ADHD with Jenna Free

Jenna Free, Canadian Certified Counselor | ADHD Therapist & Coach
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ADHD with Jenna Free is a podcast for adults with ADHD who are done surviving their symptoms and ready to start thriving with ADHD, without the endless tips, hacks, and workarounds that have never really fixed anything. It's also the show where therapists, coaches, and counselors come to deepen their understanding of treating ADHD in adults and learn what regulation-based care looks like in practice. Hosted by Jenna Free, a Canadian Certified Counselor (CCC) and ADHD therapist, this show exists to give you a completely different way of understanding ADHD in adults. You're stuck, overwhelmed, and exhausted because your brain is running on fight-or-flight. Willpower was never going to fix that, and once you understand that, everything changes. I'll answer questions like: Do I have ADHD? What is ADHD task paralysis, and how do I get unstuck? Why is my ADHD getting worse in my 40s? What do ADHD and perimenopause do to your brain? How do I manage ADHD emotional dysregulation without medication alone? Why do I procrastinate so much with ADHD? Why don't ADHD tips and tricks ever work long-term? What does it look like to thrive with ADHD? What does nervous system regulation have to do with ADHD? How do I stop feeling overwhelmed with ADHD? How do I get trained to treat ADHD in adults using a regulation-based approach? What does ADHD therapist training through a regulation framework actually cover? This podcast covers the full experience of living with adult ADHD: the real science behind procrastination in ADHD and ADHD task paralysis, why ADHD and perimenopause collide in ways no one talks about, and the solution-focused conversations most ADHD podcasts aren't having. For practitioners, Jenna also gets into the clinical side: what nervous system regulation training looks like, how to apply a regulation framework with clients, and what ADHD coach certification and ADHD therapist training often omit. Jenna shares her own story throughout, what it looks like to go from chronically dysregulated to thriving, so whether you're living with ADHD or working with people who are, you can see what's possible. This show gives adults with ADHD, newly navigating a late diagnosis, and clinicians seeking ADHD continuing education one thing: a clear path toward healing If you're an adult with ADHD who's tired of the commiseration and ready for a show that believes your life can look completely different, or a practitioner who wants to understand ADHD at the nervous system level, you're in the right place.

  1. 5 days ago

    73: 3 Mistakes in ADHD Therapy That Stall Progress

    You've been seeing an ADHD therapist for months, and something's off, or you're the clinician sensing your ADHD clients aren't getting where they hoped to go. Either seat you're sitting in, the pattern is the same, and there is a solution. If you want ADHD therapy that produces real symptom improvement instead of another round of coping tools, this episode is for you. I break down three specific mistakes that stall progress in ADHD therapy. The clinician's beliefs about whether ADHD symptoms can really improve, over-focus on validation without ever moving into growth work, and the therapist's own dysregulation showing up in the room. For clients, I cover the questions to bring into your next session to figure out if you're in the right relationship. For therapists, this one names the patterns worth checking in your own practice before your next client walks in. 00:00 – 3 Mistakes Your ADHD Therapist Might Be Making 00:59 – ADHD Therapist Beliefs: Can ADHD Symptoms Really Improve 06:11 – Validation vs Growth in ADHD Therapy 16:16 – Why a Dysregulated Therapist Can't Teach Nervous System Regulation for ADHD 21:01 – Questions to Ask Your ADHD Therapist Before Your Next Session If this episode named something you've been sensing in your own practice, the ADHD Regulation Method certification is the training built for it. Enrollment opens at the end of September 2026, and the waitlist is open now. Check out the show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/3-mistakes-in-adhd-therapy-that-stall-progress Let's stay connected! Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram! Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!

