Transcript

Lindsay Guentzel (00:04):

Welcome back to Refocused with Lindsay Guentzel. What you’re listening to today, it’s a little bit different than the podcast episodes we’ve shared with you before. This episode, this person’s story, is a part of Refocused, Together, a special series the team at ADHD Online and I have been working on for ADHD Awareness Month. Every day throughout the month of October, we’ll be sharing a different person’s ADHD story, which is fitting because the theme for ADHD Awareness Month this year is Understanding a Shared Experience, and I can’t think of a better way to really get a sense of that shared experience than by telling a different story every single day. And to be clear, yes, that’s 31 stories in 31 days.

(00:52):

My name is Lindsay Guentzel, and along with the team at ADHD Online, I’m so excited to present Refocused, Together, a collection of stories aimed at raising awareness on just how complex ADHD is, and the different ways it shows up in people’s lives. When we share stories, it’s easier to find the perspective, ideas, and tips that help us live our best lives. I’m interviewing people with varying backgrounds, diagnoses, experiences, and perspectives. We’ll hear from working parents, advocates, engineers, writers, PhD candidates and more, to learn that while we may be different, we are all united by our own ADHD journeys.

(01:39):

This special project is very near and dear to my heart, and although talking to 31 different people has been a lot of talking, I am so grateful for each person who shared their story with me, and I cannot wait for you to meet my guests and get to know them. Be sure to subscribe to Refocused with Lindsay Guentzel so that you don’t miss a single story this month. And with that, let’s get on to today’s episode.

Carla Anderson (02:06):

My name is Carla Anderson, and I am 37 years old, and I am a mom of a 15 year old, and a stepmom of three beautiful, handsome boys, and I’m a fashion blogger. And I have ADHD.

Lindsay Guentzel (02:23):

Carla Anderson was diagnosed with ADHD just this past year. At 37, the stylist and fashion blogger has had a life filled with moments of forgetfulness, procrastination, and sometimes, pure overwhelm. Brain fog slowed her down, making it hard to give answers on the spot; in a way, almost holding her back. The busy mom, originally from Bolivia, developed workarounds for times of disorganization, and balancing hyperactivity with an incredibly active brain. While committing to slow down, Carla learned about ADHD from reading about it. She took herself to see a doctor, and now she’s doing weekly therapy and coaching sessions, and has a plan to start taking Adderall, all as a sort of reboot for herself. Just as she says when working with her clients, the simplest changes can be so gratifying. And one thing Carla knows for sure about ADHD is that it is not a mental illness. She just has a different type of brain, one that needs a little more structure to help her feel successful, to make sure she knows she’s enough.

(03:36):

I’m so excited to welcome Carla Anderson to Refocused, Together, and like some of the other guests you’ve met this month, Carla and I have a little bit of a backstory. You’ll hear, throughout our conversation, Carla mention her partner, Chad. So Chad is how I know Carla. For many years, I worked as Chad’s producer at WCCO Radio, and for those of you who know me, yes, I’m referring to Chad Hartman, and yes, this is the Carla he refers to on his show.

(04:06):

I worked for Chad long before I knew I had ADHD. It’s rather comical, to me anyway, to look back at my time working as his producer and working at WCCO Radio, about how much I truly liked the job, but how hard it was for me. The daily monotony, these little tedious tasks, like updating episodes online, and alerting other shows to our plans for the day, and my God, online time card systems, why are they all so awful? And I have to know, does everyone hate them or is it just neurodiverse brains? I digress.

(04:45):

My role as Chad’s producer meant we were close, as close as I could be to someone before I knew I had issues being close to someone. Chad was an incredible friend to me when my dad passed away suddenly and now, with the gift of hindsight, I look back and remember so many times where he pointed out similarities between Carla and me. Behavioral similarities, observations that I obviously now know are connected to ADHD. And Chad always said, “You and Carla would love each other. You should hang out.” And I would nod and know that I was never going to be comfortable enough to reach out to her. I truly only think I met Carla a handful of times, and I know most of them happened at work, which meant I was on guard and was not myself.

(05:30):

And then in March 2019, I quit WCCO Radio and, in true ADHD fashion, I struggled to stay connected to Chad, someone I spent so much of my life with. And then the pandemic took us all by surprise, and fast forward. And yes, it’s a big jump from the pandemic starting in March 2020 to August 10th, 2022, but that’s when I received a text from Carla. The text she sent me said this. “Hi Lindsay, this is Chad’s girlfriend Carla. Chad mentioned about your ADHD podcast. How fantastic, congrats. I feel like there needs to be more awareness about this topic. I have ADHD myself. I was diagnosed in January of this year. So many questions have been answered. I’ve truly become very passionate about this topic. Anyways, I’d love to connect with you if you are open to it. Have a great day, Carla.”

(06:26):

So here’s where I tell you, it took me 17 days to respond to her, which is pretty spot on. And I think the only reason I remembered I hadn’t responded to her was because I was going to an event, and I was thinking about how I would likely run into Chad there. And then my brain went, “Hey, you never responded to that really nice text Carla sent you.” And wouldn’t it have been nice if my brain had reminded me maybe a little bit earlier? Anyway, we made plans to meet up and on an absolutely gorgeous Minnesota summer day, we shared lunch at a restaurant overlooking a beautiful lake near where we live. And as Carla told me her story and talked about the magnitude of her diagnosis, I knew I wanted her to share her story on Refocused, Together. And now, almost exactly two months after our lunch date, I get to. I know you all are going to enjoy my conversation with today’s Refocused, Together guest, Carla Anderson.

(07:25):

I’m hoping you can take me back to before you were diagnosed, and what started pushing you towards asking the questions that then led to you seeking out an assessment for ADHD?

Carla Anderson (07:40):

So it all started at my last job, and I think throughout the years I’ve noticed some things, but I never really took it serious. It was more so in this last job that I absolutely hated. Not necessarily the company, not the industry, not the boss, the colleagues, it was what I was doing, and it’s because my symptoms became really prominent, and made it very hard for me to do my job, and enjoy my job, because as you know, as an ADHDer, you have to feel successful at what you do, and you have to be very passionate about what you do. And I just did not; I did not feel the passion. And it was mainly because I was not feeling successful, because it was so hard to do every task, every task that I’ve done before, very similar tasks, they became really hard.

(08:42):

And I asked myself, “Why is this so hard to do? I used to do it before.” It’s always been harder for me, I’ve always been that person that had to study longer, had to study harder, had to pay attention more when people would talk, or in class. So even though I had always good grades in school, a great student, it was always hard. And I never really understood that. So that was really prominent in my life, but I never really took the time to really dig deep until this job.

(09:17):

And that’s when I started Googling my symptoms, like hyperactivity, like lack of concentration, my executive skill functions. I was slacking, I was having so much trouble with it. And then one of the most important parts was also my relationships with, as you know, I’ve been with Chad for eight years, and he kept telling me, “You have ADHD.” And for the longest time I thought, “You’re being mean.” And I love Chad, and he knows that, he’s the love of my life, but I never really took it serious, so now I’m incredibly thankful for him. So I know he’s going to be listening to this, so thank you, Chad. But yeah, just bravo to Google. And then Google, I went in to my doctor. Well, and that’s another journey, right? It’s finding the right person to do this diagnosis.

Lindsay Guentzel (10:20):

Can we go back to your childhood? You mentioned being good in school, getting good grades. What have you been able to connect, now that you have an ADHD diagnosis, and some of the things that maybe were going on as a kid that you didn’t know, and how that has affected you now as an adult?

Carla Anderson (10:44):

I think you don’t know what you don’t know, I guess, when it comes to my parents and growing up in Bolivia, it was just not a thing. So, my parents, it didn’t occur to them because it’s not a thing. You don’t know what you to know. But as a child, I remember studying for so long, I remember I would miss gatherings, parties, sleepovers, just different types of activities because I needed to study, and I needed longer time than an average person. And yes, I had great grades, but that was the result of countless hours of reading, rereading, and rereading again, taking notes, highlighting, and just creating all these strategies to help me succeed. And I did not know what was wrong, I didn’t even know there was something wrong with me. I just figured that’s just how my brain is wired.

(11:46):

So I think it affects me as an adult, the fact that, in some areas, I’ve acquired strategies, but in some areas I did not. And I think relationships-wise is a good example. Some things that I do work-wise, like time management, is incredibly hard for me. I can be in places on time, but different tasks are really hard. And I just wish that if I would’ve known as a little kid that I have ADHD, I would have gone through therapy and coaching, and I would have acquired a set of skills to help me navigate life as an adult, way easier, way better.

