Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast

What happens to ADHD when the scaffolds of career and parenting fade, and we’re left navigating a world that’s quieter, slower… and far less structured? This week on Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast, Pete and Nikki are joined by one of the most influential voices in ADHD research and advocacy: Dr. Kathleen Nadeau. An internationally recognized expert and the author of 14 books on ADHD, Kathleen is the founder and director of the Chesapeake Center—one of the largest private ADHD specialty clinics in the U.S. Her career has been defined by breaking new ground for underserved ADHD populations, and today she turns our attention to one of the most overlooked groups of all: older adults. Drawing on extensive research—including interviews with more than 150 individuals for her groundbreaking book Still Distracted After All These Years: Help and Support for Older Adults with ADHD—Kathleen guides us through the realities of aging with ADHD. She brings nuance, humor, and urgency to topics like isolation, structure loss, hormonal shifts, executive dysfunction, and the ADHD tax that shows up in the fine print of Social Security forms and medical claims. We discuss how declining circadian rhythms and deep sleep disruption may connect ADHD to increased dementia risk, and why the U.S. is still lagging behind global standards in using hormone replacement therapy to support cognitive health in aging women with ADHD. But this conversation isn’t about despair—it’s about reinvention, resilience, and the power of community. Kathleen shares powerful stories of support groups that thrive beyond professional guidance and offers practical strategies for maintaining purpose and mental clarity well into our later years. If you or someone you love is navigating ADHD after 50, this is the episode that finally speaks to that experience—with candor, compassion, and hard-won insight. Links & Notes * Still Distracted After All These Years: Help and Support for Older Adults with ADHD by Dr. Kathleen Nadeau [https://amzn.to/4dcJkzy] * The End of Alzheimer’s by Dr. Dale Bredesen [https://amzn.to/4jNdM5W] * “The How and Why of Sleep” NIH Video Lecture [https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=54798] * The Chesapeake Center [https://thechesapeakecenter.com/] * The Villages [https://www.thevillages.com/] * Support the Show on Patreon [https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast] * Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database [https://takecontroladhd.com/shownotes] * (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast * (02:51) - Support the Show at patreon.com/theadhdpodcast * (03:22) - Introducing Dr. Kathleen Nadeau * (04:19) - How Does ADHD Evolve as we Age? * (11:47) - Later Adult Diagnosis * (21:18) - Hormonal Changes --- Join the Declutter Challenge! The Spring 2025 ADHD Declutter Challenge is now open for enrollment! Join a community of people on a 31-day mission to reduce clutter and start the new season with a fresh new view by visiting https://takecontroladhd.com/declutter [https://takecontroladhd.com/declutter]. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast]

What if the relentless chase for productivity isn’t a sign of progress—but a trap? This week on Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast, Pete and Nikki return to the idea they began exploring with Dr. Ari Tuckman: the Productivity Trap—a psychological cul-de-sac where effort doesn’t equal accomplishment, and perfectionism becomes performance. But this isn’t just about missed deadlines or overloaded to-do lists. It’s about identity. About shame. About what it means to be “enough” in a world that rarely says you are. From a deceptively simple mantra—“You don’t have to be productive all the time”—springs a story of emotional reckoning. Pete recounts how Nikki’s offhand remark evolved into a viral merch moment, while Nikki shares coaching experiences that reveal the heartbreak (and humor) of managing ADHD in a culture obsessed with output. They dissect the nuance between urgent and important, spotlight how AI can support executive function, and confront the myth that productivity is linear. This is not a conversation about how to get more done. It’s a conversation about why we believe we must. Links & Notes * You Don't Have to Be Productive All the Time [https://trustoryfm.dashery.com/products/74531902-you-dont-have-to-be-productive-all-the-time-t-shirt] * Support the Show on Patreon [https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast] * Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database [https://takecontroladhd.com/shownotes] * (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast * (02:39) - Support the Show on Patreon! * (03:17) - Merch Announcement! * (05:55) - The Productivity Trap --- Join the Declutter Challenge! The Spring 2025 ADHD Declutter Challenge is now open for enrollment! Join a community of people on a 31-day mission to reduce clutter and start the new season with a fresh new view by visiting https://takecontroladhd.com/declutter [https://takecontroladhd.com/declutter]. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast]

It’s not that people with ADHD don’t want to be productive. It’s that they’re often trapped in a paradox: striving to do more, while silently blaming themselves for not doing enough. That tension—between internal ambition and external expectations—is the focus of this conversation with returning guest clinical psychologist Dr. Ari Tuckman. In this episode, Ari joins Pete and Nikki to explore the deep psychology of productivity, the social pressure to “look busy,” and the subtle ways perfectionism becomes a form of avoidance. Along the way, they discuss the myth of the perfect planner, why your to-do list is lying to you, and what happens when you finally admit you just don’t want to do the thing. With humor, heart, and a healthy dose of hard-earned insight, Ari introduces lessons from his new book, The ADHD Productivity Manual, revealing how managing productivity starts not with apps or alarms—but with radical honesty. Because the real challenge isn’t doing more—it’s knowing what matters enough to do at all. Links & Notes * The ADHD Productivity Manual [https://amzn.to/42zorcO] by Ari Tuckman, Psy.D * Support the Show on Patreon [https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast] * Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database [https://takecontroladhd.com/shownotes] * (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast * (02:13) - The Productivity Trap with Ari Tuckman * (03:22) - The ADHD Productivity Manual by Ari Tuckman * (05:13) - Where is the ADHD Productivity Groove? * (22:05) - Perfectionism * (25:59) - Getting Clear * (28:33) - "I don't wanna" --- Join the Declutter Challenge! The Spring 2025 ADHD Declutter Challenge is now open for enrollment! Join a community of people on a 31-day mission to reduce clutter and start the new season with a fresh new view by visiting https://takecontroladhd.com/declutter [https://takecontroladhd.com/declutter]. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast]

