Is ADHD a superpower? Is it not a superpower? We’ll talk about that today, in our “Getting Back to Basics” series, part 2. If you’ve been around here a while, you know that my position is – NO! ADHD is not a superpower. It’s not a gift. It’s not awesome! When people say ADHD is a gift or a superpower, they point to traits like creativity, hyperfocus, and inventiveness. So sure, Simon Sinek, if you’re a rich, white, super smart, privileged man, you can look at some of the qualities that...

Hello, my friend. I’m so glad that you’re here and that you’re taking steps to live your best life while you’re on this ADHD journey. Today, we’re going back to the basics of ADHD — because sometimes the noise can cause us to forget what’s *actually* going on inside these beautiful brains of ours. 🧠 Those of us who were diagnosed with ADHD as adults often try to mask our symptoms and hide them from the outside world because we are so used to experiencing rejection as children. If we don’t...

When it comes to the way we function as adults, our family history plays a much larger role than many of us think. In this podcast episode, I’m talking with FOCUSED member CJ about generational trauma and its impact on adult ADHDers. Growing up, CJ's parents emotionally neglected her as they were dealing with their own emotional immaturity and symptoms of ADHD. Meanwhile, CJ was struggling with undiagnosed ADHD which caused her to act out without anyone to turn to. When she received an...

Fair warning: this episode brings the heat. This is a topic I’ve felt compelled to discuss a lot lately, and I’m not holding back. As adults with ADHD, our brains are reactive. This means that when there’s a stimulus (aka phone notification, a child calling for you, etc.), our brains are naturally triggered to react. We lack impulse control, so our instinct is to respond immediately. Someone who's proactive, on the other hand, will slow down first. They’ll take a breath and decide when it’s...

When I discovered Stacy Scott while scrolling through Instagram, I immediately knew I had to get her on the podcast. Stacy is an internationally known decluttering expert, feng shui practitioner, and occupational therapist with three wildly successful decluttering workshops. Unlike a lot of other organization and decluttering coaches, Stacy focuses on recognizing how trauma impacts your ability to clean so you can make your space your own. As someone who grew up in an energetically chaotic...

We have a unique episode this week, covering a topic I’ve honestly never known how to approach here: cannabis use for adults with ADHD. First things first, you need to know that this episode will be only one perspective on a subject I’d never pretend to be an expert in. Joining me is a very special guest, Natalie Chien, @Natalie.C.ADHD who is not only a member of my group coaching program FOCUSED, but she’s also completed my ADHD coaching program! Natalie was formerly addicted to...

Tamara Rosier, Ph.D., has joined me for a discussion on my absolute favorite sections of her book, Your Brain’s Not Broken. Tamara is a fellow ADHD coach and the founder of the ADHD Center of West Michigan. We waste no time at all diving into her personal journey to an ADHD diagnosis at 40 years young and what living day-to-day with this neurodivergent disorder has looked like throughout her life. You’ll notice a common theme in being her authentic self while simultaneously working through...

I’m going to be very honest. This episode is a dedicated “b**** fest” on how hard it is to get the medication prescribed for ADHD. If any of you adults out there have been through this, sometimes it’s therapeutic just to let out all the frustration and feel seen and heard and commiserated with, and that’s what this episode is for. You all should know by now that I take ADHD medication, but you may not know that I have two kiddos who take medication for ADHD as well. We each are unique and...

My colleague and friend, Annahid Dashtgard, really elevates the podcast this week with a specialized look at racialization within the mental health space. I love that we’re able to broach this topic together as Annahid is so well-versed in creating safe places for people to have hard conversations. Annahid is the CEO and Co-Founder of Anima Leadership, a consulting firm that helps organizations with everything EDI from diversity basics to advanced belonging. Annahid has a special and...

Most of Ellen's life was spent feeling like a whirling dervish without direction. Everything was a struggle, from school to maintaining a job to arriving anywhere on time. She learned how to use her big, bold personality to fake it and make it through, even though she regularly battled feelings of inadequacy, shame, and judgment. Life, as it often does, hit Ellen hard with challenges through her young adulthood, and she found herself battling depression for decades. In hindsight, she now...

Today's episode is all about how to be PROactive not REactive. ADHDers spend so much time putting out fires and reacting to everything happening around us. But if we're going to truly make forward progress on our own dreams and goals, we're going to need to put down the fire hose and start making some purposeful decisions.  BUT HOW? Tune in how to find out: How to create a vision even if you can't picture things in your mind's eye How to make a plan, even if it's only for the next hourHow to...

Danica @theempoweredtherapist specializes in healing from attachment wounds, sexual assault, emotional neglect, vicarious trauma, intergenerational and identity-based trauma, and work or academic trauma.  In this DEEP convo, Kristen and Danica discuss the following topics:  Complex Trauma Is it ADHD or CPTSD? Attunement Attachment Somatic Experiencing How to Identify a Trigger The Complexity of Healing Danica is a therapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) in Dallas, TX. She...

