ADHD RISE 🖤 2023 KICK-OFF | Val Nichols Business Coach | Pauly A Lucky N Sober | Katherine Callahan

Hey! Hey!

All right, everyone, let's lean into this beautiful song and really listen and absorb all of the beauty and grace. Take a moment, close your eyes, feel it. We gonna walk it out. Today we are going to rise up. Where is it in your life, in your work? In your legacy, where you are sick and tired of holding on to the burdens of what life tells you, of the titles, of the things you've been told you need to be, who you are, the perceptions. The stories where it feels like it's getting hard to breathe. I promise you we are going to take the world today. We are going to stay Stand together shoulder to shoulder. We're gonna rise together. Are you ready to rise? If you are ready, drop something in the comments to let me know that you are ready. All we need is hope, and we have each other.

Why?

Because when I rise, you rise. We rise together. You guys, this is the official kickoff of ADHD Rise 2022. I have tears in my eyes right now as we are speaking. You guys, this moment, if I could capture in One breath. The things that have shifted, the difference of the— us collaborating and coming together right now today, us being here in this moment as we rise. Yes, Mandy. Yes. Rise, rise, rise, you guys. The— I mean, I'm sitting here in my apartment in the forest reflecting on I'm not really in the forest. I'm in the mountains right next to Mount Bachelor in Bend, Oregon, right in the middle of Oregon. And if I could tell you the things that have shifted since last year, I couldn't even— I can't even bottle up and share with you guys the things that have changed and shifted and the transformations I've seen in people who are in this room. I'm seeing faces today that I haven't seen in a long time. Andrea, hello, hello. Oh my gosh, April, Michelle, Chelsea, Vandy. Charlotte, Matt, April, Alicia, Amir, Louis, and then we have our friends. It's not many. It is Danielle, and I am just so excited to see Polly up here, to have Catherine, to have Belinda. Oh my goodness, you guys! I can't even tell you the difference. I was talking with Summer this morning. She was my co-host last year, and we had the most beautiful heart-to-heart moment. And I got to thank her, you know, like the things that she carried through with us in creating this last year. I got to thank her for being there for me because then I don't know if you guys all even knew, and this is going to be really raw and vulnerable, but there was times last year during this event that I had to mute myself because I was crying so hard I could barely get through it. I don't know if you guys knew that because I'm that type of person who, and I don't know, I'm going to share this story with you because I feel like there's There's someone here that needs to hear it. There's someone here in this moment that needs to hear this story that, you know, as people with ADHD, as human beings going through the things that we go through, the emotional turmoil, it is oftentimes the strongest ones who appear the strongest on the outside who fall apart the most on the inside. And I'm going to stand before you here today in the 2nd annual ADHD Rise event and tell with you with total and complete transparency That last year when I was here, there was so much that I thought I had to carry on my own. I was going through one of the most— the hardest periods of my life, feeling rejected in my marriage, feeling like, you know, here I was doing this incredible, amazing event and all these incredible things are happening, and the one person that I wanted the praises from wasn't giving it to me. And that's not their fault. That's not my fault. That's, that's just how it was, you know. And when you have some— a vision and you have something that you're rising toward, and when you have something that you are taking a stand for, and you know in your heart of hearts that no matter what, no matter what, you have to live this thing out because it has been in your heart and soul, it has been pulling you forward, and, and you know that is the one thing in your life there's no way you You can ignore this because this is your life calling. This is your passion, and this is not only you know what you want to do. This is what you were created to do. You guys, that is this event. This event last year changed everything, and there's people here today that I know I wouldn't know unless if that event happened. And you know, I'm looking at beautiful people that came in my life: Polly, Catherine, Belinda, you know, Teresa. You know, people that it was it went. So far beyond that, just an event on Clubhouse. And here we are one year later. And if I could bottle up all the beauty in the lessons, the heartache, the pain, and the freedom that have happened For me, for you, for us in the past year, I would give you one sentence, one word of wisdom, one beautiful piece of advice. You are called for something big. Amen.

Huge.

