WEBVTT - Dr. Sasha Hamdani On The Truth About ADHD in Women 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.200 We know ADHD doesn't just affect boys. We know ADHD 0:00:03.240 --> 0:00:05.920 doesn't just affect children. We know ADHD is so much 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:08.320 more than just focus. Instead of looking at it as 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:11.200 a personality flaw, this is looking at it as a 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:12.640 neurological phenomenon. 0:00:12.720 --> 0:00:16.280 Doctor Sasha Hamdani is a board certified psychiatrist and ADHD 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:19.360 clinical specialist. She's known for breaking down ADHD in a 0:00:19.360 --> 0:00:22.440 way that's relatable, science back and so easy to understand. 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:26.200 She shares practical tools for managing focus, emotional regulation, and 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:30.920 daily life with ADHD. How does emotional regulation differ in ADHD? 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:33.920 How much time do you have? So? ADHD is broken 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.639 into three different types. There is inattentive, hyperactive, and then 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:40.559 combined type, which is a combination of the two. In general, 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:45.520 females typically present as inattentive, and typically males it's more 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:50.320 of this hyperactive or combined type presentation. Instead of constantly 0:00:50.360 --> 0:00:53.199 turning it inwards and having to carry it and have 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:55.480 it be like this huge burden, you can start to 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:58.000 reframe it and start to work with it and it 0:00:58.040 --> 0:00:59.160 can be an incredible strength. 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:02.280 Welcome to Really Good Cry podcast. A Really Good Cry 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:05.040 is here to help you understand your body, feel confident 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:07.920 in your skin, manage your emotions, and take back control 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:11.080 of your health. Because growth doesn't always start with answers. 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:15.080 Sometimes it starts with a really good cry. Sasha, thank 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:17.400 you so much for being here. I actually such a 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:19.920 huge fan. I've been a binge watching your content on 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:22.399 Instagram and I just want to say that you are 0:01:22.400 --> 0:01:25.280 someone who articulates yourself so beautifully, and you've really helped 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:28.600 me to understand my mind so much better and feel 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:32.000 so much more comfortable about who I am with my ADHD. So, 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:34.600 first of all, thank you, and I'm so happy to 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:37.720 tease your brain. This is basically a personal podcast for me. 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:39.360 I love it. Yeah, I'm here for that. 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:41.440 Yeah, okay, So let's get into it. I want to 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:43.520 start off by just asking you, because we hear the 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:45.840 word ADHD all the time. It's thrown around left, right, 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:48.240 and center. But can you explain to us in a 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:49.560 simple wint what is adhd. 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:54.720 ADHD at its base is a neurobiological condition, a neurodevelopmental condition, 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:57.480 which means it came on from birth and it's kind 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:00.600 of been progressing through. That's what it is in the 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:05.800 conventional diagnostic criteria. But to me it feels more like 0:02:05.840 --> 0:02:10.440 a regulation issue. It's a regulation issue with attention, with emotions, 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:13.800 with energy, with sleep, with appetite. It kind of touches everything. 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:16.600 Can it also be triggered like later on in life 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:18.720 or is it something that if you're born with it, 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:19.560 you just have it? 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:24.040 So what the science shows right now is a huge 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:27.320 proportion of that is genetic. Now, what you see a 0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:29.920 lot of times is that people have it but it 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:33.840 becomes unmasked later in life by something bigger, like a 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:36.320 hormonal shift can happen and then all of a sudden 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:38.960 things get really bad. So it might be that you've 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:41.120 had it this whole time, but there's certain events in 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:44.919 life that exacerbate it. You can have that with hormonal shifts, 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:46.760 you can have it with trauma, you can have it 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:50.520 with underlying psychiatric things. You can have it with stress. 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:53.399 So there are things that bring it to the forefront 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:53.840 for sure. 