Lindsay Guentzel (12:40):

Absolutely, and I think that too. At least I hope. I hope that if I had known, I would’ve been able to learn certain things to make adulthood easier. You mentioned finding the right person to go down the assessment path with, so tell me a little bit about some of the things that you found as you were trying to find help. You went on Google, Google gave you a diagnosis, but that’s not the end, you still have to actually speak to somebody who has a medical degree, you can’t just end it at Google. What was that process like for you?

Carla Anderson (13:15):

It was lengthy. It was frustrating. First of all, there’s not a lot of availability as far as there’s many doctors, many psychologists, there’s many psychiatrists, there’s many coaches, but they’re booked. So if anybody that’s considering this career, please do so, we need more. But it was just call after call, waiting list. And whenever I would talk to someone, for example, I just did not, even from a phone call, I did not feel the connection. Sure, they were available, but I just did not feel connected. And that’s something, as you know, as an ADHDer, you feel deeply, you have a high emotional intelligence. So you can pick up on, I don’t know, call me New Agey, but vibrations, right? And whenever I would meet people, or speak with people over the phone, I just did not feel that connection. And for me, that’s so important to connect with people before I open up on such a personal matter.

(14:33):

So it was lengthy, frustrating, but I finally got to the right person, and that was… I did not know the order, first of all, of do you contact a psychiatrist? Do you contact a psychologist? So I started with a psychiatrist, Dr. Cohen, and she’s phenomenal. And she said, “Well, I can’t give you any medication without you having a diagnosis.” I’m like, “Oh, okay. So I have to do that. Okay, fine, great, no problem.” So went through my own list, and then I called her and I said, “You happen to know anybody?” And she told me, she referred me to Dr. Steven Kozberg, and I actually have therapy tomorrow, but last week I asked him if it would be okay for me to mention his name. And he said yes, of course, so that’s why I’m mentioning, I just feel like whoever’s listening, whoever’s watching, I just think that the more candid and the more honest I am, the better. Because I want people to know that there’s help out there, and there’s really good psychologists out there, and good coaches and psychiatrists as well.

(15:55):

So yeah, I reached out to Dr. Kozberg and then he highly suggested my coach, Jill Kozberg, Dr. Jill Kozberg. And she is phenomenal. So I have weekly therapy and weekly coaching. Coaching twice a week and therapy once a week. And then I have my psychiatrist of course, because I’m going to be starting Adderall, and I’m sure that’s probably your next question. But yeah, I got to have the team.

Lindsay Guentzel (16:25):

I appreciate that you actually mentioned the people that you’re working with, because I’ve heard from so many people that they find themselves in an appointment where their provider is not actually listening. They’ve already decided, “Nope, there’s no way you have ADHD.” And so I think it actually is so important to be boosting up the people who understand how complex ADHD is, and who don’t just dismiss somebody, especially a woman, who walks in, because I think so many of us are just exhausted. I’m exhausted from advocating for myself, and I think the more conversations we have about what makes a good provider for people with ADHD, it’s a great path forward. But you mentioned starting medication, and what led to that decision?

Carla Anderson (17:07):

So as I mentioned earlier, I’m 37, I was diagnosed this year, 2022. And I made the conscious decision that I wanted to do cognitive therapy first with coaching, and I wanted to see what that journey looked like, six months. And then I wanted to see, because there’s some studies that they say if you have cognitive therapy and coaching, the chances that your ADHD symptoms, that they will become better, are higher.

(17:43):

But I think it helped, but not completely for me to live my life without medication. And I’m not saying I’m going to be on it for the rest of my life, because I haven’t tried it yet. I want to do at least six to seven months of therapy and coaching, and then just see how it goes. So it’s going to be what? It’s October, it’s nine months, but two months don’t count because unfortunately, my sister passed away in June, so I was in hiatus from my therapy and from coaching for about a couple of months, just for obvious reasons.

(18:21):

So now I decided to do medication, just because I still need help with focus, concentration. If there was a button in me that says “Record” when someone’s talking, so I could go back to what that person told me, it would be great if I could have that. So hopefully the medication’s going to help me in that sense.

Lindsay Guentzel (18:53):

You can pull out your notes if you want, because I know that you wrote stuff down, which I so appreciate…

Carla Anderson (18:57):

Yeah.

