Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

_____

Kiersten Lyons spent most of her life being told she was too much. Too loud, too dramatic, too many feelings all at once. She was also told she wasn't enough. Not pretty enough, not the right fit, not what Hollywood was looking for. The dichotomy nearly broke her. But it also became the foundation of her story.

As a working actress in LA for over a decade, with recurring roles on Grey's Anatomy and Mad Men, Kiersten kept hearing the same feedback: "You're great, we just don't know what to do with you." So she created her own work, writing and starring in her award-winning one-woman show Crushed. It was supposed to become a TV series. Then the producer ghosted her. 

At 42, while advocating for her son's ADHD evaluation, she finally got her own diagnosis and suddenly all those years of rejection, of being "too much" and "not enough," made sense. She understood why she could memorize all 50 states in under 20 seconds to impress boys (it didn't work), why she felt everything so intensely, and why masking had left her exhausted for decades.

Her debut memoir Crushed: The Boys That Never Liked Me Back opens with her fiancé confessing he didn't love her and had cheated at The Magic Castle while she was addressing their wedding invitations. Six months later, he won $100,000 on reality TV. Her life unraveled publicly, but the book isn't about revenge. It's about reclaiming yourself when everything falls apart. 

In this conversation, Kiersten and Tracy explore pattern recognition, rejection sensitivity, and why so many creative women with ADHD end up in industries that require constant validation. They talk about the loneliness of being the eldest daughter who takes care of everyone, the grief of late diagnosis, and why acceptance, not positivity, is what allows us to heal.

Resources:

Website: https://www.kierstenlyons.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kierstenlyonsroar
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kiers

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If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

_____

Nicole Bela was brilliant at her job. She could read a room in seconds, remember every donor’s story, and raise millions for causes she believed in. But behind the polished professionalism, she was quietly unraveling. The same systems designed to do good were slowly breaking her down, and she couldn’t understand why.

After being diagnosed with ADHD at 37, just after the birth of her second son, Nicole finally had the missing piece. Suddenly, the patterns made sense: the anxiety that exercise once kept in check, the brain fog after Zoom meetings, the guilt of forgetting critical details while remembering someone’s cat’s name. What began as relief quickly turned into a mission. Nicole wrote a groundbreaking article for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, “Unmasking Burnout,” connecting the dots between masking, mental health, and why so many fundraisers, especially women, are burning out.

In this conversation, Nicole and Tracy unpack why the nonprofit world may be full of undiagnosed neurodivergent professionals, how the pandemic exposed the cracks in traditional workplace culture, and what leaders can do to build real belonging. Nicole also shares how unmasking her ADHD changed the way she leads, works, and parents proving that inclusion starts when we stop pretending and start asking what people truly need to thrive.

Resources:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unmaskedartstudio
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-bela-msw-cfre-a484571b

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If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

_____

What happens when doing everything "right" still leaves you miserable? You start asking better questions.

Shell Mendelson was a successful CEO of KidzArt, an international children's art franchise she founded, when everything fell apart. Despite looking accomplished on paper, she was disconnected, dysregulated, and drowning in work that no longer fit. At her lowest point, she found an ADHD book a therapist friend had sent years earlier, opened it, and finally understood why she'd always felt like an outcast. Diagnosed in her fifties, Shell realized the masking, hypervigilance, and constant feeling of being "off" had been ADHD all along.

Now, after 35+ years as a career coach, Shell helps ADHD and neurodivergent adults stop job-hopping and start building careers that actually fit. She's the author of Unlock Your Career Path and creator of the Career Galaxy framework—a process that helps people define their must-haves in writing so they never forget what they need to thrive. In this conversation, Shell and Tracy explore why career assessments fail neurodivergent people, how DEI rollbacks are pushing ADHD professionals into hiding, the rise of workplace surveillance, and why people who need accommodations are often just in the wrong job.

Shell also shares her recent move to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where she's building a life by the beach with her two dogs—a story about reinvention, clarity, and refusing to stay somewhere that doesn't serve you, even when it looks successful from the outside.

Resources:
Website: www.careercoachingwithshell.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CareerCoachingwithShell
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourpassiontocareer
Website: https://unlockyourcareerpath.com

Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message

If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

_____

Burnout was Skye Waterson's PhD companion. She'd switch majors—psychology to law to sociology—convinced each time that she just hadn't found her passion yet. The truth was simpler and more complex: she was trying to outwork her undiagnosed ADHD, and no amount of grinding harder was going to fix a brain that needed different systems entirely. By the time she finished her master's thesis, she was so burned out she couldn't even process being offered a guaranteed PhD scholarship. Instead, she worked at a bakery and took art classes until her now-husband asked the obvious question: "Wait, you did a master's? You have a scholarship? What's going on?"

