509 | October 2023 Live Q&A with ADHD reWired

Episode 538 of the ADHD reWired podcast, hosted by Eric Tivers, addresses the complexities and intersections of neurodivergence (ADHD and autism) and LGBTQ identities. The episode features a panel discussion from a NeuroDivergent Pride event, co-hosted by Chris Wang from Shimmer. The panel includes Eric, Nate, and Vida, who share their personal journeys of coming out as queer and neurodivergent. They discuss the challenges of navigating societal expectations, masking, and the importance of supportive communities. The episode also emphasizes the impact of visibility and advocacy in both the ADHD and LGBTQ communities, encouraging listeners to join supportive spaces and take steps to be proud of their identities. 03:24 NeuroDivergent Pride Panel Introduction 09:14 Panelists Share Their Stories 22:34 Exploring Neurodivergent and Queer Identities 31:55 Impact of Heteronormative and Neurotypical Expectations 38:04 High-Level Masking and Personal Experiences 38:50 Coming Out and Family Reactions 40:40 Navigating Identity and Cultural Expectations  43:37 Unmasking and Embracing Neurodivergence 46:06 Challenges of Masking and Survival Strategies 53:30 The Continuous Process of Coming Out 01:04:12 Getting Involved in Neurodivergent and LGBTQ Communities 01:13:29 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

This week, Eric is joined by Emily Karp! Emily is a 33-year-old entrepreneur, asexuality activist, and fan-work creator!  She embraced her ADHD around age 30 and quit her tedious job to become self-employed as a funeral celebrant and memorial slideshow editor who crafts personalized funerals and celebration-of-life events for non-religious individuals.  Emily went through the ADHD reWired coaching program in spring of 2021 and became a peer mentor in 2022.   Emily is also one of the authors of the book Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing your Asexual or Aromantic Identity, and is a lead organizer of the Washington DC Metro Area Ace and Aro meetup group!  Learn more about Emily at griefpictured.com! Questions/Topics: [00:01:39] Introducing Emily [00:02:41] Diving into the start of Emily’s ADHD journey [00:03:37] The stakes of getting an ADHD diagnosis [00:04:47] Life as an administrative professional before treatments  [00:08:47] Burnout, becoming an entrepreneur, sleep struggles, and coaching  [00:10:30] The “why” behind becoming a non-religious Funeral Celebrant  [00:13:24] Helping others grieve and heal, family estrangements, memorial gatherings, and closure  [00:17:17] Grief to acceptance with ADHD  [00:24:07] The basics of asexuality and aromantics [00:26:04] Nuances of ace relationships, significant others, attraction, and more   [00:28:25] Physical desire, libido, and other statistics in the asexual community  [00:30:44] A discussion on dysfunction, orientation, sexual trauma, and gatekeeping  [00:33:20] ADHD and neurodivergence in the Ace community  [00:42:07] The positive impact of community and relationships  [00:45:01] Emily’s facilitated sessions in the ADHD reWired community spaces  [00:46:54] Sharing more wins  [00:48:43] Emily’s work, website, and closing thoughts Resources & Honorable Mentions: Podcast: Aceterpretations Website: TAAAP – The Acc and Aro Advocacy Project @ taaap.org Book: Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing Your Asexual or Aromantic Identity Want to go to CHADD this year?  Go to chadd.org to learn more! 🌟 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 two-part conversation, Eric is joined by ADHD reWired Coaches Kat Hoyer and Kristin Marts!  Janelle Augustin, who is also an ADHD reWired Coaching group Alumni member, also joins all of the ADHD reWired Coaches in the hot seat to figure out action steps to creating and finishing processes.  Not only will you be able to listen in on the process of the Mastermind, you’ll also hear suggestions for managing multiple steps and tasks, reframing “done”, cues to be reminded to return to unfinished projects, and more.  About Janelle:  Janelle was born in Jamaica but grew up in South Florida and joins us in this episode from Tampa!  As a mom who enjoys gardening and has a love for cooking, Janelle is also an entrepreneur with her business called Nelly’s Fried Creamery, specializing in deep-fried ice cream.   Not long after being diagnosed with ADHD at age 32, Janelle joined ADHD reWired’s Coaching & Accountability Groups and continued her support with the Alumni community.  Through the coaching groups, she developed the self-awareness she needed to learn to advocate for herself and learned what she needed for that self-advocacy.  – – – Curious about our coaching groups? Ready to get your ADHD reWired? Go to coachingrewired.com to learn more, to add your name to our interest list, and to find the most up-to-date information about our upcoming seasons of coaching groups!  Questions/Topics in this Episode: [00:01:40] Introducing Janelle [00:04:45] What is a Mastermind?  [00:05:22] Summarizing the ADHD-related issue in the hot-seat  [00:08:10] Overall themes, encountering the “unfinished”, and picking a life domain [00:14:59] Janelle goes in depth about her previous processes of creating manuals and the ideas of “done” [00:17:58] Questions about master lists, time-management, and getting stuck [00:20:43] Suggestions on starting a process and avoiding procrasti-planning [00:23:32] Delegating, and how to find the “who” [00:30:22] Writing manuals, facing resistance, and the stories we tell ourselves [00:32:28] “What if it’s not good enough?” [00:35:27] “I’ve never been a first-draft kind of gal.”  [00:38:65] Janelle spit-fires a round of processes to be created  [00:41:56] “Where do I dump everything and how do I remember to go back to look at it and organize it?” [00:43:36] “It doesn’t have to be boring!” and other ways to create documentation [00:46:14] Managing task lists  Other Coaching Questions from today’s episode:  What is the smallest domino? Meaning, what is the thing you can do first that will help knock down some of the other barriers and hurdles you may be experiencing that may not seem related, but may actually be related?  A project might turn into a system. How do you visualize that before getting started?  Do you have a master list of what you’d like to accomplish, start-to-finish?  How do you manage your time while working on a project? What are other ways to capture information, other than writing? Do you edit while you write? Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network: with Brendan Mahan with Will Curb with MJ Siemens

