When Your Brain Won’t Fit the World: Finding Your Creative Path with ADHD with Andy J. Pizza

The One You Feed

Eric Zimmer, The One You Feed

Education, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness, Religion & Spirituality, Buddhism, Mental Health

4.6 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Andy J. Pizza joins Eric Zimmer for When Your Brain Won’t Fit the World: Finding Your Creative Path with ADHD, a conversation about creativity, identity, and what happens when you stop treating yourself as a problem to fix. Andy shares how discovering ADHD helped him reframe years of self-doubt, better understand his parents, and build a creative life that actually fits the way his mind works. Together, they explore self-acceptance, the role of labels, and how art can become a powerful way to excavate who we really are. Help us make the podcast better—share your input in a short survey:: ⁠oneyoufeed.net/survey. ⁠Thank You! Exciting News!!!Coming in March 2026, my new book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠How a Little Becomes a Lot: The Art of Small Changes for a More Meaningful Life is now available for pre-orders!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Key Takeaways ADHD as a form of neurodiversity rather than a personal deficit The connection between ADHD and creativity, imagination, and divergent thinking How self-compassion supports mental health and sustainable personal growth The role of diagnosis and language in understanding identity and behavior The influence of childhood and family dynamics on self-perception Moving from self-criticism to self-acceptance in creative and personal life Creativity as a tool for self-discovery, meaning, and emotional insight Designing habits and environments that support how your brain works For full show notes,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!⁠ Connect with the show: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@TheOneYouFeedPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you enjoyed this conversation with Andy J. Pizza, check out these other episodes: Creativity as a Cure with Jacob Nordby Eric Tivers on ADHD in Adults By purchasing products and/or services from our sponsors, you are helping to support The One You Feed, and we greatly appreciate it. Thank you! This episode is sponsored by: ⁠⁠⁠Aura Frames⁠⁠⁠: For a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting ⁠⁠⁠AuraFrames.com /FEED ⁠⁠⁠to get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames – named #1 by Wirecutter – by using promo code FEED at checkout. This deal is exclusive to listeners, and frames sell out fast, so order yours now to get it in time for the holidays! ⁠⁠⁠Uncommon Goods ⁠⁠⁠has something for everyone – you’ll find thousands of new gift ideas that you won’t find anywhere else, and you’ll be supporting artists and small, independent businesses. To get 15% off your next gift, go to ⁠⁠⁠UNCOMMONGOODS.com/FEED⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠: Post your job for free at ⁠⁠⁠⁠linkedin.com/oneyoufeed⁠⁠⁠⁠. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Art really is self-expression, and you're never going to love your work. You're never going to love that
0:06.6	self-expression if you hate the thing that it's expressing, which is yourself.
0:15.0	Welcome to the one you feed. Throughout time, great thinkers have recognized the importance of the thoughts we have. Quotes like, garbage in, garbage out, or you are what you think, ring true. And yet, for many of us, our thoughts don't strengthen or empower us. We tend toward negativity, self-pity, jealousy, or fear.
0:40.5	We see what we don't have instead of what we do. We think things that hold us back and dampen
0:45.8	our spirit. But it's not just about thinking. Our actions matter. It takes conscious,
0:51.6	consistent, and creative effort to make a life worth living. This podcast
0:55.9	is about how other people keep themselves moving in the right direction, how they feed their good
1:01.2	wolf. What if you're not a problem to fix, but a person to cultivate? My guest today, illustrator
1:10.5	and podcaster Andy J. Pizza grew up being
1:14.3	told he was just like his mom, wildly creative, unable to stick to jobs or appointments,
1:21.4	a life that eventually spiraled into addiction, abuse, and serious illness. And for a long time, Andy decided the safest thing was to become the opposite of her, and
1:33.2	by extension, the opposite of himself.
1:36.8	It wasn't until he began exploring ADHD, working in a juvenile detention center, and really
1:42.9	looking at his own story that something shifted.
1:46.2	He started to wonder, maybe his mom didn't fail because of who she was,
1:51.9	but because she was never allowed to be who she was.
1:55.9	We talk about art as self-expression, making peace with the parts of ourselves we'd rather exile, and what
2:02.6	happens when we stop trying to repress our nature and start cultivating it instead?
2:08.5	I'm Eric Zimmer, and this is the one you feed. Head home for the holidays with Abercrombie and Fitch.
2:14.8	Between family dinners and making time to catch up with friends,
2:17.9	my calendar gets booked up. When I need to look put together, Abercrombie makes it easy to find
2:23.4	outfits for all of my fans. With their classic jumpers, essential hoodies and Abercrombie denim,
	...

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