This week Dr Hallowell explores some of the ways in which society can perceive people as being different, when they are actually just working to be themselve. Kim Sabate is a transgender woman who was born in the Phillipines and endured a difficult upbringing, stuck between wanting to be herself and the culture of her home at the time. Kim is incredibly open as she describes the many challenges she has faced in becoming her true self, including moving to a new country, difficult relationships and a new career.

Show Notes

Podcast: Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different
Episode: Kim Sabate

Welcome to Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different, a podcast hosted by Dr. Ned Hallowell! Here, we learn more about the incredible world of differences that enrich us and make us human. Through interviews with guests from various backgrounds, Dr. Hallowell helps to uncover and celebrate the different ways people have of approaching life, solving problems, and having fun. Today Dr. Hallowell is joined by Kim Sabate all the way from Scotland. Listen as Kim and Dr. Hallowell talk about her story as a transgender and the different challenges she has faced and overcome.

Kim begins by sharing her story of growing up as a transgender and some of the challenges that came, specifically in her home and at school. In high school, Kim decided to come out as transgender and shares how her parents struggled with this choice and shares how the lack of support from her family was very difficult. Growing up in the Philippines, the word transgender for Kim was not a common word and was something often discriminated against. However, despite the lack of support, she continued her journey and went to a university for a psychology degree where she finally felt accepted. After graduating, Kim began the journey in the workplace and shares some struggles she faced and how she overcame them through securing a job as a marketing specialist.

Next, Kim shares about her move to the UK in her search for good doctors and hormone replacements as well as entering the world of dating. This move brought many ups and downs, and Kim opens up about her current process of going through a divorce. She discusses the several reasons for this choice and points out how the relationship had brought up past struggles of not being accepted and feeling like she could be herself. These feelings can have a long-term impact on self-esteem and shares about how she has had to work through these. Kim closes by talking about her next steps in restarting her life and the hope that she has for the future along with her involvement in the pride network.

Links:
If you have a comment about this episode or a suggestion for a future episode, send it to different@hallowellcenter.org!

Dr Hallowell’s guest this week is Tracy Otsuka, host of the popular “ADHD for Smart Ass Women” podcast, currently at over 1 million downloads. Her Facebook group of the same name seeks to provide a strength-focused forum for women. Tracy has had a rich and varied career including practicing law, high end clothing design, and being an ADHD coach. Listen in to hear how she has used her creative strengths and why she values her ADHD brain.

Show Notes

Podcast: Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different

Episode: The Wonderful World of Tracy Otsuka

Welcome to Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different,  a podcast hosted by Dr. Ned Hallowell! Here, we learn more about the incredible world of differences that enrich us and make us human. Through interviews with guests from various backgrounds, Dr. Hallowell helps to uncover and celebrate the different ways people have of approaching life, solving problems, and having fun. Today, Dr. Hallowell is joined by Tracy Otsuka, Georgetown Law graduate, lawyer, and developer of a high-end women’s wear company whose clients included Saks, Neiman’s, and Nordstrom. She is also the host of ADHD for Smartass Women, a podcast for brilliant, driven, high-ability ADHD women who see their symptoms as more positive than negative.

As the conversation gets underway, Tracy shares the wonderful thing that makes her different is that she has no fear. She follows her curiosity and finds the desire to learn makes any kind of failure for it. It may not work out, but will it become a great cocktail conversation? Tracy finds it difficult to go by the rules because she’s also looking to make things better and fix them. That’s her difference in group spaces.Differences can be an advantage not only in life but also in business. If you’re practicing your strengths in a supportive environment, Tracy says the sky’s the limit. Employers are starting to understand that top grades and high test scores aren’t the measures for job success that we all thought they were.

