Rachel Nielson, host of the beloved podcast 3 in 30 Takeaways for Moms, joins me for an honest conversation about receiving an ADHD diagnosis at age 41 and how it reframed decades of feeling scattered, overwhelmed, and "not quite enough."
Together we explore the realities of ADHD in women, motherhood, entrepreneurship, adoption, self-compassion, and the power of understanding your unique brain. Rachel shares how becoming a mother revealed challenges she couldn't explain, how her son's ADHD diagnosis led her to her own answers, and why learning to work with her brain instead of against it changed everything.
This conversation is full of wisdom, vulnerability, and hope for any woman who has ever wondered why life feels harder than it seems to for everyone else.
In this episode we discuss:
• Late-diagnosed ADHD in women
• Motherhood and executive functioning
• Adoption, attachment, and nervous system regulation
• Self-compassion after diagnosis
• Hyperfocus and entrepreneurship
• Supporting ADHD children while understanding yourself
• Finding the "flecks of gold" in everyday life <- Purchase Rachel's Flecks of Gold Journal
FREE ADHD MINI SESSION with Kamden
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Busy Brained Saint
00:28 Free Coaching Mini Sessions
02:00 Meet Rachel from Three and 30
04:14 Rachel’s Late ADHD Diagnosis
07:56 Grace After Diagnosis
10:44 ADHD Humor and Family Traits
16:02 Adoption and ADHD Links
19:30 Newborn Separation and Nervous System
22:55 Holding Adoption’s Complexity
27:21 Mentors in Open Adoption
28:48 Honesty Builds Attachment
29:59 Family History Triggers
31:06 Dark Days of Motherhood
32:10 Troll Comment and Healing
34:52 Public Sharing with ADHD
41:44 Building an ADHD-Friendly Team
42:51 Hyperfocus Retreat Strategy
46:42 Flecks of Gold Practice
49:07 Closing and Where to Follow