You are unstoppable. And there are things in your life, there are people in your life who are not going to get what you are doing. And I know somebody's got to drop an amen in the comments right now because I know this, this message is for more than one of you right now. People are not going to get it. And if you ignore the call, if you ignore the pull to rise up— and I'm looking at my friend Polly over here and I'm resonating. This is something we talked about recently, is that we get to discover and uncover not only who we are, but we get to let go of all of the things, the limitations, the words that have been spoken over us, the titles, The, um, you know, this year I, I phrased ADHD Rise, our— because this is us, this is for us, this is for me, this is for you, this is for us. We are rising together. This year our theme is for those who refuse to be stopped by any limitation.

Any.

The ones we put on ourselves, the ones we think other people put on us, real or imagined. I created a story. I don't know about you guys. I got a message on Instagram and I created a story around it based on little bits of information that I had. I created a story and I got to, you know, own up to that and realize and talk it out and go, oh wow, yeah, I'm noticing. That's because of some past responses. I'm responding and creating a story. And you know what we get to do? We get to rise up for me, for you, for us, because ADHD, neurodiversity, Being a woman, being a man, being black, bring being orange, being gay, being non-binary, being you know whatever label we choose to identify ourselves with, whatever we choose to identify ourselves with, we are freaking unstoppable. You are.

Unstoppable.

And you are here because you saw the vision. You are here because you heard the call, and you are here to rise up. You are here because you refuse to be limited by any limitation. And with that, I want to welcome you officially to the 2nd annual ADHD Rise event. You guys, I am— I have been in tears all morning. I could not sleep last night. I think I finally got to sleep at like 3:30 AM, and I'm here drinking my ADHD coffee. That is our— they're our sponsor. I don't know if you guys knew that. Um, it is my coffee company. It's called ADHD Cafe. It is for the easily distracted mind. And I'm drinking a cup of chocolate hazelnut right now, getting so excited to be with you guys today. With that, I love you guys. Like, oh my gosh, who else here gets ADHD over stimulation? Because I'm already feeling it. All right. And I haven't even taken my meds yet. That's probably one of the issues, but I love you guys. I want to, um, you know, just, just welcome you guys. Welcome. Here is a safe place. Know that if you were a part of the event last year, I see so many of you that were. I am just so grateful for you. If you are a new friend, so grateful for you. If we have not met yet, please let's change that. I am so grateful for you. It is ADHD Awareness Month. I am a business coach for ADHD entrepreneurs. I work with people who are multi-passionate and who, you know, not only want to create a business, but they want to make great money doing it. They want to have the freedom in their lifestyle to travel the world like I've been doing. Gosh, I think I've been traveling since about February till about, gosh, a couple weeks ago. I'm here in Bend, Oregon, and I just love to serve. I love to help others, and I love people, and I love to, you know, just really help you step into your calling. My story is that I was in the corporate world and I'm going to be honest with you guys. My experience was not everyone's experience, but I was in the corporate world and I was feeling like there was a lot of backstabbing, just a lot of things that didn't align. ADHD people were incredibly driven by this feeling of justice and things that are right. Things that are right. Thank you guys so much for sharing this out. I'm seeing so many posts of you guys sharing it on Instagram, and I appreciate you so much. Yeah, and we're actually going to be doing a little, a fun little giveaway. So thank you for sharing, and we'll go back. My team's going to look and see who is sharing, and we're going to add you into a drawing. So just know that we appreciate you, and I love to celebrate you, and I love to give back. So we get to do this. And, you know, my story was in corporate. I was sitting there and I'm like, there's got to be more. You know, at the top of my game, I was sitting in my living room one morning, the top salesman in my company. We were the number one district or area in the nation. And I was the top salesman and I felt like I should be happy. I should be happy.

Yeah.

