SuccessFULL With ADHD

What if changing your relationship with alcohol, breaking unhealthy habits, or overcoming all-or-nothing thinking wasn't about having more willpower? In this episode of Successful with ADHD, I'm welcoming back Colleen Hackman, ADHD coach, host of It's Not About the Alcohol, and known as The Hangover Whisperer. We're diving deeper into how the ADHD brain creates automatic habits, why black-and-white thinking can keep us stuck, and how emotional regulation and neuroplasticity can help us create lasting change without the shame spiral.
Colleen and I get into everything from ADHD decision fatigue and addiction labels to nervous system regulation, impulsivity, and learning to trust ourselves again. We also explore why focusing on what we want MORE of instead of what we're trying to eliminate can completely shift our approach to personal growth. Whether you're navigating alcohol use, struggling with perfectionism, or simply tired of feeling like you're constantly fighting your ADHD brain, this conversation is packed with practical strategies and perspective shifts you won't want to miss!
Episode Highlights
[1:20] - Welcoming Colleen back and exploring the ADHD all-or-nothing brain.
[2:04] - Colleen's name change, reclaiming her identity, and embracing personal growth.
[2:54] - Why ADHD black-and-white thinking complicates our relationship with alcohol and addiction labels.
[6:37] - How binary thinking traps us into believing we only have two options.
[8:03] - Asking better questions and shifting from negative goals to what we actually want MORE of.
[10:03] - Why ADHD decision fatigue makes recognizing small wins and progress challenging.
[12:18] - Breaking down the difference between being "lazy" and having an ADHD brain that automates habits.
[14:19] - My personal experience with an unexpected substance use disorder label and changing drinking habits.
[16:02] - Why breaking automatic habits requires energy, awareness, and intentionality rather than more willpower.
[18:27] - Replacing negative goals with small, positive actions that support lasting behavior change.
[21:49] - Colleen's "low bar method," my 1% actions, and why tiny habits help regulate the nervous system.
[23:06] - Becoming your own source of comfort instead of relying on external coping mechanisms.
[25:19] - How to distinguish intuition from anxious impulses and recognize what your body actually needs.
[29:13] - Setting yourself up for success before impulsive behaviors take over.
[31:46] - ADHD hyperfocus, time blindness, external reminders, and creating friction to interrupt unhealthy patterns.
[35:55] - How Colleen challenged her own all-or-nothing identity during recovery.
[38:31] - Navigating divorce, burnout, stress, and the ongoing process of finding balance.
[41:48] - What emotional sobriety really means and how separating facts from feelings changes decision-making.
[45:41] - My AIR method: Acknowledge, Interrupt, and Redirect to regulate emotions and take action.
[46:48] - The smallest first step toward changing your relationship with alcohol without committing to sobriety.
[49:11] - Understanding how coping behaviors serve us and why awareness creates opportunities for change.
[49:29] - Where to connect with Colleen and find more ADHD and emotional sobriety resources.
Links & Resources
Colleen is the founder of Emotional Sobriety Coaching©, where she helps high-achieving professional women reduce alcohol consumption by 80% without relying on willpower or deprivation. Combining holistic and evidence-based strategies in neurophysiology, cognitive reframing, and spirituality, she helps women reprogram their minds and bodies so they actually prefer drinking in moderation.
After secretly struggling with Alcohol Use Disorder for over 20 years, Colleen discovered that the solution to overdrinking is to get happy, not sober. She's an Addiction and Recovery-Certified Master Life Coach with an MSc in Health Coaching, a BS in Biology and Chemistry Education, and certification as a Women's Functional and Integrative Health Professional.
@thehangoverwhisperer
Thank you for tuning into SuccessFULL with ADHD. If this episode has impacted you, remember to rate, follow, share, and review our podcast. Your support helps us reach and help more individuals navigating their journeys with ADHD.

🚨Calling all aspiring ADHD coaches ▶️ https://www.coachingwithbrooke.com/coach-certification-and-training
Help your clients break free from paralysis and better manage their life with 3C Activation® coach training!
💥Gain a proven process for ADHD coaching
💥Earn 38 ICF Credits
💥Learn the latest neuroscience to boost your practice
💥Qualify to be listed under ACO Directory
Learn more ▶️ https://www.coachingwithbrooke.com/coach-certification-and-training

