In this mind-blowing episode, Julie dives deep with ADHD expert Tracy Otsuka to uncover the surprising truths about ADHD and how it impacts nearly every aspect of life. I believe that more people are born with ADHD than the numbers suggest. I find that in most marriages, people marry their opposite — and one of those people tends to be more “ADHD.” Today, Tracy shares her personal journey of being diagnosed alongside her son and how it transformed her understanding of relationships, careers, and self-worth. This conversation will open your eyes to the hidden strengths of ADHD, why it’s often misunderstood, and how recognizing it in yourself or others can change your life. Whether you or someone you love is neurodiverse, this episode is packed with powerful insights you won’t want to miss! It’s a key that’s going to help you step into your power and unleash your own genius!

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Transcript:

Tracy: [00:00:00] Well, think about it. If you cannot rely on your brain, right? You never quite know when is that great brain going to show up? When am I going to be brilliant? Because you don’t understand how your brain works. What do you develop? You can’t always trust your brain, so you develop your intuition. So it makes perfect sense, right?

And this is why people with ADHD, they, they see that second glance, you know? They can, they can feel things that other people don’t feel, and so there is something called interpersonal intuition that I believe, and you know, many scientists believe, that Those with ADHD are really strong in that area. So what that means is, you can be, you can walk into a room, and you don’t know anybody in that room.

You walk into it and you can feel the energy. You know who’s upset, you know who’s happy, you know if there was some sort of strife that happened between two of those parties, and that’s just, it’s your intuition. So, We don’t notice we’re big [00:01:00] picture people. 

Julie (2): Welcome to the angels and awakening podcast, where we connect you with your angels, loved ones, and soul self.

I’m your host and author, Julie Jancius. My journey began when I started hearing my late father before I knew he’d passed. Through my readings, membership, and Angel Reiki school, I help you awaken, heal, and master your unique spiritual gifts. If you feel called to work with me, it’s your angels guiding you to discover your soul’s highest purpose.

Thanks. Details at theangelmedium. com. Thank you. Earth angels for the five star reviews. You’re entered into a drawing to win a free session. Now let’s see what messages your angels have for you today.[00:02:00] 

Hello, beautiful souls. Welcome back to the angels and awakening podcast. I’m your host and author Julie Jancius and friends today. We have a guest on. Her name is Tracy Atsuka. She is the author of the new book, ADHD for smart ass women. Love that title. Um, I wanted to have Tracy on because I talk here on the podcast and over 600 episodes that we’ve done about having ADHD myself.

And I grew up in the 80s and 90s when it wasn’t, um, really known or talked about. And the way that they would talk about ADD, uh, was mostly for boys. And when they would talk about things, I would not resonate with any of it whatsoever. And growing up in the 80s and 90s with ADD, ADHD, There was this stigma attached, like, you weren’t good enough, or you were gonna be the kid that’s always getting in trouble.

And I was the complete [00:03:00] opposite. I always had to have the gold star. I was getting extra help. I was doing everything that I was needed to do. Um, and so I wanted to come on here today because as I’ve had conversations with friends, with family members over the years, what I realized is that there really is still a lot of stigma surrounding this for a lot of people.

Parents who hear that their kid might have ADD or ADHD. And I wanted to share with you what I feel is really an angel message that we all need to hear, which is all of our brains work so different. And I think that once you understand how your brain works, it can really become your superpower. So with that Tracy, I’m so excited.

So excited that you’re here today. Thank you so much for inviting me. I’m delighted to, uh, to be here. Yay. I saw that you were on like CBS good morning, like, uh, the [00:04:00] morning show recently, ABC news, I think we’ve been 

Julie: on CBS, um, morning show. And maybe I think it’s also on, on good morning America, but I’m, I’m not sure.

So ADHD, right? Okay. You do these interviews, you do these things, and then you have no clue where they are. 

Julie (2): A hundred percent. A hundred percent. Now, ADHD can be diagnosed for those who don’t understand it, because the way that you look at the brain, you can see that the frontal lobe isn’t Working the way that other neurotypical people have their brains work.

Can you tell us a little bit about this and just kind of describe it for folks? 

Julie: Yeah. So, um, let’s start with what is ADHD. So ADHD is a neurobiological condition. And typically, you know, as it’s diagnosed, diagnosed in boys, you will see. hyperactivity, they can’t sit still, right? They are inattentive, they don’t think before they act, and they struggle with [00:05:00] focus, so they’re distractible.

And what they think it is, is that, and they don’t know for 100%, right? They’re not 100 percent sure. They, they think it’s either our brains don’t make enough dopamine, or our brains process dopamine differently. Um, and so, as you said, what ends up happening is, because, you know, there’s not enough going on, not enough activity in that prefrontal lobe, what we struggle with is, Our executive functions.

So what that means is we often struggle with time. We can struggle with emotion. We can struggle with planning and scheduling, sometimes with motivation decision making. Um, the three telltale signs of ADHD, though, that I think most people don’t realize. Talk about, and I think it really applies to women, everyone, but especially women is number one, unexplained underachievement.

