ADHD Chatter

Can diet, gut health and peptides play a role in autism?

In this episode of ADHD Chatter, I sit down with Oxford scientist Sarah Warley to explore the fascinating relationship between autism, the gut and the brain.

We discuss the surprising differences in the gut microbiome of autistic people, why gastrointestinal problems are so common, the role of mitochondria, and emerging research into peptides that could potentially improve certain symptoms.

Chapters:

00:00 Trailer

01:23 Can Changing Your Diet Improve Autistic Traits?

02:50 The Personal Story Behind Sarah's Research

08:07 How Your Gut Could Be Affecting Your Brain

10:43 The Surprising Difference in Autistic People's Gut Bacteria

16:31 Why So Many Autistic People Have Gut Problems

19:49 Could This Peptide Really Reduce 91% of Symptoms?

27:10 Which Autistic Traits Could Actually Improve?

33:39 The Surprising Connection Between Candida and Autism

39:59 The Hidden Link Between Autism, Mitochondria and Energy

44:06 An Emotional Letter to My Younger Self

Visit Sarah’s website 👉 https://www.thekeyclinic.co.uk

Find Sarah on Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/thekeyclinic/?hl=en-gb

Alex's book entitled 'Now It All Makes Sense' 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-All-Makes-Sense-Diagnosis/dp/1399817817

Alex’s book about Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria 👉 https://linktr.ee/adhdchatter?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=9ffd8709-06df-444c-9936-c136fbd14d6e

Producer: Timon Woodward 

Recorded by: Hamlin Studios

Trailer editor: Ryan Faber

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do so many people with ADHD and autism experience chronic pain, unexplained exhaustion and hypermobility?

In this episode, ADHD and autism expert Nick Potter explores the surprising connections between neurodivergence and physical health, from fibromyalgia and easy bruising to interoception and why ADHD and autism have historically been overlooked in women.

Chapters:

00:47 The Hypermobility Test: Are You Hypermobile Without Knowing?

 Visit Nick’s website 👉 https://backboneclinic.com/our-team

Visit Nick on instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/backboneclinic/

Discover Neuralis by HealthRestore — a dedicated ADHD Profile designed to help people explore their individual characteristics and strengths through a personalised assessment.

Try it through ADHD Chatter here 👉https://kf7jhxklzbmwcf.kartra.com/analytics/traking_links/G8V6EFgBshdT?tracking_id1=XXX&tracking_id2=XXX&cpc=X.XX

Learn more about Neuralis here:https://www.myadhdprofile.com

Alex's book entitled 'Now It All Makes Sense' 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-All-Makes-Sense-Diagnosis/dp/1399817817

Alex’s book about Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria 👉 https://linktr.ee/adhdchatter?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=9ffd8709-06df-444c-9936-c136fbd14d6e

Producer: Timon Woodward 

Recorded by: Hamlin Studios

Trailer editor: Ryan Faber

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen is a British clinical psychologist and world-renowned expert on autism.

08:02 The Hidden Psychological Cost of Feeling Different

10:01 Are You Born Autistic? Nature vs Nurture

11:32 Why Autistic People Crave Intellectual Intimacy

14:59 The Loneliness Nobody Talks About

19:07 When Autistic Obsessions Become Superpowers

21:20 The Darkest Side of Feeling Different

23:56 The Shocking Link Between Loneliness and Addiction

28:08 The Hidden Cost of Autistic Masking

33:05 When Masking Makes You Lose Yourself

38:33 Why Autistic Girls Are More Vulnerable to Abuse

42:22 Why Autistic Brains See What Others Miss

49:55 The Biggest Myth About Autistic Empathy

01:17:30 An Emotional Letter to My Younger Self

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I wish I knew about this 14 day meal plan years ago. It changes everything.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Jolene Brighten is a board-certified naturopathic endocrinologist and leading voice in women’s health and hormones.

In this episode, she joins Alex to explore the often-overlooked connection between ADHD, hormones, the immune system, pregnancy, postpartum changes, PMDD and perimenopause, and why so many women are still being misunderstood by conventional medicine.

