Episode · Hacking Your ADHD
Beyond the Labels: Queerness and ADHD Unpacked with Rachel Scanlon (Rebroadcast)
27 Jul 2026 · 28 min
Episode · Hacking Your ADHD
27 Jul 2026 · 28 min
Hey team, We're dipping into the archives this week to revisit one of my favorite high-energy conversations! This episode features the incredible Rachel Scanlon—stand-up comedian, actress, writer, and co-host of the podcast Two Dykes and a Mic . You may have seen her on Don't Tell Comedy or Comedy Central , bringing her signature positivity to the stage. In this classic episode, Rachel and I dive deep into her ADHD journey and the intentional choices she's made to manage it. We also explore the fascinating intersection of ADHD and queer identity. Whether we're talking about the struggles of…
Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Hey, team. This week I'm talking with Rachel Scanlon, a stand-up comedian, actress, writer, and co-host of the podcast Two Dykes and a Mic. Seen on Don't Tell Comedy, JFL Straight Up Stand-Up, and Comedy Central, Rachel is a high-energy comic that buzzes with positivity.
In our conversation, we hear about Rachel's journey with ADHD and her decisions on how to manage it. We also explore the intertwining worlds of ADHD and queer identity. From the challenges of school to the joys of podcasting, our conversation ranges and highlights the power of embracing your own unique experiences. If you'd like to follow along on the show notes page, you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/149. And just as a note, there is some mild swearing in this episode, so if that's something that bothers you, you might want to skip this one.
All right, keep on listening to find out what's so funny about ADHD. So what's your ADHD story? When'd you get, like, diagnosed? How'd that go for you? I got diagnosed when I was in middle school, so I thought pretty young at the time. I was, like, 12, and, uh, I had a terrible time in school, which is strange because my grades were good, but I was always in trouble, so I would get kicked out of class all the time. I was a huge talker and very social, couldn't sit still, like very hyperactive as a kid.
But when I was growing up, ADHD was thought of more for boys than for girls. Still kinda is. Is it still? Yeah, they're working on it, and I was, like, looking at stats recently, I'm like, "Oh, that is still not where that should be." Isn't it so stupid how things are super slow? Yeah. ADHD is talked about so much on TikTok, and I feel like TikTok has helped so many people connect with other people in other communities. Mm-hmm. But I do feel like at large, when you get outside the real world- Yeah … is, like, so much farther behind than, like, what it feels like socially it should be.
But I got diagnosed real young, and they put me on medication really quickly, so I started taking the Adderall at 12. Mm-hmm. I took it for 10 years straight, slowly going up and up and up in dosages until I was in my mid-20s. I didn't feel like I was making a choice to be somebody who's on medication. Mm-hmm. I was like a problem kid who kind of needed to be fixed, and a way to do that is to keep taking these pills. When I finally, like, got out of college, moved to Los Angeles, started doing stand-up, I realized, do I need to be taking any type of medication if I'm somebody who, like, is a comedian?
You know what I mean? I'm not sitting in a classroom all day long. If I've built my life in a way where I can use the way that my brain works for a career- Mm-hmm … like, do I actually need to be on any type of medication? And so I just, like, stopped. It took almost a full year and a half to get down to no medication, and that took a really long time. Then I realized that for me, the medication was something that, like, made certain qualities that I had.
It was so weird. I, like, didn't realize that most people would take naps and eat three meals a day. I had no idea. I was like, "Oh." Because when you go from childhood to being an adult on a specific substance, I had to kind of relearn how to eat and how to kind of rework things that I think the meds that I was on, I took for, like, habits that were not quite natural to me. So I was also, like, chain-smoking and an alcoholic, so a lot of things needed to change for me.
Yeah. You just, uh, substitute one thing with a… It's like, "Oh, now I'm just gonna use- Yeah … nicotine to be my drug of choice." Of course. It was a very interesting time. Mm-hmm. You're learning a lot as well when you're in your, like, 23, 24. It's, like, a crazy time in your life. So I got off, and I have not been on any ADHD meds since. It felt like such a huge deal when I was a kid because I was always in trouble. Mm-hmm. And now that I'm, like, older, it is feel more common, like, less stigmatized than when I was younger.