Had everything—the husband, the car, the house, the dog, the salary, the office, the title—but I still felt empty. And I remember being challenged to do more. Like literally, you guys, I don't know what your beliefs are, and I honor all beliefs. Universe, angels, God, serendipity, whatever that is, goddess. For me, it felt like it was the voice of God saying, you've got to dust the book off. Take it off the shelf, dust it off, because we are not done with your story. This was February of 2018. I saw a vision of me standing on stages, which, oh my God, you guys, this is right now. I saw myself standing on stages with amazing, incredible people surrounding me and feeling so much joy and talking about the things that I had triumphed over, talking about rising up and creating something, talking about going from being, you know, the, the self-reliant girl who grew up with a single parent that we were so broke we had to steal toilet paper from the library. We ate a whole lot of Top Ramen and we were going to, you know, the shopping center, I think it was called a Cub Foods in Portland, Oregon. Like, we were going to Cub Foods at night because my mom was so embarrassed that she had to use food stamps, right? Like, that is where I came from. This was not a journey of being on a silver platter that was handed to me. We— I came from a single parent that had such extreme mental illness that I had to raise myself and essentially raise her too. You know, I came from a world where I thought I had to strive and do and get all these titles and do all these things just to prove that I was worthy of being alive. Right? And I don't know if anyone relates with that, but that's my story, you know, of, of self-medicating and, and drinking myself almost to death, which, you know, I, I know that ADHD and addictions is a— are very common things. So we have Polly here who's gonna be talking a lot about, you know, ADHD and addictions and co-occurring disorders. And Katherine has some great experience with that as well. And I know there's other people in the audience who, you know, it's their story to share, but I'm going, you know, If that's your story, just know you're in a good spot. There was a point where I was living in the backseat of my car in Seattle, Washington, wondering what the hell the point was. Fast forward to today. What a difference. What a difference. So I don't know where you're at. You know, right now I own 3 companies, official, like official companies, 8 streams of income, which is just blowing my mind. I'm sitting here with you guys today standing and rubbing shoulders with incredible people. I say that not to impress you. I say that to impress upon you what is possible. You guys, my high school guidance counselor told me I would not accomplish— I wouldn't Amount to anything because I didn't. I never went to school. I was so bored. I've had people tell me I'm too much my whole life. I talk too much. I'm too loud. Why don't I just get a real job? Why don't I just tone down? Why don't I just da da da da? So I don't know what page you're on, what chapter you are in your story. I don't know what kind of words have been spoken over you, but I have this inclination that if we were to all sit down and share our stories, which I am hoping to God I get to hear each and every single one of your stories this week, this month. If I were to sit down and listen to each one of your stories, I can imagine the heartache. The triumph, the victory, the beauty, the sadness, the words that have been spoken over us. And today, today, I want to let this right now and flash your mics, drop in the comments if you are ready to go, if you are ready for this, and you are ready, then Oh my goodness, flashing mics everywhere, you guys. So if you are ready, today is the day we are going to put a line in the sand. This is a brand new opportunity. I'm going to tell you exactly what I heard God tell me in 2018 when I was still in my corporate job and nothing made sense for me to leave it. Take that story off the shelf. I know you know what it is because you're thinking of it right now. Take that story off the shelf. Let's dust it off because we are not done writing your story. We are going to rise. Because when I rise, you rise. We rise together. And there's plenty of room at the top. We are going to climb this mountain together. We are going to uncover all of that which you are. We're going to do away with everything that you are not. Welcome to the official kickoff of ADHD Rise 2022. My name is Val Nichols, and I am honored to be your guide in this journey with you. So if you're brave enough, I'd love to know, what are you, what are you letting go of? What is that? What is that story you're going to dust off? What is it for you? And I have a feeling there's one or two of you in this audience right now that are— maybe you're in that space that I was in 2018, where I was so afraid to even say it out loud. I was so afraid to even put words to my vision. I was so afraid to say, I want to be a coach again. I'd been coaching since 2013, went crawling back to the corporate world, and I was so afraid. Why? Because I trained myself that I was the type of person that would start a million things. Anybody with me here? I was the type of person that had so many ideas, a million different things, but I didn't always finish them. And I was so afraid to even say it out loud or put it out there in the universe because I thought I would fail myself again. So I'd love to know, what is your big bold thing you are going to declare today, right now? What is your big bold thing? If you're brave enough, I'd love to hear. If you are up on stage, I'd love to hear you unmike if you are brave enough to say, what is your big bold thing you're stepping into? Then, Polly, if you could mod me, I can bring some people up as well. Anyone want to share what your big bold thing is? Because we are rising up today.

I can. I can if you want me to.

You don't want to, then you get to.

That's right. I get to because life is happening for me, not to me. That's right. I'm kind of in a different space. So when I think about that, I look like Well, I'm gonna live this out. And just real, real quick, like a bunny, I'm just gonna say that a week ago last Monday, um, you know, as you know, I live in Southwest Florida, and Ian hit, and my son was putting up the shutters, and he— well, actually, he was, um, fixing the boat and mooring the boat, and, uh, he was stung by a wasp.