So what that means is you’ll, you’ll be talking to someone and clearly, like a teacher will be talking to a student. Clearly, that child is really, really [00:06:00] bright. And sometimes they’ll get an A, sometimes they’ll get an F. Sometimes in the same subject in the same week. And so what that teacher thinks is, uh, this is a character flaw.

This is a moral failing, you know, failure. They’re not trying hard enough. Clearly they could do it, but they choose not to do it. Number two, um, will be this consistent inconsistency where sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t work. And so you can have, you know, no problems in an area Because the ADHD brain is actually a brain of interest.

So in an area that you’re interested, you can have none of the executive function challenges that you have in other areas that you’re not interested in. And then I think the third thing is typical tips and tricks that work for everybody else. You know, things like time blocking or that just do it, right?

You need to get this thing done. Just do it. Kind of what we tell neuro, you know, everybody, and neurotypicals can do it. We [00:07:00] can’t do it. But it’s not because we don’t want to. It’s because of the way our brains work. Now, I do not believe, though, that ADHD is a disorder. And a statistic or a study that nobody talks about.

It was out of Canada in 2022 and it was a large study. 43 percent of people with ADHD are in excellent mental health. I didn’t say good mental health. I didn’t say okay mental health. I said excellent mental health. And if you look at women like Greta Gerwig or Simone Biles or Lisa Ling, they will tell you they are successful because of their ADHD.

Not. Despite it. Absolutely. The problem is, when, you know, I won’t say, like, I don’t believe ADHD is a disorder, but there are some people who have ADHD and it is a real problem for them. Those situations, I believe, it, it, what’s responsible is actually [00:08:00] Trauma, because trauma symptoms literally mirror ADHD symptoms.

So you can imagine if you already have ADHD and you have trauma, you can have double the amount of impulsivity, you know, distractibility, hyperactivity, inability to focus. Um, is that kind of a good general understanding? I want 

Julie (2): to go in so many different directions here. Um, yeah, women. So. I like what you say that it’s not just like it’s not a disorder and that those women who we know so well love Simone, Simone Biles, um, say that they achieve because of it.

And I would absolutely agree. Um, when it comes to. ADHD. There’s so many different things that we could talk about, but because we’re a spiritual audience today, I’d like to go in that direction. And it seems to be that people who have brains that work in this way, um, are much more [00:09:00] intuitive. People. Why is that?

Julie: Well, think about it. If you cannot rely on your brain, right? You never quite know when is that great brain going to show up. When am I going to be brilliant? Because you don’t understand how your brain works, what do you develop? You can’t always trust your brain, so you develop your intuition. So, it makes perfect sense, right?

And this is why people with ADHD, they, they see that second glance, you know? They can, they can feel things that other people don’t feel. And so, there is something called interpersonal intuition that I believe, and you know, many scientists believe, those with ADHD are really strong in that area. So, what that means is, you can be, you can walk into a room, and you don’t know anybody in that room.

And You walk into it and you can feel the energy. You know who’s upset, you know who’s happy, you know if there was some sort of strife that happened between two of those parties. And that’s just, it’s your intuition. [00:10:00] So, we don’t notice. We’re big picture people. We really struggle to learn when there’s just one thing and we don’t know how it fits in the whole scheme of whatever it is that needs to be learned.

And so intuition is the same way we pull from so many different things. you know, the temperature of the room, the, you know, the energy of the people, the. You know, everything around us and we take all of those things into account when we make decisions. And so what often will happen is people don’t understand why we make the decisions we made because they’re not feeling and seeing and hearing all of these other things that we’ve brought into the equation in how we make a decision.

Julie (2): Well, and you know, we just interviewed a woman on here who kind of was talking about the science behind energy and she would say, I think it was like Lin Manuel Taggart that one sugar cube size of energy, um, Where you can’t see it [00:11:00] or feel it. It’s just the molecules in front of you holds the same amount of information as the Library of Congress.

That we’re just constantly flowing through so much different information, constantly. And you’re right, um, When I get into a room or just with another person, there’s so much information that’s just right there through the inner energy itself. Um, do you think that, or, I’ve, I’ve heard people talk about ADHD as being more of like the spiritual brain too.

Is that why? I’ve never heard 

Julie: that. However, one of the gifts that is part of ADHD is our high empathy. Okay. So, again, you know, the fact that we’re taking all these things in is because I think we factor in empathy and emotion so much more than your neurotypical brain would, so it makes sense to me. 

Julie (2): What about the trauma of just growing up [00:12:00] knowing that you’re different?

And, you know, my mom, God bless her, she’s just A wonderful, wonderful woman. She grew up with two parents who were both in the military, met in the military, wanted you to have your bed so perfect you could bounce a quarter off of it. And I think that You know, always looking at my parents, I thought my dad was the ADHD one, but it wasn’t, it was really my mom, but she had a different childhood where she had to learn how to fit in with two very regimented, regulated adult parents.

