Rebecca - A Diagnosis At 32 Gave Language To A Lifetime Of Overthinking

A fast mind can be a beautiful place—until the world demands it walk in a straight line. We sit down with Rebecca Jackson, a higher education administrator who found clarity at 32 with an ADHD diagnosis after years of masking, burnout, and misreads of mood. Her story is honest and practical, weaving personal turning points with the small, repeatable tactics that make daily life calmer and work more sustainable.Rebecca opens up about the years when anxiety felt random and school life taught her to hide. That history shifts once ADHD becomes the lens: the nonlinear thinking, the memory drop-outs right after unlocking the phone, and the heavy cost of performing “office normal” in an open plan. She walks us through the hard start and real benefits of lisdexamfetamine—initial side effects, dose titration, and what improved when the morning fog finally lifted. We get into workplace adjustments that actually help: noise-cancelling headphones, a quieter desk, flexible hours, and the underrated power of a short dance break when working from home.Beyond personal care, Rebecca is pushing for culture change. As a staff disability network co-chair, she champions training, community, and a more thoughtful approach to disclosure. She dismantles the “it’s a trend” trope with lived reality, and calls out hiring practices that privilege performance over proof. Her case for portfolios and practical assessments is compelling—hire the work, not the nerves. Along the way, we examine alcohol as a trigger, the sensory math of crowded family gatherings, and the comfort of familiar TV as a nervous system reset. The takeaway is both simple and strong: clear language, humane systems, and everyday boundaries can turn survival into growth.If this conversation helps you feel seen, pass it on. Subscribe for more candid stories, share this episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help others find the show. What hiring change would make the biggest difference for neurodivergent candidates? Tell us.