I’m really enjoying these episodes with my FOCUSED community, and I hope you are too! Today, Sue Peters is with me, and we dive into the difficult world of chronic pain through an ADHD lens. When Sue was finally diagnosed with ADHD in her mid-twenties, she had already identified that there was something different about her and had even tried reaching out for help. But ignorant and insensitive “experts” failed to give her the guidance and support she needed, which left her with a lot of...

Christine Hargrove is a a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Georgia whose primary focus is on exploring financial therapy and ADHD relationships - an important and rare combination! We very quickly realized one episode was not enough, so stay tuned for part two with practical tips. Before we dive into money talk, Christine shares her own story about how she came to receive her own ADHD diagnosis. It was missed for years because people told her she was “too smart” to have ADHD. I especially...

In this episode, I’m joined by my FOCUSED client Michael Johnson, who shares his ADHD journey that led him to being coached and now becoming a coach himself. I love our conversation because Michael is so open and honest about his weaknesses and the self-discovery that led to him evolving into a much more self-aware and balanced person today.  If you've struggled with horrible self-talk, disordered eating, and difficult relationships, this episode is going to be right up your alley.  In case...

Maggie Patterson is a vocal advocate for humane business practices rooted in respect, empathy and trust. She’s the host of the BS-Free Service Business podcast, and the co-host of Duped: The Dark Side of Online Business. In this episode we are SPILLING ALL THE TEA. Maggie and I talk about:  Self help, cults, and MLMSScammy online business practicesMystery offers"If I can do it you can do it"Steven Hassan's BITE model of culty practicesHow to avoid getting scammedHow to be ethical (what does...

I’m very pleased to be joined by Kimberley Quinlan in this episode. Kimberley is a licensed marriage and family therapist, specializing in anxiety, OCD and related disorders. Some of you with ADHD can identify with having additional neurodivergent diagnoses, such as OCD, and you may have experienced some confusion in differentiating between the two. As children, it was hard enough being diagnosed with ADHD and having a full understanding of what it meant for ourselves and for our parents....

This episode is a rare treat as I chat with a current FOCUSED client of mine, Jason Rowlett, @JDouglasRowlett who shares his experience of identifying and leaving a toxic work environment. I decided to do an episode with Jason on this topic as I watched him navigate this situation in real-time and recognized this as something that likely happens to many adults with ADHD. While ADHD can certainly manifest in our work performance and social behavior, we shouldn’t have to walk on eggshells at...

Minaa B. is a licensed social worker, writer, and author of Owning Our Struggles. She is also the founder of Minaa B. Consulting, a mental health consulting practice that helps organizations develop psychological safety and promote mental health inclusivity.  In this heartfelt episode, Kristen and Minaa discuss: Psychological safety in the workplaceBullyingSystematic traumas that we face daily The nuance of boundaries in relationshipsRecognizing when you ARE the problemHealing through...

My regular listeners will know that I’ve been talking about my ADHD coaching certification program for the past couple of weeks. But this episode was so much fun because I had the pleasure of interviewing four of my trained coaches from the last term. The roll call includes: Jacoba Lilius - a professor of organizational psychology that plans to pair coaching with academia. Find Jacoba on LinkedIn.Laura Gaynon - a professional musician and teacher with strong intuition and a holistic approach...

Everything and everyone has a limited capacity. The world may try to tell us how much we should be able to handle and accomplish throughout the day. But, friend, no one can determine that except you. If you are more concerned about maintaining your phone’s battery charge than your own, it’s time to focus on accepting the limits of your capacity. If you want to avoid burnout and feel a sense of balanced accomplishment everyday, you won’t get there by pushing yourself to do more.  In this...

Kai, a first-generation Chinese-Canadian and visionary Healing Transformation Coach, is the innovative mind behind Boundaries to Freedom, dedicated to empowering codependent adults on their journey towards emotional maturity. In this warm and vulnerable conversation, Kai and I chat about the following topics: Growing up as a Chinese immigrantBoundaries, enmeshment, and codependencyTaking time off to healHow to engage with old relationships in a new wayWhen empowering clients becomes an...

Kai, a first-generation Chinese-Canadian and visionary Healing Transformation Coach, is the innovative mind behind Boundaries to Freedom, dedicated to empowering codependent adults on their journey towards emotional maturity. In this warm and vulnerable conversation, Kai and I chat about the following topics: Growing up as a Chinese immigrantBoundaries, enmeshment, and codependencyTaking time off to healHow to engage with old relationships in a new wayWhen empowering clients becomes an...

Have you been considering a career change? Thinking about becoming an ADHD coach like me? Well, this episode is for you! What this is not: a perfect fantasy with puppies, rainbows and unicorns. What this is: my raw and honest truth about the pros and cons of the business. It seems like having ADHD and/or becoming a life coach is very “trendy” right now. While it’s exciting to see growth and societal acceptance in these areas, this can also bring in some shady characters who see an opportunity...

Sleep makes the world go round. So why can’t we ever seem to get enough of it? This week, I’m re-releasing an older episode with a bit more introductory commentary on how ADHD interrupts regular sleep patterns. This is such an important topic to not only chat about but do research on. Did you know there is a surprisingly decent amount of research on Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS) in people with ADHD? In this episode, I share everything I’ve learned about DSPS, circadian rhythm, and what...