And so she had to find ways around that to be very, very clean and organized. But then her ADHD comes out and all different. Areas, whereas me, she always says that she couldn’t control me growing up, [00:13:00] um, and that I talked back a lot and I just didn’t listen to anything that she said and I would just go do my own thing.

Um, but then she was always trying to get me to fall in line, right? To like stay in this box. I think because she felt so much shame as a kid growing up in her household, she just wanted me to fit. Part of it, too, is 

Julie: we balk against structure. We want spontaneity. We want freedom. We want to do what we want to do when we want to do it.

But what we actually need more than anything. Is structure and systems, but they have to be our own structure and our own systems. And I have never met anyone with ADHD who didn’t also have some anxiety. And it would make sense why they would have anxiety if they’d never felt like they fit in. So I’m curious if your [00:14:00] mother.

What she was doing is trying to quell her own anxiety by creating these systems and structures so that she would know what to expect and then she could control everything around her. 

Julie (2): Yes, that makes 

Julie: so much sense. Because ADHD also can look very different in women, and that is why at least 75 percent of us aren’t diagnosed.

Because again, we have this idea that ADHD looks like that 10 year old boy that’s climbing the walls and being so annoying to his teachers, his parents, and coaches and everyone around him. There are different kinds of ADHD, and a lot of clinicians don’t know that, which is why women, you know, are continually told, oh, well, you graduated from college.

You know, look how smart you are. You know, you brought your kids here and they’re not disheveled messes. Your house isn’t a mess, your cars aren’t, you know, aren’t a mess. So you can’t possibly have ADHD. But a lot of [00:15:00] us are more like your mom. Who, they need to control everything and they become perfectionistic.

Because that is the way that they have learned to control their brain. So ADHD women tend to have two times the rate of inattention than men do. Um, so that doesn’t look like the annoying boy who gets all the services. No, that looks like the girl who’s sitting in the back of the classroom trying to pay attention.

She’s such a good girl. She wants everybody, you know, she’s a people pleaser. And all of a sudden she gets completely distracted, she’s in her own fairytale world, until the teacher calls on her and she forgets like, oh my gosh, I didn’t even know I’m in school right now. What class am I even in? Right? Yeah.

So what happens to those kind of girls is, and women in general is, we internalize our symptoms rather than externalize them. What does that mean? We are not annoying. We’re not annoying. We’re not talking back. We’re not, you know, running from authority. What many of us do instead is we become people pleasers.

And instead, we are [00:16:00] inside and we are beating ourselves up. And when you have a lot of inattention, you’re in your head and you’re overthinking and you’re questioning. And why did I do that? And why can’t I do, you know, this, which is what all my friends can do. And so what ends up happening to those girls is they getting, they get diagnosed with anxiety.

And or depression instead of ADHD and if they would have been diagnosed with ADHD and often just that diagnoses and then being treated for it resolves the anxiety and depression. Girls are also diagnosed much later than boys. It tends to be puberty. And that is because what we know now, because of a few very, very little, you know, studies, few studies, which, you know, they don’t study women’s health.

Estrogen modulates dopamine. So for a lot of girls, they don’t see the ADHD symptoms until puberty. I have heard situations where they see them younger, [00:17:00] but, um, it gets so much worse then. You During puberty, um, and when do we struggle with our hormones bouncing around? Puberty, pregnancy, postpartum, paramenopause, and menopause.

And that is exactly when we see so many more ADHD symptoms. 

Julie (2): Oh, wow! Okay, I can’t wait to go into this because, did you just say estrogen regulates dopamine? 

Julie: It modulates dopamine, yes. So, we need estrogen to create dopamine, which is why we have what I call maturity onset ADHD. So, women who, again, we can be like Martha Stewart, who I’m absolutely convinced has ADHD.

Oh, absolutely. Because her daughter was diagnosed with it, right? For sure. I don’t know if you saw her, the biography, but it was fascinating. It was wonderful. We can be like that, so perfectionistic, and we are performers, and we are at the best at what we do, and we don’t take anything [00:18:00] less, and then all of a sudden, Paramenopause and menopause come along, and it’s literally like you don’t even recognize I used to be able to do dinner parties for 75 people, I can barely cook for 4 now.

And it’s so It’s so unappealing. I don’t want to because I can’t read the the recipes. I’m burning this And i’m like, how could I have been so gifted at that before? And now I I can’t even like i’m constantly burning things forgetting i’m cooking, you know, i’m bored with it now, too, though 

Julie (2): Okay, mind blown.

I’m just having, I was having this conversation yesterday with a functional medicine person, and she was telling me how when you are in your twenties and thirties, your body and your hormones are operating differently. And once you get to your forties, your body, when you get really, really stressed, starts to burn through cortisol.