Chapters:

00:00 The Heartbreaking Reality of ADHD

02:07 The ADHD Patient Dr Jolene Will Never Forget

05:19 Why ADHD Isn’t Just a Brain Condition

06:51 The Hidden Brain–Hormone–Immune Connection

12:14 Why Estrogen Can Change Everything for ADHD Women

14:04 What Medicine Still Gets Wrong About Female ADHD

16:43 The Shocking Link Between ADHD, PMDD & Endometriosis

29:45 Why Pregnancy Can Make ADHD So Much Harder

32:54 The Postpartum ADHD Experience Nobody Warns You About

37:02 Why ADHD Can Suddenly Get Worse in Perimenopause

43:23 The 14-Day Meal Plan for Better ADHD Energy & Focus

50:21 The Lifestyle Habits That Can Transform Female ADHD

52:37 What ADHD Women Think Is Normal — But Isn’t

53:28 The ADHD Symptom Women Blame Themselves For Most

56:55 A Letter to My Younger Self

Dr. Brighten’s Book ADHD & Women: https://drbrighten.com/adhd-and-women/

Dr. Brighten’s Website: https://drbrighten.com

Dr. Brighten’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjolenebrighten

Dr. Brighten’s Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DrJoleneBrighten

Dr. Brighten’s Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drjolenebrighten

Dr. Brighten’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drbrighten/

Alex's book entitled 'Now It All Makes Sense' 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-All-Makes-Sense-Diagnosis/dp/1399817817

Alex’s book about Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria 👉 https://linktr.ee/adhdchatter?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=9ffd8709-06df-444c-9936-c136fbd14d6e

Producer: Timon Woodward 

Recorded by: Hamlin Studios

Trailer editor: Ryan Faber

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode has been paid for by Focused. It contains an advert for their ADHD assessments.

Almost one year on, Danielle Mulligan, Focused Clinical Lead and ADHD Nurse Practitioner, returns to the podcast to discuss how assessment and support for ADHD is changing.

Get a discount on your ADHD assessment at Focused -- use the code 'CHATTER' at checkout   https://uk.focused.clinic/

Chapters:

00:00 The Heartbreaking Reality of ADHD

02:33 Why ADHD Makes You Feel Broken

06:47 The Scary Pattern After 1,000s of ADHD Assessments

10:35 Why Being Misunderstood Turns Into Shame

12:48 Why an ADHD Diagnosis Can Make Things Feel Worse

15:18 The #1 Thing ADHD People Blame Themselves For

17:03 The Hidden Grief After an ADHD Diagnosis

19:31 How ADHD People Learn to Hide It

22:50 Why So Many ADHD Adults Were Missed for Decades

24:57 The Pattern Before an ADHD Breaking Point

25:57 Why Focused Was Created 

26:57 What Actually Happens During an ADHD Assessment

28:45 What an ADHD Assessor Is Really Looking For

29:47 How to Make ADHD Assessments Feel Safe

31:06 The Growing NHS vs Private ADHD Assessment Gap

33:30 The Biggest Misconception About ADHD

34:56 A Heartbreaking Letter to My Younger Self

Take the ADHD and Education survey at Focused = Enter their £150 prize draw  https://uk.focused.clinic/adhd-education-survey/quiz

Explore Focused:  https://uk.focused.clinic/

Focused on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@focusedclinic

Focused on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/focused.clinic/

Focused on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcrewyWYFprbMiObNA1Jgow

Focused on X  https://x.com/Focusedclinic

Focused on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/focusedclinic/

Alex's book entitled 'Now It All Makes Sense' 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-All-Makes-Sense-Diagnosis/dp/1399817817

Alex’s book about Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria 👉 https://linktr.ee/adhdchatter?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=9ffd8709-06df-444c-9936-c136fbd14d6e

Producer: Timon Woodward 

Recorded by: Hamlin Studios

Trailer editor: Ryan Faber

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clinical psychologist, therapist and ADHD expert Dr Jacob Ambrose returns to explore what a dysregulated nervous system really looks like, why anxiety and hypervigilance can become your normal, and what happens when you finally begin to feel safe.

