finally, you’ll hear about her experiences as a peer mentor of the coaching groups, the power of flexibility, then diving into the role of a coach.   Learn More about ADHD reWired’s Coaching & Accountability Groups at coachingrewired.com! Our 2023 spring season of coaching & accountability groups starts on Thursday, March 30th! ⭐️⭐️⭐️ That’s coachingrewired.com to get your name added to our interest list so you can join us for our final registration event on Monday, March 27th at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern!  Can’t make it?  Then keep an eye out for another announcement for an open-house event on Tuesday, March 27th!  Resources & Honorable Mentions: Episodes with Kat Hoyer:  Episode 175: We’re Like-Brained, Not Just Like-Minded Episode 191: What You Might Not KNow about ADHD reWired Coaching Groups Episode 399: Workplace Accommodations: Do I Need to Disclose? Episode 413: From HR to ArC Episode 469: Masterminding Finishing and Creating Processes with Janelle in the Hot Seat (Part 1) - also featuring Kristin! Episode 470: Masterminding Finishing and Creating Processes with Janelle in the Hot Seat (Part 2) - also featuring Kristin! Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network: ADHD Essentials with Brendan Mahan Hacking Your ADHD with Will Curb ADHD Diversified with MJ Siemens Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community!