Episode 391: What Happens When a School Is Built for ADHD Brains

Episode 391: What Happens When a School Is Built for ADHD Brains

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Start with my free training: Stop Trying to “Fix” Your ADHD. You’re Not Broken: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup [https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup] _____ Your kid got labeled the “problem.” The defiant one, the behavior kid, the one who couldn't sit still or keep up. What if the room was the thing that didn't fit? Beven Byrnes is a neurodivergent educator, nonprofit leader, and a mom of four. She's the Executive Director of Bridges Middle School in Portland, the only middle school in Oregon built specifically for students with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and anxiety. Beven spent 25 years and raised over $15 million building environments where kids actually fit. But she didn't have her own ADHD diagnosis until this past year, at 50. Cancer treatment forced her into menopause at 45, her estrogen dropped, and the masking she'd done her whole life without knowing it stopped working. The square-peg feeling she'd carried since childhood finally made sense. Now she runs a school on one idea: behavior is communication, and the job isn't to fix the kid, it's to fix the environment around them. In this episode, Tracy and Beven get into why behavior is almost always communication, what happens to a child's confidence after years of being misread, and what it looks like to build a school around how kids actually learn instead of forcing them to fit. If your child, or you, ever got treated like the problem to be solved, this one will show you what was actually broken. And it was never the brain. Resources: Website: https://www.bridgesms.org/staff-spotlight-beven-byrnes-executive-director [https://www.bridgesms.org/staff-spotlight-beven-byrnes-executive-director] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrs_byrnes [https://www.instagram.com/mrs_byrnes] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beven-byrnes [https://www.linkedin.com/in/beven-byrnes] Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2316437/fan_mail/new] Explore more from me: 🧘 SHIFT: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift [https://tracyotsuka.com/shift] 📚 Free resources: https://tracyotsuka.com/learn [https://tracyotsuka.com/learn] 📖 Get the book, ADHD for Smart Ass Women: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] 🧠 Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok [https://tracyotsuka.com/aok] 🌐 Visit my website: https://tracyotsuka.com/ [https://tracyotsuka.com/] ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick. They were not designed for how your brain actually works. If you’re ready to stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits, start with the free training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup [https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup] Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka [https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka [https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/] Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com [https://tracyotsuka.com/]...

Get Into Your Body

Stuck in an ADHD pattern that keeps repeating? SHIFT is a collection of 120 guided audio experiences designed to help you see yourself and your ADHD brain differently. Explore SHIFT here: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift [https://tracyotsuka.com/shift] _ Have you ever noticed that the harder you try to think your way out of feeling overwhelmed, the more overwhelmed you become? You replay conversations. You worry about the future. You analyze every possible outcome. You keep thinking that if you can just solve the problem, you will finally feel better. But what if thinking is not the answer? For a long time, I thought the only way to feel better was to think differently. If I could just figure it out, solve the problem, or make sense of what I was feeling, then I would finally feel better. But sometimes the fastest way to calm your brain is not to think harder. It is to start with your body. When I get into my body, my attention has somewhere else to go. Instead of replaying my thoughts, I start paying attention to what I am doing, what I see, what I hear, what I smell, and what I feel. If you have ever tried to think your way out of overwhelm and only made yourself feel worse, this episode will help you stop asking your brain to do all the work and let your body lead for a few minutes. Resources: SHIFT: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift [https://tracyotsuka.com/shift] Free resources: https://tracyotsuka.com/learn [https://tracyotsuka.com/learn] Get the book, ADHD for Smart Ass Women: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok [https://tracyotsuka.com/aok] Visit my website: https://tracyotsuka.com/ [https://tracyotsuka.com/] ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick. They were not designed for how your brain actually works. If you’re ready to stop fighting your brain and start seeing yourself differently, explore SHIFT here: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift [https://tracyotsuka.com/shift] Listen to ADHD for Smart Ass Women: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adhd-for-smart-ass-women-with-tracy-otsuka/id1443678424 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adhd-for-smart-ass-women-with-tracy-otsuka/id1443678424] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bG9rgwPgi8zRkQxV6ykk0 [https://open.spotify.com/show/7bG9rgwPgi8zRkQxV6ykk0] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tracyotsuka4796 [https://www.youtube.com/@tracyotsuka4796] Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2316437/fan_mail/new] Explore more from me: 🧘 SHIFT: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift [https://tracyotsuka.com/shift] 📚 Free resources: https://tracyotsuka.com/learn [https://tracyotsuka.com/learn] 📖 Get the book, ADHD for Smart Ass Women: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] 🧠 Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok [https://tracyotsuka.com/aok] 🌐 Visit my website: https://tracyotsuka.com/ [https://tracyotsuka.com/] ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick. They were not designed for how your brain actually works. If you’re ready to stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits, start with the free training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup [https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup] Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka [https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka [https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/] Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com [https://tracyotsuka.com/]...

