The Neuroscience Behind Why Your ADHD Brain Won't Switch Off
If you have ever started a task with the best intentions, yet 4 hours later your sat doing something completely different wondering how you got there... this week's More Yourself episode is for you.
In this clip from our first-ever ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live event, clinical psychologist and ADHD expert Dr Hannah Cullen talks us through the Default Mode Network, how it is impacted in those of us with ADHD, and the tools we can use to support our brains!
If you're normally scared by the term neuroscience, this episode offers a warm, funny and brilliantly clear perspective on information that could really help you to make sense of a brain you may have spent a lifetime fighting against.
In this episode, we explore:
- What the Default Mode Network actually is and why understanding it is so crucial for managing ADHD symptoms
- Why do so many of us start tasks and struggle to finish them, and what this has to do with working memory
- How Dr Hannah brings the DMN to life by demonstrating in real time just how hard it is for our brains to stay focused
- Pacing techniques that can genuinely reduce burnout and help with task completion
- The power of microstarts and real examples of how they can help you finally begin
- How outsourcing tasks and body doubling can ease overwhelm and boost productivity
- Simple systems like planners and diaries can make daily life feel more manageable
- Why ADHD shows up differently in women, including the impact on stress, anxiety, depression and self-esteem
This session offers something that good therapy often takes years to uncover — and Hannah delivers it with so much warmth, humour and clarity that you'll want to listen twice.
The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Event Recording is here!
My first-ever ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live event sold out, and now the full experience is available to you wherever you are, whenever it feels right.
Alongside three neuro-affirming experts, we spent four hours exploring the questions that matter most to late-diagnosed women. Get lifetime access here!
Inside the ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Recording, you'll find:
- Kate Moryoussef on post-diagnosis growth and her gentle framework for what comes next
- Dr Hannah Cullen on the neuroscience of ADHD and why your brain works the way it does
- Hannah Miller on reconnecting with purpose through a neurodivergent lens
- Adele Wimsett myth-busting on hormones, HRT, progesterone and perimenopause
Understand yourself more deeply, feel less alone, and finally access the expert knowledge you deserve. Because every woman with ADHD deserves access to the knowledge, expertise and understanding that for too long simply hasn't been available to us.
To get lifetime access for £44, click here for lifetime access.
Join the More Yourself Community - the doors are now open!
More Yourself is a compassionate space for late-diagnosed ADHD women to connect, reflect, learn and come home to who they really are. Sign up here!
Inside the More Yourself Membership, you’ll be able to:
- Connect with like-minded women who understand you
- Learn from guest experts and practical tools
- Receive compassionate prompts & gentle reminders
- Enjoy voice-note encouragement from Kate
- Join flexible meet-ups and mentoring sessions
- Access on-demand workshops and quarterly guest expert sessions
To join for £26 a month, click here. To join for £286 for a year (a whole month free!), click here.
We’ll also be walking through The ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Toolkit together, exploring nervous system regulation, burnout recovery, RSD, joy, hormones, and self-trust, so the book comes alive in a supportive community setting.
Today's episode sponsors:
If you’re looking to deepen your understanding and create meaningful change in the ADHD community, today’s podcast sponsor is for you! The Neurodiversity Training Academy is on a mission to empower professionals who help clients wear their ADHD with pride.
You can download the brochure or book a call here:
https://neurodiversitytrainingacademy.com/pod/
Links and Resources:
- Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website [here].
- Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed ADHD women find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity and clarity.
Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:So hi everyone.
Speaker B:Welcome back to another More Yourself episode.
Speaker B:And today I'm sharing another clip from our brilliant, brilliant first live event that happened last month.
Speaker B:And I wanted to share this clip with Dr. Hannah Cullen who is a clinical psychologist.
Speaker B:She's also an amazing ADHD sort of expert, understanding it from a lived experience, but also cultivating a client base of ADHD late diagnosed patients or clients.
Speaker B:I wanted to share this clip because it was a really interactive bit of her talk and she explains a little bit about the neuroscience of our brains through this interactive exercise where she brought me in as her helper, really showcasing how our ADHD brains show up throughout our days lives, making things a lot more challenging.
Speaker B:And she continues in the rest of her session to really highlight the importance of neuroaffirming therapy after a diagnosis of ADHD and why you might feel like you have this strong inner critic where it all comes from and how to build useful strategies and structures to ease our cognitive loads and how to break down tasks and make things more manageable and then how to understand ourselves and why these experiences that we all share such as overthinking, anxiety and self criticism and RSD are so much more common for us and not to sort of wallow in this, but to understand it with compassion and understanding that we can move forwards with greater knowledge and allow ourselves to grow through all this awareness.