It's fun. Are you on meds? Yeah, currently I am. How long have you been on meds? 12 years, but, like, the last six or seven doing it consistently. 'Cause, like, I first got on and I was like, "Oh, I'm just gonna do this the ADHD way and take these when I need them," and that does not work at all. 'Cause when I first got diagnosed, I did not do anything other than take meds to manage the ADHD, which does not work. Oh, yeah. I think that is, like, super, super common where people assume if I change nothing, take the pill, then that's it.
I think that's kind of like what they sell it as too, as, like, the magic pill. Yeah. Like, I took it and went, "Man, I am great at commenting on Reddit now." Once I, like, started learning more about managing my ADHD, I'm like, "Oh, I need to take this consistently and this works way better, and then I can manage my dose." And then I'm like, "Oh, I have a super high heart rate. I need to lower my dose." Yeah. I was like, "Why does my Apple Watch keep telling me that I'm, like, have a high heart rate?" And then I'm like, "Oh, probably that stimulant I'm taking." Yeah.
But I was taking so much towards the end where I would set an alarm, take my pill, go back to sleep, and then it would wake me up. It's so interesting. I think people, like, don't understand to be on a stimulant when you have ADHD. Mm-hmm. There's a lot of things working with somebody who has this way of thinking on medication as an adult. Yeah, I barely really understood it in my adulthood. Do you have days where you don't take it? Just when I forget.
That's the way to do it. Yeah, 'cause for a long time you're like, "I don't notice being on it as much anymore." Yeah. It's not a thing where I'm like- I know people have described like taking meds as like putting on glasses and I'm like, um, that's not my experience at all. My experience is like, "Oh, I just feel like I'm normal." And then days I don't take it, I'm like, "Oh, I'm really slow at processing some things," and get caught trying to think of words, and it's a little bit just like, oh, I have s- trouble finishing things.
For sure. I decided I didn't wanna be on medication anymore, and that is when I figured out that I needed to actually go into figuring out how my brain works. Mm-hmm. For me, I was able to like get by on a long time with just taking the medication, being in school, chain-smoking, getting through it. Mm-hmm. And when I got off medication, that's kind of when I learned like exactly how my ADHD affects the way that I process information and the way that I need to like get things done.
So I started figuring out exactly that like … And honestly, probably way too far in the wrong direction at first Let's say somebody sends me an email. If I open that email and I don't respond to it in that moment, my brain makes it as if the email never even happened. Like, it doesn't- it's not that I'm forgetting it, and it's not that I am choosing to, like, put it off. Like, that idea that people with ADHD are, like, putting things off to the last minute or being lazy, I'm telling you, like, doesn't exist in my mind whatsoever, and it's like that with anything.
So I turned it into now I'm like, I, like, bulk do everything all at once immediately. The second my day starts, I'm like a gorgeous, gay, little, like, Navy SEAL. I, like, set my alarm for 7:00 AM. I'm like, "We're doing it." I run a 10K. I have to write every single thing down. My calendar is enormous, and every day is just, like, completely structured to, like, get it all done because if I don't, it doesn't exist. I'm like, my brain does that beautiful thing where I'm like, if it's not in front of me right now, if I can't see it, it is deleted from all existence.
Yeah, just out of sight, not even close to the mind. Gone. So I think that, like, those things, I feel really lucky, but I feel bad for my girlfriend because she knows. She'll be speaking to me, and she has to just come right in direct eyeline and then start from the beginning because there are just things that, like, when you're kind of a high energy person with ADHD, and I'm like, there's so much happening within. There's a lot going on. Yeah. And I'm like, I need eye contact and, like, a gentle touch.
I'm like, "Just touch my face, lock it in, and then tell me what to do, and I'll go do it as hard as I have done anything in my life." Yeah, I'll have, uh, times when I'm, like, driving with my wife, and she'll be talking, and then I'll be like, "Oh, no, she's been talking. How long has she been talking?" Oh, man. Can I catch it? We've been together long enough that I'm like, "I'm sorry, can you start over? I did not catch any of that." That's so nice too.
I feel like the thing that I appreciate the most about the close relationships that I have is that they understand that when I'm asking you to start over from the top, it's because I genuinely want to know everything that you're saying. Mm-hmm. I don't want it to be, "Oh, I missed it. I'm an asshole. We'll move on." I want it to be like, there's not an ounce of you that I don't care about, so walk me back to the beginning. And I know it's annoying to say it again, but I'm so engaged when I'm engaged.
