The Vibe With Ky Podcast

In this episode of The Vibe With Ky Podcast, executive function coach Sean McCormick explains why ADHD procrastination is a signal that a task needs a different person, not more willpower.

This one is for you if you have been called lazy your whole life and always suspected that word never quite fit what was actually happening.

Sean McCormick, M.Ed., is a credentialed education specialist who taught public school special education before he understood his own ADHD. He founded Executive Function Specialists for students, built the Executive Function Coaching Academy to train educators, and co-founded an adult coaching practice called UpSkill Specialists. He joined me for this conversation after we spent three days together at NeuroDiversion 2026.

The shift in this episode is small and it changes a lot. Executive function is not a measure of effort, it is a set of brain-based skills involving working memory, self-regulation, and task initiation. Once that lands, the question stops being why can I not make myself do this and starts being what does this task actually need.

Here is what comes out of the conversation:

- Procrastination often points to a task that needs a different person, which Sean calls who not how.

- Constraints create real freedom, and Sean explains the fixed non-negotiables he keeps in every week.

- One full unscheduled day, phone off, does more for an ADHD brain than another productivity system.

- Sean shares what five years of sobriety did for his focus, decision making, and follow-through.

CONNECT WITH SEAN MCCORMICK

UpSkill Specialists, his adult executive function coaching practice: https://www.upskillspecialists.com/

For educators thinking about coaching, the Executive Function Coaching Academy: https://www.executivefunctioncoachingacademy.com/

CONNECT WITH KY

Website: https://thevibewithky.com/

Patreon, for the ADHD Deep Dive Library, exclusive neurodivergent content, and the Reverse The Mic segment that is not available anywhere else online: https://www.patreon.com/thevibewithky

Facebook subscription, for the ADHD Deep Dive Library, exclusive neurodivergent content, and the Reverse The Mic segment that is not available anywhere else online: https://www.facebook.com/thevibewithky/subscribe/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thevibewithky

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thevibewithky

The ADHD Vibe Store: https://thevibewithky.podia.com/

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional.

In this episode of The Vibe With Ky Podcast, psychological flexibility, how to feel a hard emotion without letting it run your life.

If you have ever told yourself you will start living once the grief lifts or the anxiety quiets, this one is for you.

Dr. Elisabeth Morray is a licensed psychologist and the VP of Clinical at Alma, where she supports more than 24,000 therapists. She joined me on this episode to explain psychological flexibility, and she trains clinicians in acceptance and commitment therapy, so she teaches this for a living.

The core shift is simple but it changes everything. Your pain is not proof that something is wrong with you, it points straight at what you care about most, and you can keep living toward that even while it hurts.

• Learn why your brain is great at solving physical problems and terrible at solving emotional ones
• Hear the grief question no client ever says yes to, and what it reveals about love
• Get a real way to keep grief and anxiety from swallowing you whole
• See why your struggles are understandable adaptations, not personal failures

Find a therapist through Alma: https://helloalma.com/
Dr. Elisabeth Morray's practice, Emerge Collective: https://emergecollective.info/

TheVibeWithKy.com: https://thevibewithky.com/
Patreon, for exclusive neurodivergent content and the Reverse The Mic segment where guests put me in the hot seat, not available anywhere else online: https://www.patreon.com/thevibewithky
Facebook, for that same exclusive content and Reverse The Mic: https://www.facebook.com/thevibewithky/subscribe/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thevibewithky
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thevibewithky
ADHD Vibers Store: https://thevibewithky.podia.com/

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional.

In this episode of The Vibe With Ky Podcast, therapist Calial McCarty explains why masking drains your mental health, and what it takes to stop performing okay.

This one is for you if you have spent years being the easygoing, low-maintenance one, and you are quietly exhausted from holding it all together.

Calial McCarty is a licensed mental health counselor and board-certified autism specialist who is AuDHD and chronically ill herself. She wrote Naturally Divergent, a book built on one idea: your divergent brain should not have to bend to neurotypical rules. She works with late-diagnosed kids and adults every day, and she leads with her own story first.

Ky and Calial trace masking back to childhood and follow it all the way into adult burnout, so you can finally see the pattern in your own life. The shift here is simple and steadying: the structure around you needs to change, not you.

• Understand why masking drains you on a biological level, so you can stop blaming yourself for being tired.
• Learn the small, low-burnout first steps for unmasking without overwhelming your whole life at once.
• Hear how chronic illness reshaped what a successful day looks like, and how self-advocacy changed Calial's care.
• See why being yourself was never the problem, and why the right people will not ask you to shrink.

