ADHD reWired is excited to welcome Dusty Exner to the show. Dusty is an ADHD coach, mother, and musician from Vancouver B.C. She was formerly the front person for the punk rock band Kill Matilda. Dusty is one of the founders of girls rock camp La Paz in Baha, California. She lives in a suburb of Vancouver with her husband, daughter Melanie Sue, bird Professor, and dog Hemingway.

Dusty discusses being diagnosed with ADHD, touring with her band and living in a van, and the fact that she is trying to get used to being successful with her coaching business. She tells us she is still interested in music, and they have talked about getting the band back together, but she doesn't know what that will look like at this time.

She talks about being a mom, and all the struggles that you have to fight through with ADHD. Dusty chats about strategies to use when you feel that you are not present with your kids and how to practice self-compassion. Remember, it's the little moments you get each day with your children that matter, take advantage of those times. 

If you are struggling with ADHD, your career, and your family, this is the episode for you. Listen in as Dusty lays it all out, how she handles it, and some tips and tricks to make it easier for you. You won't want to miss this discussion so plugin, sit back, and get ready to be wowed.

You'll Learn:

• [03:16] Welcome to the show, Dusty.
• [04:41] Dusty talks about when she was diagnosed with ADHD.
• [05:09] What did he see that made him think you had ADHD?
• [05:51] She talks about living in a van and touring with her band and dog.
• [09:17] Dusty says she is trying to get used to the idea of being successful and talks about building her coaching business.
• [13:16] She plays the banjo now but is still involved in music. She and her husband are talking about getting the band back together.
• [15:49] Dusty discusses her husband and his background in music and her ability to raise money.
• [17:46] She believes that her ADHD caused her to fail at music the first time because it was so hard to settle down to practice.
• [20:43] Dusty talks about missing being in a band and how ADHD affected it.
• [30:04] They speak about instruments and which one Eric plays.
• [32:11] Eric tells Dusty about the song he wrote for the conference.
• [34:52] Eric talks about a blog post that he read about having children and how difficult it is to make time for them.
• [37:21] What strategies do you use to take the time to play with your kids?
• [40:24] She discusses how she worked around being a new mom with starting her new business and everything else she does with ADHD.
• [42:51] When you find yourself not being present with your daughter, how do you practice self-compassion?
• [49:04] When do you feel successful with ADHD? 
• [50:13] They talk about the book The Success Principles by Jack Canfield.
• [51:28] Dusty chats about her degree in Anthropology.
• [56:15] Is imposter syndrome real? Have you ever felt it?
• [59:03] Dusty talks about how she coaches people and their relationship to money.
• [01:01:57] Thank you so much for being on the show, Dusty!

Links and Resources

• Dusty Exner
• @dustyexner
• Twitter | Instagram
• @vancouverADHDcoaching
• Facebook
• Dusty’s Blog
• The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
• You Are A Badass At Making Money by Jen Sincero

ADHD reWired is excited to welcome Natalie Walker to the show. Natalie is a professional musician and just released her new EP in September, which was her first since 2015. This Colorado-based singer has seen many changes in the last four years, from parting with her longtime label to being diagnosed with ADHD. Natalie has learned to embrace her different brain and has opened up about the challenges that have come from being a young, awkward kid with ADHD, learning how to navigate a thriving creative path to adulthood.

Eric and Natalie discuss music, albums, and writing songs. Natalie tells us what she's been up to since her last album dropped in 2015 and her new EP in September, why she likes Instagram but dislikes Facebook, and how to make Instagram do the marketing for this podcast. Natalie speaks about starting her label and her inability to do the bookkeeping herself.

Have you ever looked at your financials and been ashamed? Natalie discusses seeing her and feeling like a failure, how her scarcity mindset tells her she will never be rich, and all the problems she feels come with having large amounts of money. They talk about getting a financial planner and a bookkeeper, don't stress yourself out over something you aren't good at instead concentrate on what your strengths are and let someone else handle the rest.

Listen as Eric and Natalie talk about issues surrounding money, how financial advisors can help, and where to get referrals. Have you listened to Natalie's music? Her new song Starry Eyed Kids closes out this episode, it's the latest single off of her recently released EP Evenfall. You won't want to miss this behind the scenes look at a successful musician with ADHD and her struggles with money.