In this episode, I am delighted to be reviewing the book, “Taking Charge of Adult ADHD”, – 2nd edition with author Russell Barkley, PhD.   

This is a must-have book for all adults with ADHD! and a must-listen conversation 

We talked about:

– Latest research in ADHD

– Medication and ADHD – what’s on the horizon

– Emotional dysregulation 

– How to move past the diagnosis and take charge of your ADHD and sooo much more. 

Be sure to order the 2nd edition of Taking Charge of Adult of ADHD 

Additional resources – http://www.russellbarkley.org/factsheets.html

The ADHD Report – http://www.russellbarkley.org/newsletter.html

About Dr. Barkley 

Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D., is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine (2016-present).  He is also a retired Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (1985-2002) and subsequently worked as a Professor of Psychiatry and Health Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina (2003-2016).  In semi-retirement, he continues to lecture widely and develop continuing education courses for professionals on ADHD and related disorders, as well as consult on research projects, edit The ADHD Report, and write books, reviews, and research articles. He is board-certified in Clinical Psychology (ABPP), Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, and Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN, ABPP).  Dr. Barkley is a clinical scientist, educator, and practitioner who has published 27 books, rating scales, and clinical manuals numbering more than 43 editions, and creator of 7 award-winning professional videos.  He has also published more than 300 scientific articles and book chapters related to the nature, assessment, and treatment of ADHD and related disorders.  He is the founder and Editor of the clinical newsletter, The ADHD Report, now in its 29th year of publication.  Dr. Barkley has presented more than 800 invited lectures in more than 30 countries and appeared on nationally televised shows such as 60 Minutes, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, and many others.  He has received numerous awards from professional societies and ADHD organizations for his lifetime achievements, contributions to research and clinical practice, and the dissemination of science.  His website is www.russellbarkley.org.

My transition from corporate life to becoming a solopreneur has been one of the most interesting, fulfilling, challenging, and rewarding thing I have taken on.⁠

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In this episode, ⁠I share the difference between a mindset of a scattered solopreneur v.s. Focused solopreneur, with you. By no means, am I perfect in the way I run my business but over the years, one thing that I made sure of is to walk the talk and also to share with you what I am learning along the way.

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So if you are a business owner, take the time and reflect on your vision, your skills, mindset, make sure you have the right support system in place to launch your business to the next level. ⁠

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You started this because you are passionate about a cause, don’t let your brain limit you, grow your mindset. You are more than capable! ⁠

I would love to hear from you:

Can you do me a favor? Pls take a few minutes and rate this show or even better it would mean so much to me if you wrote a quick review, I thank you in advance. Is there a topic you want to learn more about? Or do you have a question about a challenge you are facing with your ADHD? Leave me a voice mail https://www.speakpipe.com/Coachcathy super easy todo, Record, Listen, and push Send. I will respond in my upcoming episodes.

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How do you manage to stay on track when the shinny new ideas/projects come knocking on your door?

I used to get in the trap of getting derailed often when I was in corporate life and sometimes it worked out and other time I was left with regret. I used to jump ship often until I learned about my brain and why I was doing this often.

I wanted to share my views and learning with you on this as I now see this in my clients that I coach and when they really dig deep and understand how to manage “jumping ship” or “oooh shiny new thing” it becomes a game-changer for their professional role or business.

Please know that I am not saying we should avoid shiny new things, there is a more strategic way to go about it, and also once you understand why your brain is craving it you can make a solid decision to either jump or step in with caution or avoid it altogether. Cause you are the master of your brain after all and you should be calling the shot not your brain or other people’s shiny new ideas/projects.