Oh my God.

and he rolled his ankle. He sprained his ankle really bad. So that took him out. He couldn't do the shutters, but I had help. My brother-in-law came over, did the shutters, and he was just so hurt, hard to move. So we decided to shelter in place, not knowing that it was actually going to hit us. We were 20 miles from the eye, and it was 15 hours of absolute fear. Absolute. I knew we were going to get through it. I had the faith. I knew we were meant for more. The emergency alerts came out and said it was too late, shelter in place. And our house got okay. We got through it. You know, typical damage, vegetation, trees wiped out. And, you know, you can replace a lanai, you can replace, you know, the pool liner, you can replace the things that are material, but you can't replace each other. You can't replace. And the bottom line is we're just grateful to be alive. We still have no electricity, but that's okay. I'm sheltering at my sister's house in Tampa. Which is where it was supposed to go. So when you said, Val, I have to live this out, I'll be okay. I know I'll be okay. And I know you guys can hear it in my voice because I'm still going through it. But I know that as ADHD, we have to feel these feelings. We have to go through them, and that's okay. And that's where I am today. Yeah, I was actually told by somebody on this app one day, a couple days after I found out ADHD, That, that person told me. They said, you'll never become a life coach. You'll make it about yourself. It's not about me. It's about my family and helping others, helping others get through those times that are tough, that you will rise, that you will get through it, that we all go through hard times. But I told my son in the middle of it, we were meant for more. I'm Kat and I'm complete.

Woo, girl, say it with me now. We get to rise up. Why? Because when I rise, you rise, we rise together. And girl, I just wanna, you know, I wanna just give a shout out and anyone, okay, anybody, if you're brave enough, tell, like, drop in the comments who here has been told or poo-pooed on your dreams, been poo-pooed. You'll never be a life coach. You'll make it all about you. Well, guess what? If you are living in this world of a multibillion-dollar industry that coaching is now, it is about you because you are your brand, you are your story, and it is your story that's going to connect you to the right people. And, you know, yes, your business is not about you. It's a both/and. It's about the people you're going to serve. And it is through your story, through your experiences, through who you are. Yeah. Through the shining light, through the guidepost of hey, I've been there and I've done that, and I can help you and I can come alongside. So yeah, guess what? You will make it about you because you are a brand and you are incredible. So let's rise up, and I'm celebrating you. I am just so happy that you you're healthy and well and all the things, and I just I love you to death. Thank you so much, Catherine. I love you, Val.

You know that. Thank you so much. You have helped me. so much this year. Everybody in this room, you know, Val is incredible. She's just like embodies positivity. And when you get 2 positive people together, look out, because we're gonna rise together.

Woo! Rise up! Oh yeah, by the way, side note, I got approved to crew for Tony Robbins, but I don't know if it's gonna happen because they might be underwater.

You did? I might see you in November. Oh, my gosh. I can't wait. I can't wait. Yeah. That is another thing that got our son and I through it. We know that we're going to be there November 1st, and we know that we're going to be helping others. And that's what it's all about, is helping others. Thank you, Val. Thank you so much.

I love you, Katherine. So beautiful. All right, Polly, what are you stepping into? What are you rising up to?

All right, Val. All right, man. So inspiring. Today I'm stepping into facing my emotions. I will no longer let my emotions rule my life. I'm learning every day that my thoughts create my emotions, and I can control my thoughts with the help of others, with the help of the resources that we have today. So I can live my own life free. And you, your story is so inspiring and your lead was so inspiring. Those words that you chose, those who refuse to be stopped by anything. Well, those are the foundations of the hero's journey. And I just want to honor you for being a hero today, a hero to all of us.

