CORE

You built the career. You held it all together. You were the one everyone counted on. And somewhere in the middle of all of that — you lost the thread back to yourself. In this episode, Libby Andrew explores one of the most quietly devastating experiences of late-diagnosed ADHD: the moment the performed identity stops working. If you've ever opened your mouth to answer "what do you want?" and heard nothing — this episode is for you. We go into the neuroscience of why identity feels so elusive for ADHD brains, what masking actually costs, and what the path back to yourself really looks like. This is not a breakdown. It is a beginning.

You planned ahead. You knew what time it was. You genuinely wanted to be there. And somehow — you were still late. This episode is about why. ADHD researcher Dr. Russell Barkley coined the term time blindness for a reason — and once you understand what's actually happening in your brain, the chronic lateness, the missed windows, the last-minute scramble finally makes sense. This isn't a willpower problem. It's neuroscience. And it's fixable.

Today I sit down with a teacher of 30 years. A teacher who has spent three decades in the classroom helping kids with ADHD — and who, somewhere along the way, never once saw herself in them. Until she did.Fiona Kearnan is an Australian educator, ADHD advocate, and author of Unseen Battles — a book she wrote for brilliant, high-achieving women like herself who received their ADHD diagnosis later in life. And when I say this conversation hit close to home... you already know.We talk about what it means to spend your entire career seeing something in others that you couldn't yet name in yourself. We talk about the mask — how capable women build it so well that even the experts miss it. And we talk about what happens when it finally comes off.If you've ever wondered how someone so smart, so accomplished, so together could go this long without knowing — this episode is your answer.🎙️ Listen now. Then send this to the woman in your life who needs to hear it. Here is the Link for purchase of her Book: https://www.amazon.com/Unseen-Battles-Social-Emotional-Challenges-ebook/dp/B0GPS3SZ32?ref_=ast_author_dp_rw&th=1&psc=1&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.91RYazJ-QdLaXQTy43ZWLYIv5mpyYMUluoV2n7tJ2A4.ygVbDjYX9XPWt7vk1UBLVABtcV0kF8_zi3EJKHmWvQ0&dib_tag=AUTHORWebsite: https://libbyandrewstudio.com/Blog:https://libbyandrewstudio.com/blog/Instagram @libbyandrewstudioBook A Coaching Session: https://calendly.com/libby-libbyandrewstudio/private-clarity-momentum-session

After my diagnosis, I called a friend who had been telling me I had ADHD for years.I was like… yeah, yeah.And then I got the diagnosis — and I was elated.Finally, something made sense.Maybe a little medication could help. Maybe this was the answer.But what I wasn’t expecting…was that the pattern recognition I had relied on for everything…would turn on me.It turned into something else entirely —replaying moments, decisions, things I’d said, things I’d missed.At first, it felt like regret.And then… it started to feel like regression.But something shifted.I started using my diagnosis — and a few very specific mental strategies —to do something I had never been able to do before:halt the thought web.In this episode, I walk you through:why this “regression” phase happens in ADHDwhat’s actually going on in your brainand the exact steps I used to interrupt it and move forwardBecause this isn’t the end of the story.Many women move through this phase…back into stability — and then into a version of themselves that is more focused, more self-aware, and actually thriving.If you want a simple starting point, I created a guide called The Seven Signs You Might Have ADHD — https://libbyandrewstudio.myflodesk.com/libbyandrewstudio-sevensignsguideHop on the waitlist for Group Coaching Here:https://libbyandrewstudio.myflodesk.com/coregroupcoachingmembershipI’m Libby Andrew.This is CORE.This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. If something here resonates, consider speaking with a licensed clinician.

Nobody is thinking about you as much as you think they are. I know — rude. Also? The most liberating thing I'll ever say to you.