Tracy’s niche in the ADHD space is focused on women and positivity. She is an eternal optimist and says that she wanted to create a space for women with ADHD that was strength focused. Her podcast and Facebook group were made and she, along with a group of volunteers work to approve each post so it stays a positive space. Tracy says that in general women struggle more than men with ADHD because of all the social requirements put upon them. Adult women are the largest group of undiagnosed people, women fear that they won’t be believed when seeking help about ADHD, and many doctors aren’t prepared to diagnose people with the disorder. Advocating for yourself and getting diagnosed can bring rebirth; they are one diagnosis from a whole new life.

Links:

Learn more about Tracy Otsuka and listen to her podcast, ADHD for Smartass Women

If you have a comment about this episode or a suggestion for a future episode, send it to different@hallowellcenter.org!

Today Dr Hallowell gets the chance to go down-under in Australia where Vivian Dunstan, a devoted mother and teacher, identified her own difference as ADHD when her daughter was diagnosed. She took the diagnosis as an opportunity to bring resources and support to others through founding “ADHD Support Australia”. Describing her own experience and symptoms like “time blindness”, she demonstrates how people can harness their difference, rather than see it as a deficit. She is driven by a desire to bring success to others with ADHD and show people how changing their perspective can bring positive outcomes. We hope you enjoy this fun and informative conversation.

Show Notes

Podcast: Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different

Episode: The Wonderful World of Vivian Dunstan

Welcome to Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different,  a podcast hosted by Dr. Ned Hallowell! Here, we learn more about the incredible world of differences that enrich us and make us human. Through interviews with guests from various backgrounds, Dr. Hallowell helps to uncover and celebrate the different ways people have of approaching life, solving problems, and having fun. Today, we’re traveling across the globe to Australia for a conversation with guest Vivian Dunstan, one of the country’s leading rabble rousers, organizers, cheerleaders, educators.  More specifically, she is the founder of ADHD Support Australia, who not only lives with ADHD (undiagnosed until her fifties), but also has a daughter with ADHD.

As the conversation gets underway, Vivian shares about herself and her background, going into detail about her experience with ADHD.  She didn’t expect to be diagnosed with ADHD, but she can see signs in her history that make more sense in light of the diagnosis.  For instance, she long experienced what she calls time-blindness, which is common for people with ADHD.  She describes herself as a time optimist and a productive procrastinator, and while her tendencies can have negative effects like stress and chronic tardiness, she has learned to not only establish structures (like deadlines) to manage difficulties, but also to celebrate the positive side of her ADHD.  Given the way her mind works, Vivian has many ideas and a great deal of passion and drive.  Receiving her diagnosis didn’t fundamentally change anything, but it has helped her to better understand what she’s working with and to be kinder to herself in frustrating moments,

Vivian has put a lot of thought not only into living well with ADHD, but also into holistic healthy living on a broader scale.  Her now-grown daughter has had many health issues along with ADHD, and raising her daughter led Vivian to a holistic path.  She developed interests in gut health, epigenetics (how genes can express themselves), and much more.  Now, given her knowledge and passion, Vivian is the perfect person to spearhead support for those in her community with ADHD – something she considers a trait, not a deficit or disorder.  In her work with ADHD Support Australia, she helps facilitate conversation and answer questions, but also provides more formal training.  She offers an online course for parents that starts with foundational pieces like the need for self-care, and draws on the work of Ross Greene to help parents relate effectively with their children.  As the episode wraps up, Vivian comments on the role of medicine, her optimism when people receive a formal ADHD diagnosis, courses on social skills and dating, and programs for young adults and teens.

Links:

Learn more about Vivian Dunstan and ADHD Support Australia.

Learn more about Ross Greene and read his books, The Explosive Child and Lost at School.

If you have a comment about this episode or a suggestion for a future episode, send it to different@hallowellcenter.org!

