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ADHD with Jenna Free

Jenna Free, Canadian Certified Counselor | ADHD Therapist & Coach
ADHD with Jenna Free
Latest episode

71 episodes

  • ADHD with Jenna Free

    70: ADHD Executive Dysfunction Isn't Permanent and Here's Why

    27/07/2026 | 23 mins.
    You know exactly what you should be doing, and you still can't make yourself start. If you're an adult with ADHD who's tired of being told your executive function is just "how your brain is," this episode is for you.
    I make the case that ADHD executive dysfunction is not fixed at the level you're experiencing it right now. The reason it feels concrete is that your nervous system is stuck in fight or flight, and that state pulls blood flow away from the exact part of your brain that runs working memory, task initiation, planning, and follow-through. I cover what ADHD executive dysfunction actually is and why researchers call it the core deficit, how ADHD fight or flight and survival mode make every symptom look worse than your true baseline, why drilling one executive function skill at a time doesn't create lasting change, why ADHD paralysis has nothing to do with laziness, and two things you can start doing today to move out of survival mode.
    00:00 – Why ADHD Executive Dysfunction Isn't What You Think
    02:04 – The Brain's Management System and What Goes Wrong
    03:29 – The Narrative That Keeps ADHDers Stuck
    05:15 – Fight or Flight and the Missing Piece of ADHD Advice
    07:03 – What ADHD Survival Mode Looks Like Day to Day
    17:23 – Two Shifts You Can Start Today
    ADHD executive dysfunction changes when you're out of fight or flight. Join my free call on August 5th at 5pm Mountain to go deeper. https://www.jennafree.com/adhdcall
    Check out the show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/adhd-executive-dysfunction-isnt-permanent
    Let's stay connected!
    Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram!
    Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!
  • ADHD with Jenna Free

    69: Why ADHD Regulation Works Better Than Chasing Symptoms

    20/07/2026 | 24 mins.
    You've tried fixing the symptoms one by one, and you're still spinning. This episode is for the adult with ADHD who's exhausted from chasing symptoms and not seeing real change.
    I make the case that ADHD nervous system dysregulation is the thread running through it all, and that working on regulation rather than individual symptoms is how things actually shift. I cover why ADHD symptom management that targets one problem at a time keeps you stuck, how fight-or-flight ADHD affects everything from executive functioning to appetite to relationships, what rejection sensitive dysphoria looks like in nervous system terms, why ADHD paralysis and overwhelm connect to the freeze response, and why depth work on one thing creates more change than spreading effort across 30.
    00:00 – Chasing ADHD Symptoms vs. Finding Real Regulation
    02:35 – Why Chasing ADHD Symptoms Feels Exhausting
    08:12 – Emotional Dysregulation vs. Nervous System Dysregulation
    09:23 – Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and ADHD
    19:19 – Overwhelm, Paralysis, and the Freeze Response in ADHD
    21:51 – Why Regulation, Not Band-Aids, is the Solution
    ADHD regulation groups are reopening! August 5th registration will open. Check out the details here.
    Check out the full show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/adhd-regulation-vs-symptom-chasing
    Let's stay connected!
    Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram!
    Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!
  • ADHD with Jenna Free

    68: ADHD and Relationships: How to Stay Regulated with the People You Love

    13/07/2026 | 27 mins.
    You hold it together all day, then walk in your front door, and everything comes out sideways. You're snappier with your partner, more defensive with your kids, and impatient with the people you really want to enjoy being with. This episode is for the adult with ADHD who's tired of the people they love the most getting the worst version of them.
    I walk through what's happening in your nervous system when relationships and ADHD collide at home, why ADHD defensiveness, impatience, and controlling behavior show up strongest with the people closest to you, and what starts to shift when you work on nervous system regulation instead of gritting your teeth through dinner. If ADHD rejection sensitive dysphoria, mental rushing, or ADHD parenting dysregulation feel familiar, this one's worth your time.
    00:00 - Why Relationships and ADHD Get Complicated at Home
    02:53 - ADHD Defensiveness as a Fight or Flight Response
    09:54 - Vulnerability, Written Communication, and Retraining Your System
    10:27 - Impatience in Relationships and the Rushing You Can't Turn Off
    16:51 - ADHD Controlling Behavior and Why You Insert Yourself
    20:57 - Co-Regulation and Becoming the Calm in the Room
    Live workshop on July 15 called Calm is Contagious, on co-regulation, ADHD, and relationships. Get the details here
    Check out the show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/adhd-relationships-stay-regulated
    Let's stay connected!
    Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram!
    Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!
  • ADHD with Jenna Free

