Leaving the ADHD Label Behind - with Guest Joseph Pack

Send me a message, from episode feedback to theme requests. Episode: Leaving the ADHD Label Behind (with Joseph Pack)In this conversation, I sit down with my coach, Joseph Pack, to talk about something that might ruffle a few feathers: What happens when you loosen your grip on the ADHD label?We both have ADHD. We both coach ADHD’ers. And yet, we’re both speaking about it less and less. Not because we’re denying struggle – but because we’re more interested in the human underneath the diagnosis: values, environment, habits, food, sleep, connection… and what’s actually possible when you stop treating four letters as a life sentence.We talk about:How an ADHD diagnosis can both validate your experience and quietly limit youThe difference between understanding your brain and living inside a labelWhen diagnosis helps – and when it becomes an excuse not to tryMedication, side-effects, and why Joe had to go looking for alternativesUltra-processed food, inflammation, sleep, and why your “busy brain” might be screaming for a resetThe power of coaching, challenge, and having someone who refuses to buy your limiting storyThis is not an anti-diagnosis episode. It’s an honest, messy, hopeful chat about identity, agency, and what changes when you start asking:“Who am I beyond ADHD – and what kind of life do I actually want to build?”People, books & ideas Joseph referencesIf you want to go deeper into some of the thinkers Joe mentions:Dr Sami Timimi – Searching for Normal: A New Approach to Understanding Mental Health, Distress and Neurodiversity Book link: Searching for Normal Prof. Tim Spector – ultra-processed food & gut health Channel 4 series What Not To Eat: Show info Dr Chris van Tulleken – Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food… and Why Can’t We Stop? Book link: Ultra-Processed People Dr Gabor Maté – ADHD and trauma ADHD page & his book Scattered Minds: drgabormate.com/adhd René Girard – Mimetic desire The idea that we often desire what others around us desire, which shapes behaviour and identity in deep, often unconscious ways.Opal – screen-time & focus app Joe mentions for cutting down distractions Website: https://www.opal.so Connect with usHost – Ben Cook Busy Brain & ADHD Coach Podcast: Something for the Busy Brain Email: [email protected] – Joseph Pack ADHD coach, founder, consultant (and my own coach)Email: [email protected] Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to ADHD and Busy Brains02:53 The Impact of ADHD Diagnosis05:39 Memetic Desire and Identity Crisis08:44 The Weight of Diagnosis11:30 Shattering Limiting Beliefs14:31 The Role of Coaching in Self-Discovery17:33 Challenging the ADHD Narrative20:29 The Subjectivity of ADHD Diagnosis23:21 Conclusion: Beyond the Diagnosis24:15 The Missing Heritability Link in ADHD26:18 ADHD Medication: A Controversial Discussion