Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast

5.0 (1)
Mental Health
Updated weekly

Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright offer support, life management strategies, and time and technology tips, dedicated to anyone looking to take control while living with ADHD.

2 days ago

The “But I Have To…” Trap

---Register today for our upcoming webinar: Webinar: The Friction Framework! Why Your ADHD System Keeps Falling Apart — August 31 OR September 9. Register today at https://takecontroladhd.com/gps--- You look at the list. You look at the calendar. You already know there isn't enough day for what's on there, and somehow the first thing out of your mouth is still "but I have to." In this conversation, Nikki and Pete follow last week's capacity conversation down to the reflex underneath it. Where does the have-to feeling come from, what is it trying to protect, and what changes when you stop treating every task as though it weighs the same? They get into the five D's from Casey Dixon, why Pete has fallen hard for the one called disappoint, and the difference between deferring something and quietly hoping everyone forgets you agreed to it. Also: what to do when the list actually is too long and no mindset shift is going to fix it. Links & Notes Support the Show on PatreonDig into the podcast Shownotes Database (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast (03:20) - The I Have To Trap (19:26) - The Raw Power of Disappoint ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
20 Aug

The Gap Trap!

---Register today for our upcoming webinar: Webinar: The Friction Framework! Why Your ADHD System Keeps Falling Apart — August 31 OR September 9. Register today at https://takecontroladhd.com/gps--- There's the version of you that exists right now, and the version you're pretty sure you should have become by this point. In this conversation, we get into the space between them, what Nikki calls the gap trap, and why that space fills up with shame so fast for ADHD brains. We talk about freeze as a nervous system response rather than a character problem, and about what it costs a fully grown adult to say "I don't know how to do this." Then Nikki offers the smallest possible way back in, along with three questions worth keeping close for the next time you're stuck. Nikki's new download, When You Feel Frozen: A Guide to Restarting Without Shame, is available now. Links & Notes Get the “When You Feel Frozen” GuideSupport the Show on PatreonDig into the podcast Shownotes Database (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast (03:05) - The Gap Trap (21:07) - Restarting with no Shame ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
13 Aug

A Revisit: Breaking Down an ADHD Challenge

---Register today for our upcoming webinar: Webinar: The Friction Framework! Why Your ADHD System Keeps Falling Apart — August 31 OR September 9. Register today at https://takecontroladhd.com/gps--- We're on summer break, so this week is a Revisit: a favorite conversation pulled back out of the archive. In this one, Pete and Nikki put on their detective hats to break down an ADHD challenge. The idea is simple. "I can't focus" or "I can't follow through" is too big and vague to solve, so the episode is about investigating what's actually getting in your way and finding the specific roadblock underneath. There's a memorable South Park metaphor involved, plus a practical, low-pressure approach to trying one strategy at a time and keeping track of what works. An encouraging, useful listen, whether it's your first time or a return trip. Links & Notes Dr. Dodge Rea's podcast, The Change Paradox, on TruStory FM — and Nikki's guest appearance, Nikki Kinzer and The ADHD Paradox.How to ADHD with Jessica McCabe — the channel behind the motivation video that sparked this conversation (YouTube).Come join the ADHD Discord community.Support the show on Patreon.Tools mentioned in the episode: OmniFocus, OmniGraffle, MindNode, Todoist, and Day One.South Park's "Gnomes" — the origin of the underpants gnomes. (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast (02:20) - Check out Nikki on The Change Paradox (03:48) - Skunkface (08:19) - Listener Question: Striking out as an Entrepreneur? (15:28) - Breaking Down an ADHD Challenge (23:38) - Underpants Gnomes (28:36) - Discerning the "Why" ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
6 Aug

A Revisit: Change Your Vocabulary, Change Your Mindset

---Register today for our upcoming webinar: Webinar: The Friction Framework! Why Your ADHD System Keeps Falling Apart — August 31 OR September 9. Register today at https://takecontroladhd.com/gps--- We're on summer break, so this week is a Revisit: a favorite conversation pulled back out of the archive. In this one, Pete and Nikki dig into the words we use and how much they shape the way we see ourselves. Working from Alicia Dunams' book I Get To, Nikki walks through a few simple language shifts that hit differently when you have ADHD, from "I have to" versus "I get to" to catching the negative "what ifs." They also get into the power of the pause and staying curious instead of judgmental. It's an encouraging, practical listen, whether it's your first time or a return trip. Links & Notes I Get To: How using the Right Words Can Radically Transform Your life, Relationships & Business by Alicia DunamsThe Resilience Factor: 7 Keys to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life's Hurdles by Karen Reivich“Six Surprising Benefits of Curiosity” by Emily Campbell (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast (04:14) - Change Your Language: "I Get To: How Using the Right Words can Radically Transform Your Life" (10:50) - How Rewards Impact Language (12:39) - A Brief Aside on The QUIT Center... (15:02) - What do you THINK you can do? (18:52) - Facing the Impossible Situation (19:42) - Why not? What if? (27:17) - The Power of the Pause ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
30 Jul

