The Busy Brained Saint Podcast

LIMITED Time OFFER until Sunday at midnight 11/8/2026 :

 20% off Get a Hold of Yourself with ADHD. 10-week, small group.  Getting to know your personal flavor of ADHD is going to change how you live, how you talk to the people you love, and add clarity in your life.  You'll also get free access to the Envisioning three-day workshop in January.

This interactive 20-minute session is condensed from Kamden's three-day workshop:

Anchoring Meditation & Choosing an Intentional Word: Establishing a central emotional anchor (such as "ease," "wonder," or "presence") to guide all holiday decisions.

Setting Hard Dates & Identifying Protected Time: Mapping out fixed obligations (school breaks, performances, travel) and color-coding uninterrupted personal/family time to build necessary buffers against impulsive commitments.

Building a Holiday Menu: Brainstorming seasonal activities and categorizing them by "capacity level" (1, 2, or 3) to easily select low-energy or high-energy options depending on day-to-day bandwidth.

Establishing Top Priorities & Pre-Booking: Selecting a small, manageable number of non-negotiable traditions and making early reservations.

Family Collaboration & Flexible Structure: Involving spouses and children in choosing menu items while maintaining enough open calendar space to preserve spontaneity, manage triggers, and protect energy.

What if the relationships that exhaust you aren’t a sign you’re failing, but a sign you’ve been giving everyone the same seat at the table?

Let's talk with Kristen Carder about her new book, You Are Not In Trouble and find out why improving your relationships may be the most overlooked key to productivity with ADHD.

In this episode:

Get on Kamden's wait list for The HOLIDAY GAME PLAN:  a three-day holiday planning workshop for the ADHD brain. kamdenadhdcoaching.com/holidays

There's a unique intersection of ADHD, womanhood, midlife, and navigating life as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Hormonal shifts, midlife transitions, and menopause affect our faith, feelings, and daily life.

Kamden walks through eight questions she’d want answered if she were just discovering ADHD through the lens of faith:

-Does understanding your brain turn faith from a source of shame into relief?

-How do you keep track of callings and commitments without feeling like a failure?

-Why does “just pray harder” keep coming up, and how do you tell spiritual guidance from self-criticism?

-How do you explain ADHD to family, your bishop, or Relief Society sisters without justifying yourself?

-Is there space in your congregation to talk openly about mental health?

-How do you honor motherhood while your own needs, creativity, and work matter too?

-How do you stop comparing your inner experience to other women’s outward appearance?

-What does it look like to draw close to God as the person you actually are?

00:00 Welcome and Episode Setup

In this episode, host and ADHD coach Kamden Hainsworth dives into the concept of the "ADHD tax"—the hidden financial, emotional, physical, and energetic costs that result from executive dysfunction. Opening with a candid story about an impulsive splurge on an upcycled Moroccan carpet jacket, Kamden breaks down how brain wiring, dysregulated nervous systems, and decision fatigue drive impulsive behaviors, avoidance, and burnout. Examples include overspending, forgotten subscriptions, mail avoidance leading to late fees, and depleted energy from late-night scrolling, gaming, or gambling-like dopamine cycles.

Rather than viewing these patterns as personal flaws, Kamden reframes them through the lens neuroplasticity and self-compassion.

You’ve been doing it “right” for years. Reading every day. Journaling. Checking the box. But somewhere along the way, a gift became a test—and you started performing your faith instead of living it.

For Kamden, 20 years of daily scripture study created a powerful habit and a crushing belief: If I read, God loves me. If I don’t, I’m failing.

In this deeply honest episode, Kamden unpacks:

If you’ve ever felt like your spiritual practices became proof of your worth instead of sources of nourishment, this one’s for you.

Faith isn’t productivity. Worship is deeper than discipline.

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

00:00 Welcome & Spooky Season

You see their genius. You see their creativity. You see their potential. But you're also exhausted by their inconsistency, missed deadlines, and broken promises—even though you know they're capable.

Here's the truth: ADHD is a disorder of doing, not knowing. Your employee isn't lazy, careless, or untrustworthy. Their prefrontal cortex doesn't break down tasks or manage emotions the way neurotypical brains do. And they've probably never learned how.

In this episode, Kamden breaks down:

Whether you're a manager, CEO, or leader of volunteers, learn how to keep your best people by dropping the judgment and building structures that let them thrive.

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

00:00 Welcome Busy Brains

Are you living by rules you didn't choose, or are you authoring your own life?

In this episode, Kamden explores the powerful concept of self-authoring—moving beyond letting other people's perceptions define who you are and stepping into intentional choice about your identity, values, and how you live.

Drawing from insights shared by Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, Kamden examines Matthew 5:28 and what Christ's higher standard really means for people with ADHD. It's not about checking boxes or following external rules—it's about developing true self-mastery by learning to exercise restraint and agency in alignment with your own values.

You'll discover:

Whether you're struggling with productivity rules that don't fit, trying to figure out your own values, or parenting a busy brain, this episode invites you to stop being defined by others' expectations and start creating the life—and faith—you actually want.

Remember: You're not alone, and your brain isn't the problem. The world is waiting for what only you can create.

What happens when a busy brain meets faith?

In this deeply personal episode, ADHD coach Kamden Hainsworth explores the intersection of neurodivergence and spiritual belonging within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Drawing from her own journey—from a burnout-induced temple experience that led to her ADHD diagnosis at 36 to years of coaching others—Kamden challenges misconceptions about what worship and participation should look like.

In this episode, you'll discover:

Perfect for: ADHD individuals in faith communities, parents of neurodivergent children, religious leaders seeking to create more inclusive spaces, and anyone asking "Is something wrong with me?"—the answer is no. You're just wired differently.

"He didn't say, 'Come to me and I will show you how to be neurotypical.' He said, 'Come to me and find rest.'"

Don't miss the Restore by Faith Matters Conference, Sept 24-26 at UVU Orem, Utah. Use code KAMDEN for 10% off!

Connect with Kamden:

It's not just that you're anxious. It's that you're living their life instead of your own.

In this episode, Kamden explores why we assume our kids' experiences will mirror ours—and how that assumption hijacks our parenting. Whether you're worried about your daughter's social life, your teen's independence, or your child's future, you're likely projecting your own eighth-grade fears, your own insecurities, your own story onto theirs.

The real issue? Your ADHD brain sees every possible problem all at once and believes it's your job to solve them. But here's what changes everything:

Because they only get one life. And so do you.

For: Parents managing anxiety about their kids' futures, ADHD adults who catastrophize, anyone tired of carrying everyone else's emotional load.

Careless. Lazy. Space cadet. Hot mess. If any of those words still make you flinch, this episode is for you. Kamden breaks down the everyday labels ADHDers hear — from childhood name-calling to workplace feedback — and translates each one back into what's actually happening in an ADHD brain, straight from the diagnostic criteria.

This isn't about excuses. It's about the difference between a label that shames and a diagnosis that explains. Kamden walks through inattentive and hyperactive symptoms one by one, showing how "irresponsible" is really working memory, how "lazy" is really a stalled dopamine system, and how "rude" is really a brain that can't filter stimuli the way a neurotypical one does.

If you've spent years believing these labels were just who you are, this episode offers a different starting point: it makes sense — and now you get to choose what comes next.

Topics covered: ADHD labels and stigma, ADHD shame, DSM-5 ADHD symptoms explained, inattentive vs. hyperactive ADHD, ADHD and self-worth, reframing ADHD diagnosis