WAKING UP FROM ADHD is a phrase borrowed from my guest Kurtis Mercer. Kurtis is an empowerment coach who aids in deep inner work for people who wish to free themselves from the victim mentality label of ADHD so that they can embody inner confidence, courage, and passion for their lives.

 

His diagnosis of ADHD at the age of seven caused him to struggle with personal identity for most of his life. This exasperated his mental illness leading him to abuse drugs and alcohol in his teens and mid 20's.

 

The lessons Kurtis learned from overcoming and conquering his mental illness have now equipped him at the age of thirty to help others call themselves “their own personal hero”.

 

Kurtis' unconventional methods of teaching personal growth & development have set him apart from the more traditional approach represented in the main stream.

 

He is proud to call himself a revolutionary, a black sheep & the youngest of his the family.

Kurtis and I dove deep into the abyss of ADHD, medication, labels, mass hypnosis around the disorder and more... listen in for yourself to hear if you might be someone or know someone who is asleep around ADHD.

Website: https://kurtismercer.com

YouTube Channel: Subjectively offensive  (Spirituality, Mental Health)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzg6jwLYR3YahCoql0Drcig

YouTube Channel : Subjectively offensive Entertainment ( video games)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ha4roaRVAyW-nHsfVaOwQ

Telegram: Subjectively offensive HQ

https://t.me/indigolightwarrior

For more information on this podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

SWITCHING SCHOOLS is an episode inspired by one of our listeners - Danielle. We thank our listeners for inspiring us to do certain episodes n topics that we often touch upon through various other episodes.

In this episode I am recounting our son's educational journey all the way from his first days at daycare to his current school. We switched schools 5 times and we were committed to find the right education style for our son to have the least amount friction with.

We believe that when we remove as much friction as we have control over - and we have way more control than we believe in certain areas - that we help 'dissolve' our children's mental disorder symptoms... after all, symptoms are observed behaviors. And when we ask 'why' a child behaves a certain way, we can address what's really going on in the child's life instead of calling them disordered and making them the problem.

Listen in for yourself and see if you resonate with any of the nuggets in this talk.

For more information and/or to suggest a future topic, please visit www.adhdisover.com

THE POWER OF CERTAINTY is an episode with my dear friend, mentor, author and relationship coach Brett Jones. Brett is ultra passionate about being a stand for enduring and lasting relationships! My wife and I have taken his seminars in Australia and the US and we swear by his commitment to saving marriages!

Brett is the Co-creator of the Relationship Warriors courses, an international organization that operates in the United States and Australia. He has shown many men and women a new communication Code and language that is appropriate for this decade.

He’s assisted hundreds of couples to renew and re-store their relationships. That's the kind of man Brett is!

Brett and I discussed the importance of being aware of the brainwashing that our CULTure does and how ADHD is used to pathologize children and label them with a mental disorder, instead of celebrating their uniqueness and their neuro-diversity.

For more information on Brett's work, visit https://relationshipwarrior.org/home

For more information on our podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

THE MORE WE GIVE is a beautiful conversation with my new friend, Jacqueline Way. Jacqueline is a dedicated world changer!

Her soul purpose is to inspire and educate the hearts and minds of people globally to create a happy, meaningful life. She expresses her purpose through her charitable organization 365give created and inspired by her son with a simple vision to “Change the World 1 give, 1 day at time.” She is a world-renowned keynote speaker with one of the most watch TEDx Talks “How to Be Happy Every Day – It Will Change the World” Every day she is committed to living the highest expression of who she is as a human being through her work and by touching the lives of others.

Jacqueline also has 3 children on the spectrum and she has learned to give and give and give her presence and love to her children beyond what I myself could imagine. We talked about ADHD, FAS, the spectrum, mental disorders and more... listen in for yourself for some nuggets of Wisdom.

Here is a link to Jacqueline's famous TED talk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78nsxRxbf4w&t=587s

To get in touch with Jacqueline directly:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-way-365give/

Facebook: @365give

Instagram: @365give.ca @do1giveday

Twitter: @365give.ca

Hashtags: #365give #do1give

For more information on this podcast, please go to www.adhdisover.com

DEBUNKING THE SCIENCE BEHIND ADHD as a "Brain Disorder" is an episode in which I decided to read a letter from Dr. Albert Galves, Ph.D. & Dr. David D. Walker, Ph.D. to Dr. Rubenstein of The [ADHD] Brochure Project at the APA in 2003.

Their letter is a description of the flaws in the scientific evidence that is used to support the belief that ADHD is a neuro-chemical disorder that is present from birth and that has nothing to do with inadequate nurturance during childhood, difficult family environments or oppressive and inhumane educational and community environments. It also describes the harm that is done by these beliefs and the treatment approaches based on them.

Their letter, which is signed by members of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology (ICSPP) and psychologist/members of the American Psychological Association, is a reply to a letter of March 17, 2002 which was sent by Dr. Alice Rubenstein to Dr. Albert Galves, a member of ICSPP.

Dr. Rubenstein was the Director of The Brochure Project, a joint effort of Division 29 (Psychotherapy) of the APA and Celltech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to publish and distribute brochures on Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

In a letter of February 16, 2002, Dr. Galves had expressed concerns about the following three statements that appear in the brochures:

1) “ADD/ADHD is generally considered a neuro-chemical disorder.”

2) “Most people with ADD/ADHD are born with the disorder, though it may not be recognized until adulthood.”

3) “ADHD is not caused by poor parenting, a difficult family environment, poor teaching or inadequate nutrition.”

In her reply, Dr. Rubenstein included information and supporting references provided to her by Drs. Robert Resnick and Kallman Heller of Division 29.