What happens when you stop performing success and start building a life that actually feels like yours? I sit down with Kerrie Lee Brown, a longtime media executive, former Chief Content Officer and Editor-in-Chief of SUCCESS Magazine, founder of Red Lily Media, and a storyteller who has spent more than 30 years helping other people find and share their authentic voices.
Kerrie and I get real about vulnerability, ADHD masking, perfectionism, burnout, people-pleasing, and the pressure so many high-achieving women put on themselves. Kerrie shares how a heart attack at just 39 forced her to reconsider the relationship between stress, success, self-care, and identity. We also dig into what it means to unmask without oversharing, why authentic storytelling helps us feel less alone, how to lead creative and neurodivergent people as individuals, and what happens when we stop letting other people define success for us.
Episode Highlights
[0:56] - Why we edit ourselves, perform success, and hide the parts that feel like “too much.”
[2:59] - Kerrie shares what 30 years of interviewing people taught her about authenticity and the stories we’re afraid to tell.
[5:14] - The difference between sharing a real story and performing one—and why vulnerability creates connection.
[8:42] - Afraid to be visible? We talk judgment, vulnerability, and deciding who deserves access to your story.
[12:16] - Unmasking versus oversharing: how to stay authentic while still reading the room.
[17:11] - Kerrie opens up about having a heart attack at 39 and the perfectionism, pressure, stress, and warning signs she had been ignoring.
[22:52] - People-pleasing, overperforming, ADHD, and why putting yourself first isn't optional when everyone depends on you.
[27:36] - Why creatives are never really “done”—and how strong leaders make room for different brains, personalities, and working styles.
[31:22] - Being in “beta mode,” handling setbacks, taking people off pedestals, and questioning what success actually means.
[36:37] - Why Kerrie created a platform where everyday people can share stories that deserve to be heard.
[39:45] - The lifestyle and mindset changes Kerrie made after her heart attack—and how she learned to recognize stress creeping back in.
[44:32] - How to tell your story without oversharing, asking for sympathy, or making everything about you.
[46:45] - The difference between storytelling that builds genuine trust and storytelling that sounds like a pitch.

Links & Resources
Kerrie Lee Brown is an award-winning media executive, international journalist, author and speaker with more than 30 years of experience leading influential media brands across business,leadership, wellness and lifestyle. Having interviewed thousands of entrepreneurs, celebrities,executives, cultural icons and thought leaders, she brings a unique perspective on leadership,resilience, storytelling and personal transformation.She is the founder and CEO of RedLily® Media, a boutique storytelling consultancy, and co-founder of Lioness Global Initiatives™, a global experiential travel platform that brings ambitious women together through curated international expeditions focused on meaningful connection, cultural immersion and conscious leadership. A heart attack survivor and passionate advocate for sustainable success, Kerrie Lee inspires leaders to build lives and businesses rooted in authenticity, wellbeing and purpose through her speaking, writing, consulting and global collaborations.
@kerrieleebrown_official
KerrieLeeBrown.com
Thank you for tuning into SuccessFULL with ADHD. If this episode has impacted you, remember to rate, follow, share, and review our podcast. Your support helps us reach and help more individuals navigating their journeys with ADHD.

🚨Calling all aspiring ADHD coaches ▶️ https://www.coachingwithbrooke.com/coach-certification-and-training
Help your clients break free from paralysis and better manage their life with 3C Activation® coach training!
💥Gain a proven process for ADHD coaching
💥Earn 38 ICF Credits
💥Learn the latest neuroscience to boost your practice
💥Qualify to be listed under ACO Directory
Learn more ▶️ https://www.coachingwithbrooke.com/coach-certification-and-training

Most moms I talk to are running on empty and still showing up for everyone else first. But what if feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and responsible for everyone isn’t actually the price of being a good mom? In this episode of Successful with ADHD, I’m joined by Heather Chauvin, leadership coach, TEDx speaker, host of Emotionally Uncomfortable, and author of Dying to Be a Good Mother. After being diagnosed with stage four cancer at 28 while raising three boys, Heather was forced to rethink how she was living, parenting, and using her energy.
Heather and I get into ADHD, motherhood, burnout, emotional regulation, boundaries, executive functioning, and the invisible mental load so many women carry. We talk about what happens when you stop being everyone else’s executive function, why letting your kids struggle can actually help them build independence, and how operating from the energy you want to feel can change your relationships. I also share a deeply personal part of my own story and what happened when I finally started stepping back. If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing everything and somehow still failing, press play on this one.