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:56.760 Okay, but generally you'd say that genetically, you've already kind 0:02:56.760 --> 0:03:00.880 of got the gene for as it runs in. What 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:03.160 do you think is the biggest misconception that people have 0:03:03.280 --> 0:03:04.239 around ADHD? 0:03:04.480 --> 0:03:07.040 So I think one of the biggest ones is that 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:10.160 it only happens in males. People think, like for a 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:13.200 long even when I was trained in medical school, it 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:17.640 was kind of ADHD was considered something that hyper young 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:20.400 boys have. It doesn't show up in adults. It doesn't 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:23.880 show up in females, absolutely not. And so a lot 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:27.280 of times it just, you know, as medicine progressed and 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:30.160 as you go through training and you see, like practitioners 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:33.160 were like, you know, it'll go away in adulthood, so 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:35.480 we don't need to do anything with it, And that 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:37.960 has kind of been something that people have had to 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:41.080 pull apart and dismantle because it's so obvious that it 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:42.560 persists in adulthood. 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.400 Is there a difference in the type of symptoms I 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:47.640 don't call that, but the type of characteristics that you 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:51.160 have when you're a child with ADHD versus an adult. 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:54.280 Yes. I think a lot of times more of those 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:58.720 hyperactive symptoms, like the physical impulsivity and the verbal impulsivity. 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:02.000 A lot of times that goes and you see more 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:04.920 of the inattentive symptoms. I don't think necessarily that they 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:06.680 go away, though. I think you just you just get 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:07.840 good at hiding them. You know. 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:09.920 One thing I always struggled with was this idea of 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:15.680 differentiating between being someone who's distracted or undisciplined versus someone 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:18.760 with ADHD. How can you differentiate between the two And 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:21.320 is it possible for someone with ADHD to be those 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:26.080 things disciplined and focused and attentive. Yes, yeah, yes. 0:04:26.440 --> 0:04:29.560 I think what's difficult is that, you know, when you 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:32.320 look at characteristics of adh and this is why it's 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:36.279 so important to if possible, get a diagnosis from someone 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:38.440 who is a medical professional who can tease this apart. 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:43.320 Is everybody deals with distractability, everybody deals with issues with 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:45.240 maintaining focus. Those are things that are part of the 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:47.880 human conditions, especially since the invention of a phone like 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.359 this is something that we see all the time. But 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:56.000 with ADHD, it is more persistent, it is more disordered 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:59.640 in that it's harder to get from point A to 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:03.520 point B, so much so that it becomes debilitating to 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:07.000 the person at times. For people with ADHD, you can 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:10.520 also see incredible amounts of focus. You can see incredible 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:13.880 amounts of discipline, especially if that's something new to their 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:17.320 nervous system or interesting, and that's you know, people describe 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:19.800 that as hyper focus, where it's almost like it's the 0:05:19.800 --> 0:05:23.919 opposite problem where it's you're not distractable or having difficulty engaging, 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:26.400 you're overly engaged. Now it's hard to pull you out 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:28.359 of it. And that's part of why I'm saying for 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:31.240 a lot of ADHD, it seems like a regulation issue. 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:34.880 One of the main symptoms that you notice in people 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:36.880 with add like, what are the typical ones that you 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:38.680 see coming into the room. 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:44.240 So ADHD is broken into three different types. There is inattentive, hyperactive, 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:46.720 and then combined type, which is a combination of the two. 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:50.880 So inattentive is like think about it, like the day dreamers. 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:55.760 So difficulty starting tests, difficulty I'm staying engaged in tasks, 0:05:55.960 --> 0:06:01.320 difficulty completing task difficulty was forgetfulness difficult in general with 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:07.360 maintaining attention and focus. When you have the hyperactive side 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:10.360 of things, you're looking more at the physical and verbal impulsivity. 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:12.880 So these are the people that are constantly fidgeting or 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:16.080 have difficulty staying still in their chair. You know, their 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:18.400 brain is moving so fast that they're blurting out things, 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:22.480 or they're having difficulty participating in the conversation. And then 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:26.200 combined type is obviously a combination of the two, So 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:31.560 you can see differences in all of those presentations. But 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:35.360 I would say that in general, females typically present as 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:39.720 inattentive and typically males when they present it's more of 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:42.600 this hyperactive or combined type presentation. 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:45.159 And are they different ways to manage both of those? 