Lindsay Guentzel (18:57):

… because I definitely feel like I get into the moment, and I have things that I want to say and I totally forget about it. But I would love to ask about the coaching, because I went the opposite route. I was very impulsive and I went right for the medicine.

Carla Anderson (19:10):

Sure.

Lindsay Guentzel (19:10):

And then found a therapist, and I go once a week, and there’s a lot of cognitive behavioral therapy that’s happening, but there’s also to-do lists and accountability and all of that. So I’m curious what you’re working on in coaching, and how you see yourself changing from it?

Carla Anderson (19:27):

Yeah, so just let’s back up. I’m going to back a little bit-

Lindsay Guentzel (19:32):

Of course.

Carla Anderson (19:32):

… just to add more context. As I mentioned, this year, how I was diagnosed, and going through coaching and therapy is a journey. You’re just getting to know that person that you are about to open up yourself with. So there is that process first of getting to know your therapist, getting to know your coach, and truly trying to get to know what you want to talk about, the areas that you want to focus. And to me, it’s like reinventing myself, getting to know myself. This is like, I think of Carla in January, of, “Where are the areas that I need to work on?” And then I had to think about all the areas that I was struggling in, my job, just kind of using that as a template.

(20:16):

So it’s a process, Lindsay, it really is. It’s not something that out of one coaching session, you’re like, “This is it. This is what I want to work on.” So I can tell you honestly that, as of recently, I think I’m finding the exact area where I need the most help right now.

(20:35):

So, with coaching is basically you are going through your executive function skills. So it’s not as easy for me to do time management in a way that, for the average person, for the neurotypical person does. And it’s just time management, I wrote it down, obviously task initiation. That, as you know, we are very emotional people, so it’s really, really hard for me sometimes to start a task, because I think that task is so big and overwhelming. And then I’m feeling frustrated and I’m like, “How am I going to do this?” And then when I finish the task, it’s like, “Oh my god, I could have finished this five years ago.” Just kidding, but…

Lindsay Guentzel (21:22):

Sometimes feels that long.

Carla Anderson (21:24):

Yeah, it does. Planning and time management, that is the main area that I’m focusing right now. It’s as easy as buying a planner and writing things down. And as I mentioned to you during the break, that I think in images, everything, when people talk to me, when I think of my day, my outfits, my day with my son, things that I need to do with Chad, I visualize everything. So the phone was just not cutting it. Putting things on the calendar was just not cutting it. I needed to see the things that I need to do. And I was actually going to bring my planner, but I don’t know, I just didn’t want to be corny, I guess, and just, “Here it is!” You know? But it’s just at a glance, got it on Amazon, it’s $15, and I open it and I can see my entire week, what it looks like, and it’s broken down by quarters of hour, and I have everything that I need to do.

(22:30):

And I literally sat with my coach and planned this out. And of course I’m not going to need my coach for weeks to come, but I needed to lay the foundation with her because I needed to bounce off ideas with her, as far as how can I execute my tasks in a more successful way? How can I use a planner? Because, I don’t know, I’m sure this happens to you, but I get so overwhelmed whenever I see a bunch of words, or a bunch of numbers. In this case, a planner, like a bunch of days and a bunch of hours. Sometimes it’s, “What’s your goal of the day?” Or “Put three to-dos here that you want to come…” No, no, no, no. I needed to go back to the basics, just give me a planner that gives me the hours. So I needed to figure it out, which planner’s going to work for me, how do I want to break down my day? And then she helped me through that.

(23:27):

And then doing the to-do list. Do I need to have a different piece of paper for my to-do list, check things off? And then I found out that I wanted to have a separate notebook where I can just write things down as they come in my brain. I could be driving right now, going back home, and I could think, “I need to download pictures from my camera to my computer.” And then I write those things down in that notebook. And then my to-do list, which is a post-it note, it’s the [inaudible 00:23:56] by day of the things that I want to do that day. And I have to be realistic with my time. And all of this I’ve done with her.

(24:04):

And, to a lot of 37 year olds, they may think, I don’t know, what’s wrong with me, right? But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with me, it’s just unfortunately, in my life, my journey, I had to figure it out that I have ADHD at this age. But in hindsight, I think I can probably say that I’ve gotten to know Carla way better, and it’s something that, unfortunately, sometimes life is too busy. Not everybody has a chance to really get to know oneself. What do you like? What do you not like? What do you need in order to function better, to be a better person? And I had to take a deep, deep dive with coaching of who Carla is, and Carla needs, and what I need to do to be successful, to feel successful.

