325 | May 2020 Q & A with Brendan Mahan, Will Curb, and MJ

Have a question for the brain trust?  Listen as Eric Tivers with his guests Brendan Mahan, Will Curb and MJ answer questions from the listeners in our monthly Q & A session of ADHD reWired. We are taking questions from you, the listener, about situations you want to talk through. It doesn't matter if it's personal or professional; we are here to give you our perspective and see if we can help you find some answers. 

We start the episode out with Erica asking what self-care means and when it is numbing instead of self-care. Eric shares that anything that restores health and wellbeing is self-care. Another listener asks about when something takes you off a task, what mental strategies he can use to resume the not so fun duties. Susan wants to know how to quell the agitation of waiting. Eric says to focus on the things you can control and influence, and boredom is the birthplace of creativity.

Tyler discusses a late in life ADHD diagnosis, and Cheryl wants to know some alternatives to medication for focus, attention, and alertness. Melissa would like to know how to make herself get out of her chair in the evening to take her pills and brush her teeth. Ella wants to know how to stop losing things like her keys and glasses all the time.

Steve makes the best chocolate, per Eric, and was in the middle of a significant expansion of his company Freespir when the coronavirus hit. He is having trouble dealing with the chaos of not knowing when he can resume, and it's hard on his mental health. The guys suggested that he make chocolate gift bags and take them to first responders and other people in his community to keep him busy and brighten their days.

Brendan shares that we are in the middle of a pandemic. It is ok to feel frustrated, lost, and tired. Everyone is feeling the same way and waiting to get back to our daily lives is increasing frustration. Practice your self-care, exercise, get plenty of rest, and try to stop stressing. We all need to remember that this too shall pass and try to learn something from it.

Your Resources:

• ADHD Essentials Podcast with Brendan Mahan
• Hacking Your ADHD with William Curb

You'll Learn:

• [02:00] Welcome to our monthly Q & A with Will Curb, Brendan Mahan, and MJ.
• [03:43] Erica asks, what does self-care mean?
• [04:38] Eric says that things that restore health and wellbeing are self-care.
• [05:33] Brendan shares his thoughts on self-care and what SHRED means.
• [07:28] Are massages a luxury or self-care?
• [09:17] Will speaks about self-care and the difference between numbing and self-care.
• [12:03] Trang has a question about when something takes us off task what mental strategies can we use to disengage to resume not such fun duties.
• [13:15] Eric says the first thing is to realize that you are off track and pause.
• [14:25] Will shares some helpful tips to use to get back on track.
• [15:55] Brendan speaks about what he does to stay on task.
• [18:58] Susan asks how do you quell the agitation of waiting.
• [19:47] Will says the anticipation of being bored is worse than waiting.
• [20:59] Brendan speaks about how he plans for waiting.
• [23:11] Focus on the things you can control and influence.
• [24:16] Boredom is the birthplace of creativity.
• [25:23] Tyler wants to know how people who received a diagnosis late in life pivot and move forward.
• [32:08] Tyler speaks about the pain points he is having.
• [34:45] What are the things that are getting in your way right now?
• [36:38] Brendan shares what he did to figure out if he wanted to do ADHD Essentials.
• [39:01] Eric discusses therapy and coaching for Tyler.
• [40:44] Brendan shares a new, better sleep assessment tool.
• [43:21] Cheryl asks what other treatments besides medication are suitable for focus, attention, alertness, and energy.
• [43:58] Why are you looking for alternatives? 
• [44:28] Eric says he is 100% pro trying medication.
• [46:38] Exercise is one of the top things that you can do with ADHD.
• [47:43] Brendan's SHRED model encompasses everything that you need.
• [48:43] Melissa wants advice on self-activating in the evening instead of lounging.
• [50:47] Eric says to have realistic expectations of what you can accomplish in the evenings.
• [52:13] What can you prep, so it's easy for you to get things done?
• [54:14] As an alternative, Brendan suggests having something far away from you go off, so you have to get up to stop it from happening.
• [1:00:35] Steve shares that he is having trouble getting a new routine in this chaos and feeling tired all the time.
• [1:02:50] Steve speaks about trying to manage during the pandemic and waiting for funds from the government.
• [1:04:17] Are you able to produce your product?
• [1:05:06] Eric is trying to come up with ideas on how Steve can move forward with everything in New Jersey being shut down from COVID-19.
• [1:07:11] Brendan shares the trauma of this pandemic is bringing people down and making them tired and restless.
• [1:09:30] Do you have something that you can do to help people?
• [1:10:21] Steve is feeling recharged, thinking of how he can help first responders with his chocolate.
• [1:12:42] Ella wants suggestions on how to stop misplacing objects like glasses.
• [1:12:58] Brendan says he loses items because he doesn't realize he has put them down. Be mindful of where you put things.
• [1:13:48] Eric says that Tile is the best invention for when you misplace something.
• [1:17:15] Thank you, everyone, for listening!
• [1:18:05] If you're a regular listener, consider becoming a patron and on our Patreon at www.ADHDreWired.com

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