Backpacking Through ADHD

What happens when ADHD meets the chaos of midlife? When emotional regulation collides with hormonal imbalance, and everything—focus, patience, even mental stability—feels like quicksand?

In this powerful, heart-forward episode, host Tera Greenwood explores three pillars that help ADHD minds survive and thrive through life’s hardest seasons: Grace — learning self-compassion when your brain and hormones feel like they’re working agai...

This week on Backpacking Through ADHD, we’re exploring the kind of love that steadies us — the friendships that regulate our ADHD brains and remind us we’re not alone. From heart-hat dinners with lifelong friends to working side-by-side with a best friend who celebrates nonlinear thinking, this episode dives deep into how connection shapes our focus, creativity, and sense of calm.

Tera shares how adult friendship can become one of ...

After the “Fiesty” episode, a listener asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks: "What do you do with the weight that comes with owning who you are?"

That conversation inspired this week’s episode—Rising Above Labels: Defying Gravity with ADHD.

In this deeply personal episode, we’re talking about the emotional gravity that comes with ADHD—how labels, expectations, and self-doubt can quietly pull us down—and what it really m...

Weekends: freedom, chaos, or both? In this energized episode of Backpacking Through ADHD, we’re unpacking why unstructured time can be so tricky for ADHD brains—and how to turn those 48 hours into something that actually restores us.

Tera explores the messy middle between productivity and peace, guilt and rest, and shares how her family learned to build “rhythm over routine.” You’ll hear real-life stories, science-backed insights, ...

What happens when women with ADHD get called “bossy,” “too blunt,” “difficult,” or “too much”? In this episode of Backpacking Through ADHD, host Tera Greenwood flips the script on the word feisty.

From family stories to workplace moments, Tera explores how the very traits often criticized in ADHD women—intensity, passion, boldness—are actually strengths. This episode is about reclaiming labels, setting boundaries, and refusing to s...

What if the ADHD journey could be guided by three simple words: kinder, braver, together?

In this week’s episode of Backpacking Through ADHD, I’m exploring how these words aren’t just ideals—they’re practical tools for both parenting ADHD kids and living with ADHD as an adult.

We’ll talk about:

• Why kindness (to our kids and ourselves) can shift emotional storms into connection.

• How bravery shows up in everyday advocacy, at ...

Parenting ADHD means becoming the “rule maker”—but that doesn’t mean playing drill sergeant. In this episode, I explore the messy middle of setting boundaries while leaving space to bend.

From the chaos of chore charts that collapsed, to the nights when breaking bedtime rules meant saving connection, this conversation is all about how rules can both anchor and overwhelm ADHD families.

We’ll talk about why fewer rules work better, h...

If I had one wish, it wouldn’t be for money, success, or even more hours in the day. My one wish is that ADHD was understood by everyone. Not tolerated. Not brushed aside. Truly understood.

In this episode of Backpacking Through ADHD, I take the “Make a Wish” hat and use it to explore what life could look like if our kids, partners, colleagues, and communities actually got it. We’ll unpack the myths that keep us stuck, share the he...

Words have power, and for ADHD kids, they often carry an even heavier weight. In this week’s episode of Backpacking Through ADHD, we’re leaning into the theme “Forged in Fire,” a phrase that reminds us how strength is shaped in the heat of challenge. When Grayson asked me to buy this hat, I hesitated at first, unsure of its meaning. But once I understood that being forged in fire is about resilience and growth, I knew the moment wo...

This week on Backpacking Through ADHD, we’re unzipping something you can’t see in a classroom photo but every ADHD child carries: the invisible backpack. 🎒

Inside that backpack? Anxiety. Social pressures. Masking. Sensory overload. Perfectionism. The things that weigh our kids down, even when no one else notices.

I’m not hiking this trail alone. Joining me is my friend and fellow ADHD mom, Sarah Dobek, who brings honesty, humor, a...

This week on Backpacking Through ADHD, we’re unpacking the real story of back-to-school—the space where carefully crafted plans meet ADHD reality. From messy backpacks and emotional buckets to teacher check-ins and small wins, I share what really happens during the first week of school and why recalibration matters more than perfection. If your first week felt chaotic, you are not alone. This episode is about turning the data of we...

Back-to-school season is a high-stakes transition for every family, but for ADHD families, it’s layered with invisible pressure, emotional spirals, and deep questions about belonging. In this episode of Backpacking Through ADHD, I’m sharing a heart-centered guide to navigating the return to school with compassion, clarity, and connection.

From the anxiety of new teachers and classroom dynamics to the overwhelm of school supplies an...

In this week’s solo episode of Backpacking Through ADHD, Tera puts on her new “Social” hat—not to make noise, but to embrace the quiet. Episode 31, titled “ Letting Go of Linear Paths,” is a reflection on the messy, beautiful, nonlinear nature of growth—especially for those of us with ADHD.

We’ve been taught that progress should be straight and steady, but ADHD doesn’t work that way. And honestly? Neither does life. Tera shares per...

Turning 50 has a way of pulling everything into focus, and for me, that meant finally understanding the winding, often misunderstood journey so many ADHD women walk. In this episode, we explore “Lost Girl Syndrome,” a term that describes how ADHD in girls and women is so often missed, masked, and misunderstood. From the report cards that said “she’s bright, but…” to the emotional toll of constantly trying to keep it together...

I used to think that in order to collaborate or connect, I had to dilute parts of myself. That the tangents, the emotional spirals, the ideas that came in bursts—those things had to be hidden or softened. But I’m learning that the right people don’t just tolerate those things—they value them. They don’t need me to edit who I am. They just need me to be honest. When I stop over-preparing and just show up as myself—interruptions, rab...

In this episode of Backpacking Through ADHD, we’re exploring what it means to live in the gray space between ADHD, anxiety, and identity. If you’ve ever felt misdiagnosed, mislabeled, or just misunderstood, this one’s for you. I share my own story of discovering ADHD later in life and how anxiety shaped so much of my experience before I had the language to understand what was really going on. We’ll talk about masking, the emotional...

Ever feel like you’re doing everything and getting nowhere? Like your brain is spinning while your body stands still? This week, we’re unpacking ADHD paralysis, time blindness, and that strange mental traffic jam that leaves us frozen, yet totally overwhelmed. If you’ve been stuck, shaming yourself for not doing more, this episode is your reminder: you’re not broken, and you’re not alone. Let’s talk about what’s really happening, a...

Impulsivity is one of ADHD’s most misunderstood traits—often mistaken for carelessness or recklessness. But what if impulsivity isn’t a flaw? What if it’s a signal, a strength, even a kind of intuition? In this episode, I unpack the difference between impulsivity and instinct, and explore how risk-taking can be a powerful tool for growth when we understand what’s really driving it. I share insights from my own leadership blindspots...