CLOUD

Most late aged diagnosed ADHD folks have a bit of a moment where all of a sudden the final puzzle piece is put in place and there’s the ‘lightbulb’ revelation of what has been going on all along. It might be from seeing a video on instagram or tiktok of a list of ADHD symptoms and realising that it was a list of your ‘personality traits’.  People have asked me when I first had a bit of insight into potentially having ADHD, and the truth is that I can’t really remember. I don’t know whether this was because I kind of always had the feeling that it was there and maybe just pushed it down, or if the burnout from ADHD had become so bad that I actually have memory impairments. Today’s guest is a bit similar to me in this way. Bridget Hustwaite is an author, presenter and broadcaster. You’d likely know her from her days gracing the airways at triple J, or from either of her fantastic books ‘how to endo’ and ‘figuring out 30’.  We spoke about: The symptoms of ADHD Bridget had prior to diagnosis and what she struggled with The ‘internalising’ aspects of ADHD  Do we have memory issues or were we just not really present to begin with? Our fears of ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ and the trend of having ADHD The emotional labour of speaking about ADHD with loved ones Comparing the diagnosis of ADHD to endometriosis & why one was more validating than the other Emotional regulation and mood & how it’s shifted with medication Masking, fitting in and friendships You can find more from Bridget Hustwaite on instagram  You can get a copy of Bridget’s new book “Figuring Out 30” here!!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you go with small talk, keeping the conversation going and not feeling overwhelmed by matches and messages? Do you ever wonder how the people you’re matching with perceive you? I felt all of the above. I hated small talk and found it incredibly boring, I was constantly overwhelmed by the expectation to reply if I hadn’t checked my messages in a little while and I was always worried that I would appear ‘too intense’ to the people I had matched with and I tried to tone myself down so that they wouldn’t be scared off.  Hinge recently conducted some research into dating and ADHD! They examined over 9000 daters on Hinge across the world with a clinical ADHD diagnosis to get a bit of a read of the room on how dating can affect us. Joining the podcast is Logan Ury; Hinge’s Director of Relationship Science. She’s a behavioural scientist turned dating coach and the author of the best-selling dating book, How to Not Die Alone.  In today’s episode we talk: What people with ADHD tend to struggle with on the apps Why small talk is a huge hurdle for people with ADHD How to avoid small talk  Masking and being scared of being viewed as ‘weird’ or unusual Shift vs support responses. What they are and how it will REALLY help people with ADHD Analysis paralysis and the paradox of choice You can find more from Logan Ury at her website   and instagram  You can read Hinge’s ADHD dating report See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We know that the ADHD brain operates in some different ways to a neurotypical one, but what’s actually going on inside our brains?We’re joined today by neuroscientist, international speaker, and author of The DOSE Effect, TJ Power. TJ’s work focuses on small, practical habits that can help us regulate our brain chemistry.Today we dive into: How our dopamine levels differ from a neurotypical brain and what this means for our motivation, concentration and attention span How dopamine is connected to hyperfocus Changing the narrative of ‘disorder’ and ‘deficit’ to ‘difference’ TJ’s experience with OCD  How to find your ADHD ‘superpower’ and flow state Task initiation challenges and transition stages How dopamine is linked to novelty and impulsivity How changing the first 5-10 mins of your morning can affect the whole rest of your day The science behind therapies like ice baths and saunas & how they compare to drugs in the brain We are then joined by clinical nutritionist Georgia Farrar to chat through which foods are best for maintaining focus and attention, which types of foods can exacerbate ADHD symptoms and whether caffeine is good or bad for our brains! Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 2:50 - Differences in ADHD brains 4:30 - The problem with the labels 'disorder' and 'deficit' 6:15 - TJ's experiences with OCD 11:45 - Finding your flow state 14:20 - How social media impacts dopamine 17:00 - Task initiation  19:40 - Dopamine & novelty 21:50 - Waking up and jumping on your phone 30:00 - Procrastination 31:30 - Deliberately reducing our stimulation 39:30 - Ice baths and dopamine 43:50 - Sleep and neurochemicals 46:00 - Nutrition for focus and attention 48:50 - Ultra processed foods 53:20 - Supplements that aid attention and focus 59:55 - Is caffeine good or bad? You can find more from TJ including his new book from his websiteTJ's Instagram You can find more about ultra processed foods and nutrition advice from Georgia   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're like me and you've seen a list of symptoms of ADHD and mentally said 