And as soon as it burns through cortisol, just for your day, just in [00:19:00] one day, And it depletes the cortisol. It has nothing left to burn. So it starts burning your progesterone, which you need for mood and for energy support. So this is just totally tying in because, um, mom and grandma both went through menopause early and, um, I was always told as a young girl, like, watch out for it because you’ll go through it early.

So you go in for these different doctor’s appointments and they’re like, Oh no, no, you couldn’t be in perimenopause yet. But I swear like the just different way that my brain is working now versus three years ago is really, really fascinating. So much more mind fog and I’m eating better than ever. I’m exercising more than ever.

Um, so is. And, and this is interesting too, because my gynecologist that I’ve been working with has been like, let’s try and reduce your estrogen as low as possible, because estrogen also dives into the [00:20:00] endometriosis, um, issues that I’ve been having. all of 2024, um, where I’ve been in an endometriosis flare up, which is just so incredibly painful.

So with that, they’ve been trying to reduce the estrogen, but does that affect the ADHD? 

Julie: How can it not? I think it’s all connected as well as the endometriosis. How old are you? Do you mind saying 43? Oh no, I’ll tell you everything. Oh my God. That is the perfect age. Because what’s happening is your hormones are starting to bounce around, right?

They’re not consistent like they used to be and, and this is all women. So what you need to think about is all women. So they did a study and they gave. Neurotypical women, no, you know, no ADHD, they gave them, one, one group they gave, I think it was Adderall, and the other group, Stratera. And what they discovered is all women, um, and they gave [00:21:00] it to them at certain times of the month, like right before their period.

Um, and what they discovered is that helped their executive functions. Okay, so we know that when we go through paramenopause and menopause, we’re already going to struggle cognitively, right? Because of the loss of estrogen and just, you know, hormones being completely dysregulated. So then. You attach and the symptoms are the same as ADHD.

Then you put ADHD on top of that. And that’s how you plummet all the way down to the bottom. And if there’s trauma on top of that, the symptoms are exactly, you know, pretty similar, very similar for, for trauma. You know, you just pile all that up and no wonder we’re, we’re then struggling so much. And what I really want to say is as much as I will tell you ADHD is not a disorder, I think the most brilliant women that I’ve ever met have a combination, you know, have ADHD.

Um, as long as there’s not substantial trauma and even with substantial trauma, [00:22:00] if they have actually processed it, you know, they can use their ADHD for, you know, to be the best that they could ever be. But for those women that are struggling, this is serious because 24 percent of women that have been diagnosed with ADHD have attempted suicide.

That is eight times higher, yeah, than men. Um, without ADHD and three times higher than, um, men with ADHD. Actually, no, I think it’s eight times higher than women without ADHD and three times higher than men, um, who have been diagnosed with ADHD. And a lot of it is because of sexism, gender roles, social stereotypes.

This idea that because you’re a woman, You are better at managing the household. You are better at managing the kids. You are better at managing all the little social stuff. You know, you’re going to be the social secretary of the family. And for women with [00:23:00] ADHD, that is often not true. Because all of that is boring work.

Right? It is really hard for us. 

Julie (2): Exciting news, friends! Our all new membership kicks off January 1st, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to invite you to join us! This year, we’ve simplified everything with 12 powerful courses designed to help you connect with your angels, take control of your destiny, and use your intuitive gifts.

To transform your entire personal world, your relationship, professional successes, your healing journey. Plus you’ll get live weekly calls with me for hands on guidance and support. Bonus for members. My January course manifest miracles with aligned co creation is free for you. Perfect for starting off 2025 with Aligned Miracles.

Non members can grab one of the limited paid spots. And for those looking to [00:24:00] start their own healing business, join the Angel Reiki School in person this April or start your journey online January 1st. You’re going to learn mediumship, how to be an angel messenger and energy healing all at once. And as a gift to everyone who listens to this podcast on December 30th at 7 p.

m. central time, I’m holding a free healing for you to clear out all of the energy from 2024. And really clear out what’s not serving you. And then again, on January 1st at noon central time, I’m hosting a free two hour workshop where you’re going to learn how to invite miracles into your 2025 and make this your best year yet.

If you’re ready to step into a miraculous 2025, sign up for all of this and more at theangelmedium. com backslash events. That’s the Angel medium.com/events [00:25:00] or email me at julie@theangelmedium.com for more information. I can’t wait to spend all of 2025 with you in the Angel membership. Love you friends.

Now back to the show, we have to understand ourselves, our age group and how our bodies and our minds and our brains and our hormones are shifting because spiritually, that’s where I’ve heard people talk about the mother, the maiden, the crone that you step into these just different roles in life spiritually as well.

Um, so the crone when you’re older. It is, but there’s something in the middle that they don’t talk about all the time. Um, the Enchantress. Uh, we were just having this conversation the other day and she said the It would be the Maiden? Maiden? Enchantress? Maiden in your twenties mother in your thirties.