We discuss why rest can initially feel uncomfortable, the difference between being perceptive and hypervigilant, why rejection can feel so personal, and a difficult question: if fear has powered you for most of your life, what replaces it when you begin to heal?

Chapters:

01:14 What does ‘healing your nervous system’ actually mean

02:17 What does a dysregulated nervous system actually look like

04:50 Why healing makes you feel worse to start with

06:21 The first rule of healing

08:06 The big emotions that come with healing

12:23 How healing reduces anxiety and makes you less productive

17:42 If your life has been powered by fear, what replaces it

19:31 How can you feel exhausted but not realise

21:10 Restorative solitude vs unhealthy isolation

23:55 Tiimo advert

25:30 The early warning signs of a dysregulated nervous system

29:22 Why reason leaves you when you’re triggered

32:51 When rejection stops feeling so personal

37:23 The difference between being perceptive and hypervigilant

38:51 Are you healing when things that bothered you no longer do

41:42 Healing from narcissistic abuse

47:37 Advice for anyone who’s trying to heal

48:49 A letter to my younger self

Find Dr Jacob on Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/dr.jacob.ambrose/?hl=en

Get 30% off an annual Tiimo subscription 👉 https://www.tiimoapp.com/offers/adhdchatter

Alex's book entitled 'Now It All Makes Sense' 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-All-Makes-Sense-Diagnosis/dp/1399817817

Alex’s book about Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria 👉 https://linktr.ee/adhdchatter?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=9ffd8709-06df-444c-9936-c136fbd14d6e

Producer: Timon Woodward 

Recorded by: Hamlin Studios

Trailer editor: Ryan Faber

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Gina Rippon is a revolutionary Autism specialist . Having written multiple books on the topic, Gina Rippon PHD shares the ultimate guide to spotting autism in high masking autistic women.

Chapters:

00:00 Trailer

01:19 How Autism Can Be Hidden — Even From Yourself

03:25 Are You Socialising… or Performing?

05:10 Masking Can Start Earlier Than You Think

07:20 Why Making Friends Can Feel So Hard

09:53 The “Contradictory” Personality Nobody Understands

11:35 What Are Autistic Girls Trying to Hide?

15:25 How Masking Affects Romantic Relationships

20:58 What Happens When You Can’t Mask Anymore

22:25 The Hidden Cost of Masking for Years

24:19 How Much Are You Actually Masking?

27:58 Tiimo advert

29:17 How ADHD Can Hide Autism in Women

34:25 Can You Accidentally Mask During an Autism Assessment?

37:01 The Dangerous Side of People-Pleasing

38:28 The Questions Autism Assessments SHOULD Ask

39:42 What I Wish Every Autistic Woman Knew

41:17 Why Autism Can Look Like OCD

43:07 A Letter to My Younger Self

46:00 Focused survey read

Find Gina on LinkedIn 👉 https://uk.linkedin.com/in/gina-rippon-33287819

Buy ‘The Lost Girls Of Autism’ 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Girls-Autism-Autistic-Research-ebook/dp/B0CX7G2BZW

Get 30% off an annual Tiimo subscription 👉 https://www.tiimoapp.com/offers/adhdchatter

Focused are running a new survey and a prize draw giveaway, where you can win £150 in Amazon vouchers just for taking part.

It's just 5 simple questions about how ADHD affected you (or affects you now) at college and university.

Take the survey here. 👉 https://uk.focused.clinic/adhd-education-survey/quiz

It's open to anyone living with ADHD aged 18 or over.

