Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ A 10-year-old boy sat across from Dr. Kalaki Clarke, MD during her psychiatry rotation, and she saw herself. Smart, charming, good grades but couldn't get it together. That's when she knew she had ADHD too. Dr. Clarke was in her first year of residency at UC Irvine, working 80-hour weeks in a system designed to test you constantly. She'd been the good kid, the...
All content for ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka is the property of Tracy Otsuka and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ A 10-year-old boy sat across from Dr. Kalaki Clarke, MD during her psychiatry rotation, and she saw herself. Smart, charming, good grades but couldn't get it together. That's when she knew she had ADHD too. Dr. Clarke was in her first year of residency at UC Irvine, working 80-hour weeks in a system designed to test you constantly. She'd been the good kid, the...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ A 10-year-old boy sat across from Dr. Kalaki Clarke, MD during her psychiatry rotation, and she saw herself. Smart, charming, good grades but couldn't get it together. That's when she knew she had ADHD too. Dr. Clarke was in her first year of residency at UC Irvine, working 80-hour weeks in a system designed to test you constantly. She'd been the good kid, the...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ You walk into a room and forget why you're there. You miss deadlines even though you care deeply about the work. You can remember a random conversation from 15 years ago but not what someone just told you five minutes ago. Welcome to life with an ADHD brain and a memory system that works differently. Dr. Daniella Karidi knows this firsthand. Diagnosed with ADH...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ Kiersten Lyons spent most of her life being told she was too much. Too loud, too dramatic, too many feelings all at once. She was also told she wasn't enough. Not pretty enough, not the right fit, not what Hollywood was looking for. The dichotomy nearly broke her. But it also became the foundation of her story. As a working actress in LA for over a decade, wit...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ Nicole Bela was brilliant at her job. She could read a room in seconds, remember every donor’s story, and raise millions for causes she believed in. But behind the polished professionalism, she was quietly unraveling. The same systems designed to do good were slowly breaking her down, and she couldn’t understand why. After being diagnosed with ADHD at 37, just...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ What happens when doing everything "right" still leaves you miserable? You start asking better questions. Shell Mendelson was a successful CEO of KidzArt, an international children's art franchise she founded, when everything fell apart. Despite looking accomplished on paper, she was disconnected, dysregulated, and drowning in work that no longer fit. At her l...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ Burnout was Skye Waterson's PhD companion. She'd switch majors—psychology to law to sociology—convinced each time that she just hadn't found her passion yet. The truth was simpler and more complex: she was trying to outwork her undiagnosed ADHD, and no amount of grinding harder was going to fix a brain that needed different systems entirely. By the time she fi...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ Sometimes the thing that saves you is also the thing that masks your greatest struggle. Swimming was Meg Hennessey Schofield's lifeline through college—three to four miles a day that kept her ADHD brain calm and focused. When she quit her senior year to focus on teaching, everything fell apart. The anxiety and depression that led to her diagnosis at 21 made ...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ Sometimes, the most humbling moments teach us the most about ourselves. Tracy recently found herself in Santa Barbara, recording courses for major companies like LinkedIn Learning and Google. After three flawless, scripted trainings, she was asked to do an impromptu training on ten ADHD tips. Despite having written a book and recorded 350 podcast episodes, Tra...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ From the outside, you look like you've got it all together. But inside? You're drowning in the endless mental load, feeling guilty because you need breaks from your kids, and wondering why other moms seem to breeze through daily routines that leave you completely drained. Amy Marie Hann was diagnosed with ADHD at just five years old in the mid-1980s—making her...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup Natasha M. Nurse lived 37 years not knowing she was neurodivergent. Then motherhood changed everything. The crying, the overwhelm, the dark thoughts that felt like more than typical new parent struggles—all of it led to a discovery that would reshape her understanding of herself completely. Diagnosed with autism and ADHD at 37, Natasha finally had answers for a life...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _ Barbara Baskin spent 30 years convinced she wasn't very smart. School was academic probation and "needs to try harder" report cards. Then came an ADHD diagnosis at 30, followed by three decades of raising four kids (including triplets), caring for her mother with dementia, and running a business while being everyone's executive function. At 60, Barbara made a deci...
*This episode has been updated* Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _ What would it be like if you could see music as colors dancing in front of your eyes? For Justine Glaser, that's just a normal Tuesday. Justine is a creative force who doesn't just hear music, she sees it. Diagnosed with ADHD at age 3 and born with synesthesia, a rare neurological trait where sound shows up as color, Justine has a...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _ You know that feeling when someone tells you you're "too intense" or "ask too many questions"? Lucia Kanter St. Amour has built an entire career on exactly those traits. Lucia is a negotiation expert, law professor, and the kind of ADHD woman who writes Amazon reviews so detailed she got invited to their exclusive Vine program. She's the author of For the Forces o...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _ You want to make changes, but can't seem to start. Or maybe you're doing the work, but it's not working fast enough. This solo episode tackles the number one thing that keeps ADHD women stuck, and it's not what you think. Tracy Otsuka breaks down why change feels so hard even when you really want it, and why having access to all the tools in the world won't help...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup __ Sometimes the biggest breakthrough comes from dropping the mask and reclaiming your story after decades of living someone else's version of your life. Dr. Shafer Stedron knows this journey intimately. Dr. Shafer is a neurologist, life coach, author, and host of Talks with Dr. Shafer. Drawing from both clinical expertise and lived experience, she helps others refr...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup ___ Aging with ADHD isn't about decline—it's about finally coming into your own. Sandy Reynolds is challenging everything we've been told about getting older, especially as neurodivergent women. Sandy is a coach, facilitator, and fierce advocate for women navigating their third act. With more than 25 years of leadership and adult education experience, she helps wome...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup ___ When you're the eldest daughter of immigrants with ADHD and autism, you learn to mask early and master systems—but at what cost? Meral Alizada knows this story intimately, and she's using it to transform how companies think about neurodivergent talent. Meral is the founder of Results of Kindness (ROK), where she helps organizations build workplaces where neurodi...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup ___ People with ADHD are built for the future of work. While everyone else worries about AI taking over jobs, we're the ones who'll figure out what to do with it next. Muxin Li studied at UVA and Rice, but her real education came from following a winding path through anthropology, teaching, journalism, and now AI. Today, she's building tools designed to reduce cogni...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup ___ What if your doctor could prescribe a fishing group instead of another medication? A birdwatching club for your anxiety. An art class for your depression. Welcome to social prescribing—a healthcare movement that's changing how we think about healing by focusing on connection, not just pills. Julia Hotz is a journalist and author of The Connection Cure, the first...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup ___ Nobody prepares you for ADHD pregnancy brain. Decisions become impossible when choosing between 200 strollers for a baby you've never met, how appointments can completely derail your routine, and focus. The brain fog that hits like a wall, or the surprising clarity that some women experience when hormones align just right with their neurodivergent wiring. Dr. Ka...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup _____ A 10-year-old boy sat across from Dr. Kalaki Clarke, MD during her psychiatry rotation, and she saw herself. Smart, charming, good grades but couldn't get it together. That's when she knew she had ADHD too. Dr. Clarke was in her first year of residency at UC Irvine, working 80-hour weeks in a system designed to test you constantly. She'd been the good kid, the...