This week Dr Hallowell talks with Kristin Seymour. Kristin shares how she has been working as a nurse practitioner with patients suffering from heart and vascular concerns, but of late her passion has shifted towards those who think differently. Kristin’s passion for ADHD was catalyzed forward through authoring a book on ADHD, The Fog Lifted A Clinician’s Victorious Journey With ADHD. Kristin’s own experience of living with ADHD has proven to be the best source of wisdom for her to offer others. She shares about the pros and cons of having ADHD, how sometimes the best parts can also be the worst. From having quick wit, to being extremely innovative, and caring about other people, Kristin sheds light on the different aspects these qualities can bring to people’s lives.

Show Notes

Podcast: Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different

Episode: 8 The Wonderful World of Kristin Seymour

Tune in to this episode of Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different, a podcast hosted by Dr. Ned Hallowell. Learn more about the incredible world of differences that enrich us and make us human. Through various interviews with guests from various backgrounds, Dr. Hallowell helps to uncover and celebrate the different ways people have of approaching life, solving problems, and having fun. Today, guest Kristin Seymour joins the conversation as nurse practitioner and ADHD whisperer—you won’t want to miss this conversation!

Kristin shares how she has been working as a nurse practitioner with patients suffering from heart and vascular concerns, but of late her passion has shifted towards those who think differently. Kristin’s passion for ADHD was catalyzed forward through authoring a book on ADHD, The Fog Lifted A Clinician’s Victorious Journey With ADHD. Kristin’s own experience of living with ADHD has proven to be the best source of wisdom for her to offer others. She shares about the pros and cons of having ADHD, how sometimes the best parts can also be the worst. From having quick wit, to being extremely innovative, and caring about other people, Kristin sheds light on the different aspects these qualities can bring to people’s lives.

Dr. Hallowell asks Kristin to share what most people with ADHD understand, that many others need to hear. Learn how those with impulsive, hyperactive thinking simply need patience and can  hone this characteristic to be a great strength! Listen as Dr. Hallowell and Kristin work to lift the negative stigma around ADHD and help us all to see the best in people.

As the episode draws to a close, Kristin chats about the practicalities of how she helps people build on little victories and live with ADHD. With the attitude that there are no mistakes in life, only lessons, Kristin helps to re-shape people’s perspectives.  Self-worth is not measured by numbers or letters. Listen to how Kristin keeps in touch with clients and has close communication with their families to help them prove to themselves that they can successfully do something! Kristin leaves listeners considering two common concepts she tells her clients—Don’t love things that cannot love you back, and don’t cry over things that won’t cry over you. Keeping life and its challenges in perspective, we can all live with victory and be pleased with ourselves!

Links:

Learn more about Kristin Seymour on PsychologyToday.

Check out Kristin’s website here.

Find Kristin’s book on Amazon.

If you have a comment about this episode or a suggestion for a future episode, send it to different@hallowellcenter.org!

In today’s episode, Dr. Hallowell is joined by two super talented female artists who came together to tell a story. The filmmaker, Gillie Richards, had the vision, while Rosemary Thomson, a renowned symphony orchestra conductor with ADHD had the story. What happened, though, was totally unexpected. From the challenges that Rosemary overcomes while Gillian makes discoveries of her own that she did not see coming.

Listen as the women describe their experiences working together and creating the film “Shiny Objects”, along with the things they did not expect to learn or experience. Ending with Dr. Hallowell asking some questions about their experiences and opinions on their own difference and difference in general.

Show Notes

Podcast: Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different

Episode: Gillie Richards Rosemary Thomson

Welcome to Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different, a podcast hosted by Dr. Ned Hallowell! By interviewing a wide range of guests from various backgrounds, we will uncover and celebrate the different ways people have of approaching life, solving problems and having fun. Together, we will break down the notion of normal and abnormal, and instead tap into the talents everyone has.

Today’s guests are two women rippling with vitality, intelligence, humor and creativity, Gillie Richards and Rosemary Thomson. Rosemary has two children, one diagnosed with both ASD and ADHD. After her son’s diagnosis, Rosemary realized for the first time that she too had the same disorder. She began taking medication almost right away and recalls the feeling of normalcy she felt practically immediately. Thanks to her medication and coaching she received, Rosemary feels like a brand new person.