EP. 390: Can Cooking Be Therapy with Charlotte Hastings

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Start with my free training: Stop Trying to “Fix” Your ADHD. You’re Not Broken: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup [https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup] _____ You have heard of art therapy and talk therapy. Charlotte Hastings does therapy in the kitchen, and it opens people up in a way the usual chair never quite does. Charlotte Hastings is a psychodynamic therapist, founder of Kitchen Therapy, and author of Kitchen Therapy: How to Become a Conscious Cook. Trained first as an anthropologist, she taught drama to neurodivergent teenagers before building an entire therapeutic approach around the kitchen. Charlotte recognized her own ADHD in her forties, after years of self-medicating and a chaotic childhood with an undiagnosed, alcoholic father. School had convinced her she was not smart. Anthropology, Jung, and eventually a wooden spoon proved otherwise. Now she uses cooking the way other therapists use art or drama: a side-by-side, low-pressure space where the real stuff surfaces. In this episode, Tracy and Charlotte talk about why cooking can work like art or drama therapy, why food and love are so entwined, how recipes can both support and shut down ADHD brains, and why the way you hold a wooden spoon might reveal the way you hold life. If cooking has ever felt loaded, boring, chaotic, or impossible, this conversation offers a gentler reframe: the meal is not just the result. The journey is the meal. Resources * Website: https://therapykitchen.co.uk [https://therapykitchen.co.uk] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therapy.kitchen [https://www.instagram.com/therapy.kitchen] Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2316437/fan_mail/new] Explore more from me: 🧘 SHIFT: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift [https://tracyotsuka.com/shift] 📚 Free resources: https://tracyotsuka.com/learn [https://tracyotsuka.com/learn] 📖 Get the book, ADHD for Smart Ass Women: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] 🧠 Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok [https://tracyotsuka.com/aok] 🌐 Visit my website: https://tracyotsuka.com/ [https://tracyotsuka.com/] ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick. They were not designed for how your brain actually works. If you’re ready to stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits, start with the free training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup [https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup] Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka [https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka [https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/] Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com [https://tracyotsuka.com/]...