Lindsay Guentzel (25:03):

If you could pinpoint one thing about ADHD that makes life the hardest for you, is there one thing that stands out?

Carla Anderson (25:10):

I think it’s the concentration. Because if you think about it, concentration is in everything that we do. It’s the conversation that we’re having right now, I need to concentrate in order for me to be able to give you accurate answers and not go down this rabbit hole, which I can, or long-winded answers, right? So I need to concentrate on giving you the right answer. I need to concentrate to listen to you when you’re talking to me. I need to concentrate to finish a task. I need to concentrate when other people are talking to me. So concentration is such a big part of our lives that’s become so easy for a lot of people, but for me it is not.

(25:57):

So one of the things that I’ve been doing, thanks to my coaching, is because I think in images, I started implementing that skill more now in my conversations with people. So, whenever people are talking to me, I literally envision things. It could be an object, it could be the word itself. And it’s really interesting to me how that works out. Yeah, I would say concentration is my biggest, biggest, biggest struggle.

Lindsay Guentzel (26:29):

I know that this is a very new thing for you. You mentioned you were just diagnosed earlier in the year, and so I love that you said you’re getting to know Carla. When you look at ADHD and what you know about it, and the way it affects your life, what comes to your mind when you think of positive things?

Carla Anderson (26:49):

Well, hyperfocus is definitely an advantage to me. And actually, so many people in my life, especially Chad, can say, “Man, when you really want something, you know how to get it.” And that is so true. And I can hyperfocus on the most random things, but it’s mainly on the things that I’m very passionate about. So hyperfocus is definitely an advantage, and I use that as a tool, and to help me succeed and make me feel successful.

Lindsay Guentzel (27:26):

When you look at life, and life post-diagnosis, where do you see yourself thriving?

Carla Anderson (27:34):

I think getting to know myself is… This is where I’m at. If you look at the journey, there’s different facets… Or facets, I don’t know how you say that in English, and I’m translating from Spanish to English, so hopefully that makes sense.

Lindsay Guentzel (27:52):

You’re doing incredible.

Carla Anderson (27:53):

Thank you. But I look at it as, again, thinking in images, I look at this ruler, if you will, and there’s different facets in this, and I am in the phase of getting to know myself. And I think that is such an important step that cannot be overlooked, because if you don’t learn about yourself, your struggles, your weaknesses, your strengths, it’s going to be a really long and frustrating journey. So I think for me, it’s learning what do I need in order to be a better person?

(28:33):

And I’ll give you an example. I know I need to recharge, and that is taking a break from people. It doesn’t mean that I go days without talking to people, but it means silence, for X amount of time, right? It doesn’t mean that if Chad is calling me, I’m not going to pick up. No, it doesn’t mean that. Or if Michael needs me, I’m going to say, “No, I’m recharging.” No, I’m not going to do that. But I think my loved ones, they understand that I do that time to recharge and regroup. And that’s part of getting to know yourself. And I know I need to do that in order to function better, do a good job during an interview, or whatever it is. And so, I just think that that phase is incredibly important, to get to know yourself and the areas where you need to work on, and the areas that you excel.

Lindsay Guentzel (29:38):

You mentioned this a little bit when we were talking about your childhood, but being raised in Bolivia, culturally, you mentioned, this wasn’t something that anyone talked about.

Carla Anderson (29:47):

No, no. And it was not a thing. Here in the United States, it’s so interesting, because ADHD, you hear a lot about ADHD, but the interesting part is that you don’t really know what it is. In Bolivia, you just don’t hear it, period, right? So back then, I’m going to be 38 in November, so that’s a long, long, long time ago. And think about that; science is so much more advanced in America, in the United States, than it is in Bolivia. So now in Bolivia, yes, people have heard of ADHD, but back then when I was growing up, you didn’t know, my parents did not know, and there’s no way my parents would’ve not done something if they knew that there was something going on.

Lindsay Guentzel (30:43):

Right, I dealt with that with my mom when I was first diagnosed. She held so much guilt. I was like, “What would you have done? You had no idea.” There wasn’t like, I woke up one day and my hair was pink or something. There was no dead giveaway. And it was also so outdated, the stereotype that society was working off of.