When Gillie heard Rosemary’s story, she wanted to share it right away through the lens of a documentary. As a Canadian filmmaker, Gillie applied for funding with the organization Story Hive. Prior to their meeting, Rosemary was already respected for her ADHD advocacy  within her community. While crafting the documentary, Shiny Objects, and educating herself on the topic, Gillie came to the realization that also has ADHD. The feedback and reception of the film has been abundantly positive. As the conversation wraps up, Both Gillie and Rosemary share their favorite and least favorite things about “being different” and what they wish everyone could know about their difference.

Links:

Learn more about Shiny Objects here.

If you have a comment about this episode or a suggestion for a future episode, send it to different@hallowellcenter.org!

Today Dr. Hallowell speaks with a very special guest named Carrie Wilkins who is the founder of the Center for Motivation and Change (CMC) one of the top addiction rehabilitation clinics in the country. Carrie fills Dr. Hallowell in on the ways she has found to be very successful in treating the disease of addiction, despite many people telling her the method she employs is counterproductive and caters to junkies. Lucky for those who suffer from addiction and have loved ones in the same position, Carrie WIlkins has brought dignity and hope back to addicts who have been cast aside or shunned by the people they loved most.

Show Notes

Podcast: Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different

Episode: Carrie Wilkens

Welcome to Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different, a podcast hosted by Dr. Ned Hallowell! By engaging with a wide range of guests from various backgrounds, we will uncover and celebrate the different ways people approach life, solve problems and have fun. Together, we will break down the notions of normal and abnormal, and trade those categories for tapping into the talents everyone has!

Dr. Hallowell has been a fan of today’s guest for years, and she is his favorite expert in a highly stigmatized, misunderstood, and prevalent problem in the field of medicine and, more specifically, mental health.  This problem is that of addiction (or substance abuse disorder).  While addicts tend to be treated poorly, Carrie Wilkens, PhD. is committed to fostering understanding of and compassion toward those suffering from this very real disease.

Carrie is an author of Beyond Addiction and the accompanying 20 Minute Guide, which aim to bring together science and kindness in the navigation of addiction.  She also leads the Center for Motivation and Change, including its in-patient residential facility in the Berkshires.  Today, Carrie explains, there are many options available for addicts and their friends/family members to use, starting with the CRAFT treatment modality.  This modality emphasizes positive reinforcement, letting natural consequences take effect, self-care, and positive communication.

More recently, a few components have been added to the original CRAFT framework, acknowledging that behaviors make sense, treatment is not one-size-fits-all, and ambivalence is normal.  With these additions, the Invitation to Change Protocol, and a strong emphasis on compassion, Carrie is working to destigmatize the disease of addiction.  She has seen hope-giving results from her work, and she joins her baseline methods and things like identifying sources of joy and medication like Naltrexone in ways tailored to each different situation.

For listeners looking for resources, Carrie offers recommendations, pointing to such things as providers who take a motivational stance and free materials online.

Links:

Learn more about Carrie Wilkens and the CRAFT modality, pioneered by Bob Meyers.

Purchase Beyond Addiction and the 20 Minute Guide (or access the latter for free online).

Learn more about the Center for Motivation and Change and its inpatient center.

Access Carrie’s free online resources.

If you have a comment about this episode or a suggestion for a future episode, send it to different@hallowellcenter.org!

Dr. Hallowell and his wife Sue discuss life, love, relationships, and marriage both inside and outside the realm of “different” according to pop culture, and contrasting that to the rapidly changing landscape and public perception when it comes to what actually is “different” within the boundaries of love, relationships, sexuality, and marriage.

