Oliver Hudson: Untreated ADHD & the Dark Side of Antidepressant Withdrawal

Change Your Brain Every Day

Dr Daniel Amen

Braintrauma, Healthtips, Sleep, Obesity, Anxiety, Braininjury, Depression, Ptsd, Mentalhealth, Mood, Brainhealth, Health & Fitness, Energy, Disease, Addiction, Mental Health, Healthadvice, Adhd, Memory, Focus

4.6 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 28 July 2025

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if your lifelong struggles with anxiety, procrastination, and lack of follow-through weren’t personality flaws—but signs of untreated ADHD? In this raw and revealing episode, actor and podcast host Oliver Hudson sits down with his sister, actress Kate Hudson, alongside Dr. Daniel Amen and Tana Amen, for a brain scan reveal that changes everything. Oliver opens up about decades of panic attacks and anxiety, bizarre side effects from antidepressants, and the brutal reality of withdrawal from that medication—only to discover the real issue may have been overlooked all along. From childhood trauma to chasing dopamine, this episode captures the turning point where understanding begins—and hope for a better brain and a better life takes root.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Anxiety was a big part of your childhood.
0:03.0	Yes. In my 20s, I had a real moment of a panic attack and it set me off for a year, year and a half.
0:09.0	And I meditated and I wrote my journals and I was in therapy and I felt better.
0:13.0	Cut two years later on Lexa Pro, similarly, I stopped sweating again.
0:18.0	During that time, no one diagnosed you with ADD? No. So people are drugging your brain. Yeah. Based on what you tell them. Oliver Hudson is an American actor. Famous for his roles in the TV series? The Mountain and Dawson's Creek. School. Never a good student. Didn't feel like I was stupid. I just didn't like school. Went went to college for two years left after two years. I wanted to start my life. I wasn't mature enough to want to learn. You know, when you have ADD, emotionally, you're about three or four years behind your chronological age. With the talent you have, imagine if you could...
0:59.0	Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse. Stay with us to learn
1:05.5	how you can change your brain for the better every day.
1:19.5	This podcast is brought to you by the Change Your Brain Foundation, dedicated to ending the concept of mental illness by creating a revolution in brain health.
1:26.4	Go to change your brain.org to learn how you can support our mission.
1:33.8	Welcome back to the Change Your Brain Everyday podcast.
1:36.6	We are back again with Kate and Oliver Hudson.
1:39.2	We're having such a great time.
1:40.5	These interesting sibling brains explain so much probably about your lives as well.
1:45.6	Oh, yeah. So welcome. Thank you. Thank you. Oliver. Your goal, want to know more about your
1:53.9	brain. I'm very excited about that. And we look at you, the things I pulled out from your history.
2:04.4	Anxiety was sort of a big part of your childhood.
2:09.6	It's not day to day where I'm feeling anxious every single day.
2:12.5	In my 20s, I had a real moment of a panic attack and it set me off for a year,
2:18.1	year and a half.
2:22.9	And I meditated and I wrote my journals and I was in therapy and I felt better.
2:28.2	But there was a residual there and I went on Selexa and it kind of evened me out.
2:31.3	Selecta Selexa off for years.
	...

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