Follow Calial McCarty and find her book Naturally Divergent and the Neurobloom Center: https://www.instagram.com/naturally_divergent_therapist/

TheVibeWithKy.com: https://thevibewithky.com/
Patreon, for exclusive neurodivergent content and the Reverse The Mic segment not available anywhere else online: https://www.patreon.com/thevibewithky
Facebook, for exclusive neurodivergent content and the Reverse The Mic segment not available anywhere else online: https://www.facebook.com/thevibewithky/subscribe/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thevibewithky
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thevibewithky
ADHD Vibers Store: https://thevibewithky.podia.com/

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional.

In this episode of The Vibe With Ky Podcast, autistic burnout takes center stage as Patrick Casale shares how his own success nearly broke him.

This one is for you if you built a life that looks great on paper but leaves you running on empty every single day.

Patrick Casale is an AuDHD therapist, business coach, and podcast host who built a career of international retreats, coaching programs, and a group practice before he ever found out he was autistic. He has helped hundreds of thousands of mental health professionals grow their businesses, and he speaks openly about what that pace cost him, including the chronic illnesses that eventually put him in the hospital.

We talk about why tying your worth to your output is a biological setup for burnout, not a character flaw, and what it actually takes to build a life you can live in. If you have ever felt like the harder you push, the worse you feel, this conversation puts a name to why.

• Learn why autistic burnout is a nervous system and biology issue, not a willpower problem
• Hear how undiagnosed ADHD can feed addictive patterns like gambling long before a diagnosis
• Understand the grief and relief that come with a late autism discovery
• Get a real framework for boundaries that protect your mental and physical health

Follow Patrick Casale and check out his work here:
https://linktr.ee/patrickcasale

Connect with Ky and go deeper:

TheVibeWithKy.com
https://thevibewithky.com/

Patreon (five dollars a month for the ADHD Deep Dive library, exclusive neurodivergent content, and the Reverse The Mic segment with guests, not available anywhere else online)
https://www.patreon.com/thevibewithky

Facebook (same exclusive content, including Reverse The Mic, not available anywhere else online)
https://www.facebook.com/thevibewithky/subscribe/

Instagram
https://instagram.com/thevibewithky

TikTok
https://tiktok.com/@thevibewithky

ADHD Vibers Store
https://thevibewithky.podia.com/

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional.

In this episode of The Vibe With Ky Podcast, sleep expert Derek Hales explains why your mattress might be the quiet reason you keep waking up exhausted.

If you have been blaming your brain, your schedule, or your stress levels for why you never feel rested, this conversation was made for you.

Derek Hales is the founder and editor-in-chief of NapLab.com, where he and his team have tested over 565 mattresses using objective, data-driven methods built entirely in-house. After a frustrating and expensive experience trying to buy his first mattress as a newlywed, Derek built a platform dedicated to cutting through the noise and giving sleepers real, unbiased answers.

In this episode, Derek breaks down how the mattress industry is largely designed to confuse shoppers into overspending, what most marketing claims actually mean in practice, and exactly what to buy if you have zero time to research. The conversation also gets into how ADHD brains already run in a low-grade fight-or-flight state, and how a wrong mattress can compound that neurological load in ways that are hard to separate from other causes.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• If your sleep feels noticeably better in a hotel or at someone else's home, your mattress may be a bigger factor in your energy levels than you think.
• The vast majority of sleepers do best on a hybrid mattress with a medium-firm feel, and spending between 1,500 and 2,000 dollars covers most of what the market has to offer.
• Cooling features on mattresses are often real but applied at levels too small to make a difference, so take brand claims with a grain of salt.
• Your pillow, sheets, and mattress protector all affect how your mattress performs, and a cheap protector can undercut even a high-quality bed.

Get your free personalized mattress recommendation from Derek and his team at NapLab. Answer a few questions about your sleep needs and budget and they will send you their top pick within 24 hours.
https://naplab.com

More from The Vibe With Ky:

Website and neurodivergent blog: https://thevibewithky.com

Subscribe on Patreon for 5 dollars a month. Get access to the full ADHD Deep Dive library, the Reverse The Mic segment with Derek, and exclusive content not posted anywhere else online: https://www.patreon.com/thevibewithky

Subscribe on Facebook for 5 dollars a month for the same exclusive access, including the Reverse The Mic segment with Derek and content not shared publicly anywhere else: https://www.facebook.com/thevibewithky/subscribe/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thevibewithky

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thevibewithky

ADHD Vibers Store: https://thevibewithky.podia.com/

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional.

In this episode of The Vibe With Ky Podcast, Naseema McElroy breaks down money trauma, financial anxiety, and how to build real wealth without shame.

If you make decent money and still feel broke, behind, or ashamed every time you open your banking app, this conversation was made for you.

Naseema McElroy is a labor and delivery nurse, single mom of three, and the founder of Financially Intentional. She paid off one million dollars in debt and built a millionaire net worth in three years while working bedside, which makes her uniquely honest about what it actually takes.

