WTF is AuDHD?

In this week’s episode, we start with a listener who posted in our Reddit about their vivid dreams. We chat about dreams and our relationship with them - before getting into our main topic: self-talk before and after diagnosis, and why it matters.

We’re talking self-esteem, the impact of all those tiny, everyday rejections, and how they can add up over time - especially when you’re autistic or ADHD and don’t yet know it.

We look at how diagnosis has changed the way we understand our brains and our behaviour, but most importantly, how it’s changed the way we talk to ourselves.

Because sometimes the biggest change after an AuDHD diagnosis isn’t what you do differently, or even the medication you might be prescribed. Sometimes, it’s simply having the knowledge to understand yourself and be kinder to yourself.

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In this episode, we go back in time and try to remember what our childhood bedrooms looked like - and what they might have been showing us in hindsight!

Our Mum, Karen, also joins us with her memories to see whether her recollection matches ours. Plus, we hear from you about your childhood bedrooms, and it turns out there are some pretty interesting patterns and themes.

Near the beginning of the episode, we also have a little message for anyone whose parents might be struggling to understand or accept their late diagnosis. If it resonates with you and your experience, perhaps send it to someone who might need to hear it.

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Trigger warning: this episode talks about self harm, as well as somber chats with regard to loss and grief that could be upsetting for some.

In this episode, Ellie and Paige chat about grief and loss after a listener wrote in currently navigating grief as an AuDHDer. We speak about our own experiences with grief, "unhealthy" ways we dealt with it, and whether we think ADHD and autistic people have a harder time with grief compared to the general population. Ellie also brings a study that explores grief in different neurotypes (Understanding the Neurodiversity of Grief, Mair et.al).

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Our Mum Karen joins us again to share her experiences bringing on bringing us up as undiagnosed kids - and managing our Dad who was also undiagnosed - leading to an absolute mad-house! Mum opens up about what she'd do differently, how Dad's ADHD diagnosis kicked off a domino effect through the whole family, and what it's meant for her to watch us finally understand ourselves. She shares how tough it was trying to get help for Paige, getting no answers and Paige reflects on how those experiences impacted her and her self esteem. We get a little emotional in this one, and we hope it helps other families feel less alone.

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Our beautiful Mum, Karen, joins Ellie and Paige for this week’s episode!

We get to know her a little better, from what she was like growing up to her memories of raising two very different kids.

We talk about what we were like at home vs. at school, just how different we were (literally chalk and cheese!), the things Mum noticed (and the things she didn’t) and why Ellie in particular managed to fly so far under the radar.

And this is only part one! Next week, Mum joins us again to dive deeper into what, if anything, she would have done differently, how her perspective has changed since our diagnoses, and her experiences trying to support Paige and being dismissed by the medical system.

Also, there's one week left to order your WTF Journal and be part of our Founding Member launch. Get yours here - wtfjournals.com

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In this episode, we continue our conversation with Kate Manihera (aka DJ "Sexy Kate") - a late-diagnosed autistic/ADHD content creator, model, and DJ based in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

After years of high-masking and high-achieving - from beauty influencing to a corporate career in Māori cultural strategy and organisational development - Kate's diagnoses in her late 20s sparked a full life reset: leaving her job, working through burnout, and rebuilding her career around what actually lights her up.

Kate talks about navigating previous romantic relationships and what she's learnt about herself since. She also discusses the Māori concepts of aroreretini (ADHD) and takiwātanga (autism), which reframe neurodivergence as difference rather than deficit.

Follow her at @katemanihera on Instagram, or check out her DJ sets on SoundCloud.

The pre-order window is still open to purchase one of our WTF Journals as well! https://wtfjournals.com

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On today's episode, Ellie and Paige speak with Kate Manihera - a New Zealand-based content creator, DJ, model, and former makeup artist/beauty YouTuber who was diagnosed with ADHD at 26 and autism at 27.

Since her late diagnosis, she's brought awareness and education around late-diagnosed ADHD and autism through content creation, alongside her modelling and an emerging DJ career! Kate chats about how she came to diagnosis, misdiagnoses she received, socially struggling (but appearing capable), masking and bullying, and Kate also shares helpful insight into her medication journey.

Kate is Māori (an indigenous person of Aotearoa/New Zealand), and therefore brings a perspective the podcast hasn't featured before. We chat about masking, burnout, being "too much" and misunderstood, and learning to unmask and trust her authentic self. Next week, Kate joins us again to chat about relationships, managing her life and career and gives more insight into the Māori definitions of Autism and ADHD.

We're so grateful for Kate's time and kōrero (conversation) - if you want to follow Kate, follow her HERE.

Also, WTF Journals are now live! Well, the pre-order window anyway. Order now from wtfjournals.com - the pre-order window is open for three weeks.

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In this week's episode, Ellie and Paige answer a listener question about medication and their experience with Fluoxetine, we discuss an upcoming ADHD documentary and Paige highlights one of her fave journal inserts coming out next week.

Some more context on the upcoming documentary - a couple of weeks ago Channel 4 announced a new ADHD documentary is in production and our first instincts solely based on the title were... uncomfortable? It's called The Great ADHD Myth?' and we thought it was important to have a nuanced discussion about this, based on what we know so far.

The Great ADHD Myth? asks whether ADHD is actually a neurodevelopmental condition - or whether modern life is creating the behaviours we call ADHD. We chat about the questions the NHS Psychiatrist will be investigating in the documentary, whether we think, these will be helpful or harmful and discuss missed opportunities we think the content might be issing.

Full disclosure; the documentary isn't out yet, so we're only able to base our chats on what we know from the above article, but we feel that even the article is purposely inflammatory and could be harmful, which is frustrating when we've spent years trying to remove so much stigma.

Also, we're one week out from launching our journals - sign up before Tuesday 18th to become a Founding Member if you choose to purchase! https://wtfjournals.com/signup

Join our Reddit community to get involved in our conversations.

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Ellie loves an infodump and today she's gone on a deep dive about the history of ADHD. Ever wondered when it was first mentioned in literature? Or why it became a 'disorder' in modern day society? Did ADHD always exist, or has it just become a 'thing' in the last 100 years?

ADHD might feel like a modern diagnosis, but the traits we associate with it have been described for centuries - from early descriptions of attention and hyperactivity, to the diagnosis entering the DSM, and the question of what ADHD might have looked like before modern society. We explore theories that some ADHD traits may have been advantageous in certain environments, and discuss that perhaps the manifestation of ADHD is heavily influenced by a mismatch between brains and the world we're living in.

Check out Dr. Russell Barkley's YouTube Channel

Citation #1: Dan TA Eisenberg, Benjamin Campbell, Peter B Gray, Michael D Sorenson - An exploration of nutrition indices among nomadic and recently settled Ariaal men of northern Kenya

Citation #2: David L. Barack et. al - Attention deficits linked with proclivity to explore while foraging

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