Episode Highlights
[0:45] - Meet Heather Chauvin and hear how a stage four cancer diagnosis changed the way she approached motherhood and life.
[2:19] - Heather shares the internal shift that made her decide she was no longer willing to feel depleted.
[4:10] - Facing fear, survival mode, motherhood, business, and cancer all at the same time.
[6:39] - The difference between simply coping and asking yourself how you actually want to live.
[8:29] - Why getting another planner or writing another to-do list won’t fix an identity built around doing everything for everyone.
[12:20] - Looking beyond ADHD and other labels to recognize our basic human needs for regulation, nourishment, movement, and connection.
[17:02] - Heather breaks down Energetic Time Management and her powerful “Wouldn’t it be nice if…” practice.
[21:11] - Holding boundaries with ADHD kids without rescuing, controlling, or falling into a guilt spiral.
[23:04] - Why emotional discomfort can feel horrible at first—and why yelling can actually be a stress response.
[28:21] - I open up about nearly getting divorced, carrying the executive functioning of my household, and what changed when I finally stepped back.
[30:45] - The fine line between helping, rescuing, codependence, and interdependence.
[34:54] - Getting the mental load out of your brain and allowing other people to take responsibility—even when they do things differently.
[36:22] - ADHD executive functioning, independence, and why letting our kids fail can be an important part of helping them grow.
[37:17] - Moving through shame, regulating your nervous system, and creating the accountability your brain actually needs.
[41:12] - Collaborative problem-solving: asking kids what their brains need instead of assuming we have all the answers.
[43:08] - Why Heather believes the more responsibility you have, the lighter you should feel.
[47:49] - Delaying difficult conversations, using ADHD-friendly communication strategies, and knowing when it’s better to text, write, or walk.
[50:02] - Heather leaves overwhelmed moms with one belief she wants them to stop carrying.

Links and Resources
Heather Chauvin is a leadership advisor for high-performing women raising children and building lives that demand more than conventional time management can hold.
Her work sits at an unusual intersection: Trained as a Social Worker, she spent the early part of her career inside the systems most of her clients are now navigating from the other side (schools, mental health services, family courts, the quiet machinery that shapes how children, especially neurodiverse children, are seen and supported). That lens still informs everything. She knows what's happening underneath the surface of a family, a marriage, a woman holding it all together.
What she layers on top is lived. A stage 4 cancer diagnosis at 28, while raising three young sons and building a career. A TEDx stage. A book — Dying to Be a Good Mother. A podcast with more than 11 million downloads. Years of working privately with executives, founders, and mothers who look successful on paper and feel quietly depleted underneath.
Her clients describe her as the advisor in their back pocket, someone who can hold the strategic conversation and the spiritual one in the same breath. The cash flow plan and the question of what makes you feel alive. The team restructure and the marriage or health diagnosis. The next career move and the child who needs you to show up differently than you were taught to.
The throughline is this: The more responsibility you carry, the lighter you should feel. Heather has spent 15+ years proving it's possible — for herself, and for the women she works with privately.
https://www.instagram.com/heatherchauvin_/

Thank you for tuning into "SuccessFULL with ADHD." If this episode has impacted you, remember to rate, follow, share, and review our podcast. Your support helps us reach and help more individuals navigating their journeys with ADHD.

🚨Calling all aspiring ADHD coaches ▶️ https://www.coachingwithbrooke.com/coach-certification-and-training
Help your clients break free from paralysis and better manage their life with 3C Activation® coach training!
💥Gain a proven process for ADHD coaching
💥Earn 38 ICF Credits
💥Learn the latest neuroscience to boost your practice
💥Qualify to be listed under ACO Directory
Learn more ▶️ https://www.coachingwithbrooke.com/coach-certification-and-training

This is A Fan Favorite Rerun Episode 

In this episode, I’m joined by Russ Jones, the incredibly relatable and hilarious host of the ADHD Big Brother podcast and creator of the ADHD Big Brother community. Russ is not only a productivity coach trained in integrative wellness and ADHD-specific strategies—he’s also someone who’s walked the walk. Diagnosed later in life, Russ turned his own challenges into a mission to serve others, helping adults with ADHD cut through the noise and get the “tough stuff” done.
We dive into Russ’s ADHD journey—from late diagnosis to creating a thriving support community built around daily accountability, humor, and vulnerability. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, isolated, or stuck in self-doubt, this episode will remind you that you’re not alone—and that consistent, small steps can lead to transformational change. Tune in to hear how Russ turned a quit-smoking forum into the blueprint for an ADHD support system that actually works.
Russ Jones is a productivity coach trained in integrative wellness and ADHD-specific coaching. He’s committed to helping adults with ADHD get the tough stuff done. His personal journey, including a later-in-life ADHD diagnosis, fuels his passion for empowering the ADHD community, by simplifying the chaos of our unique skull spaghetti (his word for brains), and offering easy to apply solutions. Russ hosts the ADHD Big Brother podcast and is the founder of the ADHD Big Brother community, an online platform where he and members successfully give and get daily support and make progress on their goals, proving that community is one of the greatest tools to a well-managed and productive ADHD life.
 