Maybe. I don’t know. That’s not always true for everybody. Enchantress in your [00:26:00] forties. Um, crone, I don’t know where I’m not going to put an age on that one, where we go from enchantress to crone. But, um, what they said is that, you know, in your forties, they really have to look at slowing our stress, which is something that I really want to focus in on for 2025 is.

Being very, very mindful of what I’m allowing to shift my vibration and stress me out because I’m, I’ve just done allowing it to have all of my cortisol and all of my good hormones. I don’t want to go there. Um, before we move on in subject though, you touched on something that’s really close to my heart because my listeners who’ve been listening to this podcast for a long time, that I’m also very, very sensitive to a lot of medications.

So I’m a higher happy go lucky, uh, happiness thresh point. But whenever I get onto medications for ADD, ADHD, I’ve tried [00:27:00] three or four of them. Um, honestly, even ones for depression, Anxiety, I always go very, very low in my mood. And if it has may cause suicidal thoughts on it, it does end up taking me to that place.

What have you found with that? Is there, is there any solution or are there more natural things to try that 

Julie: So I’ve been through everything, you know, that you’re talking about here in terms of medic. I am so sensitive to medication. And that’s another thing with ADHD, right? We have hypersensitivity, um, and I absolutely believe, you know, all these inflammatory disorders and, um, what’s the other one, um, the one where your, your body is fighting against itself, um, like, um, autoimmune.

autoimmune inflammatory. All of that, I think, is related to a dysregulated nervous system. Because why is it [00:28:00] that women with ADHD, not men, but women with ADHD, have such a higher propensity for all of these problems, you know, as they age? And I, I really believe that most pathology when, um, you’re talking about women is because you are not living to your potential, especially with ADHD.

We tend to be so justice sensitive and so mission driven. We can’t just, like, do nothing with our lives. Right. And when we do We get, you know, our nervous system gets dysregulated, we get depressed, we get anxious, and, you know, yeah, that’s just, I’m, I’m certain that that is a huge part of it. Um, what was your question?

So, with medicine, like, does everyone, like, cause I just can’t, can’t. Okay. I can’t either. Um, I’m highly sensitive and especially any kind of med. Actually, you know, I’m not sure that I’m sensitive [00:29:00] except for medication that has to deal with my brain. I can’t do it. Can’t take it. Um, I cannot get the medication, like the stimulant medication.

I can’t get the medication high enough so it actually works without completely ratcheting up my anxiety. Yes. I think the number one most important thing is exercise. And I know people are like, Oh, I hate to hear that. But if you would pay attention to how you feel when you work out, when you’re starting to work out, how do you feel, you know, use a sud score 0 to 10, 0 being the most calm, 10 being the most dysregulated you’ve ever been.

Take that SUD score, then work out, and then um, take the SUD score again. Because I think we don’t realize how much medication helps our brains, helps emotion, mood, calms our nervous system. And there have been studies that have been done that if you do 20 minutes at 70 percent of your [00:30:00] high heart rate, that is comparable to a course of Adderall, So a stimulant and Prozac for mood and the thing about it is if you start your day out with that and I know it might be really hard for people to think, Oh my God, I can’t do that.

If you can do it, if you can, you need to connect to your intention. Why do you want to do it? Right? And start out as small as possible. If it means walking around, you know, 10 minutes, getting out in nature is huge for our ADHD brains. We cannot be disconnected from nature. Um, but if you can just start doing a little bit at a time, I promise you, you can literally change your brain.

And the thing about ADHD, we have to be in positive emotion. Any of this denying yourself, you know, forcing yourself to do stuff you don’t want to do, just throw it out the door. I was just Talking to, um, a, um, a financial coach. And she’s just like, throw out all of the [00:31:00] budgeting and the spreadsheeting and just stop the shame.

That does not work for our brains. We have to be in positive emotion. So, if you can start your day in positive emotion, that fires your dopamine. Makes you feel better. So you can do the next thing that you want to do, fire a little bit more dopamine, cause you’re proud of yourself and you’ve completed it and use that workout to literally manage your day.

Starting from your morning. Wow. The other thing is sleep. And I was the biggest sleep denier. I don’t struggle to stay asleep or to. Um, or, or, you know, wait, I don’t struggle to get to sleep or to stay asleep. What I struggle with is what we call revenge bedtime procrastination. I can’t get my body into frigging bed because I don’t need a lot of sleep.

And I don’t want to sleep. There’s, you know, our day’s [00:32:00] only so long and there’s so much I want to do. And nobody’s around and it’s peaceful. And sometimes I just want to sit around and do crap, right? The quantity and quality of our REM sleep is directly proportional to our lifespan. No way. And really like.

What we have to do is we have to get our circadian rhythm working in a way that actually works for us. And that was another huge thing for me. Making sure that when I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is I’m outside in nature for at least 10 minutes. Even if I’m just sitting on the damn bench doing nothing.

I am in nature and I am connecting to myself. I’m not on my phone scrolling. Um. The other thing is hydration. Our brains need water. And for the longest time I had these burning eyes and I thought, Oh, it must just be aging. No, it was my [00:33:00] poor little brain was all shriveled up. Brains need to be plump and hydrated in order to function properly.