Thank you.

here with your story, with your refusal to give up, but to suit up and show up every day for yourself, for your clients, for the individuals here, and just be the best person. You know, it, it made me think of so many things. One of my favorite, favorite quotes of all time is by Mr. Sir Winston Churchill, and that is, success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts, right? And that goes right along with this. And I could so relate to so many stories that you were sharing. I myself, whether, whether it was about being a coach, whether it was about just being a, a teenager, whether it was about being a parent, whether it was about school, artist, musician, whatever it is. I think so many people can relate. Those of us who have the mental health challenges of ADHD and substance abuse disorders, man, we're constantly told— I don't know about you guys, flash your mic— I was constantly told throughout the years that I was going to be a nothing, that my life was going to be behind bars, and that I was never going to amount to anything, right? And I'm proving them wrong every single day. And I just want to shout out and my appreciation to you. We met last year at this first annual RISE together, and you just impressed me, inspired me, and my life hasn't been different ever since. And I know the people that we're going to share this with this month, their life is not going to be the same ever again because of what you started here. So thank you so much, Val. So grateful.

Oh my goodness! Wow, you rock! Yes, you guys, I am so proud of this fan. You don't even know. And that's the thing about leaders, right? The cool thing about leadership is you can see this polished version, right? And the amount of dedication, commitment, work. grit, determination that it takes to step out and be that leader. It's not for the faint of heart, right? Like anyone who's been there, y'all know, you know, going through the struggles, getting, you know, the mindset work, everything. And, um, what I've seen this man walk through in the past year of knowing him has just been so incredible. And I'm so proud of you. And oh my goodness, you guys, this guy is the, uh, he's up and coming and he, you know, he's just an incredible, incredible human being. So if you don't know him, get to know him. And we'll hear quite a bit from him this week, which will be amazing. I'm so excited. I'm so excited to have you as my friend and to have you on here as well. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And Polly, you are going to rise up even more than you know in this moment.

All righty. All righty. Well, let's keep it going. I'm excited. I just want to keep rising. Let's right flow, baby. Let it flow.

Absolutely.

Let it flow. Let it flow. Let's go. I wanna give a shout out. We have so many amazing people hopping in the room. Hello to everyone who just hopped in. This is the official kickoff of ADHD Rise 2022, and our tagline this year is, because you refuse to be defined by any limitation. That's my commitment to this, this month is that we will not be defined by any limitation. Right now we are sharing about our rise up moments, either, you know, what are you rising up from or what are you letting go of? What is that big, bold vision for you? Even if this is the first time you've ever said it out loud, I would love for you to hop up on stage or let me know in the comments. Let's drop it and let's see, let's rise up together. With that, I'll pass the mic over to Belinda. Good morning. Good morning, beautiful. How are you?

Hi, good morning. I hope you can hear me. As a multitasker, I'm waiting to get blood drawn, but I'm happy to be here. I just sort of— well, ADHD hashtag. So first of all, I wanted to give— gently shower Val with diamonds so they don't hurt you. Put your little— put more diamonds on your crown. I'm gonna do my Val hugs. First of all, my heart goes out to Val for everything that she Has put out there. She's very vulnerable. She puts herself out there and helps and reaches so many people. I mean, I know last year she definitely touched me. I used to be— I've been working since I was 16 years old. Now I'm half a century old, right? And when I got into law school, decided not to go to relocate with my now husband of 18 years. I became— I kept working, working, working, did go to law school, was gonna go back. Then I became a mother, and all the meanwhile battling chronic illnesses. And I was like, okay, things didn't— it wasn't the way that I was looking that my life was going to be, but that's what it was. So I tackled that, became the best mom I could be, the best stay-at-home parent that I could be, and And little did I know, it was like I was not— it was more about my family, about my home, and less about myself. So I was kind of losing myself in a way. And I came upon Clubhouse. My son was diagnosed autistic, also ADHD first, then autism. And I really couldn't find the support here where I live. So someone invited me to Clubhouse. I did a talk on a room on chronic pain, and then I started looking up. ADHD, autism, found a tribe here. And I was very, very intimidated, I must say, because I had been a stay-at-home mom for 12 years, 11 years, and I felt like I wasn't a corporate worker bee girl type of person anymore. I lost that. I lost a lot of me. And coming into Val's space, she really truly helped to Validate me as a person, that it didn't matter what hat I was wearing. I was still like worthy of being in a room about business. I really didn't feel like I— I just felt like I lost my, my touch. I lost that, that part of me. So Val, thank you so much for just being so kind to me and so sweet, almost giving me a cavity, but truly making me feel like I belonged. Because I once did, and then I, you know, just changing those hats, right? My son's older. I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna go back to work and kill it. Got into a car accident, and that was the last. That was seven years ago. So that really—it's like you're trying to, you know, you've got a little life jacket. You're floating. You're trying, trying, trying to get up, up, and you just can't. Things keep happening. It's happening. But rising, right? I my tears are filling my eyes as I hear this song because this is amazing what you're doing, Val. Again, thank you so much for doing this forever. And honestly, it doesn't matter where you are in your walk of life. It truly doesn't. You belong here. You're here for a reason. And please follow her club, ping people in, and follow the mods around me who are amazing people. There's amazing people up here on stage as well that don't have that little green bean, and they don't need it because they're amazing anyway. But even in the audience, um, Val, really truly, you really made me feel good about myself again. You really did. You were part and instrumental in that.

