Our Story
Hi, weâre James and Jules Galloway.
We've been married for over 20 years, and in 2022, we were both diagnosed with ADHD (combined type).
After a year full of discovery, learning and insights, we wanted to create a place to connect with other late diagnosed ADHDers.
Together we will chat about the highs, the lows, the frustrations, the hilarious moments, and the emotional rollercoaster that comes with finding out you're neurodivergent.
This is a podcast of real talk and lived experiences. Whether you are young, old, young at heart, or somewhere in between, you're all welcome here.
Together we are LD ADHD.
Check out the podcast:
Have you noticed a spike in people around us joining the ADHD and Autism gang? Let's chat about why thatâs happening. It turns out, weâre playing a bit of a catch-up game with these diagnoses and until recently, there were hardly any studies on women and people assigned female at birth (seriously, what took them so long?).
Weâll also chat about how it feels when people hit you with the âoh, but everyoneâs got ADHDâ comment â spoiler alert: it can feel pretty insulting. Plus, some cool celebs who are helping to ditch the stigma (shoutout to Em Rusciano and her awesome National Press Club address!)
Ever feel like youâre a sitting duck when it comes to getting stuff done? Youâre not alone. As ADHDers, a lack of dopamine and norepinephrine can fry our motivation and energy, making everyday tasks feel like weâre pushing boulders uphill.
This week, we chat about how troubles with reward processing can leave us stuck in the passive action trap, procrastinating and feeling ashamed for not getting things done. But donât worry, we also share some tips and ideas from body doubling to not sitting down, to help you beat the avoidance and get moving!
Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) is something that a lot of ADHDers experience and usually manifests as a really strong emotional or even physical reaction to the idea of rejection or failure - cue the procrastination!
We talk about how RSD pops up in daily life and James shares his own experiences from the emotional reactions to those avoidance spirals and the negative self-talk.
Hang around until the end for our âAD Moment of the Weekâ.
Itâs a very valid point - is it worth all the time, stress, effort and $$$ of being formally diagnosed, if youâre not planning to try ADHD medication?
We delve into the pros and cons of seeking out a formal assessment, and discuss why it might be really helpful for some people⌠and not so much for others.
A must to listen to if youâre thinking about going through the diagnostic process yourself, or know someone who is.
Moving house can be a struggle for those who are neurodivergent (hey - weâve heard itâs even hard if youâre neurotypical!).
So we thought weâd share what went well, what didnât go well, and our top tips for staying sane throughout the process.
Ok⌠so the month we planned to take off actually turned into more like 9 months. (Sorry about that!)
But - we had a LOT going on (some planned, some definitely NOT planned), and our first priority is always self-care. Tune in for a quick explanation of what the hell happened, and why we had to park the podcast for a while.
But⌠we missed you! And weâve been looking forward to getting this back up and running for aaaaaagesâŚ
Weâre finally back, and we really hope you like the next season of LD ADHD.
Ahhhhh⌠The Dreaded ADHD Burnout Cycle.
Or as James and Jules named him⌠âBarry Burnout.â
He sneaks up on you when you least expect it. He lures you in with promises of novelty, excitement, fun, and success. He tempts you with a shiny new object. And once youâre committed, he transforms into overwhelm, drudgery and pain.
Why do we all keep doing it?
James and Jules compare their burnout styles - as an AuDHDer, James experiences more of a sensory overload. Whereas Jules prefers more of a classic ADHD âthrill of the chase, then get shitty when I have to grind it outâ approach ;)
They also chat about how to spot Barry, how to stop him in his tracks before he gets a foot-hold, and how to recover when you find yourself in burnout in the future.
Meet Faye Lawrence. She was a heavy drinker for many years, but never really saw herself as an alcoholic, because on paper her life looked pretty successful. That was until 2017, when she wound up in hospital from her drinking. But she turned it all around, and part of her comeback story is that she has created a thriving community of people who are also giving up alcohol. And you know what? Sheâs also a late diagnosed ADHDer. So we got her on the show to pick her brain about the connection between ADHD and addiction, and what we can do about it.
We all have them. Those facepalm moments where we donât know whether to laugh or cry. So letâs talk about them. We asked our listeners âWhatâs your biggest ADHD moment?â and hereâs what they came up with.
James and Jules share their own experiences about what's worked for them over the years, both before and after finding out they were ADHDers (and it's no surprise that they're sometimes polar opposite in their answers, lol). And they also throw in a sprinkling of science about which types of workouts you might want to avoid if you're on stimulant medications or feeling anxious or wired.