The letter that we link to below was drafted by Dr. Galves ([email protected]) and Dr. David Walker ([email protected]) of the ICSPP.

To read the letter, visit https://www.ablechild.org/2013/08/11/11-psychologists-refute-3-deceptive-statements-on-adhd/

Another source for the letter: https://academyanalyticarts.org/galves-debunking-science-behind-adhd

A short blurb on Celltech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: https://www.careersinpharmaceutical.com/celltech-pharmaceuticals-inc-listing-7586.htm

For more information on our podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

LETTING THEM PLAY is a fun episode with Jai Lynn McPheron, an experienced mindfulness skills instructor, registered yoga teacher and Mindful Yoga Coach.

Jai has over 1,500 hours of yoga teacher training. Besides yoga and mindfulness, Jai also has delved deeply into reiki, shamanic practices, trauma recovery studies, astrology and mindful music.

Her mission is to hold space for others to heal through music, sound, perspectives, movements and meditation.

I am excited to dive in and talk Trauma, Healing and ADHD with Jai.

To find out more about Jai's work, please visit:

https://www.imi.earth/sessions

https://insighttimer.com/jaiandmonte

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSZAweG-FXw&list=PLpROojVtR-uSaCGMIe3AhGbKs5PLgifgq

For more information on this podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

CONNECTION VS. CORRECTION is a powerful episode with fellow ADHDer Aaron Huey, the founder of the Fire Mountain Residential treatment Center.

Aaron has been working with children, teens, and parents for over 18 years. After ten years directing camps and empowerment programs around the world, Aaron opened Fire Mountain because he wanted to work with kids and families on a deeper level.

Over the first few years of running programs like Teen Rites of Passage The Warrior Phoenix Challenge, and numerous cries for help from parents, Aaron realized the need to turn his efforts towards teens struggling with drugs, alcohol and the behaviors and issues related to addiction. An addict in recovery since 2000, he felt a calling to put together an expert team and open Fire Mountain. His mission is to awaken confidence and leadership. “It‘s not about being better, it‘s about giving up the struggle to be different from who you are.”

Aaron’s formal educational background is in acting. He graduated from the top acting school in the US, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1990. His skills in comedy and drama make him an influential speaker and presenter, and a favorite among the kids. His confidence, compassion, and humor set the tone for deep healing, and fun.

Aaron is also trained as an EMT, a Wilderness Survival Instructor and Martial Arts teacher, all of which he weaves into the Fire Mountain RTC curriculum.

We chatted about ADHD, trauma, family history, education and more.

For more information on Aaron and his work, please visit https://firemountainprograms.com/about-us/founders/

To listen to Aaron's podcast 'Beyond Risk and Back, visit https://firemountainprograms.com/fire-mountain-programs-podcast-beyond-risk-back/

To join Aaron's Facebook group 'Parenting Teens that Struggle', visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/parentingteensthatstruggle/

To get Aaron's app, visit www.brabapp.com

For more information about our podcast, please go to www.adhdisover.com

IS ADHD A COPING MECHANISM is an episode inspired by our 6 year of research into ADHD and the realization that stressors in the environment have the biggest impact on a person's nervous system, therefore also their brain and ultimately their behaviors.

Often, ADHDers are said to more likely become 'addicts'... but why? Because they have ADHD? But ADHD is a label for a set of symptoms that are based on observed behavior? So, therefore an addict becomes and addict because of the way their brain is connected. What caused a brain to become an addict brain?

I believe it is a coping mechanism that helps a person escape their emotional burdens, their traumas, stress etc.

Here is the definition of a coping mechanism according to Dictionary.com:

"An adaptation to environmental stress that is based on conscious or unconscious choice and that enhances control over behavior or gives psychological comfort.

Listen in and hear for yourself why I decided to explore this claim. I think there is something here worth exploring for science, medicine and psychology... but are they willing to?

For more information on our podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

DOPAMINE, OXYTOCIN & MOTIVATION is an in-depth review of a 2014 NCBI/NLM/NIH online paper published by Dr. Tiffany M. Love, a researcher at the Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan. This article explored the connection between Oxytocin, Dopamine and Motivation.

What if people with ADHD do not have low dopamine levels because they 'have ADHD'... but rather because the relationship between their Oxytocin and Dopamine is not in balance.

What if ADHD is not due to having a 'chemical imbalance' in the brain? But rather due to an imbalance of certain chemicals, due to a lack of other chemicals?

For more information on Dr. Tiffany M. Love's article, visit https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3877159/#R86

For more information on the 2010 Newsweek article on Oxytocin & Autism, visit https://www.newsweek.com/how-oxytocin-might-help-cure-autism-75325

For more information on the 'Refrigerator Parent' theory and Leo Kanner, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator_mother_theory

For more information on this podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE is a wonderful episode with author Ann Hince. At age 19, Ann woke up one morning to find her mother dead in her bathroom. 

Twenty years later the tears from that trauma were still just under the surface. Over the years, Ann found a simple technique that helped her release these emotions - but she went further and can now put her awareness inside her body - what she calls Insight, or inward-sight. Ann has found that seeking out our truth, what we truly feel, and accepting those feelings, is the key to inner peace.

Ann is the author of the book ‘A Pathway to Insight’, which details her journey and breaks down the steps she took to attain what she calls Insight, or the ability to see within the body. She also has a YouTube channel where she shares her journey, explains the connection between the physical and the spiritual, and posts videos of how to change the pressing issues of our time.

For more information on Ann's work, please visit: www.https://annhince.com

For more information on this podcast, go to www.adhdisover.com