Episode 39: Adult ADHD — What You Need to Know

The Support & Kindness Podcast

Episode 39: Adult ADHD — What You Need to Know

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You wrote the plan down. You even put it on your phone. By 10 a.m. you’d started four things and finished none — and that same old voice was asking what’s wrong with you. If that’s familiar, this one’s for you.

In Episode 39, Greg and Rich have an honest, personal conversation about adult ADHD:

what it actually is, why it’s so easily missed, and what real support looks like.

ADHD isn’t the kid who can’t sit still, and it doesn’t disappear at eighteen.

It’s a difference in how the brain manages attention, impulse, and follow-through — and for many adults it’s been there all along, just unrecognized.

Both hosts share their own late-diagnosis stories and land where the show always does with hope.

What we cover:

• Why adult ADHD looks like internal restlessness and exhaustion, not hyperactivity
• Why more than half of adults with ADHD aren’t diagnosed until adulthood — and why women are so often missed
• Why “lazy” is almost always the wrong word (Rich’s duck-on-the-water metaphor)
• Treatment that actually helps — medication, therapy, lifestyle, structure, community
• The reframe: your brain isn’t working against you on purpose

Chapters:

• (00:00) Introduction & what adult ADHD really is
• (03:00) By the numbers: who’s been missed
• (04:18) Ferrari engine, bicycle brakes
• (05:24) Why “lazy” gets it wrong: the duck on the water
• (07:04) Childhood vs. adult ADHD & late diagnosis
• (11:10) Symptoms: hyperfocus and 500 browser tabs
• (14:11) Getting diagnosed as an adult
• (15:54) Is ADHD real? Treatment options
• (18:41) Rich & Greg’s stories + what’s on your heart
• (24:04) Summary, challenge & closing

This episode featured Greg Shaw and Rich.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Books:

• Driven to Distraction — Edward Hallowell & John Ratey
• ADHD 2.0 — Edward Hallowell & John Ratey
• Taking Charge of Adult ADHD — Russell Barkley

Organizations:

• CHADD (Children and Adults with ADHD)
• ADDitude Magazine

Talks:

• “Failing at Normal” — Jessica McCabe (How to ADHD)
• “Recognizing ADHD in Adults” — Dr. Heather Brannon

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