You'll Learn:

• [02:21] Welcome to the show, Natalie.
• [03:27] Eric talks about writing an original song for the ADHD conference and the hardest parts of writing and singing the song.
• [06:38] Natalie tells us she doesn't play an instrument and sing because it is to difficult. She starts with a feeling when she writes.
• [07:48] She speaks about what happened between her 2015 album and the one she just released.
• [10:43] She chats about starting a patreon last year.
• [12:21] Natalie talks about her opposition to Facebook and the chaos that it contains.
• [15:05] Do you understand Instagram? Do you like to engage in that way?
• [23:34] She tells us she started her label and chats about why she did it and her anxiety around doing the books.
• [26:09] Should she hire an accountant or learn to do it herself?
• [29:57] Natalie discusses her inability to manage her finances and how it makes her feel ashamed.
• [34:04] Her mindset is that she will never be rich, she feels afraid of money and the financial mistakes she could potentially make.
• [35:05] Do you have a financial advisor? Do you have a scarcity mindset?
• [38:30] Natalie says that she had no models for managing money when she was growing up. She wasn't good at math in school, so she stays away from it.
• [42:56] Ask a friend or coworker if they have a financial advisor and if they would recommend them.
• [45:05] Natalie says there is so much noise around money, and she can't shut her mind off.
• [48:24] She wants to know when Eric got a financial advisor and how he went about it.
• [54:42] What makes a bookkeeper that handles the music industry different than a regular bookkeeper?
• [59:45] Eric is talking about making Natalie accountable for reaching out to her network to ask for help finding a bookkeeper and financial advisor.
• [01:03:15] Making money making music is the dream for Natalie.
• [01:04:07] Thank you to all of our patreons that support this podcast you have no idea how much it is appreciated.
• [01:07:31] Starry Eyed Kids off her new EP take us out.

Links and Resources:

• Natalie Walker
• Evenfall
• @nataliewalkeris
• Twitter
• @nataliewalkermusic
• Facebook | Instagram 
• Spotify
• Patreon

Today's episode is our monthly Q & A session with guests Brendan Mahan and Will Curb. We are taking questions from you the listener about situations that 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 are discussing time blindness and why people don't allow themselves enough time to get where they are going without being late. Ways to remind ourselves what we need to take with us before we are in the car and strategies to help teenagers understand time restrictions. 

Eric, Brendan, and Will talk about the different types of behavior therapy and compare DBT for ADHD and CBT. The unknowns with CBD because it isn't regulated, the connection between ADHD and sleeplessness plus some strategies that might help you get some rest. Reducing screen time before bed is essential so we can shut down our brains and let them take a break from information gathering.

Our monthly Q & A sessions are a great way for us to talk to listeners and hash out things they are wondering about. If you have a question, please feel free to email us at ADHDRewired.com, and we will try to give suggestions on ways to handle whatever it is.

Listen in to this episode and see if the questions asked and answered are possibly things you have been wondering about. These entertaining friends can solve the pressing issues with an optimism that will leave you asking for more.

Your Resources:

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

You'll Learn:

• [02:24] Welcome to the show Brendan and Will for our monthly Q & A.
• [03:45] Our listener asks a question about time blindness.
• [04:20] Have you been able to make any improvements? What strategies have you put in place, so you are on time?
• [06:10] Do you tell yourself something will take you ten minutes, but it takes much longer?
• [09:13] Have a plan for what to do when you get there if you are early.
• [11:30] Why do we only remember things when we are getting in the car to leave?
• [13:02] How do we remind ourselves much earlier? What can I use to jog my mind before?
• [23:29] What are some strategies to use when teens with ADHD that have time blindness?
• [28:12] Making things much worse than they are, magnifying things. A listener wants approaches to stop doing this.
• [37:95] Ryan asks, how well does DBT work with ADHD compared to CBT?
• [42:26] They discuss CBD oil for sleep and to relax muscles.
• [45:41] ADHD and lack of sleep seem to go hand in hand and strategies that can help. Eric gives examples of what he had to do at his house.
• [54:27] A listener asks about reducing screen time and what counts as screen time.
• [01:01:04] If you're a regular listener, consider becoming a patron and on our Patreon at www.ADHDreWired.com

Use my Audible.com affiliate link for your favorite titles:
http://www.audibletrial.com/ADHDreWired

ADHD reWired Coaching and Accountability Groups (ArC)
Fall Sessions for ADHD reWired Coaching and Accountability Groups are coming. ArC 18, run October 4 – Dec. 20. Registration is by invitation only. Please visit coachingrewired.com to learn more. Click the yellow button at coachingrewired.com to get added to the invite list.

