Navigating ADHD and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria with Jessica Summers
Release Date: 04/28/2025
Research Recap with Skye: Late Diagnosis of Women in Sweden
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. And today I’m joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series. In these episodes, 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. Today we’re going to be discussing a paper called Time after time: Failure to identify and support females with ADHD – a Swedish population register study As...
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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. In this episode we’re going to be continuing our Research Recaps with Skye Waterson 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 the Default Mode Network As this is a new series, we’re going to be figuring out what works and what doesn’t,...
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Research Recap with Skye: Emotional Regulation
Hacking Your ADHD
Hey team welcome to another episode of Hacking Your ADHD Im your host, William Curb and this week we’re starting a new series on the show, Research Recaps with Skye Waterson. In this series we’re going to be taking a look at a single research paper and diving into what the paper says, how it was conducted and any practical take aways. In this first episode of the series we’re going to be exploring a paper called Emotional regulation as a core symptom of ADHD. As this is a new series we’re going to be figuring out what works and what doesn’t and I’d love to hear what...
info_outlineHey 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 symptoms associated with ADHD, such as anxiety and stress management. So there's less direct research on hypnotherapy solely for ADHD symptom management, but it may help improve focus, reduce impulsivity, and enhance executive function through relaxation and stress reduction techniques - all stuff we’ll get into during the conversation. I just wanted to make sure I was up front about everything and didn’t want anyone to feel like I was being misleading with where there science currently stands.
But really, the episode has a lot of focus on rejection-sensitive dysphoria (RSD), and while I know there are a lot of people who really resonate with this topic, it is again something that does not have a ton of research behind it yet. In the conversation, we explore this through the lens of the limbic system and how managing this brain region can profoundly impact ADHD symptoms and how we can work on helping deal with those RSD symptoms as well.
I got a lot out of this conversation and felt Jessica’s perspective was enlightening, offering actionable advice and novel therapeutic options that could lead to a bit more balance to your ADHD treatment.
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If you'd life to follow along on the show notes page you can find that at HackingYourADHD.com/220
This Episode's Top Tips
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- Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) is an intense emotional reaction to perceived or actual rejection, criticism, or failure, often experienced as sudden and overwhelming shame, panic, or sadness. It’s not just discomfort with rejection—it’s a limbic-driven response that can feel physically painful and can lead to avoidance, emotional outbursts, or withdrawal.
- We can think of the limbic system as the emotional and threat-processing part of the brain — it’s responsible for detecting danger and activating the fight, flight, or freeze response. But for people with ADHD (and especially those experiencing RSD), that system often gets stuck on high alert.
- When thinking about working on retraining your limbic system understand that it isn’t a quick fix and that it can take dedicated, intense work that isn’t always ADHD friendly. Focus on working using gentle, daily practices to create safety in your body, working on understanding your nervous system, and offering yourself neutral truths instead of judgment (such as “New things can feel uncomfortable sometimes”). The goal isn’t to override the response with willpower — it’s to help your brain feel safe enough to listen.