Thank you.

So I wanted to say thank you publicly. I know I have in the past as well, but it really made such an impact on me. I'm happy a year later now on Clubhouse. I opened my own club. I hold a room just to chill and made connections here off of Clubhouse, friends off of Clubhouse, and then just continuously advocating for— But yeah, so continuing still stay-at-home parent, but better. I'm a lot better having had so many surgeries, medical trauma, Hurricane Catherine. I'm with you there, but it's good. And my rise will be I want to go back to school, and that was the plan. But again, life turned things upside down. But guess what? I'm rising up again. So yeah, I'm here today to say that I'm just going to follow my dream. My dream was to go to grad school, and it got sort of sideswiped. But that's going to be it, and this is going to be the year to make. things happen. I'm happy to bring you all on my journey with me, and I thank you for all that support me. Um, you, you really mean the world to me. And Val, again, thank you so much for what you've done, because I don't know if you know the impact, but if you see my transformation, you know, and my confidence— that's the thing. I think of Val, I think of confidence, and I see myself like, oh, I used to do that, I used to be like that. What happened? So thank you again. I'm happy to be here. And just, A to the men. Thank you.

Woo!

Rising up. You made the bold declaration. I love it. I'm so proud of you, Linda. You are amazing and incredible. And you guys, it's like I see this beautiful, beautiful person and you're such a great positive, um, supporter for, for a lot of people. I've seen you just support so many people and help them, um, feel not alone in their journey. And so I, I just love you and you're worthy of it. You're worthy of it all, and I can't wait until One year from today when we're sitting here and celebrating how far you have come. So I am so excited for you to go to grad school. Thank you for joining us, and so so super excited. All right, Miss Vandy, how are you, my love?

I'm doing so good. Look at my picture that came up as my memory from last year. I was like, oh, I'm gonna go change my profile.

Yes, I love it. Thank you.

