The 4 Stages to move through your Adult ADHD Diagnosis

In today’s show, Eric is joined by Jessica Ovadia! Jessica, who has a Bachelor of Science in communication from New York University and a Master of Public Health from Emory University, is a healthcare communicator and a problem solver with a decade of experience helping clients articulate their message through engaged interactions, artful language choice, and thoughtful strategy. Her love of healthcare and deep passion for effective clear communication naturally led to the foundation of her consulting firm – Jessica Ovadia: Healthcare Messaging! Having grown up with parents as physicians and being a parent herself, you’ll hear about Jessica’s struggles with the growing demands of life.  Then, you’ll also hear about simplifying complexities, motivation and burnout, creating your own structure, and overcoming tendencies to overcomplicate the way we communicate.  Finally, you’ll hear discussions on the importance of clarifications and knowing the audience, self-esteem when owning your own business, what communicating the ADHD experience can look like, and more!  Learn more about Jessica at her website jessicaovadia.com! Questions/Topics:  [00:01:25] Introducing Jessica [00:03:03] Jessica talks about ADHD and how becoming a parent brought her challenges to the surface [00:04:46] Getting reacquainted with ADHD and unlearning developed patterns  [00:06:01] Eric asks Jessica about being a business owner with ADHD and what led her to her passion of clear communication around healthcare  [00:09:49] A discussion on motivation and burnout  [00:14:08] Managing scheduling, structure, and accountability when being your own boss  [00:23:23] When it comes to communication, how do we recognize when we’re overcomplicating things, then how do we simplify what and how we’re communicating?  [00:28:19] Read-receipts and challenges around writing and responding  [00:29:26] What to think about when you have a message and keeping it simple [00:31:53] What can we do to make sure we are coming across clearly and are being understood?  [00:34:15] “I would have written less if I had more time.”  [00:35:00] Eric asks Jessica for a helpful reframe or a framework to think about effectively communicating different parts of  ADHD in shorter-form content. [00:41:24] What has Jessica learned about her own brain through having her own business?  [00:44:38] How can we communicate and get better public understanding and messaging about what ADHD really is? What would that messaging campaign look like?  [00:47:31] A discussion & sharing thoughts about ADHD as a superpower  [00:51:05] Closing thoughts  🌟 Want to hear the bonus question and answer at the end of this episode? Go to adhdrewired.com/Patreon where you can get an uninterrupted listening experience of this show and bonus content when you become a Patron at $5 a month or 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 May of 2020, I did an IG TV interview with Rick Green – Founder of totallyadd.com on the topic of why ADDers have challenges starting tasks and even following through. Rick shared so many practical insights and approaches that I wanted to capture and share the audio file here.

These are some of our talking points :

• Why it is important to get clear when starting
• How overwhelm can get in the way of starting a task
• BoringTasks that have a lot of emotion behind them
• how to work with your strengths to get through a task
• how self-esteem plays a big role in task initiation and follow-through
• the power of visualization can make a difference in your approach
• Perfectionism is another hurdle to overcome when it comes to task initiation and follow-through
• why it’s beneficial to get have a support system around you to hold keep you on track (towards the 20 min mark, this piece of his approach really was beneficial for me)

About Rick Green:

Rick Green, M.C., OOnt, BSc, is an award-winning comedy writer, producer, and director with over 700 episodes of radio and television to his credit. After he received a diagnosis of ADHD he began a 20-year exploration of this disorder. In 2009 he and his wife, Ava, created the ground-breaking program, ADD & Loving It?!, the TotallyADD.com website, a PBS sequel, ADD & Mastering It!, a dozen full-length programs on ADHD featuring top experts, and over 100 short videos that cover every aspect of ADHD.

I would love to hear from you:

Would you do me a favor? Please take a few minutes, rate this show, or even better it would mean so much to me if you wrote a quick review, I thank you in advance. The more reviews and ratings this show gets the more you help me in spreading the message of Adult ADHD and helping others increase their knowledge on how to manage it. Having an ADHD brain does not have to be a struggle.

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 an upcoming episode.

Emily Sussman joins Eric on the podcast today to talk about mindfulness and reducing stress!  Emily, who is a mom and also has ADHD, has over 20 years of experience empowering others, uses mindfulness daily, and is a certified instructor in mindfulness-based stress reduction.  When asked why she practices daily, Emily says, “It’s like breathing!  You must breathe to survive, hence: mindfulness.”  In this episode, you’ll hear about what a “resource” room was, how Emily became an advocate, her experiences going through special education – both as a kid and as a parent, and why saw less success for neurodiverse brains in public schools.  Then, you’ll hear Emily’s definition of mindfulness, how she got started, the struggles she faced through schooling and learning, and then walks us through a meditation!  Get in touch with Emily: LinkedIn   Email:    Other Questions/Topics Answered in this Episode: [00:01:11] Introducing Emily & an ADHD moment  [00:02:48] How did Emily get into mindfulness-based stress reduction?  [00:05:19] As a kid who went through special education, how is it for Emily now, navigating as a parent? [00:07:16] Emily’s observations from public school to alternative schooling  [00:11:51] Emily shares how ADHD was the final piece of the puzzle  [00:21:32] What is Emily’s definition of mindfulness?  What is mindfulness-based stress reduction?  [00:26:55] Happiness and how mindfulness gave Emily a sense of purpose  [00:27:16] Emily shares a relatable ADHD struggle about explaining, expressing, and perspective  [00:28:17] What is a body scan meditation?  Why is it helpful?  [00:31:39] “There’s no such thing as clearing your mind!”  [00:32:56] Eric shares the importance of self-care, experiencing the benefits, and the impact of repetition [00:41:31] Prefacing a mindfulness meditation and suggestions before beginning  [00:45:27] Emily leads us through a meditation [01:00:17] Wrapping up and closing thoughts  Resources & Honorable Mentions: “Once you begin to come out of your shell, that’s when you’re going to start feeling good about yourself, that’s where you’re gonna learn how to learn, and then you find your passion.” – Emily  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 ⭐️ Registration for our spring season is happening now! Learn more about our award-winning intensive online coaching and accountability groups at coachingrewired.com!  If you’re ready to get your ADHD reWired, that’s coachingrewired.com to start your pre-registration process so you can join us for our last spring 2023 registration event on Thursday, March 23rd at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern! ⭐️

