ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In Episode #51, Tracy talks about an article that she wrote for *ADDitude* (It’s the leading media network for parents and adults living with ADHD and for professionals working in the field of ADHD). Since the article touches on the importance of hope, positive emotion, focusing on strengths, and how her 17-year-old son did just that to successfully crack his learning code, she invited him on the podcast as her guest and he accepted! If you’re looking for a real ADHD underdog success story, you’ll like this one. Markus shares: his experiences at his various high schools (he went to 3!), what worked for his ADHD brain and what didn't, whether he now regrets any of these experiences, how a summer in Europe changed his life, what made him decide to reconsider going to a four-year college right out of high school, the good news he received a few days ago, the invaluable lessons he’s learned, how being open about his ADHD serves him well, his advice for a teacher who has an ADHD student, how his creativity makes him different, and advice for a teen who might be listening to this podcast and might be where Markus was a year ago.Tracy talks about: the fact that there is no such thing as failure, only lessons, the importance of focusing on strengths, the importance of understanding why we have to learn something in order to learn, how environment is so important to the ADHD brain, the importance of structure to the ADHD brain, positive emotion, how focusing on weaknesses ruins our self-esteem, and how you don’t find your purpose—you step into it because it's always been there.Markus also shares a song he wrote, performed, and recorded as part of his college portfolio.______________Resources:ADDitudeMAG Article: “What If My Intense Drive Is Because of — Not in Spite of — My ADHD?”Korematsu Kuraun: https://soundcloud.com/user-107027875/korematsu-kuraunSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___This episode of ADHD for Smart Ass Women is definitely among my favorites. In fact, it might be my favorite. In Episode #50, I invite ADHD expert, psychotherapist, former USC adjunct professor, and life coach Diann Wingert back to discuss meditation for the ADHD brain.Look, I don’t really get meditation. My thoughts are: I have ADHD, and you want me to sit still and stop my brain from thinking, thinking, thinking? It’s an oxymoron, I tell ya! Or at least that’s what I told Diann. That’s when she took on the challenge of selling me and my ADHD brain on meditation. You have to listen to this episode because it completely changed my beliefs about what meditation is and how it will work for my ADHD brain. And she made it stupidly simple. I can do it! Bottom line, Diann knows ADHD, and she knows meditation for the ADHD brain. With her guidance, even I was successful.______________Resources:pemachodronfoundation.orgchoosemuse.cominsighttimer.comCalm Appwww.headspace.comDiann's podcast The Driven Woman will launch February 6, 2020 diannwingertcoaching.com LINK TO SCHEDULE FREE 30 MIN CONSULTATION FOR POTENTIAL COACHING CLIENTScalendly.comSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___Our podcast on Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD), Episode #19, is among our most downloaded episodes, and members continue to post about it. Since it’s such a popular topic, I wanted to revisit RSD with the optimism that I didn’t fully deliver in Episode #19. Since recording that first episode, I’ve discovered that there’s actually a lot you can do to reduce and even eliminate symptoms of RSD, and that’s what this episode is all about.We discuss: a Cliff Notes version of what RSD is (if you haven’t listened to Episode #19, you can do that), how RSD and social phobia differ, how RSD and bipolar disorder differ, the reasons why those of us with ADHD and RSD tend to have low frustration tolerance, less patience, and more difficulty with temper and excitability than those without these conditions, and what flooding is.Join us as we explore what women with RSD have done to reduce and even eliminate their symptoms. This includes learning about their ADHD and RSD, medication, a change of environment, and a discussion of the new term VAST. We also talk about the importance of choosing your Gold Star people and resources, the three things that will always help to motivate those with RSD, what it means to be an amplifier, and the importance of acknowledging your creativity.We’ll also discuss how planning ahead prior to an RSD episode can help reduce and even eliminate symptoms, the importance of “taking the emotion” out of it, and considering other perspectives that may be more accurate than what we perceive when our RSD flares up. Lastly, we cover why you need to continue to trust your own intuition, and I’ll share my suggestions on RSD, ADHD, and dating.