  2. 10 Aug

    72: Interrupt ADHD and Perfectionism Patterns for More Freedom

    You spend three weeks fussing with a work project that was technically done two weeks ago. A two-line email took 40 minutes because you rewrote it 4 times. You can't start the errand list until you've mapped out the perfect route, so the errands never get done. If you're an adult with ADHD who's tired of being told perfectionism is just how you're wired, this episode is for you. I break down why ADHD and perfectionism is a nervous system defense mechanism, not a personality trait, and what shifts once you understand what's driving it. Perfect feels required because imperfect feels unsafe, and that shield quietly costs you your time, energy, and confidence. I cover how perfectionism fuels ADHD procrastination and avoidance, why it makes ADHD overwhelm heavier, plus a client story about the email habit that gave her back 90 minutes a day, and one place to practice imperfect action this week. 00:00 – Why ADHD and Perfectionism Isn't Who You Are 01:06 – How Perfectionism Triggers Procrastination, Overwhelm, and Lateness 05:46 – Perfectionism as a Fight-or-Flight Response 10:16 – Learning It's Safe to Be Imperfect 14:28 – The Client Who Cut 90 Minutes a Day From Her Inbox ADHD regulation groups start tomorrow, Tuesday, August 11th. If perfectionism is the pattern you're ready to work on, this is your chance to get in.  Grab your spot here. Check out the show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/interrupt-adhd-perfectionism-patterns

  3. 3 Aug

    71: How to Find Balance with ADHD All-or-Nothing Thinking

    You either clean the whole house in one rampage or leave your clothes on the floor for a week. You go hard at the gym for a week, eat one cookie, and write off the whole month. You wait for a six-hour window to work on that project, and when it doesn't come, no progress happens at all. If you're an adult with ADHD who's tired of hearing that all-or-nothing thinking is just how your brain works, this episode is for you. I break down why ADHD all-or-nothing thinking is a dysregulation pattern, not a personality trait, and how it can shift once you understand what's actually driving it. Your nervous system swings you from one extreme to the other because the middle feels risky to a primal part of you. I cover what ADHD all-or-nothing thinking looks like across cleaning, work, fitness, and food, how the ADHD binge-restrict cycle is the same swing as going hard at the gym then quitting for a month, why ADHD perfectionism and avoidance are the same pattern dressed differently, what the ADHD burnout cycle does to your momentum, and how to identify one place you're pulling to the extreme this week so you can start softening it.  00:00 – Why ADHD All-or-Nothing Thinking Isn't Who You Are 03:25 – What Dysregulation Looks Like in Your Behavior 05:43 – The Pendulum Swing and Why It Kills Momentum 07:27 – All-or-Nothing With Food and Exercise 17:23 – Finding the Middle Ground With Perfectionism 22:36 – One Place to Soften the Swing This Week Building habits with ADHD lives in the middle of the pendulum. Join my free call on August 5th, Is the Purpose of Life to Check Off To-Do Lists Till I Die?, to go deeper into what life can look like when you're not stuck rushing through it. https://www.jennafree.com/adhdcall Check out the show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/find-balance-with-adhd-all-or-nothing-thinking Let's stay connected! Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram! Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!

  4. 27 Jul

    70: ADHD Executive Dysfunction Isn't Permanent and Here's Why

    You know exactly what you should be doing, and you still can't make yourself start. If you're an adult with ADHD who's tired of being told your executive function is just "how your brain is," this episode is for you. I make the case that ADHD executive dysfunction is not fixed at the level you're experiencing it right now. The reason it feels concrete is that your nervous system is stuck in fight or flight, and that state pulls blood flow away from the exact part of your brain that runs working memory, task initiation, planning, and follow-through. I cover what ADHD executive dysfunction actually is and why researchers call it the core deficit, how ADHD fight or flight and survival mode make every symptom look worse than your true baseline, why drilling one executive function skill at a time doesn't create lasting change, why ADHD paralysis has nothing to do with laziness, and two things you can start doing today to move out of survival mode. 00:00 – Why ADHD Executive Dysfunction Isn't What You Think 02:04 – The Brain's Management System and What Goes Wrong 03:29 – The Narrative That Keeps ADHDers Stuck 05:15 – Fight or Flight and the Missing Piece of ADHD Advice 07:03 – What ADHD Survival Mode Looks Like Day to Day 17:23 – Two Shifts You Can Start Today ADHD executive dysfunction changes when you're out of fight or flight. Join my free call on August 5th at 5pm Mountain to go deeper. https://www.jennafree.com/adhdcall Check out the show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/adhd-executive-dysfunction-isnt-permanent Let's stay connected! Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram! Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!