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:48.040 Like do you have different recommendations for the person who 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:51.960 can't complete things versus the person who's overactive. 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:54.520 Rather than being broken down into type, it's so individualized 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.560 for the person, Like you really have to have a 0:06:57.560 --> 0:07:00.359 good understanding of like you know when you treat a 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:02.200 a lot of people. This is another misconception. A lot 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:04.920 of people think that the answer is always medication. Yes, 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:07.000 if you have ADHD, you have to be on medication, 0:07:07.040 --> 0:07:09.159 which isn't true. Like, if you have ADHD, there's a 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:11.000 huge part of it that if you understand how your 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:13.280 brain works and you are lucky enough to be able 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:16.239 to optimize your environment, you're gonna have a much better 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:20.040 time at managing it without medication. Now, there's some people 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:22.240 that do need medication, And I have been in a 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:26.320 place where I have needed medication. For med school, for sure, 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:30.280 I needed medication. So there are people that fall into 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.760 different needs based on their symptoms and based on where 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:34.640 they are in life. 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:38.920 Yeah, for me, I noticed that I had all these 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:41.360 things which the things that you mentioned, like I wasn't 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:44.000 able to complete things. I was struggling to stay disciplined. 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:48.840 My focus would be there for things I'm really excited about, 0:07:49.280 --> 0:07:51.880 and then dwindled with things that I had absolutely no 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:55.240 interest in. But one thing, and I didn't really know 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:57.800 I had ADHD at the time, or hadn't really put 0:07:57.800 --> 0:08:00.680 a name to it. But what it pushed me to 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:02.720 do was try and create more structure in my life. 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:04.200 Like I felt like I was thinking of it as 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:07.680 each individual issue. So Okay, if I'm struggling to stay discipline, 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:09.520 what does that mean? That means I need to create 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:11.960 more structure in my life to be able to at 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:14.240 least have a guide of where I'm supposed to be 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:16.880 going in the day, because otherwise, if I'm going from 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:19.240 thing to thing to think, I my mind won't even 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:21.680 know where the direction, what direction I'm supposed to be 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.040 going in. And so structure made sense for the discipline, 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:27.360 having like specific core things in my day that were 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:29.880 anchors that really helped. So, Okay, I'm going to be 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:31.960 having breakfast at this time, I'm going to be having 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:33.760 lunch at this time, you know, whether it's around meals, 0:08:33.760 --> 0:08:36.120 whether it's around workouts. Having those core things in my 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:40.120 day really helped me. And then understanding the fact that 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:42.719 my mind, you know, in conversation and even when I'm 0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:44.440 doing things, will go from thing to thing to thing 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:46.400 to things, and then I'll forget to go back to 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:49.200 the first thing. So now it's the idea of like, Okay, 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:51.160 let me complete this one thing, then move on to 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:53.200 the next. And if I do move on, let me 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:55.280 write it down just to remind myself of what I 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:58.440 need to go back to. And so I completely agree. 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:00.360 I think when you when you understand it able to 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:02.520 create systems. Yeah, you might not feel like you're the 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:05.760 most optimized person in that area, but I don't think 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:10.320 it necessarily has to be seen as something that is 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:13.000 holding you back. But I think ADHD has aided my 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:16.600 creativity so much, Yeah, because it's allowed my mind to 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:19.160 wonder and think in ways that I maybe wouldn't have 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:20.920 if I didn't have it, if my brain didn't go 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:24.400 from one thing to another to another. Yeah, And so 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:27.520 I wonder you know, your advice to people who feel 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.240 like these these parts of them are holding them back, 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:32.679 or that they hear that they've got ADHD and they think, 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:35.640 oh my gosh, like this is awful. Does that mean 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:36.960 I'm just stuck with this for life? 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:37.880 You know? 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:39.760 What would you say to someone who feels that way, 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:41.240 because it can be quite disheartening. 