    67: ADHD Task Switching: Why It's Hard and How to Make It Easier

    06/07/2026 | 23 mins.
    You've been calling yourself bad at task switching for so long it's started to feel like a fact. And the evidence keeps stacking up: the hyperfocus sessions that run three hours past when you need to stop, the transitions that take so much mental energy you'd rather just stay in one thing until it's done. This episode is for the adult with ADHD who suspects there's more going on beneath that label than a skill gap.
    I walk through what's driving ADHD task switching struggles, why the cycle of going hard until you crash is a nervous system pattern rather than a productivity problem, and what starts to shift when you work on regulation instead of just the behavior. If ADHD transitions, all-or-nothing thinking, or the boom-bust cycle feel familiar, this one's worth your time.
    00:00 - Why ADHD Task Switching Is a Nervous System Problem
    04:19 - The Internal State Change Nobody Talks About
    07:12 - All-or-Nothing Thinking and ADHD Dysregulation
    09:28 - Why Alternating Mental and Physical Tasks Helps Regulation
    13:01 - The Cause of ADHD Transition Struggles
    16:43 - A Practical Way to Start Shifting Task Switching Today
    Live workshop on July 15 on co-regulation, ADHD, and relationships. Get the details here
    Check out the show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/adhd-task-switching-made-easier
    Let's stay connected!
    Ready to help your ADHD clients heal at the nervous system level? Join the waitlist for the ADHD Regulation Method certification launching in September.
    Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram!
    Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!
  • ADHD with Jenna Free

    66: 5 Unexpected Benefits of ADHD Nervous System Regulation

    29/06/2026 | 22 mins.
    You lived in survival mode. The stress, the paralysis, the frantic crash cycle. And then something shifted. This episode is for the adult with ADHD who's curious what life looks like on the other side of nervous system regulation work.
    I'm sharing five things that changed after I got regulated, none of which were what I originally went in looking for. From how I handle criticism and rejection sensitive dysphoria, to patience with other people, to finally sticking with a hobby for more than three weeks. The changes didn't come from trying harder, but from the shift in operating conditions.
    00:00 - Unexpected Benefits of ADHD Nervous System Regulation
    01:53 - How Nervous System Regulation Changed Jenna's Relationship with Alcohol
    04:24 - ADHD Dysregulation and Caring What People Think
    06:45 - Kindness, Patience, and Living Outside Threat Mode
    12:38 - RSD and ADHD: Hearing Criticism Without Shutting Down
    16:26 - The ADHD Hobby Cycle and What Changes When You're Regulated
    Check out the full show notes and other resources at https://jennafree.com/blog/benefits-of-adhd-nervous-system-regulation
    Let's stay connected!
    Ready to help your ADHD clients heal at the nervous system level? Join the waitlist for the ADHD Regulation Method certification launching in September.
    Want more thriving with ADHD? Come hang out with me on Instagram!
    Get out of paralysis, be more productive, and enjoy your life again! Join an upcoming group!
More Education podcasts
About ADHD with Jenna Free
ADHD with Jenna Free is a podcast for adults with ADHD who are done surviving their symptoms and ready to start thriving with ADHD, without the endless tips, hacks, and workarounds that have never really fixed anything. It's also the show where therapists, coaches, and counselors come to deepen their understanding of treating ADHD in adults and learn what regulation-based care looks like in practice. Hosted by Jenna Free, a Canadian Certified Counselor (CCC) and ADHD therapist, this show exists to give you a completely different way of understanding ADHD in adults. You're stuck, overwhelmed, and exhausted because your brain is running on fight-or-flight. Willpower was never going to fix that, and once you understand that, everything changes. I'll answer questions like: Do I have ADHD? What is ADHD task paralysis, and how do I get unstuck? Why is my ADHD getting worse in my 40s? What do ADHD and perimenopause do to your brain? How do I manage ADHD emotional dysregulation without medication alone? Why do I procrastinate so much with ADHD? Why don't ADHD tips and tricks ever work long-term? What does it look like to thrive with ADHD? What does nervous system regulation have to do with ADHD? How do I stop feeling overwhelmed with ADHD? How do I get trained to treat ADHD in adults using a regulation-based approach? What does ADHD therapist training through a regulation framework actually cover? This podcast covers the full experience of living with adult ADHD: the real science behind procrastination in ADHD and ADHD task paralysis, why ADHD and perimenopause collide in ways no one talks about, and the solution-focused conversations most ADHD podcasts aren't having. For practitioners, Jenna also gets into the clinical side: what nervous system regulation training looks like, how to apply a regulation framework with clients, and what ADHD coach certification and ADHD therapist training often omit. Jenna shares her own story throughout, what it looks like to go from chronically dysregulated to thriving, so whether you're living with ADHD or working with people who are, you can see what's possible. This show gives adults with ADHD, newly navigating a late diagnosis, and clinicians seeking ADHD continuing education one thing: a clear path toward healing If you're an adult with ADHD who's tired of the commiseration and ready for a show that believes your life can look completely different, or a practitioner who wants to understand ADHD at the nervous system level, you're in the right place.
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