We get into why earning more never quiets the anxiety on its own, and why so much of our money struggle is really money trauma, not a math problem. It is the kind of talk that changes how you see your own bank account.

Here is some of what we cover:

• Why financial shame is usually inherited, and how to start letting it go
• How to build simple wealth systems that run in the background, starting with as little as ten dollars
• Why impulse spending is often an ADHD and dopamine pattern, not a willpower failure, and how to gamify money so it works with your brain
• How small, intentional decisions can change your finances and your peace of mind, even if you feel like you started late

Connect with Naseema:

Free money trainings and resources: https://financiallyintentional.com/class
Podcast and Instagram: https://www.financiallyintentional.com/

Connect with Ky and support the show:

Website: https://thevibewithky.com/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thevibewithky
Subscribe for five dollars a month for exclusive content and the Reverse The Mic segment, not available anywhere else online.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevibewithky/subscribe/
Subscribe for five dollars a month for the same exclusive content and Reverse The Mic segment, not available anywhere else online.
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thevibewithky
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thevibewithky
ADHD Vibers Store: https://thevibewithky.podia.com/

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional.

In this episode of The Vibe With Ky Podcast, we get into the two five minute windows that quietly control your entire day, with Special Forces veteran Tim Thomas.

If you feel exhausted all the time and have started calling it normal, this conversation was made for you.

Tim Thomas spent over a decade as a Special Forces Commando, then over a decade more working with veterans stuck in fight or flight. After losing years to PTSD, chronic exhaustion, and pharmaceuticals that never fixed his sleep, he had a breakthrough in the dirt of Afghanistan that led him to build Breathwork in Bed, an app that has since helped save veteran lives and is now helping everyday people fall asleep with peace and wake up with power.

Ky and Tim get into why so many of us have simply forgotten how to feel human, and why sleep, not willpower, might be the real battleground for mental health. Tim walks Ky through a live breathwork exercise on camera and breaks down why the brain cannot outthink trauma, but the breath can outrank it.

This episode gives you a real, practical starting point that costs nothing but five minutes a day.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• You will learn why the five minutes before sleep and the five minutes after waking set the tone for your entire day.
• You will understand why your nervous system treats an unpaid bill the same way it treats a physical threat, and what that means for your sleep.
• You will hear why chronic exhaustion is a biological state, not a personal failure or a lack of willpower.
• You will walk away with a simple, free breathwork practice you can use tonight.

Try Breathwork in Bed, 28 days free: https://breathworkinbed.com.au/

TheVibeWithKy.com: https://thevibewithky.com/

Subscribe on Patreon for five dollars a month, get real ADHD education plus exclusive behind the scenes content including Reverse The Mic, not posted anywhere else: https://www.patreon.com/thevibewithky

Subscribe on Facebook for five dollars a month, get real ADHD education plus exclusive behind the scenes content including Reverse The Mic, not posted anywhere else: https://www.facebook.com/thevibewithky/subscribe/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thevibewithky

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thevibewithky

ADHD Vibers Store: https://thevibewithky.podia.com/

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional.

In this episode of The Vibe With Ky Podcast, trauma-informed therapist Kirsten Davidson breaks down why your ambition might actually be a trauma response.

If you have ever hit every goal on paper and still felt completely empty inside, this conversation was made for you.

Kirsten Davidson is a Registered Psychotherapist and the founder of Mind The Gaps Psychotherapy, where she works with adults, couples, and families navigating disconnection, emotional overwhelm, and the patterns that keep pulling them back into the same cycles. Her approach is rooted in Internal Family Systems, relational therapy, and trauma-informed care, and she writes regularly for Psychology Today on identity, relationships, and what real growth actually looks like. What sets Kirsten apart is that she does not just treat the symptom. She goes looking for what created it.

In this conversation, Kirsten and Ky get into the neurology of autopilot living, how high achievement can be a well-disguised trauma response, and what it biologically takes to break an intergenerational cycle. You will walk away with a completely different way of looking at the parts of yourself you have been fighting for years.

• High achievers are often running on protection, not passion, and there is a biological reason for that.
• Internal Family Systems reframes your emotions as parts of you, not all of you, which changes how you heal.
• Hiding who you really are is not a personality trait. It is a trauma response.
• Breaking a generational cycle has a physical sensation, and most people do not expect what it actually feels like.

Find Kirsten Davidson, book a session, and explore her work here:
https://mindthegaps.co

Find Kirsten on Psychology Today by searching her name directly on the Psychology Today website.

Follow Kirsten on Instagram: instagram.com/kirsten.davidson

More from Ky:

Website, blog, ADHD store, and email list: https://thevibewithky.com

Patreon, subscribe for five dollars a month for the exclusive ADHD Deep Dive Library, behind-the-scenes content, and the Reverse The Mic segment with this guest that is not available anywhere else online: https://www.patreon.com/thevibewithky

Facebook Subscriptions, same exclusive content and Reverse The Mic access for five dollars a month: https://www.facebook.com/thevibewithky/subscribe/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thevibewithky

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thevibewithky

ADHD Vibers Store: https://thevibewithky.podia.com/

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional.

