Mother Plus Podcast Stacey Hutson & Stephanie Sprenger

Catastrophizing: An irrationally negative forecast of future events.This is a common ADHD trait. When your thoughts are hyperactive, it's hard not to go down rabbit holes. And some of them can be pretty scary and depressing. Today, Stacey shares her personal experience with catastrophizing, and the two things she's doing to tame her negative thoughts of the future.If you, too, have catastrophizing thoughts and want to find a place where you can share your experience and bond with other ...

In this Stace and Steph episode, we talk about what summer looks like for the ADHD Mom: The Good, The Bad, and the very, very Ugly. Transitions are tough for women with ADHD, and the summer transition can be especially jarring. Summer can be such a struggle to balance "work" and "fun" and the result can feel very overwhelming. Who is in charge here?? The lack of structure and routine and the variability of summer days is stressful for ADHD women who struggle with time managemen...

We speak with neuroscientist Brooke Quinn, who is currently getting her Master's degree in sleep medicine from Oxford University, about sleep and the ADHD woman. Women with ADHD can be predisposed to not get good sleep, and inadequate sleep can lead to an increase of ADHD symptoms (even in neurotypical people), so the vicious cycle can be difficult and magnify ADHD symptoms. As a woman with ADHD herself, Brooke has been a pioneer in advocating for more research about sleep, women, a...

Sam shares his experience writing his comedy special -- "Neurospicy: Love, Life, and Comedy on the Spectrum" -- as being both "confronting" as he revisited challenging moments in his life, but also "healing" as he was able to reframe those experiences through the filter of Asperger's. Sam describes growing up without a diagnosis as being "confusing, isolating, and lacking a shared reality," and shares that the process of writing this show has created a shared reality and community....

In the second half of our conversation with Dr. Li, she discusses the impact of clutter on our environment and on our mental health. One of the benefits of overcoming procrastination is living without constant stress.Dr. Li emphasizes the importance of not beating ourselves up and being overly critical during the process and to be okay with being who you are. So many of the tasks we focus on are unnecessary—simplifying + choosing not to overreact can eliminate some of that stress.&n...

Dr. Li shares her own history of procrastination and how she thought it was "who she was" as a person rather than a characteristic that was changeable or flexible. Her mission is to spread the word that procrastination is not who you are, but that it's something you can heal that can make your life feel so much better. Dr. Li discusses the importance of becoming your own authority and realizing you can choose to do things differently, and how that opens up opportunities. Mindse...