I'm so grateful when there are those moments where you're like, "So you understand that I give a shit a lot." One of the reasons I think, like, the neurodivergent community goes together so well is they can give that, like, empathy of like, "Oh, yeah, I get it." Yep. Whereas some people are just like, "No, you should just be listening." I wish I could. Listening is one of the, I would say, hardest things in the world and sexiest things in the world, especially in the queer community.
If you're a good listener, holy moly, baby, that's currency. I'm still figuring out ways to trick myself into learning how to be a better listener because I get lost very easily when I can't see it. Sometimes I feel like when I'm listening to somebody speaking words, I have a hard time picturing what they're doing, unless I'm really picturing it, and then I can get in there. But I don't know. Are you a good reader? Can you read books? I'm dyslexic as well.
Did not read till the fourth grade, but now I read quite a bit, although I'm also just recently got really into audiobooks too, and I'm like, "This is way easier sometimes." I'm a terrible reader. I have had learning disabilities with reading. My eyes don't work together, and then you mix that with ADHD. What am I gonna do? So I've always idolized reading. It's my number one fantasy to somebody catch me reading a book very naturally. That is something that, like, I fantasize about all the time because to me, it's like, that's the pinnacle of somebody who has their shit together and is interesting and is smart.
It's just like, I have such a hard time doing it. I can't. I'm a very, very bad reader. I'm very slow. I don't know what's going on. But maybe I should try the audiobook thing. Do you follow along when you're listening with the book? Sometimes. The Audible and Amazon have like a, like whisper sync, so can you like, can like pair it with like a e-book and it'll like highlight the word you're on as you're going. Although I tend to speed up my audiobooks and then that doesn't quite sync up quite as well, and that's very distracting.
'Cause that's the great thing about audiobooks, I'm like, "Oh, I can just pop the speed up," and like then it's like really hitting all the dopamine receptors. It's like sprint reading. Yeah. So I do that more with nonfiction stuff. If I'm just listening to fiction, I'll like go for a walk and listen to something, and it's like, "Oh, I'm getting all sorts of benefits. I'm getting some fiction, I'm getting outside." It's so weird. That's why I feel like sometimes when we have so many people sharing their ADHD stories on the internet, on TikTok, we get this really beautiful thing where a lot of people who maybe have felt like, "I never understood why I couldn't get this right," or whatever- Mm-hmm have this beautiful moment of, "That's me." They see something on their phone and they go, "Boom.
That makes me feel at home." And that is something that is a very beautiful thing about the internet, is getting to have those moments where you say, "Holy shit, like I'm not a crazy piece of shit." And like that is beautiful. But also I feel like the internet has made it feel like so many things are so many things that it can be overwhelming, especially if you have ADHD. Yeah. On TikTok, I'm like, that is one of those things where for me, I have to like put very specific rules around TikTok.
I can't watch TikTok if the sun is down, or I'll watch it until the sun is up, which is something that is, that's a never ending hole for me. I just watched so many lesbians splitting wood on- And they sure are splitting wood, aren't they? Yeah. Lesbians are so good at TikTok, and they know what they're doing My pet theory is that the stress from the pandemic just put people over the edge where they were able to mask their ADHD, and now they just can't anymore.
Yeah. They saw behind the curtain. They're like, "I don't know what to do anymore." Honestly, I think the pandemic changed so much for so many people where we're like cats out of the bag. We are all here, like, trying to figure this shit out for sure. And so much of that's, like, you like watch a video and you're like, "Oh my God, I guess I'm not special." That's so true. Damn, I guess I'm not special. Yeah, there's a video I saw that was just like the ADHD walk where, like, people are like, they're just like swerving back and forth going through.
I'm like, I knock so much shit over in my house doing that. Yeah, the very specific things that you're like, "I thought that was just me being a human being," and everyone's like, "This is an ADHD thing." And you're like, "I thought we all chewed on the right side of our mouth for 10 times and then the left side of our mouth for 10 times and then swallowed." Or had preferences on our silverware and- Yeah. Holy shit. We're all so connected. It's very bizarre.
For me, it's really funny too, 'cause I, like, get to see my kids doing these things now too, and I'm like, "Okay, that's clear signs of something." Yeah. Do you have this thing where if you can't complete a project in one sitting, you can basically not do it? Often. My trick for it now is to give myself such a clear starting point for when I'm coming back. You know, like, I'll be writing something and be like, "Okay, I'm just gonna like, half a sentence."
