The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast

You Are Not Broken: Reframing Depression and ADHD as Unfinished Business

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Host: Kate Brownfield, Certified Whole Person & ADHD Parent Coach

Guest: Dr. Ardeshir Mehran, psychologist, trauma therapist, researcher, and author of You Are Not Depressed, You Are Unfinished

Episode Overview

In this hopeful, practical conversation, Kate talks with Dr. Ardeshir Mehran about reframing ADHD, anxiety, and depression as adaptive signals, not personal flaws. Drawing on his “Bill of Emotional Rights,” Dr. Mehran explains why addressing anxiety first often unlocks executive function, reduces ADHD symptoms, and paves the way toward genuine fulfillment (not just “feeling happy”). Parents will hear concrete ways to build connection at home, listen before fixing, and create a family culture where kids feel safe, seen, and steady.

If you’re a parent feeling overwhelmed, second-guessed, or unsure how to help, this episode offers a grounded roadmap from survival mode to connection and growth.

What We Talk About (Highlights)

  • Symptoms as data, not defects: Why mental struggles are reversible patterns and information your child’s nervous system is sending.

  • Anxiety → ADHD → Depression (the order of operations): How calming anxiety first improves attention and executive function, then opens the door to address low mood and fulfillment.

  • The Bill of Emotional Rights: Safety, dignity, connection, and self-expression as core needs that protect mental health.

  • High achievers, hidden pain: How “pushing through” and numbing emotions show up in kids and adults, and the physical red flags (gut issues, headaches, BP).

  • Listen before you fix: How compassionate presence outperforms advice and why “home” must be a safe base to return to.

  • Screens & numbing: Understanding gaming/scrolling as coping, and how to meet the need underneath.

  • Parent modeling: Moving from “performing” to being with your child, co-regulation, steady routines, and repair after ruptures.

  • From pain to purpose: “The opposite of depression isn’t happiness, it’s fulfillment.”

    • Resources & Links

    • Find Dr. Mehran: https://ardeshirmehran.com
    • Book by Dr. Mehran: You Are Not Depressed, You Are Unfinished
    • Concept: The Bill of Emotional Rights (discussed in-episode)

      • About Your Host, Kate

      I’m Kate Brownfield, Certified Whole Person & ADHD Parent Coach, author of How We Roll: A Parent’s Journey Raising a Child with ADHD, and host of The ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast. It’s my pleasure to help you better understand ADHD because every child is unique, and so are their strengths and struggles.

      🌐 Find me: ADHDKidsCanThrive.com

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