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:45.439 I completely agree, and I completely agree, and I've personally 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:49.200 felt that way, and I think it I think what 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:52.320 is such a nice thing about ADG is that it 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:55.400 does come with positives. I think, you know, I've heard 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:58.240 a lot about people calling ADG is superpower and being 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:01.840 able to like really harness it, and I like, I 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:04.760 understand the theory behind it and reframing it as this 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:08.640 incredible thing, and I think there are incredible attributes of it. 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:11.080 To me, that felt a little bit disheartening because I'm like, 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:13.680 there are times where it definitely doesn't feel like a 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:16.200 superpower to me, and so I feel like that was 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:18.200 a little bit limiting. And so where I got to 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:23.800 is I think viewing ADHD in more of a realistic view, 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:27.400 like their positives and their negatives, and it's just how 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:30.520 what you make of it. And I think one of 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:35.160 the most exciting things about ADHD is that your brain 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:40.000 is so adaptable and open to change, and so like 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:43.880 I think that people with ADHD are naturally more inclined 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:45.960 to be creative and think out of the box, and 0:10:46.000 --> 0:10:49.199 so there is incredible opportunity to use these things. But 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:52.040 sometimes in looking at some of those things that you 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:55.440 viewed as negatives, by just finding ways to have again 0:10:55.520 --> 0:11:00.320 that flexible structure, you can really optimize and so that 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:02.520 you can really lean into those things that you enjoy 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:04.360 and get a lot of value from that. 0:11:05.440 --> 0:11:07.520 You will keep mentioning that you see ADHD as a 0:11:07.520 --> 0:11:09.880 regulation issue, What do you mean by that? Could you 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:10.959 expand on it a little bit? 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:15.480 So I think that looking at ADHD just as an 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:18.480 attention or a focus problem is way too narrow, because 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.360 I think anybody who has it or think they have it, 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:23.679 I think they can immediately tell you, like, that's not 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:26.440 all there is for me. Like for me, I felt like, 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:31.800 especially in twenty twenty four, my dad passed and thank you, 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:37.760 but it's like my entire brain and world fell apart, 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:39.600 and I was like, I know that this is grief. 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:42.080 I know that there is a part of it, But 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:46.280 like I think, because every single day I'm kind of 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:49.520 working on building that kind of scaffolding for myself to 0:11:49.520 --> 0:11:51.960 get through the day. When I am dealing with something 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:55.439 as huge as like that emotional cascade that was happening, 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:57.920 that's the thing that takes me out. So I think 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:02.040 that with a regulation issue, you're looking at all of 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:04.640 the parts of ADC. You're not just looking at the 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:07.800 regulation issues when it comes to attention and focus, but 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:10.319 you're looking at how it relates to emotion, and you're 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:12.000 looking how it released to sleep, and you're looking a 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:14.680 how it released energy and appetite. And I think that 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:18.960 when people start because I think that's a huge, huge 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:22.120 limitation with the DSM. How we diagnose it right now, 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:24.960 it's just so narrow and so you miss it. And 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:27.400 you know who we miss it in is women. Yeah, 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:32.400 with un the case, we miss it in women. So 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:34.880 these women are going to get misdiagnosed with anxiety and 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.280 depression and bipolar and borderline and that's going to continue 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:41.600 on till the end of time unless we just change it. 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:44.880 Do you think people need to get a formal diagnosis 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:48.040 or do you think from specific symptoms they can really 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:50.360 know whether they have or whether they've got it or not. 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:55.160 So with this answer. I think it is tricky because 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:58.839 you first have to understand like what a barrier there 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:01.360 is in terms of acts us in care, Like it's 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:03.920 so hard to get a good diagnosis, and I don't 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:07.360 think that there has been a stream flined way of 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:10.600 doing that so far, and that's another huge, huge issue. 