And it was insane to me how, and we have to drink a lot more water than we think, like 11, 11 cups. Um, it was insane to me once I started drinking water, how everything else worked so much better. One of the, I take very few supplements. The only supplement that I take, cause I don’t think they work and they always make me feel crappy, but one supplement that works are, is omega 3s.

Um, but you need high DHA and high EPA. Um, so it’s not any, you know, omega 3 and that was, and there are studies that have been done on omega 3s as well. Um, in terms of, What it does to cognition. 

Julie (2): Yeah, it’s been interesting with the water thing. I just had this conversation with a friend on a walk, uh, right before the interview.

Um, I’ve had a lot of. Doctors say, Julie, it seems like you’re not, [00:34:00] um, like for a lot of us, we’re drinking a lot, um, but I’ve heard, and I don’t know if you know, like the science behind this to back this up, I’ve heard that in Europe, they don’t take all of the minerals out of the water. Like we strip it here in the U S.

And that, um, you know, I’ve had a lot of doctors tell me recently, Julie put lemon, lemon juice and a good, like Celtic sea salt in your water. And I started doing that. And I, I used to feel thirsty all the time and I don’t anymore because, um, that has just really helped as like a natural electrolyte instead of getting those sugary packet electrolytes.

Julie: That makes perfect sense to me because we’re doing the same thing with our food. 

Julie (2): Yeah. All the 

Julie: minerals are, I just recently read a study and I don’t know. I think it’s, I could be imagining things, but I think [00:35:00] it’s at 60 percent of the vitamins and minerals that used to be in our fruits and vegetables are no longer there.

And then we cook them to death, right? So then we cook out everything. Yep. We have a whole, my husband is really into health and we have this whole cooking system that’s aluminum grade because of all of the, the, um, Teflon and plastics and everything that, you know, are in our system. Well, this is, it’s, um, It’s medical grade aluminum.

And so there’s none of those toxicities in there. And it allows you to cook like vegetables at very low temperature. I think it’s 130 degrees. So you keep all the nutrients in them. And it’s amazing how if you taste What food what vegetables taste like in that pan? It’s like when I was a kid versus what they taste like when you’re cooking in you know Any old pan and oh, will you send me the link?

We’ll put it in the show notes. It’s really expensive That’s the only thing but it is. Um, I cannot [00:36:00] believe the and you know, we live in the country. So we grow a lot of our own fruits and vegetables It’s amazing to me You We just overcooked everything, you know, we filled it all. We took all the nutrients out and now at 130 degrees, I can literally taste each different vegetable and, and feel and taste that there’s different, you know, they have different flavors.

Julie (2): Totally. We’ve been doing a lot of that lately. My husband, what’s that like black pan that you just keep on, um, the stove. Uh, I don’t like, um, it was just like from the olden days that they just used like iron. Yeah. Yeah. Like an iron. Yeah. Um, that you have to kind of like oil and season it. Um, so he’ll just put vegetables on there for like five minutes and you really don’t have to cook them a ton, but you’re right.

They have so much more flavor and it’s delicious. Yeah. But I also think there’s so many chemicals in that. Oh, in that. Oh, really? 

Julie: Yeah. 

Julie (2): Oh, interesting. [00:37:00] I’ll have to look that up. Yes. I’ll have 

Julie: to look that up. Pastire. Pastire. One of the things, so the, the woman that actually. Has this product and she came over and what she did was she cooked water in every single one of these types of so we got an aluminum one we got out a what’s that really expensive Le Creuset is that expensive one?

I don’t know. Yeah, you know and and then you know an all clad and then all different And then we tasted the water and it was insane what the water tasted like based on what you cooked it in. And all of them were terrible except for this particular, you know, medical grade aluminum. Let me think about what it’s called.

Um, and it has this crazy food processor. It’s like a hand crank thing. Um, uh, I’ll think about it. You know how that is. It’ll take me a few minutes and then it’ll come back. 

Julie (2): No, that’s great. That’s great. Um, so I [00:38:00] want to go back to something that you were saying earlier, because you’re right. There’s so much study out there that shows that a lot of women who have ADHD will really be diagnosed with anxiety.

And I think that a lot of women hear, Oh, anxiety, I don’t have that. But then when you really start to look at the symptoms, you’re like, Oh, well, maybe I do. Um, so what is anxiety truly? 

Julie: Oh my gosh.

You know what? Hold on one second. Let me, let me look up a definition that actually, um,

I mean, I know what it feels like, right? Yeah. Yeah. What are the symptoms? What does anxiety feel like for you? It’s a feeling, and it depends on how high the anxiety is, right? Initially, it can just feel, like, uncomfortable. Um, but I think it’s this feeling of [00:39:00] dread and fear or unease, and sometimes, You don’t even know what it’s from.

