Alcohol Turned Me Into a Nightmare! Addiction, ADHD & Recovery. School of Rock Bottom 74: Serena Palmer

Today's conversation with Serena Palmer goes straight to the heart of addiction, ADHD, success and collapse, and the hidden world of high-achieving professionals who are fighting battles no one can see. If you’ve ever wondered how someone can lead global teams, excel in a corporate role, appear entirely in control, and still be unravelling behind the scenes, this episode will speak to you. We explore late ADHD diagnosis, the link between neurodiversity and alcohol misuse. Behind the titles, she was privately battling a late ADHD diagnosis, escalating drinking, and cycles of alcoholic psychosis. Today she’s 2 years sober, deeply grounded in the work of recovery, and helping individuals and organisations understand neurodiversity, addiction, and human potential in a far more honest way.We walk through the earlier years too: the roots of self-medication, the dopamine-seeking patterns that began with sugar and the early risk-taking. Serena explains how ADHD can push high performers into dangerous coping mechanisms and why adults diagnosed later in life are statistically far more vulnerable to addiction. Here’s the reality: adults with ADHD are three times more likely to develop addiction, and if they’re diagnosed later in life, up to 60% are already battling substance issues. Among high achievers, 1 in 10 hides an addiction behind their success and around 1 in 4 will battle it at some point in their lives. We also discuss the end of an eighteen-year relationship, the impact of redundancy, the pressures of corporate travel, and the ways high achievers can hide addiction in plain sight. Serena brings clarity to how these dynamics fuel dependence and why some of the most capable, driven people can find themselves on the edge without ever realising how far they’ve fallen.Before we close, Serena shares clear, practical advice for anyone trying to stay clean and sober through Christmas and offers insight for anyone who looks successful on the outside but feels like they’re collapsing internally. This is a conversation about reality, responsibility, hope and the possibility of change—delivered with truth, depth and humanity.If you’ve ever battled addiction, questioned your relationship with alcohol, lived with ADHD, or struggled to square your internal world with the life people assume you’re living, this episode will stay with you.Oliver is an ambassador for Alcohol Change UK and you can access support here - https://tinyurl.com/5dt5773eThank you to Gavin Sisters for sponsoring this episode! Visit -www.gavinsisters.co.uk and use promo code SCHOOLOFROCKBOTTOM for 10% off!Podcasting is an expensive passion. To help me keep going, I'd really appreciate it if you could buy me a coffee, thank you!https://buymeacoffee.com/olivermason1Or via PayPal - https://www.paypal.me/olivermason1paypalTopics -0:00 Trailer & Intro 4:00 A rock bottom moment 10:30 Would you rewrite history if you could?14:00 Why Serena needed pain to stop drinking 15:00 Enabling, toxic relationships & masking 18:30 Self medicating undiagnosed ADHD 22:00 Emotional dysregulation & RSD26:00 Nicotine, smoking and ADHD28:00 Daydreaming and fantasy 31:30 Workaholism?33:00 Rehab and coming out of denial 39:00 Getting excited about recovery 41:50 Using hyperfocus in recovery 44:30 Cocaine Anonymous 48:20 Sponsor49:20 Are you born with ADHD?50:20 How addiction and ADHD interact 53:30 Tips to stay sober at XmasFollow SerenaWebsite -https://www.serena.consultingInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/thereal_hrcoachSTRAIGHT OUTTA REHABhttps://amzn.eu/d/fmvl89UMY TWO BRAINS AND MEhttps://amzn.eu/d/6p88BoMFollow OliverIG - https://tinyurl.com/2vt29sjvFB - https://tinyurl.com/34cwz59rTikTok - https://tinyurl.com/ujw4vxn9LinkedIn - https://tinyurl.com/yuemhnd7Threads - https://tinyurl.com/yk7vdeahX - https://tinyurl.com/3u5mnpdsAlso WATCH here YouTube - https://tinyurl.com/229ndvfk#AddictionRecovery#AlcoholFree#SobrietyJourney