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Living Beyond ADHD

Living Beyond ADHD

By: Dr B - Barbara A. Cohen Ph.D. MFT innovative educator coach & therapist
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 ADHD is one of the most researched yet least understood conditions of our time. Living Beyond ADHD host, Dr B, is here to explore relevant information that just isn't making it from the experts to the general public, and to close that gap. Those diagnoses missed in earlier years and made in adulthood, add many burdens to the discovery. Failed marriages, bankruptcy, unemployment, academic failure, underachieving, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and a deep mistrust of self, are just the tip of the iceberg. In order to live a happier, more productive and successful adult life in today's world, you must learn the foundational pre-skills and essential executive function skills and strategies. Those underdeveloped skills and strategies rather than just your ADHD could be what are driving your greatest challenges.© Copyright 2017-2025 Alternative & Complementary Medicine Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • The Importance of Executive Function Pre-Skills – 120

    The Importance of Executive Function Pre-Skills – 120
    May 24 2023
    How often do you do the prep work for your tasks? Do you know what I mean by prep work? Most people I know really dislike the prep work and just want to get down to doing the task. They even feel that the prep work is a waste of their time because it isn't getting the job done. And, they are short on time as it is, so this is just a non-essential thing to do. But is it really? Everything in life needs prep work and maintenance. If you are the cook in your family or home, you need to prep the meal before you can make it and then eat it. If you are going to work on an art project, you need to prep and make sure you have all the supplies you need for your project before you embark or you'll be running out to the store or aborting the project when you find out that you don't have what you need. What about leading a meeting at work? Do you just show up and talk, or do you need to prep for the meeting so you stay on topic for the purpose of the meeting and are clear on what you will present? Like I said, prep work and maintenance is just part of life. Prep work can include many Executive Function skills or Executive Function pre-skills. And, if you don't have solid pre-skills, then building your Executive Function skills on a flimsy foundation isn't going to get you sustainable results. The 3 Executive Function pre-skills that I feel are essential are your relationship with time and how you manage yourself and time itself, procrastination and how you eliminate it from your life, and decision-making since you are making decisions every day, and sometimes all day long. Do you trust yourself with time and the decisions you make? Have you eliminated procrastination from your life? In this episode, I talk about: Executive Function pre-skills development The importance of developing a dynamic plan with a strong foundation What it's like to work with Dr B And more! Developing your Executive Function Skills and shifting your limiting beliefs is the fastest and most effective way to overcome ADHD limitations, find focus, gain confidence, and a newfound freedom in your life! My mission is to put an end to the worldwide needless suffering of adults with ADHD and those with under-developed Executive Function Skills - whether from ADHD, chronic depression or anxiety, trauma, addictions, or chronic illnesses.  And, you don't need a formal diagnosis to know you need help developing these executive function skills in order to greatly reduce your suffering.   Episode Resources: Get Sh*t Done Fundamentals + Essentials (GSD-FE) Program Information:  (previously known as the ADDventures In Achievement [AIA-FS] program) https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/gsdprogram Grant assistance page for help with funding for GSD-FE program: https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/financial-assistance  Book your complimentary discovery call with Dr B to get your questions answered, and determine together if GSD-FE is right for you or not: https://calendly.com/d/ywy-j5t-4jk   The Transformation Club (TTC) – if time or money commitments have been holding you back - the affordable membership program for Executive Function skills development: https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/ttcprogram  Free PDF - 13 Signs Weak Executive Functioning Is Holding You Back: https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/Executive-Function  Book your complimentary discovery call to get your questions answered and determine if TTC is right for you or not: https://calendly.com/amygellerux/ttcdiscoverycall     Follow me on Dr B Facebook Page and enjoy live videos and more Follow me on Instagram and enjoy relevant resources  To Help The Show: Subscribe at your favorite listening spot and my podcast player has social media links (icons) in the episode player so you can share episodes you love with others! Please rate the show and leave a thoughtful review on iTunes so I know you're benefiting from the episodes.  The greater the number of reviews, the higher the ranking, and the easier it will be for others to find the show; people who also need this information.  Let's put an end to the worldwide needless suffering together!  We can do this! 
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    33 mins
  • Do you have the blueprints to build a new model of yourself? – 119