Episode Highlights:
[1:02] - Introducing Russ Jones and his passion for simplifying the ADHD experience
 [2:45] - Getting diagnosed at 40 and navigating the grief and relief
 [5:00] - From actor to ADHD advocate: Russ’s early career and challenges
 [9:22] - The emotional crash during COVID and rediscovering purpose
 [12:46] - Launching his podcast and coaching practice
 [14:10] - How quitting nicotine inspired the ADHD Big Brother community
 [15:32] - The power of daily accountability and owning our struggles
 [18:47] - What showing up consistently looks like—even on bad days
 [20:27] - How community transforms shame into progress
 [22:20] - Behind the scenes of the ADHD Big Brother platform and how it works
 [25:16] - Gamifying success with “Skull Spaghetti” and badge rewards
 [27:11] - Crushing long-term goals with consistent, low-pressure action
 [30:04] - The “inverted mountain” analogy for achieving goals with ADHD
 [33:39] - One big takeaway: be cool with yourself, even on hard days
 
Links & Resources:
Russ Jones’ ADHD Community & Podcast: https://www.adhdbigbrother.com/ 
Thank you for tuning into "SuccessFULL with ADHD." If this episode has impacted you, remember to rate, follow, share, and review our podcast.
🚨Calling all aspiring ADHD coaches ▶️ https://www.coachingwithbrooke.com/coach-certification-and-training
Help your clients break free from paralysis and better manage their life with 3C Activation® coach training!
💥Gain a proven process for ADHD coaching
💥Earn 38 ICF Credits
💥Learn the latest neuroscience to boost your practice
💥Qualify to be listed under ACO Directory
Learn more ▶️ https://www.coachingwithbrooke.com/coach-certification-and-training

This is A Fan Favorite Rerun Episode 
This episode is one that hits your home and your heart. I’m joined by Katy Wells, author of Making Home Your Happy Place and host of Maximize Minimalist. Together, we unpack the biggest lies we’ve been sold about decluttering—especially how harmful those messages can be for ADHD and neurodivergent brains.
We go far beyond “just get organized” and dig into how clutter impacts your nervous system, identity, emotions, and stress levels. Katy shares a compassionate, realistic, and ADHD-friendly approach to decluttering that doesn’t rely on perfection, Pinterest aesthetics, or overwhelm. If clutter has ever sent you into a shame spiral or made you feel like you’re failing at adulthood, this conversation is for you.
Katy Wells, author of Making Home Your Happy Place: The Real-Life Guide to Decluttering without the Overwhelm, created Holistic Decluttering—an approach that tackles clutter at its roots and pairs it with simple, sustainable systems. As host of The Maximized Minimalist podcast (5 million listens), Katy helps families break the cycle of clutter that keeps coming back. Her work has been featured on NBC News Daily, Martha Stewart, and Real Simple. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina with her husband and two sons.
 
Episode Highlights:
[0:51] – Introducing Katy Wells and why this conversation goes way deeper than “stuff”
 [2:03] – The biggest decluttering myths we’ve been fed and why they harm ADHD brains
 [5:51] – The shocking research linking clutter, cortisol, and focus
 [8:27] – Why mess and clutter are not the same thing (and why that matters)
[11:56] – ADHD-friendly decluttering: one category, one decision at a time
[16:54] – “Only Handle It Once” and designing your environment for follow-through
[20:32] – Finding your baseline instead of chasing impossible standards
[24:45] – Decluttering as a lifestyle, not another exhausting to-do list
[33:00] – The four types of clutter: superficial, scarcity, sentimental, and identity
[40:33] – Letting go without regret and why decluttering is a skill you can build
[49:55] – Creating a home that feels possible, supportive, and truly yours
 
Links and Resources:
Katy’s website: https://www.katyjoywells.com/ 
 
Thank you for tuning into "SuccessFULL with ADHD." If this episode has impacted you, remember to rate, follow, share, and review our podcast. Your support helps us reach and help more individuals navigating their journeys with ADHD.
🚨Calling all aspiring ADHD coaches ▶️ https://www.coachingwithbrooke.com/coach-certification-and-training
Help your clients break free from paralysis and better manage their life with 3C Activation® coach training!
💥Gain a proven process for ADHD coaching
💥Earn 38 ICF Credits
💥Learn the latest neuroscience to boost your practice
💥Qualify to be listed under ACO Directory
Learn more ▶️ https://www.coachingwithbrooke.com/coach-certification-and-training