I can see what the end of that sentence should be, then when I stop back on, I'm like, "Oh yeah, just write that. Oh, I know what comes after this now." That's smart. You know what I do is I'm a big timer head. I have alarms for every single thing because once again, if I don't hit it, they're gone forever. It's not like I will, like, in the middle of the day be like, "Oh my God, I didn't brush my teeth." If I didn't brush my teeth the first thing in the morning, it will never happen.
Mm-hmm. So I have alarms for, my phone is, like, disgusting the amount of alarms that need to be done every single day, and it's, like, to a T. That, for me, unlocked the amount of pressure you feel when you have ADHD and you know that, like, things can get away from you. Feeling like you have to remember everything for your entire day is unbelievably overwhelming. To be like- Yeah … I have to remember everything for my waking hours. I don't know about you, but if I get lost on a new hobby- Mm-hmm … or if I get really entranced in, like, let's say I find a new ep- a new show that has 12 episodes that I've never seen, I won't eat until that's over.
And then I'll realize, like, this is when I was like, I need alarms that go off. Otherwise, I can't be an independent person. I'm like- Yeah … the slave to my alarms is so real for me. Yeah, like, I have to have lunch on my calendar 'cause it's just so easy for me to be like, if I go, I'll eat when I'm hungry, then I'm going to get to a point where I'm like, I no longer want to make food. I just want to shove whatever I can find in the kitchen in my mouth as quickly as possible.
Yeah. I feel like that's such a major one, and, like, figuring out for me, like, I have to really think the night before is kind of when I, I have to sit there and kind of manifest. So I work out a ton. I'm, like, a big, you won't believe this, a hobby took over my life. And I went from, during the lockdown, I started running, so every day I would run a 5K. Mm-hmm. And I got sober, so I went from drinking way too much to never drinking again. Kinda classic.
Nice. And because I work out so much and because I do stand-up a lot, I have to wear, like, three to four different outfits in a day. I have my workout clothes, then I have my relaxing at home clothes. Then I have when I go to work, when I podcast, an outfit for that, change back to regular clothes, and then a show outfit. So I'm looking at four outfits a day. If you go to, into my room, it looks like a gay, like, psychopath's little, like, closet.
There's just, like, four different outfits laid out. For each different two-hour segments of the day, and for me it's like I have to see what the clothes are gonna be to know what I need to do in the day. Uh, it's a very, like, visual cue for me to know, okay, I'm wearing these clothes. 'Cause otherwise I'll shower and then I'll just be like, "What the fuck am I doing now?" Mm-hmm. "Why am I naked? Was I doing something?" And God forbid something else gets in my way, and then it's just, I feel like my life is a lot like I can tell there is, like, a path that a normal day is supposed to go, and it takes a lot of effort for me to actually get down that path that gets me back into bed with food and everything that needs to be done.
And for me, it feels like I've figured out a way that I know what's gonna kinda set me off my path, and setting out little, like, check marks along the way to make it kind of like bite-sized parts that I can achieve. But once I figured that out, I realized that, like, I can turn almost anything into, like, a goal or a game, whether it be, like, physical activities, stand-up, career, relationships, but not in a creepy way. And, like, relationships with family.
Like, I can be somebody who has figured out, like I do feel like I've mastered the way that my brain works, and I do feel like I'm almost unstoppable. Once I've decided I wanna do something, there is no way that I will not complete it now that I have, like, figured out goal-setting and knocking things out. Which I feel like is kind of the power of people with ADHD, is like, once we figure out the way that we are kind of wired differently- Mm-hmm … now you kind of have a superpower, which is awesome.
Yeah. And when we're not trying to do things the way neurotypicals do them, it's like, "Oh, this works. This works." Yes. For me, once I realized I didn't have to figure out for the rest of my life how to be quiet for school hours- Mm-hmm … once I was like, I can be as energetic as I want and I can do what I want to be done in a day, then it's like, look out. Because now you have, like, a very powerful person. Or we hear a lot about how the negative effects of having ADHD, how, like, things are so hard.
You're so scatterbrained. Like, "Oh my God, how do you get anything done? You have to be medicated and then you're zonked out." But, like, if you actually know people with ADHD, you might find the most driven, like, people- Yeah … that are, like, super engaging individuals, super compassionate individuals. Like, we're a community that is incredibly powerful and spicy, and that is, like, a very cool thing to have. Yeah. One of the funniest things I've found is, like, we often get labeled as lazy so much, but I have never seen a less lazy group of people.
