216: I Wasn't Ashamed of My ADHD. I Was Confused by It.

Full show notes here: https://sociallyausome.com/post/i-wasnt-ashamed-of-my-adhd-i-was-confused-by-it-ep-216/

Last week I promised I'd say something on this show I've never said out loud. Especially not live. So here it is.

For years I didn't tell people I have ADHD, and everybody assumes that means shame. Part of that's true. But the bigger reason was this: I didn't think anybody would believe me.

How do you say out loud that you built a six-figure business, spoke on a TEDx stage, and also have no idea where the water bottle you filled up forty minutes ago went? It sounds made up. So I said nothing for years and called it privacy.

In this episode, I walk through the three walls that kept me quiet, and wall three is one I've genuinely never admitted publicly.

In this episode:
(00:00) The thing I've never said out loud
(01:30) Wall one — everyone pictures a bouncing eight-year-old boy
(04:15) Wall two — why the ADHD contradiction makes you sound like you're lying
(05:00) Why ADHD pattern recognition points outward but never inward
(07:15) No, we don't hate structure — we can't reliably build it
(08:00) Why "everyone's a little ADHD" is not a compliment
(09:30) Wall three — the one I've never admitted
(13:00) What actually changed: I stopped asking one side of my brain to disappear

Your one action: pick the wall you're standing behind and name it out loud.

Then DM me on Instagram @socially.ausome and tell me which one is yours... wall three especially, because I've never heard anyone else say that one.

Resources mentioned:
📖 FLOW-First Thinking (Amazon + Audible) → https://amzn.to/3TaVuD7
🎤 My TEDx talk → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBaJhU1gOVU
✨ Free Spark Tracker → https://sociallyausome.com/spark-tracker-page
🎧 My episode on ADHD Rewired → https://sociallyausome.com/post/adhd-rewired-masking-burnout-alyece-smith
💼 Discounted 1-hour call (listeners who finish the episode) → https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/onehourwithalyecesmithg0cjjj

If this one hits, please leave the episode a review; it's the best compliment you can give!