The ADHD diagnosis came at the perfect time—right as she was starting her PhD. Instead of seeing it as a limitation, Skye turned her academic brain toward understanding how her mind actually worked. She started researching, writing articles, and building the productivity systems that traditional advice couldn't provide. What began as survival became her calling, and eventually, her business grew so successful that her supervisors encouraged her to leave academia entirely.

Now, as founder of Unconventional Organisation, Skye helps entrepreneurs, founders, and executives scale their businesses without scaling their stress. In this conversation, she and Tracy dive into why neurotypical productivity advice fails ADHD brains, how to prioritize when everything feels urgent, and Skye's game-changing approach to delegation using AI. They explore her "recipe" method for breaking down tasks, why the Pomodoro technique wasn't designed for us, and how understanding dopamine timing can revolutionize your work flow.

Resources:

Website: https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unconventionalorganisation
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skye-waterson-026286204 

Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message

If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

_____

Sometimes the thing that saves you is also the thing that masks your greatest struggle.

Swimming was Meg Hennessey Schofield's lifeline through college—three to four miles a day that kept her ADHD brain calm and focused. When she quit her senior year to focus on teaching, everything fell apart. The anxiety and depression that led to her diagnosis at 21 made sense in hindsight, but she pushed the ADHD piece aside. Everyone has a little ADHD, right? It wasn't until postpartum struggles led a provider to revisit that ignored diagnosis that everything changed. Two hours after taking medication, Meg saw herself clearly for the first time in years—the mental noise had quieted.

Meg is a special educator with a Master's in Severe Special Education and co-creator of the SMYLE program, which blends sensory-based yoga with trauma-informed education. Her revelation about regulation didn't just change her life—it transformed her classroom. When she made subtle changes to help manage her own anxiety, her students with severe disabilities began accessing parts of their brains they hadn't reached in years.

In this conversation, Meg and Tracy explore how chronic stress hijacks learning, why "acting out" is actually nervous system dysregulation, and what it looks like to start each school day with regulation instead of demands. Meg shares her coffee cup analogy for how students arrive each morning and how she teaches both kids and adults to reconnect their bodies and minds through breath and movement.

Resources:

Email: [email protected]
Website: sensoryenhancedyoga.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meg-hennessey-schofield-784449102

Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message

If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

_____

Sometimes, the most humbling moments teach us the most about ourselves. Tracy recently found herself in Santa Barbara, recording courses for major companies like LinkedIn Learning and Google. After three flawless, scripted trainings, she was asked to do an impromptu training on ten ADHD tips. Despite having written a book and recorded 350 podcast episodes, Tracy couldn't do it. Her brain needs a runway to get off the ground, and being forced to wing it made her brain refuse to cooperate.

That experience forced her to confront every ADHD pitfall she coaches other women through. In this solo episode, Tracy introduces her "table legs" analogy for understanding how ADHD challenges are interconnected. RSD, feeling judged, overthinking, perfectionism, and their cousins all act like legs holding up a table built on self-doubt and shame.

Here's what Tracy discovered: you don't have to fix everything at once. Kick out just a few of those legs, and the whole table collapses. Tracy walks through each "mental mindfield," shows how they're connected, and offers practical strategies for interrupting these cycles.

This episode is for anyone trapped in the endless loop of ADHD perfectionism and self-doubt. Tracy's vulnerable story and actionable framework prove that these patterns don't disappear with success—but they can be dismantled.

Resources:
Website: https://tracyotsuka.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsuka
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tracyotsuka4796
Free Training: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message

If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

_____

From the outside, you look like you've got it all together. But inside? You're drowning in the endless mental load, feeling guilty because you need breaks from your kids, and wondering why other moms seem to breeze through daily routines that leave you completely drained.

Amy Marie Hann was diagnosed with ADHD at just five years old in the mid-1980s—making her what she calls an "ADHD unicorn." She was the straight-A student taking medication alongside the little boys in the nurse's office, the one who followed all the rules and excelled academically. But when she became a mom to three neurodivergent kids, everything fell apart.

Amy is the author of Master the Mundane, a practical guide for ADHD moms juggling life, home, and family. In this conversation, Amy and Tracy explore how early diagnosis shaped her identity, why traditional parenting advice fails ADHD families, and what it really means to "master the mundane" when your brain craves novelty. Amy shares her game-changing approach to limiting taxing tasks, why she gave herself permission to be bored by the boring things, and how she learned to model self-acceptance for her three ADHD kids.