Legitimately. I'm like, we're out there, like, buying rollerblades. You know, when I'm old, what am I gonna do when I retire? That's not gonna happen. Right. I couldn't do that. No. I will find things to do. Honestly, like, we're the ones making all the stuff all the time. We're not sitting back, yeah. I don't know. I think it's that thing of, like, trying to be like everyone else so much that you're like, "This is never gonna work," that once you accept that you have to do things the way that makes sense to you is kind of when you unlock the rest of the world.
For me, I'm like, school just was never gonna be something that was painless for me. Mm-hmm. And then once you're able to kind of, like, craft your own life, then you're able to be like, "Oh my God," like, "I can really be a special person who's good at stuff." When you're told for so long that you're a problem, it's, like, major. When we're doing things we wanna do, they're… I'm not gonna go with easy, but there's not a wall in the way. Right, and there's… I can see, like, neurotypical people who don't have ADHD not having that.
I'm like, thank God I have these qualities that come from the way that my brain works has made me a very efficient, like, person, and I'm like, "Oh, thank God I have that." Like, that got me through so many times where you can lean back on the way your brain works for the positive. It's like, it's good. And it is funny, too, 'cause sometimes I, like, get in this mindset of like, "Oh, this is just how everyone is," and then I'll, like, actually encounter a neurotypical person.
I have a good friend that's neurotypical. I'll be like, go and, like, do work at his house sometimes, and I'm just like, "You just did that?" "How?" Just sat down and wow. Isn't that wild? I'm always kind of mystified by the, yeah, the people that can read books. Number one, obviously. It's a different world. I feel like the same way with my queerness. I, like, forget the existence of heterosexuals, where I assume, I'm like, well, everyone, it doesn't matter if you're in like a straight passing rela- I'm like, we're all gay, right?
Yeah. And then you'll see somebody who's actually straight, and I'm like, oh my God, I thought we eradicated that. I can't believe there are still some heterosexuals out there in the world. Yeah. Some heterosexual neurotypicals out walking amongst us, if you can even believe that. Yeah. 'Cause I'm pan, bi, whatever, but I'm in what is ostensibly a straight relationship. But then, you know, it's also like these things that I, like, meet people, I'm like, "Oh, you're really not attracted to everybody?" Th- there is a cutoff?
Isn't it shocking? Weird. It's literally jarring to be like … I'm like, are you ki- is this a bit? You can say, like, without a doubt straight? I'm like, "What the fuck?" You've honestly never questioned that? That's weird. It is. You know, it's the weirdest when people don't question it. Yeah. And that to me is like, well, give it time, my friend. You gotta ask yourself questions, especially since the pandemic, especially when we're living in a time where things are more fluid and more open.
It's like you gotta get into the old head and heart and really figure it out. Yeah. And so on this topic, you also have your podcast, Two Dykes and a Mic- Yes … which sound, fantastic name. Thank you so much. Yeah. Two Dykes and a Mic is, like, my pride and joy. It's such a, an amazing outlet where something, yet again, a hobby I took way too far, and now it is, like, my whole life, and I love it so much. But me and my co-host, her name is Mackenzie Goodwin, and we review, you know, gay culture.
We have on queer guests. We play games. We do, like, who tops who, and it's one of those things where I think a lot of times in the queer community, a lot of our content can be heavy. Specifically in the lesbian community, a lot of the stuff that you watch is like, it'll be like a, uh, like a married housewife falls in love with her, like, English teacher, and then one of them dies, or real, like, kind of soppy coming out stuff. And I just, like, my whole life, I've always wanted to be a comedian, and then when I started falling in love with women, I was like, there needs to be two best friends.
Like, a lot of times when you have two queer women- Mm-hmm … they're in love with each other, or one of them wants to fuck the other one. And my co-host and I being actual queer best friends, having a, like, unbelievably silly podcast is something that has brought me so much joy, and it's like, it's the most fun thing in the world to do. The podcast rocks, and we tour it live, which is kind of like my two worlds merging into one, to be a stand-up comedian for the last 10 years and then have this, like, queer, kind of like s- silly little podcast.
