What if the thing you love most about your ADHD brain, the state of flow that makes you feel unstoppable, has been quietly costing you the same way doom scrolling does? Megan goes solo this week while Michelle is away, and she ends up deep in a rabbit hole about flow, interoception, and whether she has been addicted to her own brain's best trick. It starts with a simple question: what happens to an ADHD brain in a state of flow? Megan describes the tunnel vision, the way hunger and time and the need to pee all just go dark. Then she discovers something called interoception, the "sixth sense" that lets you feel what is happening inside your own body, and finds research suggesting it may be weaker in people with ADHD symptoms. That discovery leads to watching her newly diagnosed husband zone out for hours without eating, realizing she is looking in a mirror, and eventually asking the question that sits underneath the whole episode: if flow and doom scrolling have the same consequences, is she addicted to flow? Megan does not have answers. She has observations, a couple of microphone checks she forgot to cut out, and a growing suspicion that microdosing flow with a little body awareness might be better than chasing the high. If you have ever forgotten to eat for six hours because you were in the zone, or felt the scary manic pull of a scroll you cannot stop, this one is for you. favorite line from the episode: "as my therapist would always say, mindfulness. And I'm like, 'Ugh, f*****g mindfulness.'" Episode HighlightsWhat flow actually feels like when your ADHD brain fires on all cylinders and every other sense goes dark, including hunger, time, and the need to peeInteroception: the "sixth sense" that lets you feel hunger, tiredness, and even your own heartbeat, and why researchers think it may be weaker in people with ADHD symptomsHow inattentive ADHD symptoms might link to worse body awareness while hyperactive symptoms could link to the opposite (the science is not settled)Megan watching her newly diagnosed husband zone out for hours without eating and realizing she is looking in a mirror, not at himThe ABC rule from military resiliency training: you cannot control your first instinct, but you can control your secondWhat flow felt like in her 20s: electric, like a brain massage, and possibly addictiveThe crash after flow that left her "quasi-catatonic" and unable to create for daysWhy flow in your 40s comes with a hangover you did not earn from alcohol, and why small bursts might actually get more doneThe parallel between doom scrolling and flow: completely different brain states, nearly identical consequencesMegan wondering if the thing she loves most about her neurospicy brain has been quietly costing her the whole time Spicy Brain MomentMegan stops mid-episode to check if she is using the right microphone, announces she is going to cut this part out, and then does not. Because Michelle is not there to remind her. Then a phone call she forgot to silence with Do Not Disturb completely derails her train of thought, and she has to refer back to her own notes to remember what she was talking about. She literally says, "This is why I need my sister, you guys." It is the most ADHD podcast moment possible, happening in real time, on a podcast about ADHD. Try ThisMicrodose your flow. Instead of going all in for hours, try flowing in shorter bursts and then checking back in with your body. Megan found she actually gets more done this way because she has energy and capability left, not just raw momentum.Use the ABC rule. Let your first instinct happen (you cannot control it), but pause and choose your second reaction. Megan uses this when she sees her husband's ADHD behaviors and her first instinct is to fix everything for him.Notice the difference in your body. Next time you are deep in flow versus deep in a scroll, ask what each one actually feels like physically. Megan describes flow as her brain being on fire in a good way and scrolling as feeling almost manic and a little scary.Ask the mirror question. When something about someone else's behavior is driving you up the wall, ask whether you are recognizing something in yourself. Megan's mom put it plainly: when you got a finger pointing at someone, you got three pointing right back at you. Timestamps00:00 - Welcome and why this is a solo ramble01:48 - What "flow" means for an ADHD brain05:10 - Interoception: the sixth sense nobody talks about05:57 - What research says about interoception and ADHD07:48 - How different ADHD types might affect body awareness10:45 - Megan's husband gets diagnosed and she sees herself in him12:46 - The ABC rule: first instinct you can't control, second one you can15:22 - Phone call derails the whole podcast (Do Not Disturb was off)17:59 - Flow in her 20s: electric, powerful, and the crash after22:20 - Doom scrolling vs. flow: same consequences, different brain27:52 - Was Megan addicted to flow the whole time?31:04 - Microdosing flow with a little bit of interoception ADHD Women, ADHD flow state, interoception, ADHD and interoception, ADHD body awareness, neurodivergent, neurospicy, ADHD hyperactive, ADHD inattentive, ADHD combined type, executive functioning, emotional dysregulation, ADHD diagnosis, ADHD burnout, doom scrolling, phone addiction ADHD, mindfulness ADHD, Pomodoro technique ADHD, neurodivergent brain, ADHD in your 40s, ADHD women podcast, microdosing flow, ADHD self-awareness