Show Notes

Podcast: Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different

Episode: Sue Hallowell

Welcome to Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different, a podcast hosted by Dr. Ned Hallowell! By interviewing a wide range of guests from various backgrounds, we will uncover and celebrate the different ways people have of approaching life, solving problems and having fun. Together, we will break down the notion of normal and abnormal, and instead tap into the talents everyone has.

Today’s Ned is joined by his favorite guest, his wife, Sue Hallowell. Sue is a therapist, wife, and mother to three children. Their conversation begins with a discussion on the information we bring into relationships and the expectations we have of marriage from family, media, and culture. Sue explains that the imprint of these ideals can make it difficult to remember your goals, and that they can be achieved in many ways that may look different. One of the things that can cause difficulty is when you assume your partner views that world and processes it the same way you do.

Ned and Sue agree that in therapeutic scenarios, there is almost never a good guy or a bad guy. Instead, they try to help people to understand the impact of your behaviour beyond your intentions. You have to decide what you can and cannot tolerate and choose to let the rest go. Sue stresses that you can’t care about everything, there are things about your partner that you are going to have to accept you cannot change. Her best pieces of advice to a good marriage are to have a determination to be happy in your marriage; editing how much you share with your partner; and remembering you’re the only person in the relationship you can change.

Links:

Visit ADHD Love here.

If you have a comment about this episode or a suggestion for a future episode, send it to different@hallowellcenter.org!

Yakini Pierce is a mother whose 2 children were diagnosed with ADHD, leading her to discover that she has this fascinating condition too. Yakini embraced both her own and her children’s diagnoses and has worked to make them feel confident and safe. Listen to her story today.

Show Notes

Podcast: Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different

Episode: Yakini Pierce ADHD Love

Welcome to Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different, a podcast hosted by Dr. Ned Hallowell! By interviewing a wide range of guests from various backgrounds, we will uncover and celebrate the different ways people have of approaching life, solving problems and having fun. Together, we will break down the notion of normal and abnormal, and instead tap into the talents everyone has.

Today’s guest is someone who is actively devoting her life to make the world better for people with ADHD. Yakini Pierce is a single mother of two children, both of whom have been diagnosed with ADHD. Yakini was diagnosed with ADHD herself just last year. Her platform, ADHD Love, advocates for parents of kids with ADHD.

Growing up in Ohio, Yakini struggled with maintaining friendships, staying awake and paying attention during school. She was often told that she just needed to work harder, even though she was trying as hard as she could. ADHD as an explanation for her performance was never even considered in getting to the bottom of her problems. She attended the University of Cincinnati and eventually went on to get an MBA in Communications. While she was working towards her MBA, Yakini was also working full time, caring for her family and dealing with the pandemic.

Finding out her children have ADHD and helping them work through their own struggles changed the way Yakini approached her own life. Putting together these tools and the information she has learned to help inform other parents has completely transformed her life direction. She realized there weren’t many people like herself talking about these issues. After learning how many people are directly affected by ADHD, she wanted to be an advocate for those people. On her website, Yakini interviews other parents, medical professionals, educators and coaches who share tips and tricks to managing children’s thinking process and day to day.

Of all the jobs she’s had in her lifetime, this is the one Yakini feels most passionate and excited about. Those with ADHD are very mission driven and are highly motivated when they find that mission.

Links:

Visit ADHD Love here.

If you have a comment about this episode or a suggestion for a future episode, send it to different@hallowellcenter.org!

Dr. Hallowell talks to his good friend and former student Ken Duckworth who is currently the head of NIMA and is a leader in the field of mental health. He is currently writing a groundbreaking book which he will discuss with Dr. Hallowell, sharing exclusive and deeply personal details concerning who he is and why he does what he does.

Show Notes

Podcast: Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different

Episode: Ken Duckworth

Welcome to Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different, a podcast hosted by Dr. Ned Hallowell! By interviewing a wide range of guests from various backgrounds, we will uncover and celebrate the different ways people have of approaching life, solving problems and having fun. Together, we will break down the notion of normal and abnormal, and instead tap into the talents everyone has.