Speaker B:I hope that you enjoy this clip.
Speaker B:I hope that it kind of shows you the dynamic that was happening on the day and also what a brilliant expert she is on this subject.
Speaker B:And as you know, the audio experience is fully available as well.
Speaker B:So if you kind of love this clip, please know that you get her full talk, her full session alongside the other speakers, sessions which include about hormones and purpose and my talk on post diagnosis, growth and strengths and what we lean into after we've had these diagnoses.
Speaker B:So do know that this is all available for you to listen to as a whole audio experience.
Speaker B:So here is the clip with Dr. Hannah Cullen.
Speaker A:So when we talk about burnout and we talk about pacing techniques and we talk like if you don't understand that your default mode network is going to be always on, life becomes so hard and it's kind of the one piece of information.
Speaker A:I'm thinking like why is this not like in every assessment, why is this not like the neuroscience, not taught to but to our children even who may be neurodiverse, you know, why are we not talking about like actually this is how your brain works, this is how it's different.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:What Techniques can we put in place to try and quiet the default mode network?
Speaker A:Also, if a task is really interesting, as you said Kate, it's super easy to kind of pay attention.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So in those instances, yeah, Default mode network goes off, Task positive network turns on.
Speaker A:We can do what we need to do.
Speaker A:Does that make sense?
Speaker A:Is that kind of visual?
Speaker A:Thank you, that's really nice.
Speaker A:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:It's just something that I think is super important to know.
Speaker A:And, and also the default mode network, yes, it's like really disruptive but also just to validate.
Speaker A:Like this is where neurodivergent people get their creativity, their spontaneity, their enthusiasm, you know, because it's this piece that's the driver and we always hear that, don't we?
Speaker A:Like, oh, I have these great plans but I just can't kind of get them going and get them off.
Speaker A:And that's where we use our skill sets.
Speaker A:We use our skill sets like body doubling, we outsource where possible.
Speaker A:For the admin tasks, you hire someone to send an email to your boss because he probably wouldn't have emailed you in the first place if you had have actually emailed him.
Speaker A:So it's outsourcing.
Speaker A:It's like using our skill set body doubling, as I said, task initiation techniques as well.
Speaker A:So just like even if it is starting a boring task and we're stuck in this mode and we're trying to get this on and you know, this task is like something you normally procrastinate.
Speaker A:It's called Microstar.
Speaker A:It's like five minutes, that's all you need.
Speaker A:Just take the laptop out and open it, charge it something small to start bringing this up.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I just wanted to share that with you because I think it's really helpful sometimes to have that visual as well in that sense.
Speaker A:I was going to drag Kate up here to do a little example, but I feel like I've sort of explained it, but we can actually have a go, should we, what the default mode network does.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So obviously you are adhd.
Speaker A:You have ADHD as well.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:What I'm going to ask you to do is we're going to try switch on your task positive network.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:And I'm going to ask you to try to say the days of the month.
Speaker A:What month of the year.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:The months of the year backwards.
Speaker B:Oh no.
Speaker A:And it's quite a challenging thing.
Speaker A:So don't worry, we can just take your time.
Speaker A:So no distractions, Tax positive network.
Speaker A:There's no time limit.
Speaker A:You just Work.
Speaker A:You can make mistakes.
Speaker A:It's absolutely fine.
Speaker B:Start from December.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:December, November, October, September, August, July, June, May, April, March, Feb, January.
Speaker A:That actually deserves a round of applause.
Speaker A:That was amazing.
Speaker A:Well done.
Speaker A:Okay, so Task Positive network was really in full flow there, right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I'm going to ask you to do it again.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I'm just going to be your default mode network and you just do your thing.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:So this is a default mode network.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:When you're ready, take it from the top.
Speaker B:Do what?
Speaker A:I did exactly the same.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:December, November.
Speaker A:Kate, did you ask your husband to pick your kids up from school?
Speaker B:December, November, October, September.
Speaker A:Can you ask that lady in the red jumper where she got that?
Speaker B:August, July, what colour are your socks?
Speaker A:June, May, Are you on time?
Speaker A:Are you tracking the time for this talk?
Speaker A:March,.
Speaker B:Feb.
Speaker A:You're actually very slow.
Speaker B:That was hideous.
Speaker B:That sounds like my brain.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Well done.
Speaker A:That is absolutely brilliant.
Speaker A:And the whole point being is that that is the reality of how we do life.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:I have to close my eyes.
Speaker A:I saw that.
Speaker A:And I was just about to comment on that, actually, because you are trying so hard to keep this on.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You're really the first time around when it was like.
Speaker A:Like that's pretty difficult to do anyway because you're in a room full of people.
Speaker A:So it's not a natural setting.
Speaker A:But that is the reality of how we do life.
Speaker A:Our default mode network is overactive.
Speaker A:When we have to do a task, if there's any pause in the task, our mind goes.
Speaker A:So it's often where we see this description of which is one of the questions in the assessments, which I know you're all aware of.
Speaker A:You know, do you start a task and often fail to finish it?
Speaker A:Yeah, sure.
Speaker A:And it's like, of course, you know, it's the.
Speaker A:The working memory as well, you know, the kind of trying to hold things.
Speaker A:And in reality, I think a lot of people with ADHD are still without a system because systems are hard to implement, are still holding so much here in their mind about what they have to do.
Speaker A:And all of those things that we just spoke about.
Speaker A:And without a strong, robust system in place, it becomes really hard.
Speaker A:The cognitive load is immense and I don't know why, when we're already at this kind of deficit that we feel like we'll remember.
Speaker A:Like, we don't.
Speaker A:We really don't.
Speaker A:And in reality, as human beings, we can only ever hold seven pieces of information at one time.
Speaker A:That's working memory.
Speaker A:So when we're trying to Remember what we were supposed to do last week as well as today and as well as tomorrow and as well as on Sunday?
Speaker A:It becomes impossible.
Speaker A:So if anybody here does not have a system in place or a diary in place, even though it's difficult to implement, I would say that is the first place you could start in terms of reducing burnout, quietening the dmn, building consistency, and just kind of actually softening the load.
Speaker A:It's the more practical kind of things that actually can really help.
Speaker A:And sometimes they're the boring things that people with ADHD don't love doing, you know, like checking the calendar or things like that.
Speaker A:I just want to say as well, like, another reason obviously why back to that piece of why women are missed is because we have very complex presentations in comparison to men with ADHD as well.
Speaker A:So we literally are the perfect storm.
Speaker A:And I think that's what's going to tie in really nicely with Adele's piece as well, around hormones.
Speaker A:Because if that's not being included and you're not seeing or whoever you're speaking to is not seeing that as part of the picture, oh my gosh, again, it becomes down to that piece of like having the right lens.
Speaker A:You know, when you're working with somebody, we are more complex.
Speaker A:We have higher levels of stress, we have higher levels of anxiety, higher levels of depression, lower levels of self esteem in comparison to men with adhd.
Speaker A:So, you know, I mean, I don't need anybody to take a guess as to why that might be.
Speaker A:Life's pretty chill for women in that sense.
Speaker A:And we have more complex presentation, obviously, to neurotypicals.
Speaker A:By the time women actually get diagnosed, they will have seen multiple mental health professionals or medical professionals.
Speaker A:And it's like, Adele, you mentioned down there earlier, it's like, who do I go to next?
Speaker A:Like, how can somebody help me figure this out?
Speaker A:Because you shouldn't.
Speaker A:And that's what's really hard.
Speaker A:You shouldn't have to figure it out by yourself.
Speaker A:We obviously have high levels of masking as girls as well, and then managing that into adulthood as well.
Speaker A:We become really expert at it.
Speaker A:And I hope sometimes every time I do an event, I hope to kind of have something like super positive to share.
Speaker A:But actually I always feel like I want to say that things are changing and yes, they're moving in the right direction, but it's still not enough.
Speaker B:Thank you for being here and listening to today's episode.
Speaker B:I just want to remind you that if you are looking for more support on your ADHD journey, there are so many resources waiting for you over@adhdwomenswellbeing.co.uk so inside the ADHD Women's Wellbeing Workshop library you'll find practical and compassionate guidance on topics such as nervous system regulation, rejection, sensitive dysphoria, perfectionism, emotional regulation, hormones, parenting and so much more.
Speaker B:All designed specifically for for late diagnosed neurodivergent women.
Speaker B:You can also explore my new book, the ADHD Women's Wellbeing Toolkit, which was published by dk, which is also available in ebook and audiobook, which is packed full of tools to help you feel calmer, more regulated and more like yourself.
Speaker B:And if you do crave a bit more deeper connection and ongoing support, come and join us inside the More Yourself Community.
Speaker B:It's a gentle space for learning with reflection and connection with other neurodivergent women.
Speaker B:And you'll also find the recordings from our first ever ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live event, which brought together incredible speakers and a room full of inspiring women for a truly special day.
Speaker B:We have recorded it all for you and it's there to buy, so whether you're just starting your journey or looking to go deeper, there's something there for every stage.
Speaker B:Just head to ADHD womenswellbeing.co.uk to explore everything.
Speaker B:And as always, thank you so much for being here and for being part of this community.
