ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka
Want to fall in love with your ADHD brain and make it work for you? Learn more about my patented program, Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy here : programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup * I have NEVER met an ADHD woman who wasn’t truly brilliant at something! This podcast, with nearly 7 million downloads, is for smart, high-ability ADD/ADHD (diagnosed or suspecting) women who see their symptoms as more positive than negative. If you want to fall in love with your ADHD brain and discover where your brilliance lies, this podcast is for you! * * ADHD for Smart Ass Women is globally ranked in the top one-tenth of one percent of all podcasts in the world on any subject. It’s streamed in more than 160 countries and is downloaded by more than 150,000 listeners every month. My book of the same name, published by HarperCollins/William Morrow, was recently honored by Amazon Editors as a Top 20 Best Nonfiction Book of 2024. * * I’m Tracy Otsuka, your host. I’m a lawyer, not a doctor, a lifelong learner, and a certified ADHD coach. I’m on a mission to change the conversation around ADHD because I believe it’s time to focus on the strengths that come with our unique brains. When I was diagnosed eight months after my son, my entire life finally made sense, yet all I read and heard about ADHD focused on what I should struggle with. What I discovered, though, was that my ADHD was responsible for some of my greatest strengths. * * Another thing we constantly hear is all the success stories about ADHD men, but no one talks about the women. This podcast is here to change that. ADHD women are my people, and I’m here to acknowledge, support, and cheer them on. My experience as an adult living with ADHD, along with my expertise, is regularly sought out by top-tier media, including Bloomberg, Forbes, CBS Mornings, ABC News Live, Inc., Prevention Magazine, Verywell Mind, ADDitude magazine, and The Goal Digger Podcast, etc. * * adhdforsmartwomen.com * * The content in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and does not constitute medical or professional advice. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of anything you have seen or heard from Tracy Otsuka, her guests or this podcast.
Episodes
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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When Devene Godau adopted a retired racing greyhound, she thought she was just rescuing a dog. Instead, she found her purpose. What started as an effort to help an anxious greyhound with separation anxiety became a lesson in communication, connection, and compassion. Those lessons didn’t just transfor...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 differen...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 foundatio...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 dis...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 goin...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 fel...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 ...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 d...
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 a...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 bus...
*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
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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 synesth...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 s...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 ...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 fro...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 ...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 Kindnes...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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, journal...
Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup
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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 H...
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