BoldlyWired with Alex Ferreri

Alex Ferreri - BoldlyWired Podcast

BoldlyWired with Alex Ferreri is a podcast for neurodivergent adults, creatives, and ambitious entrepreneurs who are ready to build a life and business that actually works with their brains. With your host Alex Ferreri, an AuDHD creative and business owner, this show is a mix of tactical advice, educational insights, and unfiltered, validating stories. Whether you are Autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, or navigating neurodivergencies like OCD, bipolar, and beyond, this is your safe space to learn, build community, thrive, and be authentically you.

Episodes

  1. Jul 29

    Don't Be Ugly: Masking, ADHD, and Southern Girlhood with Megan Pettus

    Raised to be precious, sweet, and never ugly, Megan Pettus spent decades performing and observing to be the perfect Southern little girl and woman. In this episode, Megan Pettus, a wedding filmmaker, social media strategist, former Miss Alabama contestant, mom, and bunny foster mom, joins Alex for a funny, honest, and deeply relatable conversation. Megan grew up hyperactive, voraciously reading, and constantly studying other people to learn how to be liked. She built her personality from books, praise, and the Southern rulebook of "keep it sweet" — all the way through pageantry, college, and building her own business. It wasn't until 2020, when the pandemic stripped away all structure and left her cycling through burnout and shutdown, that she finally got her ADHD diagnosis and started meeting her real self. In this episode, they talk about the grief of late diagnosis and mourning who you could've been, losing your sense of self to masking and people-pleasing, watching her daughter go through the same struggles and fighting to get her the support Megan never had, and why accommodations aren't shortcuts or being lazy... they're options to give you an equal playing field to neurotypicals. In this episode: Getting diagnosed with ADHD in 2020 when pandemic burnout made masking impossibleLate diagnosis grief - who she could've been with supportBuilding a personality from books, "precious" praise, and the pressure to keep it sweetCompeting for Miss Alabama without knowing who she actually wasSeeing her own brain in her daughter and getting her the support she needsOutsourcing, AI, and why accommodations aren't cheating Burnout, rest, and learning to ask for what you needSuspecting Autism... sensory issues, stimming, meltdowns, and black and white thinking Connect with Megan: 📸Instagram - @meganpettusfilms⁠ and @meganpettusmedia ⁠meganpettus.com⁠ Connect with BoldlyWired: 📬 ⁠Subscribe on Substack⁠ 📸 ⁠Instagram @boldlywiredpod ⁠🎵 ⁠TikTok @boldlywiredpod⁠ boldlywiredpodcast@gmail.com Boldly Wired is not created by a licensed doctor, therapist, or mental health professional. The content shared here reflects the personal lived experiences of the host and guests, along with personal research and learning. This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health or medical support. Please do your own research, learn from multiple sources, and keep your care team close.

  2. Jul 15

    No One Told Her She Was Autistic with Jenna Noble on Being Early Diagnosed but Not Finding Out until 17

    Diagnosed with current-day Level 3 Autism at 18 months old, Jenna Noble was blissfully unaware of her diagnosis for the first half of her life. In this episode, Jenna Noble, a violinist, singer, orchestra director, mom, and military spouse, joins Alex for an honest, moving, and genuinely fascinating conversation. Jenna has been on the Autism spectrum her whole life. However, for 17 years, she never knew. She was diagnosed at just 18 months old, given a level three diagnosis, and told she may never live independently. Nobody told Jenna this, and she didn't find out this imperative information about herself until she stumbled across messages on her mom's phone. In this episode, they talk about growing up autistic without knowing it, the complicated feelings that come with finding out the way she did, how music quite literally changed the trajectory of her life, and what navigating relationships, motherhood, meltdowns, and emotional regulation looks like as an autistic woman. In this episode: Finding out about her diagnosis at 17 - through her mom's phone Growing up level three autistic and being told she'd never live independentlyHow music became her first language and changed everythingThe grief, confusion, and relief of finally having an answerMasking, social scripting, managing expectations and what's actually going on inside her headMeltdowns - what they look like, how she recovers, and the Peloton that saves herMotherhood, emotional regulation, and parenting while autisticPDA, emotional fluency, and people-pleasing Connect with BoldlyWired:📬 Subscribe on Substack📸 Instagram @boldlywiredpod🎵 TikTok @boldlywiredpod boldlywiredpodcast@gmail.com Boldly Wired is not created by a licensed doctor, therapist, or mental health professional. The content shared here reflects the personal lived experiences of the host and guests, along with personal research and learning. This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health or medical support. Please do your own research, learn from multiple sources, and keep your care team close.

  3. Jun 30

    Grieving the “What If” Of Late Diagnosed ADHD - Guest Episode with Sarah Sunstrom (Photography)

    On this episode, Alex sits down with Sarah Sunstrom, who spent decades wondering why everything felt just a little harder than it looked for everyone else. She built a successful photography business, burned out four times, managed anxiety, hormones, three kids, a studio, five employees, and still didn't have an answer.... When she was nearly 40, she finally got her answer, a diagnosis of ADHD. In this episode, we're talking about the grief that comes with a late diagnosis (and the "what if" that follows it), four burnout cycles and what they actually looked like, sensory overload and parenting while dysregulated, how hormones make an impact, and what it felt like when her brain got quiet for the first time. Connect with Sarah: @sarahsunstromphotography@gildedkeytravelConnect with Boldly Wired: @boldlywiredpodFollow on SubstackMore details and show notes can be found here. Boldly Wired is not created by a licensed doctor, therapist, or mental health professional. The content shared here reflects the personal lived experiences of the host and guests, along with personal research and learning. This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health or medical support. Please do your own research, learn from multiple sources, and keep your care team close. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, please know you are not alone. Help is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or visiting 988lifeline.org.