Support the Podcast on Patreon
Patreon allows listeners like you to support content creators like me. With a monthly contribution, you can get access to different levels of perks. One perk example is our Patron-only Group Coaching Sessions. Learn more at http://patreon.com/adhdrewired.

ADHD reWired Facebook Group:
If you would like to apply to join the ADHD reWired Secret Facebook group, go to https://www.adhdrewired.com/community and fill out the application.

Productivity Q&A
Get your ADHD questions answered live! These Q&A sessions take place on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 12:30 PM CT. Go to https://www.adhdrewired.com/events

Want to be a guest?
Hey! What about you? Do you have a story? Are you a coach? Are you an ADHD Clinician? If you answered yes to any of these questions and you’d like to be a guest, schedule a pre-interview call here.

Eric's guest on this episode of ADHD reWired is Elaine Birchall. Elaine is a social worker and a hoarding behavior and intervention specialist. She is the director of Birchall Consulting and is dedicated to helping those with hoarding behaviors to learn to manage their possessions and vulnerabilities. She founded the Canadian National Hoarding Coalition and hosted the weekly Voice America radio show Take Back Your Life When Things are Taking Over and many other things.

Elaine describes hoarding as a disorder that leads to excessive accumulations of stuff, some or all of your living spaces are not useable because of things and stress or impairment of functioning because there are piles of stuff. You might say to people I am a bit of a hoarder, but unless the symptoms repeatedly occur, consistently and extend over some time, it's probably not hoarding. The younger a person is when diagnosed with the disorder, the better the chance of recovery is.

For some people decluttering a room is very difficult. Elaine gives us tips and tricks to keep it from taking so long. The key to a list is keeping it close by, you don't want to look for it, or you might get sidetracked, and the whole hampster on a wheel things starts over.

Elaine tells us to set three goals every day to get your decluttering done and still have time to do what you want. She talks about her scaling system so you can decide how to categorize the items you need to get rid of. Can you rip your house apart and get it all done in one day? Elaine says to find out how much energy you have and do a task that matches it. Don't have the power to do a 15 min job, but try to handle an hour's situation. It won't work. 

Listen to this fantastic conversation, and if any of this sounds like you or someone you know. You never know when you may have an ah-ha moment. Take notes, phone a friend, or just sit back and plugin but you won't want to miss this episode.

You'll Learn:

• [03:04] Elaine, welcome to the show!
• [03:47] They chat about hoarding confoundedness and vulnerabilities.
• [04:21] Elaine, how did you get into specializing in hoarding?
• [07:52] There are three criteria of hoarding. Elaine defines and explains them.
• [12:21] Hoarding and ADHD can have very similar rules.
• [14:35] It needs to be repeated, consistent, and extend over some time before you can call it hoarding.
• [15:53] When diagnosed early, it is easier to recover than if you wait, and the groove gets more profound, then you can only manage it.
• [22:32] What triggers the hoarding disorder? What is the Path?
• [27:33] Being in control of a part of your life gives you peace like a clean.
• [29:51] Don't put it down, put it away!
• [30:19] Catch yourself when you say I'll pick it up later. Tell yourself, do it now.
• [31:58] The trick is to take a second, hold the thing in your hand, and ask yourself if I was looking for you where you would be?
• [32:44] Two ways to remediate the clutter is the swiss cheese method or pick a spot and start in a corner and work your way around.
• [35:27] Externalize the message so that it occupies time and space. A chalkboard list or a list on your phone.
• [38:01] Set three goals every day (1) Have joy, fun, and play (2) remind yourself that you are a developing human being (3) Legitimate work.
• [41:48] Elaine explains her rule of three.
• [42:27] Elaine talks about her scaling system around clutter.
• [44:02] Can you rip your house apart and do the whole thing in one day?
• [44:48] Gage how much fuel you have and find a job that matches that.
• [49:24] Elaine runs two support groups for hoarding, but she is preparing to do an online group also.
• [51:32] Elaine gives us some tools to use on how to approach someone with this disorder.
• [52:06] Get Elaine’s book, it is designed to fill the gap if you aren’t getting help.
• [54:31] If you're a regular listener, consider becoming a patron and on our Patreon at www.ADHDreWired.com

Links and Resources

• Elaine Birchall Website
• Elaine’s Book - Conquer the Clutter: Strategies to Identify, Manage and Overcome Hoarding
• Elaine on
  Linkedin | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube