381 | Resilience and Loss with Christian Morrow

"When you look at entrepreneurs, some of the most successful people in this world come from broken homes and troubled childhoods and poverty, and it’s because they’ve been able to navigate adversity and they’re so good at it." Listen as your host Eric Tivers and his guest Christian Morrow discuss growing up with ADHD, facing disease and addiction and depression in parents, and how Christian has and continues to work through the events of his life on this episode of ADHD reWired.

Diagnosed with ADHD as a child, Christian has learned to navigate both a personal and professional life, as well as cope with tragedy in his personal life. More recently, he was also diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and his father passed away at age 64. He couldn’t enjoy his early 20s like most other young adults and found himself having to get organized and grow up really quickly just as he was about to finish college. His plans for grad school and his life were even put on hold for a while.

From dealing with a parent with an addiction to the loss of a parent to suicide while he was in college, Christian has developed a new perspective about life, resiliency, and self-discovery. Now, he currently works in higher education where he recruits for Miami University and deals directly with respective college students, counselors, and faculty every semester. He’s also just graduated from grad school and has a home and a 4-year-old girl with his fiancée.

Listen as Christian shares his experiences as a child with ADHD and the effect of his dad’s leukemia and addiction and his mother’s depression in his life from elementary school through college. He also reveals the difficulty he faced in trying to complete his education during some traumatic events involving his parents, discusses handling the aftermath of his mother’s death, and talks about how he continues to process what has happened in his life.

You'll learn:

• [02:47] Welcome to the show, Christian!
• [04:50] How did Adderall and Strattera affect Christian?
• [06:54] A leukemia diagnosis for his dad in 1995 triggered the start of Christian’s hectic life.
• [09:02] Christian’s dad traded in his family for his addiction.
• [10:24] Christian discusses the beginning point of his mother’s depression.
• [12:24] After a period of rehabilitation, Christian’s dad moved back in with his son and ex-wife.
• [14:40] Why has Christian always preferred writing in cursive over print?
• [16:07] Miami U delivered a letter to Christian that kicked things into high gear.
• [24:31] For a few years, Christian was living two lives as a college student and a caretaker.
• [25:47] Christian discusses his OCD as a trauma response.
• [27:01] What was it about teaching middle schoolers that turned Christian off?
• [28:47] On the morning of April 10, 2015, Christian got some bad news from his dad.
• [31:17] Christian became the executor of his mom’s estate at age 22.
• [33:05] What kind of strategies helped Christian get organized?
• [38:23] ADHD is never just on an island by itself. It’s part of the greater picture of life.
• [39:55] Christian’s already done so much at age 29, and he’s often told he has an old soul.
• [42:01] How does Christian continue to process the events of his life?
• [44:32] Christian has felt obligated to take care of others, but how does he take care of himself?
• [46:05] If you’ve recently found out you have ADHD or are struggling with it, Christian offers this advice.
• [48:38] Christian has this thing about not starting anything unless he knows he’ll win or be successful beforehand.
• [50:27] How did his own upbringing shape Christian as a dad now?
• [53:16] To wrap up the show, Christian shares what he thinks listeners should take away from this conversation.
• [55:10] If you are a regular listener, consider becoming a patron by clicking on our Patreon tab at  www.ADHDreWired.com.