Touring has been incredible. It's been awesome. And to see how many queer people are everywhere now. Like, when I started doing stand-up, like, people would never… They would tell me to my face, like, "You'll never get to really sell tickets doing, like, this much queer material because there's not enough of us." And to see that that is unbelievably wrong has been, mwah, just the best. Yeah. I mean, it's awesome that you get to do that kind of thing, and it's, I could imagine the, uh, ADHD just adds to your, like, drive to do it.
Yeah, it definitely, it energizes me. I mean, I think, like, the, the beautiful thing when you find something that you like and you have ADHD, it's a part of you. It's, like, in your bones, and I feel like I've gotten to reach that level with something that was, like, a silly little podcast and now it's, like, I get to see people who really like it and really connect with it all over the country and outside of the country. It's like, the fuck? This is awesome.
Oh my God, whenever I get, see, like, things from, like, podcast listeners from, like, international, I'm just like, wow. I mean, of course, but also, wow. Isn't that crazy? Like, we're in Fiji, baby. Yeah. Like, we're out there. Yeah, it's like I got, like, it was, it was like, "You're charting in Belarus," and I'm like- okay, I'm gonna need to- That's so cool … look up where that is. That's so cool. It's the, yeah. It's a really cool time to be somebody who creates stuff more individually without being on those huge levels of, like, you're on a TV show or whatever, to really create something.
You know, like, Mackenzie and I were in a guest bedroom, then we've just been doing it for years. It's her and I. We don't have a producer. We don't have a fancy studio. We just sit there and we make each other laugh and, like, thank goodness we have these mediums now. I'm in a closet right now, so it's great. Here's my sheets. Uh- hides the giant pile of stuff behind me, and it's just- It, it is one of those things- Yeah like, I'm like, podcasting is amazing because you can just do that.
Like, so yeah, just have this place that I can go and do this, and this is even kind of fancy to have. Oh, yeah. I do feel like something about being able to go out, buy the equipment, record it yourself, edit yourself, publish yourself from the entire chain line- Mm-hmm to do it all is, like, very satisfying if you have ADHD. You can take that whole thing and be like, "We're gonna pump this out- Yeah … today," is, like, great. Yeah. Very early in the pandemic when I was still, like, trying to keep to my content schedules, be like, "Okay, if I finish editing in the next half hour, I can put it up before it's supposed to go live."
Now I'm just like, "Yeah, it'll get up when it gets up." Yeah. I'm like, I have ADHD. It's okay to be, to have ADHD while doing this. Yes. This is a podcast about it. I like people like, "Hey, this episode doesn't have show notes. What happened?" I'm like, "I never put 'em up. That's what happened." Right. What do you think happened? All right. Well, is there anything you wanna leave the listeners with before we sign off here? If you're listening to this podcast right now, just know that I'm Rachel Scanlon.
You can follow me @rachelsafety. Listen to Two Dykes and a Mic, and this has been awesome. Thanks so much for having me on. Great having you. Thanks for coming. Thanks for sticking with me all the way to the end, and thanks again to Rachel for coming on the show. Be sure to check out her podcast, Two Dykes and a Mic, or catch one of their live shows. But before you go, let's do a quick rundown of today's top tips. One, people with ADHD are often labeled with stereotypes like being scatterbrained or lazy.
It's essential that we challenge these misconceptions and highlight our strengths such as drive, engagement, and compassion that many of us with ADHD possess. Two, recognizing and understanding one's neurodivergence can be liberating. Instead of attempting to fit into a neurotypical mold, individuals with ADHD should embrace and celebrate their unique traits and abilities. Three, there can be an intersection in the experiences of being queer and being neurodivergent.
It can be beneficial for people to question and engage in some introspection around this, even if it leads to just reaffirming what your own initial understanding already was. Four, with ADHD, it's important to find creative outlets that let you truly be yourself. By tapping into your own self-expression, you can lean into your strength and find fulfillment with what you do. That's it. Thanks for listening. I'd love to hear what you thought of this episode.
Feel free to connect with me over at hackingyouradhd.com/contact. If you'd like links or to read this episode's transcript, you can go to the show notes page at hackingyouradhd.com/149. If you'd like to support the show, the best way to do so is to tell someone about the show, especially if you think a particular episode would resonate with them. Just click the share button on your podcast player and send it over, or you can consider supporting me on Patreon.
Just go to hackingyouradhd.com/patreon to find out more. And now for your moment of dad. What's worse than when it's raining cats and dogs? When it's hailing taxis.