Success Creates Confidence

Stuck in an ADHD pattern that keeps repeating? SHIFT is a collection of 120 guided audio experiences designed to help you see yourself and your ADHD brain differently. Explore SHIFT here: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift [https://tracyotsuka.com/shift] _ Have you ever had a really productive day and still felt like you didn’t do enough? You answered the emails. You made the calls. You went to the meeting. You finished the project. Maybe you even did the thing you had been putting off for weeks. And still, by the end of the day, your brain was already moving on to everything you missed, forgot, or still needed to do. Today, I want to talk about why success does not always feel like success for ADHD women. Our brains are often scanning for what is unfinished, unresolved, or potentially threatening. So even when we complete ten things, we can still end the day focused on the one thing we did not get done. But today, I want you to practice noticing what is going right. Noticing your progress. Noticing the effort it took. Noticing the evidence that you are capable, that you do follow through, and that you can do difficult things. Because success does not create confidence when we ignore it. Success creates confidence when we notice it. If you have ever struggled to feel proud of yourself, even after doing so much, this episode will help you pause long enough to collect the evidence your brain keeps overlooking. Timestamps: [00:00 – 03:58] Why Success Does Not Always Feel Like Success [03:58 – 06:22] How Negativity Bias Keeps Us Focused on What Is Unfinished [06:22 – 07:15] Breathwork Practice [07:15 – 08:28] Gratitude Check-In and Noticing What You Have Done [08:28 – 10:10] Reassessing Your SUD Score and Collecting the Evidence [10:10 – 11:00] Closing Reflection and SHIFT Invitation ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick. They were not designed for how your brain actually works. If you’re ready to stop fighting your brain and start seeing yourself differently, explore SHIFT here: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift [https://tracyotsuka.com/shift] Explore more from me: 🧘 SHIFT: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift [https://tracyotsuka.com/shift] 📚 Free resources: https://tracyotsuka.com/learn [https://tracyotsuka.com/learn] 📖 Get the book, ADHD for Smart Ass Women: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] 🧠 Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok [https://tracyotsuka.com/aok] 🌐 Visit my website: https://tracyotsuka.com/ [https://tracyotsuka.com/] Listen to ADHD for Smart Ass Women: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adhd-for-smart-ass-women-with-tracy-otsuka/id1443678424 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adhd-for-smart-ass-women-with-tracy-otsuka/id1443678424] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bG9rgwPgi8zRkQxV6ykk0 [https://open.spotify.com/show/7bG9rgwPgi8zRkQxV6ykk0] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tracyotsuka4796 [https://www.youtube.com/@tracyotsuka4796] Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka [https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka [https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/] #ADHD #ADHDWomen #ADHDforSmartAssWomen #AdultADHD #WomenWithADHD #LateDiagnosis #ADHDBurnout #ADHDSelfTrust #ADHDConfidence #adhdsupport Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2316437/fan_mail/new] Explore more from me: 🧘 SHIFT: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift [https://tracyotsuka.com/shift] 📚 Free resources: https://tracyotsuka.com/learn [https://tracyotsuka.com/learn] 📖 Get the book, ADHD for Smart Ass Women: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] 🧠 Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok [https://tracyotsuka.com/aok] 🌐 Visit my website: https://tracyotsuka.com/ [https://tracyotsuka.com/] ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick. They were not designed for how your brain actually works. If you’re ready to stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits, start with the free training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup [https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup] Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka [https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka [https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/] Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com [https://tracyotsuka.com/]...

EP. 389: Planning Isn't About Productivity (And That's Why Most Planners Fail)

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup [https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup] _____ You bought the planner. You loved the planner. You were absolutely, positively sure this planner was going to change your life. And then, by March, you forgot it existed. When we moved out of our family home of 25 years, I found boxes. Boxes and boxes of barely used planners I'd been saving for who knows why. For a long time I thought that meant something about me. That I wasn't disciplined enough. That everyone else got some secret instruction manual for adulthood that I'd missed. But the women I work with aren't lazy or unfocused. They're brilliant, driven, running companies and raising families. And they can't stick with a planner either. That's when it clicked. This was never a planning problem. It's a time problem, a decision problem, and an emotional regulation problem. Planning is just where those show up. In this episode I talk about why ADHD brains experience time differently, why importance alone won't get you started, why most planners quietly set you up for an impossible day, and why one meaningful goal beats ten random ones. If you've got a planner graveyard sitting in a drawer somewhere, this one is for you. The question was never what's wrong with you. The question is what kind of system actually works for your brain. Resources: * Get the planner: https://tracyotsuka.com/planner [https://tracyotsuka.com/planner]  Use code PODCASTPLANNER for $10 off * Website: tracyotsuka.com [https://tracyotsuka.com] * Instagram: https://instagram.com/tracyotsuka [http://instagram.com/tracyotsuka]  * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tracyotsuka4796 [https://www.youtube.com/@tracyotsuka4796] * FREE 3-days to Fall in Love With Your ADHD Brain training on Jan 6th:  https://tracyotsuka.com/ilovemybrain [https://tracyotsuka.com/ilovemybrain]  * Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com [https://programs.tracyotsuka.com]  Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2316437/fan_mail/new] Explore more from me: 🧘 SHIFT: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift [https://tracyotsuka.com/shift] 📚 Free resources: https://tracyotsuka.com/learn [https://tracyotsuka.com/learn] 📖 Get the book, ADHD for Smart Ass Women: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] 🧠 Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok [https://tracyotsuka.com/aok] 🌐 Visit my website: https://tracyotsuka.com/ [https://tracyotsuka.com/] ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem. That’s why most strategies don’t stick. They were not designed for how your brain actually works. If you’re ready to stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits, start with the free training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup [https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup] Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka [https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka [https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsuka] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/] Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book [https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book] Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com [https://tracyotsuka.com/]...