Research Recap with Skye: The ADHD and IBS Connection
Hacking Your ADHD
Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I’m your host, William Curb. Today I’m joined by Skye Waterson for our research recap series. In this series, we dive into a single research paper to see what it says, how it was conducted, and find any practical takeaways. In this episode, we’re discussing a paper called "Association between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and intestinal disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis." It’s a fascinating one because they started with nearly 2,000 papers and narrowed it down to 11 high-quality studies. If you'd life to follow along on the show...
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Focused and Balanced: ADHD Strategies That Work w/ Skye Waterson (rebroadcast)
Hacking Your ADHD
Today, we’re revisiting our conversation with Skye Waterson. Skye is a Doctoral Candidate and ADHD coach who specializes in research-backed tips for navigating life with a neurodivergent brain. We wanted to rebroadcast this episode because our discussion on her book and specifically her approach to calendars and burnout is still some of the most practical advice we’ve had on the show. Whether you're hearing this for the first time or the second, there is a lot of gold in here. Let's jump back into my talk with Skye Waterson. If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find...
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Our Own Worst Enemy (rebroadcast)
Hacking Your ADHD
This week, we're revisiting a classic episode inspired by a late '90s pop-punk anthem: "My Own Worst Enemy" by Lit. The title of that song perfectly captures a feeling common to those with ADHD. We often feel like our own greatest obstacle, plagued by an endless supply of self-destructive behaviors stemming directly from the condition. Counterproductive manifestations like poor time management, hyper-focusing on low-priority tasks, overcommitting, and procrastination can leave us feeling incredibly frustrated. We're talking about our "worst self"—the version of us that emerges in ways we...
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Research Recap with Skye: Bullying and ADHD
Hacking Your ADHD
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 Bullying in Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, analyzing Student Social Status, and Student Teacher...
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The High Cost of Undiagnosed ADHD with Sarah Templeton
Hacking Your ADHD
Hey team, Today, we’ve got a heavy but necessary topic. We’re looking at what happens when ADHD goes unsupported and the stakes get high. In this episode, I’m joined by Sarah Templeton, a counselor, activist, and author of The Prison Counselor. Sarah spent years working inside the UK prison system before getting her own diagnosis at age 51, which led to some massive realizations about the people she was working with. In our conversation today, we look at the startling prevalence of neurodiversity in the prison population and how a lack of diagnosis fuels a cycle of reoffending. We...
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Overcoming Self-Sabotage with Dr. Judy Ho (rebroadcast)
Hacking Your ADHD
This week, we are rebroadcasting an insightful earlier episode featuring Dr. Judy Ho, a clinical and forensic neuropsychologist with a PhD in clinical psychology. She focuses on mental health, ADHD, and various psychological disorders. She is triple board-certified and is a tenured associate professor at Pepperdine University, where she teaches graduate-level psychology. In our conversation, we delve into how ADHD can impact self-esteem, the importance of understanding your brain’s wiring, and practical ways to manage attention and relationships. Dr. Ho shares insights into how...
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Research Recap with Skye: Hyperfocus in University Students
Hacking Your ADHD
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's conducted, and try and find any practical takeaways. In this episode we're gonna be discussing a paper called The Role of Executive Function in mediating the relationship between Adult ADHD symptoms and hyperfocus in university students. Now I think...
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The Over-Pathologizing of ADHD with Rae Jacobson
Hacking Your ADHD
Hey team! This week, I’m joined by Rae Jacobson, journalist, ADHD expert, and host of Hyperfocus at , to talk about how we make sense of ADHD when it feels like it’s everywhere. Rae has spent over a decade reporting on mental health and neurodiversity, and she brings that blend of research, lived experience, and sharp humor that makes big ideas actually relatable. This was honestly one of my favorite episodes that I’ve recorded this year - while Rae and I were brainstorming ideas that two ADHD podcasters could talk about, I think we hit on a very salient topic, the...
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Unapologetically ADHD with Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright (rebroadcast)
Hacking Your ADHD
As many of us navigate shifting routines and rising expectations right now, it’s a perfect time to revisit this affirming conversation with Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright. Together we unpack what it means to stop fighting yourself, lean into your strengths, and build supportive systems that make life feel lighter, not harder. A great listen if you need a dose of ADHD-friendly self-compassion this week. If you’d like to send me a question answer on the show feel free to head over to and click the orange button Support me on Ask me a question on my Find the show note at This...
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Research Recap with Skye: Video Accessibility for ADHD and What the Science Says
Hacking Your ADHD
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 another Research Recap. In this series, we explore a single research paper—what it says, how it was conducted, and what practical takeaways we can find. In this episode, we’re discussing a paper called “Shifting the Focus: Exploring Video Accessibility Strategies and Challenges for People with ADHD.” It sounds a little out there—and honestly, this paper is a bit...
info_outlineHey team!
This week, I’m joined by Rae Jacobson, journalist, ADHD expert, and host of Hyperfocus at Understood.org, to talk about how we make sense of ADHD when it feels like it’s everywhere. Rae has spent over a decade reporting on mental health and neurodiversity, and she brings that blend of research, lived experience, and sharp humor that makes big ideas actually relatable.
This was honestly one of my favorite episodes that I’ve recorded this year - while Rae and I were brainstorming ideas that two ADHD podcasters could talk about, I think we hit on a very salient topic, the over-pathologizing of ADHD within the community. While we love to find all the things that are from our ADHD, it’s also true that not everything is because of our ADHD.
In our conversation today, we dig into the ways ADHD often gets pathologized, how everything from losing your keys to getting a song stuck in your head can get blamed on ADHD, and why that can actually make it harder to understand what’s really going on. We get into “symptoms of symptoms,” the tricky overlap between ADHD and other conditions like depression and anxiety, and why community spaces like Reddit can both help and hurt when it comes to self-diagnosis. And of course, we also go down a few very ADHD side paths about clutter, shame spirals, and why having too many pens is basically a personality trait at this point.
If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/258
YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/y835cnrk
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HackingYourADHD
This Episode's Top Tips
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- When considering what is and isn’t ADHD, it’s important to remember the context of ADHD as a chronic condition - as in it’s something that we deal with all the time. Everyone is going to lose their keys every once in a while, but with ADH,D the difference is in the pattern and the impact. Without the systems I have in place to make sure my keys go into the same place every time, I would be losing them every day.
- Not everything annoying is an ADHD trait; sometimes it’s just being a human in a busy, overstimulating world. While there are a lot of comorbidities with ADHD, if we try to label everything as ADHD, we lose the ability to tell what actually needs attention. Instead of asking, “Is this ADHD?”, try asking, “Is this making my life unmanageable?” That’s the line that separates “normal chaos” from “I might need help with this.”
- But when ADHD does show up alongside things like depression, anxiety, or trauma, those conditions can feed into each other. You need to figure out who’s driving the bus. Treating the wrong “driver” means you’ll burn energy fixing the wrong problem. So before building systems or blaming ADHD, step back and ask what’s actually behind the behavior.