Resources:

Website: www.amymariehann.com
Website: www.amymariehann.com/mtmbooklaunch
Instagram: @amymariehann

Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message

If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

Natasha M. Nurse lived 37 years not knowing she was neurodivergent. Then motherhood changed everything. The crying, the overwhelm, the dark thoughts that felt like more than typical new parent struggles—all of it led to a discovery that would reshape her understanding of herself completely.

Diagnosed with autism and ADHD at 37, Natasha finally had answers for a lifetime of feeling out of place. The child who preferred HBO to Sesame Street, who spent her Manhattan childhood with books instead of friends, who excelled academically while feeling painfully lonely—suddenly it all made sense.

Now Managing Director at MRM Education, she’s turning her neurodivergent perspective into a strength by building systems that celebrate, not just accommodate, different learners.

With Tracy, Natasha explores why traditional education fails, the double edge of hyperfocus, and why knowing your brain is the ultimate workaround. She also shares what it’s like to parent a neurodivergent child while healing her own wounds, the power of being seen, and how she’s helping families navigate systems never built for brains like theirs.

Resources:

Website: www.dressingroom8.com  
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/natashamnurse   
Instagram: www.instagram.com/natashamnurse 
Schedule a call: cal.com/natasha-nurse
Email: [email protected] 

MRM Education Info:   
Phone: (973) 997 8274
Website: www.mrmeducation.com
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mrmeducate 
Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/1611107013001431
Instagram: ww

Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message

If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

_

Barbara Baskin spent 30 years convinced she wasn't very smart. School was academic probation and "needs to try harder" report cards. Then came an ADHD diagnosis at 30, followed by three decades of raising four kids (including triplets), caring for her mother with dementia, and running a business while being everyone's executive function.

At 60, Barbara made a decision that shocked everyone: she moved from a small town in Florida to a fifth-floor walk-up in New York City and started online dating.

Barbara is a writer, journalist, and author of The Ponytailed Guy from Last Night. She discovered that journalism was perfect for her word-loving, curious ADHD brain after struggling through university with brilliant workarounds—alternating "hard" semesters that put her on academic probation with "easy" semesters of ceramics and tennis. She learned she could master anything if she could touch it, which made her an excellent videographer and producer.

But decades of being the family's executive function while masking her ADHD took its toll. High functioning, Barbara realized, wasn't the same as being okay. When a psychiatrist asked what she'd done for herself that week, she couldn't think of a single thing.

In this episode, Barbara and Tracy explore how she built a successful career around her learning differences, survived the chaos of managing everyone else's life, and found the courage to reinvent herself in her 60s completely. They talk about why New York City feels like home to an ADHD brain, how online dating became an unexpected path to self-confidence, and what it means to choose adventure over settling.

Her motto: if they're not interesting, they better be damn interested in me.

Resources:

• Website: https://hightechindustrynews.com  
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbaraqualmann  
• Website: theponytailguy.com 

Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message

If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

*This episode has been updated*

Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

_

What would it be like if you could see music as colors dancing in front of your eyes? For Justine Glaser, that's just a normal Tuesday.

Justine is a creative force who doesn't just hear music, she sees it. Diagnosed with ADHD at age 3 and born with synesthesia, a rare neurological trait where sound shows up as color, Justine has always experienced the world differently. Instead of masking these traits, she's made them her superpower. As the founder of Blue Midnight Music and Colors by Midnight, she creates work that's bold, multi-sensory, and completely original.

Diagnosed so young that her babysitter lost weight chasing her around, Justine's childhood was marked by curiosity, creativity, and, unfortunately, relentless bullying from ages 8 to 16. She calls the K-12 system "broken" for her neurodivergent brain, but everything changed when she left traditional school behind. Art school became her sanctuary, where her project-based learning style finally made sense.

In this conversation, Justine and Tracy dive deep into how synesthesia shapes creativity, why she believes color comes from "an inherent sense of self," and how she creates personalized color palettes by listening to people's voices. They talk about performing as an alter ego named Blue Midnight, why ADHD makes it easier (not harder) to blend multiple disciplines, and how she's learned to honor her need for breaks and nature to stay creative.

Justine's journey from a bullied kid drawing on people's houses to a multi-disciplinary artist proves that what makes you different isn't something to fix—it's your greatest gift.

Resources:

Website: https://www.bluemidnightmusic.com
Website:  https://www.colorsbymidnight.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/justine-glaser-cdi-ccd-36aa4a1a8 

Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message

If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com