Today’s guest is Ken Duckworth, a leading advocate for mental health awareness in the U.S. He is the Medical Director of the National Alliance of Mental Illness and author of the upcoming book You Are Not Alone. Ken’s father, a creative and loving person, had a severe case of bipolar disorder. Growing up, Ken desperately wished for a book where he could learn from others who had lived in similar conditions. Ken’s book, You Are Not Alone, is a collection of real stories curated to convey the idea that it’s okay to talk about these struggles.

Ken reveals that less than 50% of people struggling with their mental health receive treatment. Not only will Ken’s book share the reality of these struggles, but it will include the tremendous talent and dignity many of the patients have. He stresses that your diagnosis is not who you are. His book will be short stories meets the latest science meets someone like you. It’s a book for people with these conditions and their friends and family members, to answer a wide range of questions they will have. Readers will learn that there are many ways of addressing these conditions, and the conditions are not entirely bad.

The key to Ken’s book is giving a platform for real people to share their real, personal stories. You Are Not Alone is set to be released in just over one year. Ken will be doing an international book tour alongside everyone who’s stories are featured in the book. If you’ve lived with something, you should be on the stage with Ken too, because there will more than likely be someone else in the audience struggling with the same things.

Links:

Reach Ken at ken@nami.org.

This week I talk to Kaitlyn Tollefson from Colorado. Kaitlyn recounts an incredible journey of self-discovery that put her on a path towards creating change. Listen to find out how at just 16 years old she successfully campaigned to get groundbreaking mental health legislation passed in her state.

Show Notes

Podcast: Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different

Episode: Kaitlyn Tollefson

Welcome to Dr. Hallowell’s Wonderful World of Different, a podcast hosted by Dr. Ned Hallowell! By interviewing a wide range of guests from various backgrounds, we will uncover and celebrate the different ways people have of approaching life, solving problems and having fun. Together, we will break down the notion of normal and abnormal, and instead tap into the talents everyone has.

Today’s guest is 16 year old Kaitlyn Tollefson from Loveland, Colorado. First diagnosed with ADHD in kindergarten, Kaitlyn began to recognize her strengths and weaknesses and hone in on her love for science and math. In 6th grade, she entered her first science fair and received third place overall in state. Her project usd Legos to determine if there are true boy and girl colors.

Kaitlyn always knew deep down that she wanted to help other people and have an impact. For her 7th grade science fair, she decided to examine how stress impacts the people around her. She was specifically focused on the opioid epidemic and the reasons some people turn towards negative ways to handle stress. She created and distributed a “calm kit” containing various relaxation devices, including handmade fidget spinners, to her classmates. After noticing the positive impact of her experiment, she continued it through the next year.

As she was entering high school, Kaitlyn became interested in activism. She contacted the organization Peace First, who awarded her a grant to continue her stress pack project. She shares that her high school is known to struggle with suicide commited by students. Realizing injustices within our society, Kaitlyn was aware that most people aren’t given proper resources to manage stress in healthy ways. She used the grant to partner with Sources of Strength, an organization which works on finding individuals’s strengths and destigmatizing mental health.

Kaitlyn soon joined the Young Invincibles, an organization focused on helping 18-34 year olds in higher education, the workforce and policy change in mental healthcare. As her capstone project, she chose to work on test files for House Bill 211068, a proposal to make insurance pay for one annual mental health check up. She testified by herself in front of the Colorado State Legislature and the Senate in favor of this bill. It resulted in unanimous favorable votes all across the board, and the bill passed! Now, Colorado insurances are required to pay for one annual mental health and wellness check up seperate from regular checkups.

Being just 16 years old, this experience has shown Kaitlyn that her voice alone can have a huge impact on an entire state. She believes that having ADHD is what put her on the path she is today. No matter how young you are or where you’re from, Katelyn wants everyone to know that your voice matters.

Links:

Learn more about Young Invincibles.