'tick' to every one of them, you might be wondering what you're meant to do next. The actual process of seeking out a diagnosis and support can be confusing and it seems to vary depending on where you are in the country! Joining the pod again today is the wonderful Dr Kieran Kennedy! Kieran previously joined us for an episode about late age diagnosis, how that seems to shift your sense of identity, and the crossover of ADHD and conditions like anxiety and depression. Dr Kieran Kennedy is a psychiatrist who specialises in adult ADHD. Kieran focuses on a holistic approach in managing ADHD. Today we wanted to dive a little bit deeper into the causes of ADHD, whether medication is the direction some people with ADHD may like to investigate and what those options are and how the process of being diagnosed actually works in Australia. In today’s episode we speak about: What causes ADHD and what’s going on in our brains The genetic links of ADHD The wives' tale of ‘just try the medication and if it works, you’ve got ADHD!’ What’s the role of medication, and are there alternative approaches? Side effects of medication to look out for Flow on effects - changes like reducing alcohol and focussing on sleep as management For someone wondering if they have ADHD, what’s the next step? Some of the necessary hoops to jump through Time stamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:53 - What causes ADHD and what’s going on in our brains 4:25 - The genetic links of ADHD 5:30 - What's going on in the prefrontal cortex? 7:00 - Blame or brain 9:15 - History of medication 12:50 - The wives' tale of ‘just try the medication and if it works, you’ve got ADHD!’ 14:30 - What’s the role of medication, and are there alternative approaches? 21:00 - Side effects of medication to look out for 29:00 - Flow on effects - changes like reducing alcohol and focussing on sleep 30:00 - The controversy of medicating children 31:50 - For someone wondering if they have ADHD, what’s the next step? 35:30 - Financial impacts of diagnosis 37:30 - Other tests you may need to have done 43:00 - Being honest in the diagnosis process You can find more from Dr Kieran on his Instagram  Hosted and produced by Keeshia Pettit You can watch us on Youtube Find us on Instagram Join us on tiktok Or join the Facebook Discussion GroupSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For a lot of us with ADHD brains, the idea of working a 9-5 job with stable productivity seems like an unimaginable concept. The ways that we thrive in our careers or our work lives seem to be a little bit left of centre when compared to others. When it comes to structure, goals and productivity, is it best that we listen to the ‘expert’ advice, or do we need to go about it in completely different ways? Mark Manson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck* and Everything is Fcked: A Book About Hope with 20 million books sold in over 65 languages. Mark is also a podcaster,  a youtuber, and a zero fuck giver. Speaking with Mark Manson about his ADHD diagnosis was particularly interesting because in all of the content that he creates, I’d noticed that he had only mentioned it a handful of times. Mark’s relationship with his ADHD brain has evolved over the decades. When he was a teenager, he was medicated and the people around him noticed that his sparkle dissolved and his creativity seemed to dissipate; despite him getting better grades. Mark chose to stop medication, and brute force his way through life. So, how was Mark able to achieve such extensive levels of success despite having a diagnosed attention deficit?  In this episode we spoke about: The ADHD brain and a need for novelty The pros and cons of becoming bored easily Impulsivity and ‘self medicating’ ADHD with alcohol Most goals shouldn’t be accomplished Figuring out the best productivity environments and tools that you respond to The unconventional strategies to help you be productive How to structure your work day, time boxing and to do lists Understanding your own mental tendencies and working WITH them You can hear more from Mark Manson on his podcast “the subtle art of not giving a f*ck podcast” and you can get his books quite literally anywhere in one of the 65 different languages they are published in! You can watch us on Youtube Find us on Instagram Join us on tiktok Or join the Facebook Discussion GroupSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the brand new 10 part mini series Cloud. Cloud is a podcast series created to discuss ADHD and late age diagnosis. The name Cloud is inspired by the experiences of many late-diagnosed women who describe finally feeling like a “cloud was lifted” after learning more about the different ways that their brains work and how they ‘fit’ into society.Cloud explores the intersection of ADHD with identity, relationships, career, and well-being. Each episode will offer insight into a different aspect of ADHD from guests like Mark Manson, the author of ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck,’ psychiatrist Dr Kieran Kennedy, focus and attention expert Johann Hari and relationship experts Sabrina Zohar and Logan Ury.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.