So, for example, you know, what I discovered with myself, certainly as I started to go through perimenopause, I was like you, always this upbeat, happy, the, you know, world is my oyster, high energy kind of person, and I would wake up in the morning and I would feel this anxiety, this sense of dread. But I had no idea what I was dreading.

Well, part of this was hormones, part of this was cortisol levels rising, right? Because cortisol definitely causes anxiety, high cortisol. And so what, that is why I decided I was going to work out first thing in the morning because what I know is, okay, my cortisol levels are highest. This is why I’m feeling this dread, this unease.

I work out and it completely goes away. So it regulates my nervous system and brings down, um, the anxiety. 

Julie (2): Interesting. So, [00:40:00] you know, one of the things I want to kind of put this all together for for folks, um, is it really just the exercise that can help balance out that anxiety? 

Julie: Oh, no. I mean, I think exercise is the Fastest way to do it.

But I think any kind of mindfulness. So the other thing that I do is if I feel that sense of dread when I wake up is you want to get into your body and get out of your brain, right? So it’s simple mindfulness. And this is a really simple way to do it is I take my two fingers and I rub them together and I am focusing on my fingers so intently that I can literally feel the ridges.

Okay, so I do that for at least 10 seconds, sometimes longer, and then I step out of the bed and I want to feel the weight in my feet of my body, you know, I walk into the bathroom if I’m brushing my teeth or [00:41:00] washing my face, everything I do, I am literally Focusing intently on what I am doing instead of where my brain wants to go, which is, Oh my gosh, you got to do this.

And what about that? And what did you say yesterday? And you know, that’s what creates the anxiety. So anytime we can get ourselves back into our body. We’re going to regulate our nervous system and by, by regulating your nervous system, you are always reducing the anxiety. 

Julie (2): Friends, I’m pausing for 30 seconds because I love, love, love connecting with you and I want to connect with you more.

Got a question? Let me answer it for you on the podcast. The link to submit your questions is in the show notes. Also, we need your angel stories. Share your angel stories at theangelmedium. com backslash contact. And last but not least, leave a five star review and you could win a free 20 minute session.

Last [00:42:00] year, I did 56 free readings for review winners. All links are in the show notes. Thank you for listening. Now, back to the show. When you start to get into this age and people start talking about your hormones, they’re like, reduce your amount of stress, reduce your amount of stress. So I’ve, I’ve really focused on that all of 2024 of maybe I could do less and how do I change things and how do I do things differently?

Um, and. Get you touched on another piece of that sounds stressful though. It is. Well, then people are like, um, you know, maybe you don’t have to do as much or you have these big dreams. Maybe you don’t have to go after all of them. But that I, I, the only thing that I can equate it to. Is when I was in college, and I would take 18 hours, which is, you know, 15 hours is a full load.

Some people even take 12 hours in college when I would take 18 hours a semester straight ace, you know, across the board because I [00:43:00] had to stay so focused in on what I was doing. Um, but the time that I took 12 hours one semester. That’s where I got C’s, you know, um, cause I, if I give myself that room and you start to know yourself, um, my gosh, you just, your mind starts to stray in different directions.

So I find that myself, when I keep really focused and busy, I don’t. I don’t actually see it as stressful. I am doing the things that I want to be doing and keeping a full plate keeps my mind on track. I don’t know. Does that make sense? 

Julie: Yes, it makes perfect sense. And so, especially for us hyperactive ADHD women, we are chronic doers.

And the deal is though you’re doing the right thing You are doing things that light you up that are part of your intention that Um are [00:44:00] part of your mission in the world. And so of course that’s going to generate positive emotion Where you want so that’s fine But where you want to be careful is if you’re just doing doing doing but there’s no intention behind it You’re doing it for everyone else.

You’re doing it because you think that you should be doing this instead of really You Knowing who you are and becoming more of who you are. Sure. If instead you just added, and I don’t really like this word self care, so stick with me. What instead, if you just added a system into your life where you’re focusing more in on yourself, your body, somatic therapies like tapping, um, breath work, or, you know, the thing that I always recommend is when you’re really spinning and you’re frustrated and And you’re feeling anxious, pull out a piece of paper and start writing every single thing that you’re grateful for from the littlest things like, Oh, [00:45:00] there’s still green leaves on the tree outside or left.

Oh my gosh, it’s November. And there’s a hummingbird out there, you know, little things like that. That’s how I start my day out. Like I literally look outside when I’m still in my bed and I am looking for all of the things that I’m grateful for. Right. Because again, um, You’re getting into your body, you’re feeling the love, you’re feeling everything that is working, instead of focusing on what isn’t working, and we know how our brains work.

Whatever we focus on gets bigger. So if we’re focusing on everything that’s broken, we’re just gonna see more that’s broken, right? Actually, this is you. I’ve read your book. I know. This is you. You talk about this. Yeah, I do. I do. 