______________Resources:I have created the Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) Protocol for ADHD as a resource for you. When we have a plan, we’re less reactionary and more successful in managing not only our RSD but also our ADHD. You may download it: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria: Symptom Test for ADHD Brains Take the RSD Symptoms Test Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In Episode #48 of ADHD for Smart Ass Women, I invite you to meet Sandra Coral. Sandra is a 41-year-old Black woman who was adopted at 3 by a poor, white family in Canada and was diagnosed with ADHD last year. She joins us from London, where she lives with her husband and 5-year-old son. Sandra was a K-12 teacher for over 15 years. She has an MA in Educational Psychology as well as post-graduate certificates in English As An Additional Language, Gifted Education, and Special Education. She has taught internationally, including in the UK, South Korea, Thailand, Oman, and Turkey.Sandra will share her fascinating story, including her childhood where she and her little brother were the only people of color, how she was bullied and traumatized, and because of this, suffered from emotional dysregulation and anger. Her 7-year-old brother was diagnosed with ADHD, but she remained undiagnosed until last year. Up until recently, Sandra thought her issues were solely related to her race.Sandra and I will also talk about how she finally discovered that she had ADHD, what childhood symptoms Sandra now recognizes as ADHD, what additional issues come up for those with ADHD when you’re Black, and how one even starts to unravel this and figure out what is related to adoption, race, trauma, or ADHD. We’ll discuss the importance of focusing on our strengths when we have ADHD.Since being diagnosed, Sandra has decided to make it her mission to give children, teens, parents, and adults the support that she didn’t have growing up, so they can manage their ADHD and thrive in life.______________Resources:Instagram: @nd.narrativesFacebook Group: The ADHD LifeSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Tracy talks about ADHD and gratitude. A practice of gratitude is important for everyone, but for those of us with ADHD, it’s even more important. Why? Because processing emotions starts in the brain itself, and emotions motivate action. This means that if your emotions are negative, you will be completely unmotivated. But if your emotions are positive and you’re working in an area of high interest, the sky's the limit.Discover:Why we can’t get anything done without positive emotionHow positive emotion is directly related to dopamine, memory, behavior, focus, and motivationHow gratitude directly influences our emotionsHow a practice of gratitude helps our ADHD symptomsHow gratitude affects sleepHow gratitude affects executive function, including focusHow gratitude makes it more likely that we will stick to our goals and start new habitsHow gratitude boosts dopamine and serotonin in our brainsHow gratitude allows us to focus on what’s going right in our lives rather than what’s wrongHow gratitude will make you more friends and attract people who want to be around youTracy also explains how to start a Gratitude Journal, where you begin and end each day with positive emotion. Learn what Tracy’s *Positive Emotion Dossier* is and how it can help you. She also shares how the idea in the book *29 Gifts* helped her increase gratitude and uplevel her holidays last year. Additionally, Tracy discusses how Abraham Hicks can help you change negative thoughts to focus more on gratitude, and why your thoughts will always determine how happy you are.______________Resources:ADHD and the Practice of Gratitude by Dr. Kari MillerThe Five Minute JournalSend a Message: Your Name | Email | MessageInstead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___Caryn wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until she was 46, but she’s known that she has ADHD since grade school. Caryn always felt that her ADHD worked for her until one day she woke up and it suddenly didn’t. She decided then and there to go visit a doctor. Like many of our first experiences with doctors and ADHD, her doctors didn’t want to talk about ADHD because they knew little about how it presented in women. Instead, they wanted to prescribe her anxiety medication.Caryn stuck to her guns, and the rest, as they say, is history. I asked Caryn Prall: What made her finally seek out an ADHD diagnosis? If she always knew that there was something different about her than her peers? About her childhood, relationships with friends, and school? What she thinks her biggest strengths are? How is it that she’s so successful but yet so open about her ADHD? If she thinks she’s successful because of her ADHD or in spite of it? What workarounds has she developed to reduce her weaknesses? The best advice she can give to women of any age who feel that they’re not living to their potential?Caryn also shared her reasons for starting her fantastic podcast, *The Messy Empire*, which is all about what it takes to build a 2 billion dollar real estate empire and how this all relates to her ADHD. You can subscribe to The Messy Empire.Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In Episode #45 of *ADHD for Smart Ass Women*, Tracy introduces you to 27-year-old MMA fighter Emma Elizabeth Megan ("Em"), who was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 18.Em began struggling after facing a lot of stress during her first year of college. Initially diagnosed with depression, she was prescribed citalopram, which caused her to feel “buzzy” or hyper. This reaction ultimately led to her misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder.Em accepted the diagnosis, being young and unaware of alternatives. The bipolar medication, however, made her suicidal, and she spent time in psychiatric units. During this period, Em also pursued a Master's in Psychology to better understand bipolar disorder.Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___This week's topic is all about bipolar disorder and why ADHD often gets misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder. Tracy posted a simple question to her group: "HAVE YOU BEEN MISDIAGNOSED WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?" She was shocked at how many women had been, so she decided to research the subject. In this episode, you’ll learn when bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed, what symptoms bipolar disorder and ADHD share, and what bipolar disorder actually is. The DSM requirements for diagnosing bipolar disorder are also discussed, along with why bipolar disorder can’t be ignored and must be treated.Learn what mania and hypomania are, understand the symptoms of a major depressive episode, and recognize the greatest risk of bipolar disorder. Tracy discusses the different types of bipolar disorder, the difference between Bipolar I and Bipolar II, and the distinction between episodic and contextual emotional changes. She also explains how sleep patterns differ in ADHD versus bipolar disorder, and how uncontrollable talking and distractibility present differently in the two conditions.Explore how emotional sensitivity varies between ADHD and bipolar disorder, and how bipolar disorder manifests differently in kids, specifically around emotion. Discover if having an ADHD diagnosis makes you more likely to also have bipolar disorder, and if a diagnosis of bipolar disorder makes ADHD more likely. Tracy explains why it’s so difficult to get an accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder and explores the link between bipolar disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder in kids. Learn whether a fiery, intense temper is indicative of ADHD, and how bipolar disorder is linked to creativity and artistic temperament and intelligence. Tracy also explains why heightened creativity or artistry only happens in hypomania, and which part of the brain is involved in this.Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In Episode #43 of ADHD for Smart Ass Women, Tracy speaks with the delightful Megan Margaret Burlingame. Megan is 34 years old, a wife and the mother of two very busy boys. Throughout her childhood, Megan struggled mightily with her ADHD but is clear about the fact that her struggles also led her to discover her Superpowers. Today Megan lives in Arlington, WA, where she works with cities, counties, and government agencies to advise them on zoning and legal land issues. In her free time, she operates a small flower farm where she also grows a large variety of organic heirloom tomatoes.Tracy invited Megan to her podcast after she posted this response to another member who said she was having trouble seeing anything positive about her ADHD:“The more I educate myself about it, the more I realize that it makes me who I am. I am so so good with people, I understand their natures and moods. Sometimes it is like a wave of emotions that hits me when I enter a room and, while inconvenient, let me see the true nature of people. I am also much more empathetic because of how much I was picked on for skipping around school constantly, saying the wrong things, laughing too loud, etc. I love to root for the underdog and think that cruelty from others for any reason is horrendous. In a crisis or when someone is swamped with work, I can jump in and formulate a plan, execute it with a maniacal glee, and excel beyond my peers.”Megan’s revelation around taking medication, non-pharmacological workarounds, and her best advice to those who are struggling with their ADHD and/or are parents of children with ADHD are also discussed in the episode.______________Resources:Youtube: How to ADHDwww.summitflowerfarm.comSend a Message: Your Name | Email | Message Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup___In this episode, Tracy talks about the myth that “everyone has ADHD.” Discover what behavioral characteristics the general population shares with those of us with ADHD. You’ll learn about the following: What distinguishes adults with ADHD from the general population who display ADHD characteristics?, the survey that Russell Barkley and his colleagues Kevin Murphy and MariEllen Fischer conducted that finally put to bed the EVERYONE HAS ADHD myth. The three different types of ADHD, the questions that those of us with ADHD often respond “yes” to, the domains of life in which those with ADHD often feel impaired by their symptoms, how we often don’t even realize we struggled or we’re struggling until we really reflect back on our experiences.______________Resources:Taking Charge of Adult ADHDADHD in Adults: What the Science SaysSend a Message: Your Name | Email | MessageInstead of Struggling to figure out what to do next? ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com