In Episode 4, recorded from her car parked at a storm-calmed Atlantic Ocean, Libby uses the story of Taryn Smith — a 25-year-old from landlocked Omaha who became the first American woman to solo row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic — as a lens for understanding one of ADHD's most underexamined struggles: not the beginning, but the middle.The ADHD brain is wired for departure. The novelty, the stakes, the dopamine of a new horizon. But Taryn's story isn't really about the launch. It's about day 27, when both shores have disappeared, the hives have arrived, and it's just you and your own mind deciding whether to keep rowing.Libby connects this directly to her own business — past the exciting launch phase, not yet at the destination, sitting in the middle where the real emotional work lives. The episode's central insight is that the ADHD tendency to hop to the next shiny thing is most dangerous precisely here, in the middle, when the novelty is gone and arrival isn't visible yet.What Taryn modeled — and what Libby offers as the core skill — is learning to find the novelty within the commitment rather than outside it. The dolphin. The bird. The Nutella. Not abandoning the boat for a new horizon, but discovering what's alive inside the one you're already on.The episode closes with an invitation: wherever you are in your own ocean, keep rowing. Antigua is out there.

This is a podcast for women who have always been capable…who have built careers, raised families, created beautiful lives…and yet somewhere along the way, something stopped working the way it used to.Maybe you’ve always been someone people describe as intense. Creative. Quick thinking. The person who can figure anything out. But suddenly you find yourself exhausted.Overwhelmed. Forgetting things you never used to forget.And you start asking yourself a strange question:Why is life suddenly harder than it used to be?For many women, the answer turns out to be something they never expected.ADHD.Not the childhood version people talk about.But adult ADHD — often diagnosed later in life in women who were capable enough to compensate for decades.This podcast is for information and conversation only. I’m not a doctor. I am a certified coach who works with women who are navigating exactly this moment.Women who have incredible capacity…but whose brains need a different kind of structure and scaffolding to thrive. The goal of this podcast is simple. To help you understand your brain —so you can use the powerful parts of it to your advantage and finally stop fighting the parts that have been haunting you for years.So today we’re starting at the beginning.What adult ADHD actually is —and why so many intelligent, capable women miss it for decades. Please feel free to share this episode also follow me on Instagram @libbyandrewstudioGrab a personal strategy coaching session with me here.Follow Me at Tik Tok @LibbyAndrewStudioRead the Latest on THE BLOG at my website www.libbyandrewstudio.com And Sign Up For the 7 Signs It is Probably ADHDThank you! And Stay tuned for Episode 4 - The Woman IN The Boat.. So glad you Listened Today! Thank you for being here!

In this episode of On Purpose, Libby Andrew explores the hidden reality of ADHD masking in women: the ability to be compsed, successful and together while privately feeling that they are working harder than everyone else. Through personal reflection, cultural insight and a deeper look at how ADHD presents differently in girls and women, Libby unpacks why so many women were overlooked by traditional diagnostic systems and what it means to finally see yourself with a different lens. This conversation isn't about lavles or limitations. Its about recognition. About understanding the difference between performing competence and actually inhabiting it. And about the quiet moment when you realizing you've been adapting to the point of exhaustion. If you've ever felt like you've been living behind a version of yourself that everyone recognizes, this episode is for you. Tomorrow: What unmaksing really looks like and why finding yourself again can feel disorienting before it feels like freedom. Please feel free to reach out or connect and pass along to anyone who might need this episode. Website: https://libbyandrewstudio.com/Blog:https://libbyandrewstudio.com/blog/Instagram @libbyandrewstudioBook A Coaching Session: https://calendly.com/libby-libbyandrewstudio/private-clarity-momentum-session

Diagnosed with ADHD at 50? You're not alone. Before we get into it, I thought you might want to know how I discovered I had been living with undiagnosed ADHD for 50 years, and why I decided to coach women who discovered the same thing. Let's Go! Website: https://www.libbyandrewstudio.comBook a Clarity Coaching Session: https://calendly.com/libby-libbyandrewstudio/private-clarity-momentum-session?month=2026-02Join Me on Patreon for exclusive ADHD content:https://www.patreon.com/cw/LibbyAndrewStudioFREE GUIDE: 7 Silent Signs You've Been Living With ADHDhttps://masterful-avocado-75679.myflodesk.com/libbyandrewstudio-ai-guideTHE BLOG: https://libbyandrewstudio.com/blog/Instagram: @libbyandrewstudioTik Tok: @libbyandrewstudioPlease don't hesitate to reach out, contact information can be found on the website! Thank you for listening. . . See you in the next Episode.