A Revisit: Celebrating What We Do

---Register today for our upcoming webinar: Webinar: The Friction Framework! Why Your ADHD System Keeps Falling Apart — August 31 OR September 9. Register today at https://takecontroladhd.com/gps--- We're on summer break, so this week is a Revisit: a favorite conversation pulled back out of the archive. The idea takes after Dr. Kurosh Dini's concept of the visit, showing up to something with curiosity rather than judgment. In this one, Pete and Nikki talk about celebrating what you get done, and why so many people with ADHD give themselves almost no credit for it. They flip the usual deficit thinking on its head, dig into some very practical self-compassion, and share a simple exercise you can start tonight. It's an encouraging listen, whether it's your first time or a return trip. (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast (04:42) - Celebrating What We Do ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
23 Jul

A Revisit: Attacking the Gremlins with Jane Massengill

---Register today for our upcoming webinar: Webinar: The Friction Framework! Why Your ADHD System Keeps Falling Apart — August 31 OR September 9. Register today at https://takecontroladhd.com/gps--- We're on summer break, so this week is a Revisit: a favorite conversation pulled back out of the archive. The idea takes after Dr. Kurosh Dini's concept of the visit, showing up to something with curiosity rather than judgment. In this one, we talk with coach Jane Massengill about the negative self-talk that so many people with ADHD carry, why it can run louder for us, and a simple practice she calls word watching for catching it in the moment. It's a warm, useful conversation about learning to be kinder to yourself. Whether it's your first listen or a return trip, it's worth your time. Links & Notes JaneMassengill.comThe Gremlin-Taming InstituteTaming Your Gremlin: A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way — by Rick Carlson (00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast! (03:28) - Introducing Jane Massengill of the Gremlin-Taming Institute (08:37) - Why do some people struggle when others don't? (16:01) - About the Book and Jane's History (19:55) - The ADHD Internal Dialog (24:23) - Word-Watching (31:51) - Word-Watching Exercise ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
9 Jul

How to Notice Progress Without Measuring It

---Register today for our upcoming webinar: Webinar: The Friction Framework! Why Your ADHD System Keeps Falling Apart — August 31 OR September 9. Register today at https://takecontroladhd.com/gps--- At the end of the day, when your brain starts tallying everything you didn't finish, where's the credit for everything you did? In the Season 32 finale, we close out the season on the quiet skill that gets buried under all that mental accounting — noticing your progress instead of measuring it. The unfinished stuff is loud: the laundry pile, the twenty-item list, the messages still waiting. The progress is silent, and a lifetime of report cards and performance reviews has trained us to see only what's left. We get into why that happens — with a detour through a 1927 psychology experiment that explains a lot about the ADHD shame loop — what self-compassion actually looks like in a real day, and why the answer isn't a shinier scorecard. Plus a family-dinner ritual worth stealing, an optical illusion that makes the whole point, and one of the more memorable cold opens of the season. It's our send-off into summer break, and a reminder that sometimes the entire practice fits into one word. Links & Notes Support the Show on PatreonDig into the podcast Shownotes Database (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast (01:33) - Join the Community! https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast (03:04) - Progress Without Measurement ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
2 Jul

You’re Not Broken. You’re Contextual.

---Register today for our upcoming webinar: Webinar: The Friction Framework! Why Your ADHD System Keeps Falling Apart — August 31 OR September 9. Register today at https://takecontroladhd.com/gps--- You can lose six hours to the thing that lights you up, then completely stall on a task that takes three minutes. Same brain, different room. In this conversation, Pete and Nikki get into why ADHD shows up hard in one setting and nearly disappears in another, why "broken" is the wrong word for any of it, and what changes when you stop asking how to fix yourself and start paying attention to the rooms where you do your best work. It's the capper on a season-long conversation about living with ADHD instead of fighting it, and a grounded look at the context, fuel, and environment that make hard things doable. Links & Notes Support the Show on PatreonDig into the podcast Shownotes Database (00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast (01:41) - Check us out on Patreon (02:44) - You're Not Broken. You're Contextual ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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Trailer

Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast

New season, new trailer! For you new listeners just checking us out, welcome! We're thrilled to have you! Join the Community: https://takecontroladhd.com/discordPinterest, Instagram, Facebook: @takecontroladhd ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What a relief

11/04/2016

AdultADHD

Thanks so much for your interesting and life changing discussions. I truly appreciate the timely topics you have. I have been recommending your podcast to my family so they too can be more aware on selfcaring tips and info for themselves and their children.

Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright offer support, life management strategies, and time and technology tips, dedicated to anyone looking to take control while living with ADHD.