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:14.079 But I think that a formal diagnosis is really really 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:17.240 important for many reasons. But one of them is I 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:19.720 think it's hard. I think when you're looking at things 0:13:19.760 --> 0:13:22.520 like on social media, Like I've had patients come to 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:24.760 me and they're like, I really think I have ADHD, 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:26.920 And I'm like, why do you think that? Yeah, And 0:13:26.960 --> 0:13:28.760 they said, well, I saw this one video, and I'm like, 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:31.079 show it to me, show me the video, and then 0:13:31.120 --> 0:13:32.920 we go through that and we talk about and I 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:36.880 think that there's incredible value in looking at like for 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:38.800 social media. That's part of the reason why I'm on 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:42.120 social media is because I want to provide information and 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:45.240 help people explain their own internal environment. So I think 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:47.719 there's value in that. But then of those people that 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:49.760 come into my office, they show me that video, I 0:13:49.760 --> 0:13:52.240 think I have ADHD. We go through the symptoms, we 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:56.240 go through all of the remaining symptoms of ADHD. But 0:13:56.280 --> 0:14:01.160 then we screen for thyroid disorder, or we screen for PTSD, 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:05.240 or we scream for like just I you know, just 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:07.240 a few weeks ago, I had someone that I screamed 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:11.400 and I'm like, you are anemic, that's what's scarsing this. Oh, 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:15.920 So like you know, you get, you get all of 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:18.440 these different pieces of information, And I think it's important 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:21.720 to have someone who cannot only look at the ADHD 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:24.280 symptoms and rule them in, but rule out all the 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:25.880 other things that could be playing a role. 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.200 That's so true because so many of the symptoms are 0:14:28.560 --> 0:14:31.880 things that could be from nutrient deficiencies like you said, 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:34.360 or maybe I was just exhausted and you have been 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:37.520 sleeping really well, and so yeah, you're forgetting a few things, 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:40.360 or you're not able to concentrate. I mean I literally 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:42.400 just had a late night the other day. I was 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:44.520 out way later than I normally am, and the next 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:45.960 day I felt like I had a sleep hangover. I 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:48.640 was not able to concentrate. No, and I'm I don't 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:51.840 think it's my ADAD. I'm pretty sure this is the sleep. Yeah, 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:53.960 But it's so true. Foggy mind can come from so 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:56.600 many different things totally. I'd love to get into some 0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:59.880 of the typical characteristics that I feel I have but 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:02.560 I've heard that are part of ADHD. The first one 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:05.800 is time blindness or time perception. Yes, tell me a 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:08.040 little bit about that, because I used to think I 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:10.480 was just a really late person. But actually, when I 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:14.400 heard this, I felt so understood, because I honestly believe, 0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:17.120 genuinely believe, when I'm about to leave for someone, I 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:19.760 have enough time to finish a whole other project, and 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:23.200 I am fully ready, I'm like ready in my clothes. 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:26.640 I'm in fact, I'm early. And then my mind says, no, 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:30.240 you've got time to write another podcast episode, and I 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:32.720 absolutely don't, but my mind will tell me I do, 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:34.800 and then somehow I'm just late again, and then three 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:37.480 hours go by. Yeah, so please explain this to me. 0:15:39.400 --> 0:15:42.480 I think time blindness is it's like a convergence of 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:46.560 lots of different things happening. I think one of them 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:52.720 is that, you know, with fluctuating focus and things like that, 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:57.000 it's really easy to lose track of time because you 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:02.880 don't have a normal litmss of what time should feel like. 0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:05.760 When you're interested in something, three hours can feel like 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:09.160 one minute, and when you're bored with something, one minute 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:12.680 can feel like three hours. So it just it's almost 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:17.280 like this interest based nervous system. Your nervous system figures 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:21.320 out and attributes time to certain things, which is not 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:24.600 like a sixty seconds is one minute. So the way 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:29.880 you appreciate time is really dependent on how interested you 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:34.200 are in the thing. So that is part of time 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:37.520 blindness as a whole. And that's why you know, you know, 0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:42.400 looking at having reminders for me, And this is outrageous 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:44.520 that I do this because I only discover this after 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:49.120 having kids, But I like visually looking at time passing, 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:51.720 Like I have timers that are like a certain amount 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:53.720 of time passes that I can like see it on 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:55.720 the clock. I don't have to calculate and look at math. 