Carla Anderson (31:03):

Yeah, exactly. So there’s nothing that we can do. But what we can do, though, is create more awareness, especially here, because so many people have it, but yet when people, you ask them, “Oh, you have ADHD, okay, so what do you do?” “Oh, I just take Adderall.” And they don’t really know, even. And it’s like we need to do something about it, and not just for the people that know that they have it, and again, nothing wrong with taking medication, at all, but it’s more so creating awareness for the people that do have it, but don’t know they have it. And how do you create awareness and make them feel comfortable, that it’s okay?

(31:54):

And I think one thing that it’s so important that I mention is the fact that I do not, and maybe, gosh, a doctor’s going to be shocked or, I don’t know, think that I am incredibly foolish for saying this, but I do not think it’s a mental illness. And I’ve read literature where it says it’s a mental illness, and I don’t think it’s a disorder. I just don’t. And to me, the way I look at it is there are different types of brains, and for all I know there’s more. But right now we have the neurotypical and then we have the ADHD brain. And when I say symptoms, I don’t mean symptoms from an illness, I’m just talking about symptoms because right now that’s the only word that we can use of how I felt. They’re not symptoms from an illness at all.

(32:58):

So I just want to make sure that people know that there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re not dumb, you don’t have a disorder, or a mental illness. And even if you did, there’s nothing wrong with that, right? I just want people to know that it’s just simply a different type of brain, and I’m hoping that schools and the workforce will become more aware of it so they can make adjustments in the workspace area for people like us.

Lindsay Guentzel (33:27):

I love the way that you put it, and I imagine that there are some doctors out there who would probably say, “Well, no, it’s categorized in the DSM as a mental illness.” But I totally see and hear where you’re coming from, in the sense of somebody who was born and no one knew something was wrong. And it is just the brain we were given, and there are so many of us that have these brains, and they are so different, like your ADHD brain and my ADHD brain are very different. They share similarities, but it’s such a complex, massive thing to understand.

Carla Anderson (34:07):

100%. There’s so many advantages to our brain, hyperfocus is just one of them. But you can, it could be bad, but use it for your advantage. But one of the other things that I can think of is creativity. We’re incredibly creative people in so many different ways. I’m not just talking about the artsy type of people. I am definitely artsy. But I’m talking about thinking outside of the box, that’s being creative. And I think we are pros at that. And problem solving skills, we’re really good at that.

(34:42):

And we are highly emotional intelligent. We can pick up on vibes so quickly, on people’s emotions so quickly. We’re empaths, we’re charismatic, we care about people. We want to make sure people are good and they feel good. So there’s so many things that are definitely a plus, that we just have to get to know those good things and not just focus on the bad things, I guess.

Lindsay Guentzel (35:13):

Well, Carla, I so appreciate you coming on and sharing your story, and your passion, and commitment to raising awareness for ADHD. It truly is such a wonderful addition to the community, and I’m so grateful that you were willing to share it with us on Refocused, Together.

Carla Anderson (35:31):

Yeah, thank you so much, Lindsay, for having me. It’s truly an honor.

Lindsay Guentzel (35:54):

I’m so grateful to Carla for sharing her story with us on Refocused, Together. To learn more about her and the work she’s doing as a stylist and fashion blogger, you can find her on Instagram @thecarlaanderson. I’ve also included the links in the show notes.

(36:11):

There are so many people to thank for making Refocused, Together happen. The entire team at ADHD Online, Zach Booker, Dr. Randall Duthler, Tim Gutwald, Keith Brophy. My teammates, Keith Boswell, Susanne Spruit, Claudia Gatti, Melanie Meyrl, Paul Owen, Kirsten Pipp, Sissy Yee, Trisha Mirchandani, Lauren Radley, Kory Kearney, and Mason Nelle, and the team at Deksia, Hector and Kenneth, and the team at SMACK Media, Cameron Sterling and Candace Lefke, Camilla Eden, Lauren Terry, Sarah Gelbard, Phil Roderman, Jake Beaver, and Sarah Platanitis.

(36:52):

Our theme music was created by Louis Inglis, a songwriter and composer based in Perth, Australia, who was diagnosed with ADHD in 2020 at the age of 39. To find out more about Refocused, Together or to share your story with me, head over to adhdonline.com and check out the ADHD Awareness Month page, which highlights this project as well as each day’s episode after they’ve been released. You can also find out more by following along on social, @lindsayguentzel, and @RefocusedPod.