(The results from their previous survey about ADHD & health are in too -- results here 👉 https://uk.focused.clinic/myhub/adhd-health-survey-results )

Alex's book entitled 'Now It All Makes Sense' 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-All-Makes-Sense-Diagnosis/dp/1399817817

Alex’s book about Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria 👉 https://linktr.ee/adhdchatter?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=9ffd8709-06df-444c-9936-c136fbd14d6e

Producer: Timon Woodward 

Recorded by: Hamlin Studios

Trailer editor: Ryan Faber

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does something as simple as replying to an email, doing the washing or starting a task feel almost impossible with ADHD?

In this episode, leading ADHD advocate Hester Grainger reveals what’s really happening inside the ADHD brain when we procrastinate, and shares 4 practical, brain-based ways to finally get started.

We also explore dopamine, motivation, shame, and what happens when years of struggling begin to change the way you see yourself.

If you’ve ever called yourself lazy because you knew what you needed to do but still couldn’t do it, this episode is for you.

Chapters:

00:00 Trailer

01:57 Why Your ADHD Brain Just Can’t Start

07:06 Dopamine Explained Simply

10:14 The First ADHD Hack That Gets You Moving

13:57 The Second Hack: Make Your Brain Care

17:13 The Brutal Things ADHD Makes You Believe About Yourself

20:18 When ADHD Turns Into Shame

21:43 When Procrastination Becomes Your Identity

24:01 Tiimo advert

25:20 The Third Hack: Why Pressure Actually Works

30:34 The Fourth Hack: The ADHD Motivation Switch

33:38 A Letter to My Younger Self

Visit Hester’s website 👉 https://www.perfectlyautistic.co.uk

Find Hester on Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/hestersvibe/

Get 30% off an annual Tiimo subscription 👉 https://www.tiimoapp.com/offers/adhdchatter

Buy Alex's book entitled 'Now It All Makes Sense' 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-All-Makes-Sense-Diagnosis/dp/1399817817

Order Alex’s book about Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria 👉 https://linktr.ee/adhdchatter?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=9ffd8709-06df-444c-9936-c136fbd14d6e

Producer: Timon Woodward 

Recorded by: Hamlin Studios

Trailer editor: Ryan Faber

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr Judith Mohring is an award winning Cambridge-educated psychiatrist and psychotherapist specialising in ADHD, autism and mental health. In this episode, she explores why understanding yourself doesn’t always lead to healing, how overthinking can become a form of emotional avoidance, and what it really takes to reconnect with yourself after years of masking.

Chapters:

00:00 Trailer

02:13 “I don’t know who I really am”

03:54 Why understanding yourself doesn’t always lead to healing

08:09 Why you can understand your brain and still feel trapped

10:15 When analysing yourself stops you feeling

12:06 Analysing emotions vs processing them

16:34 Why ADHD can make therapy harder

19:26 Why ADHD brains analyse themselves so deeply

23:07 When hyperfocus turns inward

24:32 How masking disconnects you from yourself

28:21 Tiimo advert 

29:49 Why years of therapy can leave you feeling the same

31:17 When therapy becomes another intellectual exercise

35:41 Where does healing actually begin?

36:33 Interoception: learning to feel what’s happening inside

38:59 How a therapist helps you feel safe

40:25 How ADHD and autistic people begin to heal

46:01 How to stop analysing and start feeling

47:18 How do you know if you’re healing?

49:09 The Washing Machine of Woes

49:52 Finding yourself after decades of masking

51:02 Do you find your true self — or create it?

53:00 Is overthinking a form of emotional avoidance?

54:05 A letter to my younger self

Visit Judith’s website 👉 https://www.thenaturalpsychiatrist.com

Find Judith on Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/adhded.with.drjudith/

Get 30% off an annual Tiimo subscription 👉 https://www.tiimoapp.com/offers/adhdchatter

Buy Alex's book entitled 'Now It All Makes Sense' 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-All-Makes-Sense-Diagnosis/dp/1399817817

Order Alex’s book about Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria 👉 https://linktr.ee/adhdchatter?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=9ffd8709-06df-444c-9936-c136fbd14d6e

Producer: Timon Woodward 

Recorded by: Hamlin Studios

Trailer editor: Ryan Faber

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices