Breaking Down Tasks and Big Feelings with Vanessa Gorelkin
Release Date: 03/17/2025
Late Diagnosis and Letting Go with H.H. Rune
Hacking Your ADHD
Hey Team! This week I'm talking with H.H. Rune, a Pacific Northwest-based author whose writing explores neurodivergence, identity, and rediscovering meaning in everyday life. Rune was diagnosed with ADHD at 52 after decades of feeling like she was just "bad at life"—something I know I’ve felt a lot of in my own journey. In our conversation today, we talk through the emotional processing of a late diagnosis—Rune describes it as going through the five stages of grief—and how she’s reshaped her relationship with herself, her work, and the people around her. Rune also shares the...
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Find the ADHD Girls with Cynthia Hammer
Hacking Your ADHD
This week I’m joined again by Cynthia Hammer, founder of ADD Resources, the Inattentive ADHD Coalition, and more recently, FINDtheADHDgirls. Cynthia’s been a driving force in ADHD advocacy since the 90s and continues to be one of the loudest and clearest voices calling for earlier, more accurate diagnoses—especially for girls. In our chat, we talked about how inattentive ADHD often slips through the cracks, especially in school settings, and how often many of us end up masking so well that even parents and teachers miss the signs. And since inattentive ADHD is predominantly seen in...
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The Creative Path to Finding Your Authentic Self with Jacob Nordby
Hacking Your ADHD
Hey team! Today I’m talking with Jacob Nordby—author, creative mentor, and founder of the Institute for Creative Living. Jacob’s work blends personal development, creativity, and storytelling to help people live more aligned and authentic lives. In our conversation, we talk about his late ADHD diagnosis and how that shaped his journey to finding his authentic self. We explore the challenges of masking, the struggle of figuring out who you really are after years of trying to fit in, and how journaling, self-discovery tools, and embracing curiosity can help peel back those layers. We also...
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Research and Fluctuating Focus with Dr. Maggie Sibley
Hacking Your ADHD
This week I’m talking with Dr. Maggie Sibley, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Sibley has spent over two decades studying ADHD, and is author or co-author of over 120 research papers on the topic. And she is the author of Parent-Teen Therapy for Executive Function Deficits and ADHD: Building Skills and Motivation. So recently, when I was working on the newsletter for the show, I came across an article about ADHD titled "Study describes fluctuations, remissions seen with ADHD,” and that felt like it was worth investigating more....
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Living Right Side Out with Andy J. Pizza
Hacking Your ADHD
Hey Team! This week we’ve got a really fun episode, I’m talking with ANDY J. PIZZA - well that was weird… Let’s try that again - ANDY J. PIZZA - All right, let’s just go with it. Andy is a podcaster, illustrator, and creative thinker who’s built a career by embracing the parts of himself that used to feel like liabilities. Andy’s the host of Creative Pep Talk, and his Right Side Out podcast series dives into what happens when you stop trying to pass for neurotypical and start living a little more like yourself. Andy was diagnosed in his twenties, and his experience navigating...
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Navigating ADHD and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria with Jessica Summers
Hacking Your ADHD
Hey Team! Today I’m talking with Jessica Summers, a seasoned hypno-psychotherapist and the mind behind Hypnogenics. Jessica brings a unique blend of hypnotherapy and intuitive coaching, specifically tailored for individuals grappling with ADHD, autism, and high sensitivity. With her dual expertise in hypno-psychotherapy and energy coaching, Jessica has become a beacon for those seeking alternative therapeutic approaches. Now, I know the idea of hypnotherapy is not for everyone, and while traditional use of hypnotherapy is not specifically targeted for ADHD, it has been used to manage...
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The Optimization Trap with Jaye Lin
Hacking Your ADHD
This week I’m talking with Jaye Lin — ADHD podcaster and community builder — who brings a uniquely grounded perspective on what it actually takes to work with our brains instead of constantly trying to outsmart them. I got to know Jaye at the 2024 ADHD Conference in Anaheim, where we met at a party hosted by the Attention Different crew (that’s an upcoming podcast with them as well). It was great because I had already been introduced to Jaye through her excellent podcast on Tips From an ADHD Coach on the MissUnderstood: ADHD in Women channel. And it turns out she’s been a long-time...
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You Might Also Like: Climbing the Walls from Understood.org
Hacking Your ADHD
In this episode, we’re doing something a little different. I want to play you an episode of another show that I think you will like. It’s called Climbing the Walls. This 6-part series investigates why women with ADHD have gone undiagnosed for so long… and how that changed dramatically during the pandemic, when the diagnosis of ADHD in women skyrocketed. The show asks: why women? Why now? How has underdiagnosis impacted women’s mental health? I checked out the first episode, and I know I’m supposed to say something professional here, but honestly, my first thoughts were, “Oh my god,...
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Late Diagnosis & Self-Compassion, Rethinking your ADHD with Kate Moryoussef
Hacking Your ADHD
Hey Team! Today's episode is all about navigating ADHD as a late-diagnosed adult—especially for women who have spent years pushing through life without realizing why things felt so much harder. I’m talking with Kate Moryoussef, a UK-based ADHD coach who was diagnosed at 40 and has since made it her mission to help women work with their brains, not against them. She hosts The ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Podcast and her upcoming book is The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Toolkit, where she dives deep into strategies for managing ADHD beyond just productivity hacks. In this conversation, we get into the...
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Meditation Misconceptions and ADHD Realities with Kelly Smith
Hacking Your ADHD
Hey Team! In this episode, I'm sitting down with Kelly Smith, a yoga and meditation teacher who has ADHD herself and has guided over 23 million meditations through her incredibly popular podcast, Mindful In Minutes. Kelly walks us through why meditation is especially beneficial for the ADHD brain, what to realistically expect from starting a meditation practice, and how even just a few minutes a day can sharpen your focus, reduce impulsivity, and make executive functioning a bit less exhausting. We explore practical advice on how to start meditating, even when you’re convinced it’s not...
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This week I’m talking with Vanessa Gorelkin, a seasoned occupational therapist and ADHD coach who’s been working in the field for nearly 30 years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brandeis (Bran-Dice) University and a Master's degree in Occupational Therapy from New York University. She specializes in executive function strategies, emotional regulation, and anxiety management, and she brings a unique perspective to helping adults with ADHD navigate the day-to-day.
In this episode, we talk about why people with ADHD struggle with even the things they want to do, how anxiety and executive dysfunction team up to make life extra frustrating, and why strategies that work for a while inevitably stop working. We also dig into emotional regulation, how to break down tasks so they actually feel doable, and why giving yourself a crisis plan before you need it can make a huge difference.
If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/215
This Episode's Top Tips
1. If something feels overwhelming, try breaking it down into micro-steps. Even something like getting out of bed can be broken into “sit up,” “put feet on the floor,” and “stand up.” In more practical ways, we could think of this as starting out as just opening the document you need to work on, adding the formatting, and starting your first sentence. The idea is you want to build momentum and go with the flow.
2. Be mindful of language; words like "just" and "should" can be damaging. Instead of “I should just wash the dishes,” you can reframe it as “I could wash the dishes,” and then also if you need a little bit more asking yourself, “What’s making this difficult, and how can I work with it?”
3. It’s important to have a crisis plan ready before you need it. When emotional overwhelm hits, it’s hard to think through what you need. You can pre-plan strategies like a weighted blanket, a favorite show, or calling a friend so you don’t have to figure it out at the moment.