In this episode of The Vibe With Ky Podcast, Ky talks with Rabbi Daniel Cohen about why negative thoughts are not your identity and how to finally let go of them.

If you have ever felt like your negative thoughts were just facts about who you are, this conversation was made for you.

Rabbi Daniel Cohen is the senior rabbi at Congregation Agudath Shalom in Stamford, Connecticut, the largest modern orthodox synagogue in New England. He has mentored CEOs, Hall of Fame athletes like David Robinson, and national politicians, and he is the author of What Will They Say About You When You Are Gone, Creating a Life of Legacy. He is also the founder of The Legacy Academy, a training program built around intentionally creating purpose in everyday life.

Ky and Rabbi Cohen get into why our brains cling so hard to worst case thinking, how to validate your feelings without spiraling, and where the line actually sits between holding yourself accountable and just being cruel to yourself. Rabbi Cohen shares real stories from the people he has mentored, including how a single morning practice of gratitude can completely change someone's relationship to their own mind.

This is a conversation about catching yourself before the spiral, not pretending the spiral never happens.

• You will learn why negative thoughts are not permanent and not part of your identity.
• You will hear a practical way to practice gratitude that does not feel forced or fake.
• You will understand the real difference between healthy accountability and self bullying.
• You will get a framework for building a long term legacy even when the future feels hard to picture.

Learn more about Rabbi Daniel Cohen and The Legacy Academy at https://thelegacyacademy.getlearnworlds.com/

TheVibeWithKy.com, for the ADHD store, the blog, and everything else
Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/thevibewithky, subscribe for five dollars a month for exclusive content including the ADHD Deep Dive library and the Reverse The Mic segment, not posted anywhere else online
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thevibewithky/subscribe/, same exclusive content and Reverse The Mic segment, not posted anywhere else online
Instagram at https://instagram.com/thevibewithky
TikTok at https://tiktok.com/@thevibewithky
ADHD Vibers Store at https://thevibewithky.podia.com/

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional.

In this episode of The Vibe With Ky Podcast, we get into why ADHD in women so often goes missed, with Shelpful founder Sharon Pope.

If you have ever judged yourself for forgetting to drink water, take a walk, or finish a single task for yourself while keeping everyone else's life running, this conversation was made for you.

Sharon Pope is the founder of Shelpful, an AI powered accountability app built for ADHD and overwhelmed brains. She built the first version of the product after hitting her own rock bottom three months postpartum, and was later diagnosed with ADHD herself after her own app's users pointed it out, following years of being dismissed by two different doctors. Sharon and her team put together an exclusive offer for this community at shelpful.com/vibewithky, including one free month on top of the standard two week trial and fifteen dollars off Shelpful Smart Tags.

Ky and Sharon talk through how Shelpful actually works, why generic advice like just get a planner fails ADHD brains, and why dropping the small self care stuff is executive dysfunction, not a character flaw. They also get into building an online community, the highs and lows of content creation, and what it means to stop shaming yourself for the small stuff.

By the end of this episode, you will understand why proactive accountability works better than rigid systems for ADHD brains.

• You will learn why traditional advice like just set an alarm fails people with ADHD.
• You will understand why self care is usually the first thing to drop when life gets demanding.
• You will hear what it actually took for Sharon to get diagnosed after years of being dismissed.
• You will walk away with a new way to think about small daily struggles as resourcefulness, not failure.

Sharon Pope and Shelpful
Exclusive Vibe With Ky offer: shelpful.com/vibewithky
One free month on top of the two week trial plus fifteen dollars off Shelpful Smart Tags, created specifically for this community.
Instagram: instagram.com/shelpful
Website: shelpful.com
TikTok: tiktok.com/@shelpful
Facebook: facebook.com/shelpful
iOS App: apps.apple.com/us/app/shelpful-ai-for-adhd-tasks/id6741499362
Android App: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shelpful.shelpfulapp

TheVibeWithKy.com
thevibewithky.com

Patreon: patreon.com/thevibewithky
Subscribe for five dollars a month for exclusive content including the ADHD Deep Dive library and the full Reverse The Mic segment, not posted anywhere else online.

Facebook: facebook.com/thevibewithky/subscribe/
Subscribe for five dollars a month for exclusive content including the ADHD Deep Dive library and the full Reverse The Mic segment, not posted anywhere else online.

Instagram: instagram.com/thevibewithky

TikTok: tiktok.com/@thevibewithky

ADHD Vibers Store: thevibewithky.podia.com/

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified professional.