Imagine your brain as a control room. On most days, the switches flick and the dials turn just as they should. But then something small—an unanswered text, a missed deadline, a critical glance—trips the wrong lever. Suddenly, that control room is submerged. The signals blur. The system floods. This week on Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast, Pete and Nikki sit down with two returning champions of clarity and compassion: Dr. Sharon Saline and Dr. Dodge Rea. Together, they unravel the hidden mechanics of emotional flooding—not as a character flaw, but as a neurological response shaped by fear, history, and a sometimes-overzealous amygdala. Through stories, science, and metaphor (including rogue trains and Wile E. Coyote’s ill-fated cliff dives), they reveal what happens when the ADHD brain short-circuits under pressure—and what we can actually do about it. Along the way, you’ll learn how shame disguises itself as control, how the body signals what the mind can’t process, and why sometimes the most strategic thing you can do is… go to the bathroom. This is a conversation about reframing of the narrative so many ADHD adults carry with them: that being overwhelmed means being broken. It doesn’t. It never did. Links & Notes * Learn more about Dr. Sharon Saline: drsharonsaline.com [https://drsharonsaline.com/about/] * Learn more about Dr. Dodge Rea: dodgerea.com [https://www.dodgerea.com/about] * Support the Show on Patreon [https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast] * Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database [https://takecontroladhd.com/shownotes] * (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast * (02:13) - Support the Show: Become a Patron Today https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast * (03:54) - Emotional Flooding with Dr. Sharon Saline and Dr. Dodge Rea * (22:51) - The Consequences * (26:25) - Is Emotional Flooding a sort of Trance? * (30:07) - The Regulation and Recovery Process * (41:35) - The Five C's * (46:05) - The g.r.a.c.e. Sequence --- Join the Declutter Challenge! The Spring 2025 ADHD Declutter Challenge is now open for enrollment! Join a community of people on a 31-day mission to reduce clutter and start the new season with a fresh new view by visiting https://takecontroladhd.com/declutter [https://takecontroladhd.com/declutter]. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast]

There’s a moment—maybe you’ve lived it—when the email goes unanswered, the dishwasher remains unloaded, the phone rings but your hand doesn’t move. You’re not tired. You’re not lazy. You’re just… stuck. We call it overwhelm. But what if that word is too small? What if what you’re feeling is your brain's way of saying, This system is not working for me? In this episode of our Duos series, we bring together two people who have spent their careers listening to the quiet, misunderstood signals of ADHD: Dr. Tamara Rosier, author of Your Brain’s Not Broken and You, Me, and Our ADHD Family, and Brooke Schnittman, author of Activate Your ADHD Potential. Tamara talks about emotional flooding—those tidal waves of feeling that hit before a single task is done. Brooke explains how to pause just long enough to choose a different direction. Together, they unpack why ADHD-related overwhelm isn’t a sign of failure, but a clue. A trailhead. A door. Because maybe, just maybe, the problem isn’t that your brain is broken. Maybe it’s that the world was built for a different kind of mind. Maybe the first step isn’t pushing through. It’s listening. 📚 Links & Notes * Your Brain’s Not Broken by Dr. Tamara Rosier [https://amzn.to/3XK1EcT] * You, Me, and Our ADHD Family by Dr. Tamara Rosier [https://amzn.to/4iZDnrW] * Activate Your ADHD Potential by Brooke Schnittman [https://amzn.to/43DaTiP] * Coaching With Brooke [https://coachingwithbrooke.com/] * ADHD Center of West Michigan [https://adhdcenterwm.com/] * Guided IFS Therapy Session / Exercise for Inner Healing | Dr. Richard Schwartz & Dr. Andrew Huberman [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdAe8-4jnN4] * Support the Show on Patreon [https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast] * Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database [https://takecontroladhd.com/shownotes] * (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast * (03:19) - Introducing Brooke Schnittman and Tamara Rosier * (05:22) - Overwhelm * (21:00) - Techniques to Break The Pattern * (44:45) - Learn More! --- Join the Declutter Challenge! The Spring 2025 ADHD Declutter Challenge is now open for enrollment! Join a community of people on a 31-day mission to reduce clutter and start the new season with a fresh new view by visiting https://takecontroladhd.com/declutter [https://takecontroladhd.com/declutter]. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ [https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast]