Listen/Watch: ADHD for Smart Ass Women

What if you could draw your way out of a scattered mind? 

You can. 

Beyond delighted to talk to Tracy Otsuka for her podcast, ADHD for Smart Ass Women. Our conversation is bonus length, but I bet you'll find it flies by since Tracy is a fantastic, engaging host. 

Make sure to check out the full show notes here and subscribe to Tracy's podcast.

I discovered Tracy through Sandra Sciano's equally unmissable podcast, The Long Game. They spoke in episode 180, and I became an instant fan. 

What I most appreciate about Tracy is she strikes perfect tone that acknowledges the challenges of the ADHD brain while shining a light on how brilliant, and in how many different ways, women with ADHD can be. 

Her mantra?

"Your ADHD brain is AOK."

Absolutely. 

In the first half of our conversation, I share the mobius strip path of my ADHD diagnosis. A few of the steps along the way: 

• Sharing my medical history with a neurologist
• A full day of neuropsych evaluation
• The frustrating "broad brush" trio of diagnoses
• Recognizing the role of trauma and hypervigilance 
• Getting a sleep study and treating sleep apnea
• Trying non-stimulants meds
• Discovering executive functions thanks to an ADHD specialist
• Finding a stimulant medication that is working for me

Our episode shifts as Tracy shared how she struggles with "getting lost in words" (about 53:33 in the video). How making outlines has never worked for her.

She shares how she made a "graph" or "map" of her origin story.

She described how not remembering her own story may seem ridiculous... but it is all jumbled together in her experience, "all tangled up like spaghetti."

So, she grabbed her favorite Swarthmore paper and favorite Neuland markers at started mapping out her story. 

Tracy got all her points out and then got the beats of story in order. 

Now she could share her story in chronological order.

And I absolutely love how Tracy recognized that when she is nervous, feeling social anxiety, her executive function goes out the window. Being able to reference her drawing overcomes that specific challenge. 

Tracy's colorful, laminated drawing had two amazing functions. 

First, she clarified her own thinking by making the drawing. 

Second, sharing her finished drawing helps her tell her story.

Brilliant, no? 

The second half of our conversation we talked more about the visual thinking tools that bridge our executive function gaps and boosts our strengths. 

A few of our topics:

• The tension when we know what we know, but struggle to describe HOW we know
• 'Visual thinking' as in imperfect term
• Drawing is writing with more choices
• Bookwriting for visual-spatial people
• Tracy's dinner party challenge
• Making your thinking modular with a Tangible To-Do list
• Finding the tools that work for you
• Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable as you figure things out
• How to know if you are a visual thinker
• "Everything I draw looks like a pig!"  
• The dangers of narrowly defining drawing
• The key to living successfully with ADHD

The episode is chock full of good stuff. Enjoy!  

And thanks so much to Tracy Otsuka for letting me share my story and making it such a delightful experience.