    Do you have the blueprints to build a new model of yourself? – 119
    May 17 2023
    Do you have the blueprints to build a new model of yourself? One of my favorite quotes is by Buckminster Fuller, who said, "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." Thinking along the same lines as Fuller, I realized years ago that with so much that happens on our journey from birth to adulthood, unless we build a new model of ourselves and then move into that new model, we will be fighting the existing reality and model of our earlier life and selves forever, and trying to "fix" the dysfunctional, rather than create anew. If changing the outcomes in your life was as easy as learning some new skills or moving to a new place to start over again, then everyone who does it that way would be happy with their new outcomes. It doesn't work that way. Wherever you go, there you are. You are taking the existing model of who you have become up to now and attempting to shove new tools into that existing, dysfunctional model of you, and there is no room for this to happen. You are a closed system that has what it has and functions as it does within that closed system. You have to be willing to build a new model of yourself, for who you need to be or want to be, take the best from your existing model and move it over into your new model, and then release the rest of that original model because it is obsolete. My phrase for that release is borrowed from Star Trek and is "beam me up Scottie." Since energy never dies, I don't want to leave anything from the previous model of me, that is now obsolete, for me to slide back into at some point in time. I am clear that model is obsolete and I have built a new healthy model and I want to live from the place of that new model, not the old, dysfunctional one. This means we have to be able to let go of the old and embrace the new, and many have difficulty letting go of anything; especially the previous, outdated and dysfunction model of who they have been. In this episode, I talk about: Building a blueprint for a new model of yourselfWhy change is not just as easy as learning new skillsCommon barriers to transformationAnd more! Developing your Executive Function Skills and shifting your limiting beliefs is the fastest and most effective way to overcome ADHD limitations, find focus, gain confidence, and a newfound freedom in your life! My mission is to put an end to the worldwide needless suffering of adults with ADHD and those with under-developed Executive Function Skills - whether from ADHD, chronic depression or anxiety, trauma, addictions, or chronic illnesses. And, you don't need a formal diagnosis to know you need help developing these executive function skills in order to greatly reduce your suffering. Episode Resources: Get Sh*t Done Fundamentals + Essentials (GSD-FE) Program Information: (previously known as the ADDventures In Achievement [AIA-FS] program) https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/gsdprogram Grant assistance page for help with funding for GSD-FE program: https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/financial-assistance Book your complimentary discovery call with Dr B to get your questions answered, and determine together if GSD-FE is right for you or not: https://calendly.com/d/ywy-j5t-4jk The Transformation Club (TTC) – if time or money commitments have been holding you back - the affordable membership program for Executive Function skills development: https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/ttcprogram Free PDF - 13 Signs Weak Executive Functioning Is Holding You Back:https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/Executive-Function Book your complimentary discovery call to get your questions answered and determine if TTC is right for you or not: https://calendly.com/amygellerux/ttcdiscoverycall Follow me on Dr B Facebook Page and enjoy live videos and moreFollow me on Instagram and enjoy relevant resources To Help The Show:Subscribe at your favorite listening spot and my podcast player has social media links (icons) in the episode player so you can share episodes you love with others! Please rate the show and leave a thoughtful review on iTunes so I know you're benefiting from the episodes. The greater the number of reviews, the higher the ranking, and the easier it will be for others to find the show; people who also need this information. Let's put an end to the worldwide needless suffering together! We can do this!
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    33 mins
  • Are You Prone to Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD)? – 118

    Are You Prone to Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD)? – 118
    May 11 2023
    Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria or RSD is a hot topic these days. It is one manifestation of emotional dysregulation, which is a common but misunderstood and under-researched symptom of ADHD in adults. Individuals with RSD feel unbearable pain (physical and emotional) as a result of actual or perceived rejection, teasing, or criticism. And, this symptom is not alleviated with cognitive or dialectical behavior therapy. I've read that this symptom is attributed to a different brain structure, a sensitivity that is different than just being a highly sensitive person, and as with the treatment of ADHD itself, medications such as ADHD medications or antidepressants are often given in the hopes that they will lessen the pain. A significant percentage of adults never find any effective ways to manage or cope with the pain. So, what do adults do when they are in unbearable pain? What comes to mind is self-medicate the pain so they can at least do what needs doing in their life. This could be drink, drug, spend, eat, etc., to escape the pain. When I read about rejection, it appears to be the intentional act of refusing to accept, approve or support something or someone such as refusal to show someone love or kindness; refusal to accept someone. Rejection is the act of not giving someone the love and attention they want and/or expect. In this episode, I talk about: The unbearable physical or emotional pain of rejectionThe difference between RSD and ADHDWhat it takes to transform from the inside outAnd more! Developing your Executive Function Skills and shifting your limiting beliefs is the fastest and most effective way to overcome ADHD limitations, find focus, gain confidence, and a newfound freedom in your life! My mission is to put an end to the worldwide needless suffering of adults with ADHD and those with under-developed Executive Function Skills - whether from ADHD, chronic depression or anxiety, trauma, addictions, or chronic illnesses. And, you don't need a formal diagnosis to know you need help developing these executive function skills in order to greatly reduce your suffering. Episode Resources: Get Sh*t Done Fundamentals + Essentials (GSD-FE) Program Information: (previously known as the ADDventures In Achievement [AIA-FS] program) https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/gsdprogram Grant assistance page for help with funding for GSD-FE program: https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/financial-assistance Book your complimentary discovery call with Dr B to get your questions answered, and determine together if GSD-FE is right for you or not: https://calendly.com/d/ywy-j5t-4jk The Transformation Club (TTC) – if time or money commitments have been holding you back - the affordable membership program for Executive Function skills development: https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/ttcprogram Free PDF - 13 Signs Weak Executive Functioning Is Holding You Back:https://www.drbarbaracohen.com/Executive-Function Book your complimentary discovery call to get your questions answered and determine if TTC is right for you or not: https://calendly.com/amygellerux/ttcdiscoverycall Follow me on Dr B Facebook Page and enjoy live videos and more Follow me on Instagram and enjoy relevant resources To Help The Show:Subscribe at your favorite listening spot and my podcast player has social media links (icons) in the episode player so you can share episodes you love with others! Please rate the show and leave a thoughtful review on iTunes so I know you're benefiting from the episodes. The greater the number of reviews, the higher the ranking, and the easier it will be for others to find the show; people who also need this information. Let's put an end to the worldwide needless suffering together! We can do this!
    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
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I found Dr B when I dived into the topic of neurodiversity to understand my human experience. After my ADHD diagnosis, my motto became “pills don’t teach skills”, and I realised I needed to address something that my ADHD was impacting. Since I found her, my life has completely changed. She gave me a lot from her deep understanding and profound approach to life to bring the most out of me and finally understand what compassion really means. Now I am getting ready to flip the script. Thank you Dr B!

Dr B became my Lighthouse through rough see, guiding me towards my islands in the stream of consciousness.

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Dr B’s approach is nothing short of miraculous.

If you don’t understand why things are not working for you, there is hope here.

Dr B explains and demonstrates the skills of Executive Function whether due to ADHD or many other causes. She is successfully transforming the lives of people around the world as they develop these skills in a safe and supportive environment. Dive in!

The way forward to understand what has been holding you back and the means to transform it

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