ADHD, Fight-or-Flight, and the Productivity Trap with Jenna Free

The Angry Therapist Podcast

John Kim

Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2026

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What if ADHD isn’t just about focus… but about a nervous system stuck in survival mode? Therapist Jenna Free explains why many ADHD brains are living in chronic fight-or-flight—and why productivity tools like planners and to-do lists often fail. In this episode, Jenna shares how her own late ADHD diagnosis in graduate school led her to rethink everything she was taught about ADHD treatment. Instead of adding more systems and strategies, she began focusing on nervous system regulation. When the body is dysregulated, executive functioning drops, urgency increases, and people get stuck in a familiar ADHD pattern: on → crash → repeat. Jenna introduces the concept of “alignment with reality” — learning to match your internal state to what’s actually happening instead of fighting reality with thoughts like “I’m behind” or “there’s not enough time.” We also explore ADHD in women and motherhood, the cultural pressure to constantly produce, and how productivity for productivity’s sake can disconnect us from joy, presence, and the people we care about most. Jenna shares practical ways to regulate in everyday life, including recognizing signs of dysregulation, slowing the body to signal safety, and identifying the beliefs that keep us stuck in urgency. If you constantly feel rushed, overwhelmed, or trapped by your to-do list, this episode will change how you think about ADHD, productivity, and regulation. 🔗 Guest Links: Book Title: THE SIMPLE GUIDE TO ADHD REGULATION: The Secret to Finding Balance, Getting Things Done, and Enjoying Website: https://www.adhdwithjennafree.com/ TikTok: @adhdwithjennafree ; www.tiktok.com/@adhdwithjennafree Instagram: @adhdwithjennafree ; www.instagram.com/adhdwithjennafree Podcast: ADHD with Jenna Free; https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/adhd-with-jenna-free/id1801356817 🎙️ Host Links: 📘 Read John’s new book in progress Sh*t Your Therapist Would Never Tell You on John’s SubStack ⁠HERE⁠ If you’re ready for deeper work, the Secure Self course is available HERE Order John's new book, Break Up. On Purpose,⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow John on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about John⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is the biggest barrier of this work is dysregulated people want to overhaul everything by Monday.
0:06.0	They want it instant. They want it now. They want it big. And they want it extreme. But that's the dysregulation talking.
0:20.3	We have a special episode for you guys today.
0:23.6	Jennifer Free is a counselor, CCC, for ADHD.
0:28.2	And she specializes in working with ADHD brain to get out of fighter flights and working into and into working its best while honoring neurodivergence.
0:41.7	Such a bad reader.
0:43.0	And all of our uniqueness, she's a focus on making, I like that you call it ADHDers, live more enjoyable
0:51.2	while also being productive because of course we have to, you know, live our lives,
0:56.1	but also build something.
0:57.5	She works with clients through her program, ADHD regulation groups, and teaches other
1:01.8	mental health professionals, the ADHD regulation method in her certification program.
1:08.0	She has a brand new book out.
1:10.0	And is this book pre-order or is it out
1:11.6	wide now? March 17th. It'll be out. Oh, nice. Yeah. So, thank you. All the info of her book
1:18.0	will be in the show notes. And the reason why I invited my wife is because she struggles with ADHD.
1:25.3	As is John, he just doesn't understand or know it yet.
1:28.3	Yeah.
1:29.3	It shows up very differently for the two of us, but for sure, we both have a little
1:33.3	neurospiciness.
1:34.3	Yeah.
1:35.3	Jenna, let's start with your story.
1:37.3	What led you to actually writing this book and your passion to help others with this?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from John Kim, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of John Kim and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.