Transcript supplied by the publisher with the episode.
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We're diving back into the archives today to revisit one of our most-requested episodes. Does the hum of the refrigerator feel like a jet engine? Does a scratchy shirt tag ruin your entire afternoon? You aren't alone. With ADHD, our "filters" often don't work the way we want them to. We can't simply ignore the background noise or the overwhelming scent of a neighbor's perfume. In this encore presentation, we explore the world of hypersensitivity and what it means to be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) while navigating ADHD. In this episode, we revisit: Why our brains struggle to prioritize…
3 Aug 2026 · 12 min
In this special rebroadcast, we are revisiting a conversation about a phrase many of us use at the start of a new project or a new year: "I want to hit the ground running." Often, we start with great momentum, but it doesn't take much—like an unexpected illness or a change in schedule—to throw a snag into our plans. For those of us with ADHD, we tend to thrive on speed and urgency. We don't want to wait around, and that "emergency" energy can be a powerful motivator. However, living from one urgent task to the next often means we never get around to the things that are important but don't…
E305 · 31 Jul 2026 · 14 min
Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what the paper says and how it was conducted, and try to find any practical takeaways. In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called "Bidirectional Association Between Allergic Rhinitis and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and…
20 Jul 2026 · 28 min
Hey team, As we look at ways to refresh our systems, we're rebroadcasting a fan-favorite episode featuring ADHD coach Shane Thrapp. We're diving deep into the world of Focus101 , a free digital body-doubling platform designed to help you reclaim your focus. If you struggle with task initiation or follow-through, this episode covers the essential mechanics of body-doubling. Shane and I discuss how working in the presence of others—even virtually—can dramatically reduce distractions. We also touch on the "productivity stack": using Pomodoros, alarms, and task-splitting to make your work…
E304 · 17 Jul 2026 · 22 min
Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we look at a single research paper—or, in today's case, multiple papers—and dive into what they say, how they were conducted, and try to find practical takeaways. The first paper we're discussing is called "The MTA at Eight Years: Prospective Follow-Up of Children Treated for Combined-Type ADHD in a Multisite Study." This is about…
E303 · 13 Jul 2026 · 43 min
Hey Team! I've been on a bit of a break this summer, but I wanted to help celebrate International ADHD Awareness Day by dropping a new episode. We often think that achieving big things requires feeling miserable during the process. We buy into the myth that if a task isn't agonizing, it isn't worth the time we put into it. My guest today is Jia Jiang, an expert in rejection resilience, a Duke MBA graduate, and the founder of Wuju Learning. After stepping away from a stable corporate career at Dell and LinkedIn to launch a tech startup, Jia realized his deepest bottleneck wasn't a lack of…
E316 · 9 Oct 2026 · 33 minNew
Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD . I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper, dive into what it says and how it was conducted, and try to find practical takeaways. In this episode, we're discussing a paper called "Evaluating Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Review of Current Methods and Issues." This is a continuation of what we were talking about…
5 Oct 2026 · 50 min
Hey Team! This week I'm talking with Dana K. White, the creator of A Slob Comes Clean and the author of Decluttering at the Speed of Life, How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind, and her newest book Procrastinators Get Stuff Done: How to Go from Overwhelmed to Finished. Her work grew out of her own struggles with clutter and home management, and she's become known for practical, reality-based strategies designed for people who feel like traditional organizing advice just doesn't work for them. This was a real fun episode and I just gotta say that I love that title, A Slob Comes…
E314 · 28 Sep 2026 · 54 min
Hey Team! This week I'm talking with Dr. Jolene Brighten, a naturopathic doctor, women's health educator, and author whose work focuses on hormones, reproductive health, and the ways hormonal changes can affect women across their lifespan. She's the author of Beyond the Pill and Is This Normal? , and her newest work, ADHD and Women, coming out October 6th, explores the intersection of hormones and ADHD in women. I know hormones and ADHD is a topic we've explored before, but Dr. Brighten was a delight to have on the show, and this conversation went in all kinds of directions. So yes, we…
E313 · 25 Sep 2026 · 23 min
Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain. Today, I'm joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In this series, we take a look at a single research paper and dive into what the paper says, how it was conducted, and try and find any practical takeaways. In this episode, we're going to be discussing a paper called Evaluating Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD: A Review of Current Methods and Issues. And this paper is a narrative…