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:58.520 I can like see how much time is passing. That's 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:01.240 all very helpful for me because keeps me, keeps me 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:03.880 looking and viewing time appropriately. 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:06.520 Yeah, which I also think is why schedules and alarms 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:08.960 can help to My sister has like an alarm for 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:11.639 everything every hour. What is this alarm for? But it 0:17:11.760 --> 0:17:14.080 just helps her to keep track of time, which is 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:17.080 if you struggle with keeping to time tracking your time 0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:20.560 makes sense. Yes, Yeah, it seems so simple, doesn't it, 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:22.080 But like, in my mind, it's not simple. 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:25.600 Well it's not simple also because I'm notorious for like 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:27.920 snoozing alarms. Yeah, like if it's a reminder, I'm like, 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:30.000 I'm in the middle of something. I'll deal with this 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:31.280 two minutes and then it's go on. 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:34.399 It's also overriding that thought now when my mind says no, 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:37.040 you could probably leave twenty minutes later. Like I'm the 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:40.160 person who gets to the airport where they're like, sorry, 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:42.119 we can't check your luggage. You can go, but your 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:44.760 luggage can't go. You've passed the deadline. But I leave 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:51.000 thinking nony of time. But I think now overriding that thought, 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:53.040 saying oh, you've got time, And I'm like, no, you 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:55.439 know what, just in case, just in case, let me 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:58.879 just leave now. I'll do this the other end, but 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:01.280 let me just override that thought. And I've done that 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:03.760 a few times and it's really helped. And you know, 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:05.800 I used to struggle because my friends used to see 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:08.160 me being late as a lack of value for their time, 0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:10.879 and I really felt upset with them because I was like, no, 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:13.879 I value your time, so much. It's actually not me thinking, 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:16.200 oh they weren't mine. That's not That's not why I'm 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:18.840 not showing up on time. And so I really made 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:22.359 it a priority to try and value what they value 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:25.040 by showing up on time. But definitely took a lot 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:25.600 together there. 0:18:26.160 --> 0:18:28.840 I So sometimes what I do, like for example, the 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:31.520 example you gave about the podcast, sometimes I call it 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:35.800 a dopamine delay, Like I will have to bargain and 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:38.840 talk to myself about like I now I should leave now, 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:41.960 but I really want to do this one thing, So 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:45.880 I'm going to delay that dopamine release and pick another time. 0:18:45.960 --> 0:18:49.000 So I'm like, if I get to the airport, I 0:18:49.040 --> 0:18:52.040 will do it. Then I will like that'll be my reward. 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:54.160 And so it kind of gives me a little bit 0:18:54.200 --> 0:18:55.760 of like, Okay, there's something to look. 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:58.600 Forward to, Bill Sweet when you get there. Could you 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:00.879 you mentioned dopamine. Could you tell us the relationship between 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:01.920 dopamine and ADHD. 0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:05.520 I mean, this is looking at a super oversimplified view 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:08.760 of it, but basically, if you're looking at things that 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:12.720 you're the ADHD brain kind of is and I can't 0:19:12.720 --> 0:19:16.280 even say deficient it dysregulated in dopamine and ourepin effort 0:19:16.280 --> 0:19:21.320 are two big ones. Basically, with dopamine, it's not so 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:23.840 much that you don't have it, it's just not in 0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:26.359 the right place at the right time. Interesting, so you 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:28.320 can have so a lot of times when people are 0:19:28.359 --> 0:19:30.680 like I checked my dopamine levels, I'm like, I don't 0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:32.520 even know how you did that. They were like peened 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:33.800 into a cop and I was like, I don't know 0:19:33.800 --> 0:19:35.960 what that's telling you, because it's not telling me. If 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:39.040 that small amount of dopamine, if it's present at the 0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:40.879 right place at the right time, you're not going to 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:44.159 have any sort of dysfunction with it. So like looking 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:46.880 at levels and things like that, it's not telling me anything. 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:49.480 So that's that's kind of the relationship. 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:52.840 And so there's this sum of a deficiency of dopamine 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:55.240 and then is it missed? How you know you mentioned 0:19:55.480 --> 0:19:59.080