Contrary to what is known about ADHD, individuals with ADHD CAN actually focus! When we are interested and have a clear understanding of the tasks and know that it aligns with our goals we can become focused, even hyper-focused, and do a bang-up job. However, when we find a task boring, challenging to break into chunks, and ultimately the end results too far in the future for us to gain immediate gratification we have a harder time to focus.

In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Sarah Cheyette about focus and ADHD, she shared her view on how tapping into our Athletic Mind Set can help with gaining and sustaining focus. This is a super simple process to follow! Often it is the simple solutions that produce the most results.

About:

Sarah Cheyette, M.D., is a pediatric neurologist who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD and Autism. She has a private practice in Palo Alto, CA where she counsels and treats kids, teens, young adults, and adults. She also writes about ADHD on Psychology Today and has authored two books on the subject: Winning with ADHD and ADHD & The Focused Mind, with the goal of helping young people with ADHD learn to become independent, strong, and successful. She brings a powerful professional perspective on the benefits and limitations of ADHD medication, and the many behavioral adaptations people with ADHD must embrace to thrive with their condition. She is a popular author and speaker on many topics including ADHD, Autism, the brain, teens, adults with ADHD and Autism, physician updates, neurology, focus issues, and recommendations. Download her free copy of Move From Unfocused to Focused Thinking

additional resources and ways to connect with Dr. Cheyette:

download Non-Medication Strategies to Manage https://sarahcheyette.com/non-medication-strategies-to-manage-adhd/ Visit: https://sarahcheyette.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-cheyette-9242bb6

Don’t forget to leave me a review here, I love to hear from you -> https://proudlyadhd.readysetchoose.com/reviews/new/

Returning to the podcast is Kat Hoyer, a recovering HR Specialist who hosts our Career Accelerator Sessions (or CAASH+) in ADHD reWired’s Adult Study Hall Community. Get to know Kat even more in this episode, amd invite you to join us in welcoming Kat Hoyer as ADHD reWired’s newest coach to the coaching team! You’ll hear even more about Kat’s story about how she pivoted from her dream job in human resources to becoming a life and career coach, then the steps leading up to her officially joining the ADHD reWired Coaching Team.  In this Episode: So, who is Kat Hoyer? How did Kat make the transition from HR to Career Coaching to Life-Coaching?  Is Kat still involved with the HR Community? Is the perception of ADHD and Neurodiversity really shifting in the workplace? What compelled Kat to make the change to join the ADHD reWired Coaching Team? What is Kat most excited about when the spring-season of coaching groups arrives?  What values does Kat bring to coaching? What does Kat feel will be her greatest opportunities for growth?  This year, I have a word – it is “enough”. I am really working on understanding that sometimes, it’s okay to be where you are and not be pushing myself… and sometimes “enough” is where I need to live. Kat Hoyer

In this episode, Eric is joined by New York’s Alex Gilbert who is a Mets fan, yogi, and brunch enthusiast. Alex also has dyslexia and ADHD, being diagnosed at 8 years old.. After spending a career working in leadership development, she decided to start a consulting and coaching business that helps adults with learning disabilities and ADHD (just like her!) who have been struggling in their careers. Her business is called “Cape-Able Consulting”, creating it to help people navigate their day-to-day workloads so they feel supported so they can reach their highest potential!  You’ll hear how Alex’s experiences in school led to her diagnoses, how she began advocating for herself and finding accommodations that worked for her, and the importance of knowing yourself and what you need before beginning to self-advocate.  Then, you’ll hear differences between best practices and best principles, ways to ask for what you need, and why knowing about her ADHD at a young age wasn’t necessarily an advantage. You’ll even hear Eric use one of his own accommodations in real time!  Connect with Alex:  Website:   Facebook: TikTok:   Instagram:   Other Topics & Questions in this Episode: How did Alex create a program for students to advocate for themselves? How did the self-advocacy skills from school transfer to the workplace?  Why is it important to know yourself and your needs before disclosing ADHD?  Without disclosing their ADHD, are there any suggestions for an employee to test the water before fully disclosing?  How can employers support their employees who are neurodivergent? How can employers draw out their strengths? What does the boss do when they are the ones with ADHD? What was the most valuable accommodation Eric utilized in college? If Alex had a magic wand to turn all workplaces into ADHD-friendly workplaces, what would change? Resources & Honorable Mentions:   Hear Alex as a guest on with Brendan Mahan:   Discover the ADHD reWired Podcast Family: with Brendan Mahan with Will Curb with MJ Siemens with Moira Maybin