  4. Jun 23

    ADHD 101: What Your Brain Is Actually Doing (and Why)

    Class is officially in session. In this episode, Alex goes full Professor Ferreri and gives you the ADHD info dump she wishes she had years ago. This episode covers it all - from the surprisingly long history of ADHD (we're talking 400 BC) to dopamine, executive function, time blindness, and what you can actually do about it. Whether you're newly diagnosed, self-diagnosed, still figuring it out, or just trying to understand someone you love, this episode is your starting point. Because knowledge really is the first step to better days ahead. In this episode: The history of ADHD (it's not a trend, we promise)What ADHD actually is and what it definitely isn'tDopamine dysregulation and why your brain has low dopamineAll ten executive function departments and why so many feel understaffedTime blindness: now, not now, and nothing in betweenHow to get diagnosed and how to advocate for yourselfTreatment options: medication, therapy, coaching, accommodations, and communityConnect with BoldlyWired: Instagram - ⁠@boldlywiredpod⁠⁠Follow the Substack⁠Email - boldlywiredpodcast@gmail.com BoldlyWired is not created by a licensed doctor, therapist, or mental health professional. The content shared here reflects the personal lived experiences of the host and guests, along with personal research and learning. This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health or medical support. Please do your own research, learn from multiple sources, and keep your care team close.

  5. Jun 16

    ADHD, Burnout, and Walking Away from Six Figures - Guest Episode with Ashley Frye (Paper Love Collective)

    In this episode, Alex sits down with Ashley Frye for an honest, relatable, and hilarious conversation. Ashley is an artist, an entrepreneur, a twin mom, and newly diagnosed with ADHD. Ashley built a wildly successful wedding invitation and stationery business, was constantly booked, making six figures, and doing everything "right". But then walked away at the height of her success. Why? Because on the inside, she was drowning. In this episode, they talk about burnout, RSD, what it actually looks like to parent neurodivergent kids when you are neurodivergent, late diagnosis, medicating, and finding systems that finally work with your brain instead of against it. In this episode: Walking away from a six-figure business at its peakWhat RSD looks like in real life and how Ashley manages itLate diagnosis and that "I'll drink bleach if it helps" moment Parenting neurodivergent kids as a neurodivergent parentFinding accommodations that actually work for your brainThe Sims ADHD brain analogy that will make you feel SO seenConnect with Ashley: @ashleyfryestudio and @paperlovecollectivePaper Love Collective, Batavia, IL Connect with BoldlyWired: @boldlywiredpodFollow on Substack More details and show notes can be found here. BoldlyWired is not created by a licensed doctor, therapist, or mental health professional. The content shared here reflects the personal lived experiences of the host and guests, along with personal research and learning. This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health or medical support. Please do your own research, learn from multiple sources, and keep your care team close. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, please know you are not alone. Help is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or visiting 988lifeline.org.

  6. Jun 16

    My Late Diagnosed AuDHD Story

    In this solo episode, Alex shares her full story with neurodivergence - ADHD and Autism (AuDHD) and being late diagnosed. From little Alex in elementary school who always felt a little different, to the college years that were less than stellar, and all of the years of pushing through that led to a night in 2023 that ended in the ER. This episode covers all of it... from the undiagnosed years, self-medicating without knowing it, late diagnosis at 26, what an autistic burnout and meltdown actually look and feel like, the depression that followed, and what life looks like now as a self-aware, medicated, still-figuring-it-out AuDHD adult. In this episode: Growing up as the "good kid" with undetected ADHD and autismMasking, people pleasing, and performing normalcyCollege, alcohol, and accidentally self-medicatingLate diagnosis at 26 and that first week on medicationAutistic burnout, meltdowns, and the ER visitWhat Alex 2.0 actually looks like day to dayWhy she finally made BoldlyWiredConnect with BoldlyWired: Follow the Instagram: @boldlywiredpodFollow the Substack BoldlyWired is not created by a licensed doctor, therapist, or mental health professional. The content shared here reflects the personal lived experiences of the host and guests, along with personal research and learning. This podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health or medical support. Please do your own research, learn from multiple sources, and keep your care team close. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, please know you are not alone. Help is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or visiting 988lifeline.org.

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

BoldlyWired with Alex Ferreri is a podcast for neurodivergent adults, creatives, and ambitious entrepreneurs who are ready to build a life and business that actually works with their brains. With your host Alex Ferreri, an AuDHD creative and business owner, this show is a mix of tactical advice, educational insights, and unfiltered, validating stories. Whether you are Autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, or navigating neurodivergencies like OCD, bipolar, and beyond, this is your safe space to learn, build community, thrive, and be authentically you.