  5. 20 Jul

    69: Why ADHD Regulation Works Better Than Chasing Symptoms

    You've tried fixing the symptoms one by one, and you're still spinning. This episode is for the adult with ADHD who's exhausted from chasing symptoms and not seeing real change. I make the case that ADHD nervous system dysregulation is the thread running through it all, and that working on regulation rather than individual symptoms is how things actually shift. I cover why ADHD symptom management that targets one problem at a time keeps you stuck, how fight-or-flight ADHD affects everything from executive functioning to appetite to relationships, what rejection sensitive dysphoria looks like in nervous system terms, why ADHD paralysis and overwhelm connect to the freeze response, and why depth work on one thing creates more change than spreading effort across 30. 00:00 – Chasing ADHD Symptoms vs. Finding Real Regulation 02:35 – Why Chasing ADHD Symptoms Feels Exhausting 08:12 – Emotional Dysregulation vs. Nervous System Dysregulation 09:23 – Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and ADHD 19:19 – Overwhelm, Paralysis, and the Freeze Response in ADHD 21:51 – Why Regulation, Not Band-Aids, is the Solution ADHD regulation groups are reopening! August 5th registration will open. Check out the details here. Check out the full show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/adhd-regulation-vs-symptom-chasing Let's stay connected! Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram! Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!

  6. 13 Jul

    68: ADHD and Relationships: How to Stay Regulated with the People You Love

    You hold it together all day, then walk in your front door, and everything comes out sideways. You're snappier with your partner, more defensive with your kids, and impatient with the people you really want to enjoy being with. This episode is for the adult with ADHD who's tired of the people they love the most getting the worst version of them. I walk through what's happening in your nervous system when relationships and ADHD collide at home, why ADHD defensiveness, impatience, and controlling behavior show up strongest with the people closest to you, and what starts to shift when you work on nervous system regulation instead of gritting your teeth through dinner. If ADHD rejection sensitive dysphoria, mental rushing, or ADHD parenting dysregulation feel familiar, this one's worth your time. 00:00 - Why Relationships and ADHD Get Complicated at Home 02:53 - ADHD Defensiveness as a Fight or Flight Response 09:54 - Vulnerability, Written Communication, and Retraining Your System 10:27 - Impatience in Relationships and the Rushing You Can't Turn Off 16:51 - ADHD Controlling Behavior and Why You Insert Yourself 20:57 - Co-Regulation and Becoming the Calm in the Room Live workshop on July 15 called Calm is Contagious, on co-regulation, ADHD, and relationships. Get the details here Check out the show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/adhd-relationships-stay-regulated Let's stay connected! Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram! Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!

  7. 6 Jul

    67: ADHD Task Switching: Why It's Hard and How to Make It Easier

    You've been calling yourself bad at task switching for so long it's started to feel like a fact. And the evidence keeps stacking up: the hyperfocus sessions that run three hours past when you need to stop, the transitions that take so much mental energy you'd rather just stay in one thing until it's done. This episode is for the adult with ADHD who suspects there's more going on beneath that label than a skill gap. I walk through what's driving ADHD task switching struggles, why the cycle of going hard until you crash is a nervous system pattern rather than a productivity problem, and what starts to shift when you work on regulation instead of just the behavior. If ADHD transitions, all-or-nothing thinking, or the boom-bust cycle feel familiar, this one's worth your time. 00:00 - Why ADHD Task Switching Is a Nervous System Problem 04:19 - The Internal State Change Nobody Talks About 07:12 - All-or-Nothing Thinking and ADHD Dysregulation 09:28 - Why Alternating Mental and Physical Tasks Helps Regulation 13:01 - The Cause of ADHD Transition Struggles 16:43 - A Practical Way to Start Shifting Task Switching Today Live workshop on July 15 on co-regulation, ADHD, and relationships. Get the details here Check out the show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/adhd-task-switching-made-easier Let's stay connected! Ready to help your ADHD clients heal at the nervous system level? Join the waitlist for the ADHD Regulation Method certification launching in September. Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram! Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!

