Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast

We're on summer break, so this week is a Revisit: a favorite conversation pulled back out of the archive. In this one, Pete and Nikki dig into the words we use and how much they shape the way we see ourselves.
Working from Alicia Dunams' book I Get To, Nikki walks through a few simple language shifts that hit differently when you have ADHD, from "I have to" versus "I get to" to catching the negative "what ifs." They also get into the power of the pause and staying curious instead of judgmental. It's an encouraging, practical listen, whether it's your first time or a return trip.
Links & Notes
I Get To: How using the Right Words Can Radically Transform Your life, Relationships & Business by Alicia Dunams
The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life's Hurdles by Karen Reivich
“Six Surprising Benefits of Curiosity” by Emily Campbell

(00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast

(04:14) - Change Your Language: "I Get To: How Using the Right Words can Radically Transform Your Life"

(10:50) - How Rewards Impact Language

(12:39) - A Brief Aside on The QUIT Center...

(15:02) - What do you THINK you can do?

(18:52) - Facing the Impossible Situation

(19:42) - Why not? What if?

(27:17) - The Power of the Pause

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We're on summer break, so this week is a Revisit: a favorite conversation pulled back out of the archive. The idea takes after Dr. Kurosh Dini's concept of the visit, showing up to something with curiosity rather than judgment.
In this one, Pete and Nikki talk about celebrating what you get done, and why so many people with ADHD give themselves almost no credit for it. They flip the usual deficit thinking on its head, dig into some very practical self-compassion, and share a simple exercise you can start tonight. It's an encouraging listen, whether it's your first time or a return trip.

(00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast

(04:42) - Celebrating What We Do

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We're on summer break, so this week is a Revisit: a favorite conversation pulled back out of the archive. The idea takes after Dr. Kurosh Dini's concept of the visit, showing up to something with curiosity rather than judgment.
In this one, we talk with coach Jane Massengill about the negative self-talk that so many people with ADHD carry, why it can run louder for us, and a simple practice she calls word watching for catching it in the moment. It's a warm, useful conversation about learning to be kinder to yourself. Whether it's your first listen or a return trip, it's worth your time.
Links & Notes
JaneMassengill.com
The Gremlin-Taming Institute
Taming Your Gremlin: A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way — by Rick Carlson

(00:00) - Welcome to The ADHD Podcast!

(03:28) - Introducing Jane Massengill of the Gremlin-Taming Institute

(08:37) - Why do some people struggle when others don't?

(16:01) - About the Book and Jane's History

(19:55) - The ADHD Internal Dialog

(24:23) - Word-Watching

(31:51) - Word-Watching Exercise

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At the end of the day, when your brain starts tallying everything you didn't finish, where's the credit for everything you did? In the Season 32 finale, we close out the season on the quiet skill that gets buried under all that mental accounting — noticing your progress instead of measuring it.
The unfinished stuff is loud: the laundry pile, the twenty-item list, the messages still waiting. The progress is silent, and a lifetime of report cards and performance reviews has trained us to see only what's left. We get into why that happens — with a detour through a 1927 psychology experiment that explains a lot about the ADHD shame loop — what self-compassion actually looks like in a real day, and why the answer isn't a shinier scorecard. Plus a family-dinner ritual worth stealing, an optical illusion that makes the whole point, and one of the more memorable cold opens of the season.
It's our send-off into summer break, and a reminder that sometimes the entire practice fits into one word.
Links & Notes
Support the Show on Patreon
Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database

(00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast

(01:33) - Join the Community! https://patreon.com/theadhdpodcast

(03:04) - Progress Without Measurement

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You can lose six hours to the thing that lights you up, then completely stall on a task that takes three minutes. Same brain, different room. In this conversation, Pete and Nikki get into why ADHD shows up hard in one setting and nearly disappears in another, why "broken" is the wrong word for any of it, and what changes when you stop asking how to fix yourself and start paying attention to the rooms where you do your best work. It's the capper on a season-long conversation about living with ADHD instead of fighting it, and a grounded look at the context, fuel, and environment that make hard things doable.
Links & Notes
Support the Show on Patreon
Dig into the podcast Shownotes Database

(00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast

(01:41) - Check us out on Patreon

(02:44) - You're Not Broken. You're Contextual

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★