Julie (2): So 

Julie: is this the 

Julie (2): cobbler’s kid without shoes? That, that’s so true. You know, I think that, I don’t know about you, but one of the things as an ADHD woman that I’ve seen time and time again Is that people pleasing coming [00:46:00] back and that just when anybody says any little thing, which is why it’s hard to kind of read the comments sometimes or, um, but anybody says any little thing and I really take it in and I look at and examine my life.

What? Because you’re highly empathetic. Yes. And then, and then I almost look at other people more as experts than myself. And I’ve had to learn how to stop doing that and be like, nope, I’m the one that’s been living in my body for the last 43 years. I know myself and, you know, there can be just the greatest expert that comes on and, and says, And I’ve had to learn to step, take a step back and say, I don’t have to take their feedback.

I don’t have to take that because you’re right. A lot of times, um, my daughter has a syndrome. So medically, when kids have a syndrome, the, the typical medical [00:47:00] processes that work for everyday people don’t work for them. And it’s the same with us that have neurodivergent minds. It’s like, Typical things don’t work.

So when people come on and say, Julie, you should do this, or you should think about this way. I tend to realize that I’m almost 10 steps ahead of that. And that when I listened to that advice, it really drags me backwards. Um, Yeah, and I don’t mean to, like, put anybody down, but I think it’s empowering when you realize I don’t have to take everything that everybody says.

Julie: And, you know, the other thing is my good friend, uh, Dr. Christine Lee, she’s a psychologist, and what she always says, and I’ve adopted, am I allowed to swear? Sure! What she always says is, you know, you, so first of all, I don’t go to Reddit, I don’t go to any of these places where there’s comments and anything like that, I know I’m sensitive, um, and I know I can be the kind of person where 50 people [00:48:00] can say just glowing accolades and then there’s one thing that someone says and that’s what I’m going to focus on, so I just don’t go there, and what she always says and I’ve now adopted is, fuck it.

Literally, when, you know, someone’s complaining about something, fuck it, you know, when something isn’t working out because, oh, I don’t know, this person is mad at you because of, you know, this and that part, it’s just, fuck it, like, all. So my job in life is to disappoint everybody else. So that I can not disappoint myself is my motto.

Julie (2): Yes. Oh my God. Say that one more time. It was just 

Julie: so beautiful. My job in life is to disappoint everyone else before I disappoint myself. 

Julie (2): Yeah. And that’s the name of the game, because if you reverse engineer that I did a Ted talk this year and they make you do thanks. Um, they make you just do a ton of research beforehand.

And incorporate different facts. And what I found is [00:49:00] that it’s like 82 percent of people plus, or no, it’s like 90, 92, 93 percent of people pass away with regrets in life. And of that, that’s what it is. 82, 83 percent fear. And didn’t do something in life because they feared what other people would think of them.

And so what you just said totally counteracts that. 

Julie: Yeah. Yeah. But as women, you know, this is what we’re taught, right? We’re supposed to be the people pleasers. We’re supposed to be the ones that make it right and, you know, socially make sure that everybody gets along. And I’ve never been like that. I’ve always kind of been on the edge.

That doesn’t mean that I sometimes wasn’t disappointed because. I didn’t fit in, but one of the things about ADHD women, it’s like, stop trying to fit in. You were never meant to fit in. You’re actually meant to stand out. We are leaders. So go figure out where you lead, where, you know, when [00:50:00] you’re leading, you’re lit up and you’re tapped in and you’re feeling all that positive emotion and go do that because that always makes you feel better.

And that’s spiking your dopamine. The other stuff, trying to fit in, trying to please everybody, you. It makes us feel shame and less than, and it does not move our cause forward. And we’re cause people. 

Julie (2): We are, we are. Tracy, can you come back on the podcast sometimes? I would love to have you back again. I could just talk to you for forever.

I’d love for you to just share with people where they can find you, your book, ADHD for smart ass women. 

Julie: Yeah, probably the easiest place is to just go to my website. Everything’s there. ADHD4smartwomen. com Google would have dinged us if we had ass in there and even the book there were places that the book like for CBS Mornings.

Yeah, I was there. Was it CBS mornings? I think it was no it was it was another another media [00:51:00] I was literally there ready to go and 30 seconds before we were supposed to go live, my producer says that we can’t have the word ass. So I literally, the only thing I could think of is, I’m just going to get a post it note and so I stuck a post it note on the back.

So, ADHDforsmartwomen. com, that’s the best place to go. And you can find the book anywhere, you know, where books are sold, Amazon, you know, your independent bookseller, which of course I would prefer. 

Julie (2): Amazing. Amazing. Thank you so much for being here, Tracy. It was my pleasure to get to know you and, and be 

Julie: here.

Thank you. 

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Now I want you to pause, tune in, connect with your angels, maybe take a deep breath and ask them. How can I serve as an Earth Angel today? What guidance do you have for me right now? How will you let me know you’re near? And allow your Angels to support you all day. Friends, I’ll see you at the Angels in Awakening podcast here every Monday and Thursday.

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