  8. 29 Jun

    66: 5 Unexpected Benefits of ADHD Nervous System Regulation

    You lived in survival mode. The stress, the paralysis, the frantic crash cycle. And then something shifted. This episode is for the adult with ADHD who's curious what life looks like on the other side of nervous system regulation work. I'm sharing five things that changed after I got regulated, none of which were what I originally went in looking for. From how I handle criticism and rejection sensitive dysphoria, to patience with other people, to finally sticking with a hobby for more than three weeks. The changes didn't come from trying harder, but from the shift in operating conditions. 00:00 - Unexpected Benefits of ADHD Nervous System Regulation 01:53 - How Nervous System Regulation Changed Jenna's Relationship with Alcohol 04:24 - ADHD Dysregulation and Caring What People Think 06:45 - Kindness, Patience, and Living Outside Threat Mode 12:38 - RSD and ADHD: Hearing Criticism Without Shutting Down 16:26 - The ADHD Hobby Cycle and What Changes When You're Regulated Check out the full show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/benefits-of-adhd-nervous-system-regulation Let's stay connected! Ready to help your ADHD clients heal at the nervous system level? Join the waitlist for the ADHD Regulation Method certification launching in September. Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram! Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!

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About

ADHD with Jenna Free is a podcast for adults with ADHD who are done surviving their symptoms and ready to start thriving with ADHD, without the endless tips, hacks, and workarounds that have never really fixed anything. It's also the show where therapists, coaches, and counselors come to deepen their understanding of treating ADHD in adults and learn what regulation-based care looks like in practice. Hosted by Jenna Free, a Canadian Certified Counselor (CCC) and ADHD therapist, this show exists to give you a completely different way of understanding ADHD in adults. You're stuck, overwhelmed, and exhausted because your brain is running on fight-or-flight. Willpower was never going to fix that, and once you understand that, everything changes. I'll answer questions like: Do I have ADHD? What is ADHD task paralysis, and how do I get unstuck? Why is my ADHD getting worse in my 40s? What do ADHD and perimenopause do to your brain? How do I manage ADHD emotional dysregulation without medication alone? Why do I procrastinate so much with ADHD? Why don't ADHD tips and tricks ever work long-term? What does it look like to thrive with ADHD? What does nervous system regulation have to do with ADHD? How do I stop feeling overwhelmed with ADHD? How do I get trained to treat ADHD in adults using a regulation-based approach? What does ADHD therapist training through a regulation framework actually cover? This podcast covers the full experience of living with adult ADHD: the real science behind procrastination in ADHD and ADHD task paralysis, why ADHD and perimenopause collide in ways no one talks about, and the solution-focused conversations most ADHD podcasts aren't having. For practitioners, Jenna also gets into the clinical side: what nervous system regulation training looks like, how to apply a regulation framework with clients, and what ADHD coach certification and ADHD therapist training often omit. Jenna shares her own story throughout, what it looks like to go from chronically dysregulated to thriving, so whether you're living with ADHD or working with people who are, you can see what's possible. This show gives adults with ADHD, newly navigating a late diagnosis, and clinicians seeking ADHD continuing education one thing: a clear path toward healing If you're an adult with ADHD who's tired of the commiseration and ready for a show that believes your life can look completely different, or a practitioner who wants to understand ADHD at the nervous system level, you're in the right place.

Information

  • Creator
    Jenna Free, Canadian Certified Counselor | ADHD Therapist & Coach
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    74
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    ADHD with Jenna Free © 2025
  • Show Website
    ADHD with Jenna Free

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