I can't believe it's been a year already. Like, when you— when they started seeing that you're advertising for this again, I'm like, no, we just did this. Like, where— I don't know. Sometimes I wonder where the time goes, but that's part of the ADHD, I think, of either like full-on steam or, you know, hiding under the covers craziness. But I don't know, I'm just Was excited when I saw this was coming up again because I know last year this room was so inspiring at kicking me back into gear. You know, I had a little bit of a rough September, but you know, I think that's the neat thing about life is every day, you know, the sun rises most of the time. We actually have fog in Arizona today. Don't ask me where that came in this morning, but It's kind of funny. I felt like I was traveling, but we, you know, every day the sun comes up, we have a new day, a new time to start again, to refocus on our goals, to refocus on our business. And, you know, and to get those things. I've had a little bit of a struggle the last little bit, you know, hitting my business goals, hitting, you know, being where I wanted to be. And that imposter syndrome pops up, you know. You're not, you know, good enough. You're not— you can't do this. You're not as good as so-and-so. You, you know, you're not worthy of this. And my story is a little bit different. I was— I was always encouraged. You know, I had really— I had very supportive parents. They stressed to, you know, get the drive, to get the good grades, to go to college. But when I started my own business, And when my husband quit his job and then I quit my job, there was a lot of negativity. There was a lot of comments made, a lot of, you know, pushback that I felt. And, you know, even over the years I've had people wait, that's all you do. You know, you don't do anything else. And it's an interesting thing being, you know, an entrepreneur and being, you know, building on social media and stuff. And, you know, shifting that thing to learn. I've really, you know, I've really, really struggled being on social media, talking on there, being on videos. Those were things that were hard for me. And so learning to adapt it, I think somebody said, and I'm, I'm gonna give credit to this room, even if that wasn't where it was at, but they said something about doing challenges, you know, doing little challenges. And I just have to say that that advice has inspired me so much over the last year. You know, I've done a 7-day Reels challenge, I've done 14-day Reel challenges, I've taught Reels classes now, um, and encouraged others to do that. But having that like short little window where I could focus on and step up just really, really helped me, you know. And it's just helped me be, you know, more consistent because I get— I don't know, maybe I just get bored. So I'm like, oh, Squirrel, let's go try this instead of sticking to the steps that I know that helped me be successful. So I'm, I don't know, I'm just excited to be here. I made a goal, you know, when I was writing down some stuff this year to, you know, this month to be more consistent on my business, to be more intentional with that. And so I've just appreciated this room. Um, and I'm excited to listen to it this week or month. All of the different speakers and everything else, because I know that the ideas, the little tricks and tips you guys share, just help me, you know. They help me focus so much. Um, I always just thought I was lazy or something was wrong with me. I've never had an official diagnosis, but when I found this room last year, I'm like, holy cow, these are my people. These stories I relate to, you know. These Workarounds, these, you know, all of these little tricks we do to survive sometimes. It just, it made me feel part of something and it made me feel like, you know, I could step up and rise up, rise up and share my story. You know, your story, what you were saying earlier, Val, about your story is important. Your story is your brand. Your story is what makes your business unique. You know, because people are going to do business, they're going to hire coaches, they're going to work with people that they know, like, and trust. And the only way they're going to do that is sharing your story. So anyone tells it— that tells you don't share your story, or it's gonna— you're gonna make it all about you, don't listen to those naysayers. Because even though it's, you know, it is all about you at the end of the day, because it is your business, it's your story, that's what makes you unique— your challenges Are what makes it possible for you to relate with certain people. So I'm excited to be here, and I just want to tell how much I appreciate all of these stories. And I'm gonna be quiet now. So thank you, Vandy.

Thank you for rising up and for sharing your story and your hearts. And yes, I think you know so much of what you're saying. I'm like. Yep, I relate. Yep, I relate. Yep, I relate. You know that imposter syndrome, all the things that that do happen for us. You know, it's it's very it's very real. It's a very real thing that happens for people with ADHD. And you know, there's moments where I still go through that, even though you know, even though on paper it doesn't make sense or whatever. Like you know, I think that that that rejection sensitivity dysphoria is you know a real cause and condition with ADHD and neurodiversity. So it's like I think that's just something that we. We do struggle with from time to time. So I love you, and thank you for sharing your hearts. I too cannot believe it's been a freaking year. So crazy! And yeah, just excited to see what unfolds here for all of us because we are rising up together.

Woo woo! Val, I'm in. All right. You're in. Yeah, I can hear you now. Hello, my love. I can hear you. Okay.

Oh, was I in the— oops, I don't know. Was I in the Matrix?

Were you in the Matrix? I was, sorry.

Oh, gotcha. All right. Oh, Teresa just got a phone call. Teresa got a phone call. All right, we'll pop over to April. Hello, my beautiful pink-haired friend, how are you? Hey, Val. Oh my gosh, I'm— I literally woke up Not that long ago, but— and then I saw as I was scrolling through my phone in the morning, I was like, oh my gosh, ADHD Rise Up. I was like, um, I feel called, like I need to be on this. So I just, I hopped on and then you started talking. I was like, oh my God, I'm supposed to hear this. I don't believe in coincidences. This is kind of freaking me out. Okay, let's do this. Let's, let's stay on here. And so hi, I'm here and I'm so happy to be here.

Yay!

I too do not believe in coincidences, and I knew some of that stuff. Like, I didn't really prepare what I was going to say. I was literally just rifting from my heart, and I could feel it. I could feel people like needing to hear whatever came through. Um, I love those downloads that happen when you feel so connected with your audience, and it's like you just know that there's this message that's being pulled forward. So I'm glad that was for you, and I'm so glad that you're here. And yes, this is definitely, you know, if you're feeling called to be here, and feel free to share this room out as well. If you guys want to share it out and you know that there's people that need to be here, want to be here, share it out. And I would love to have all of you, you know, with us throughout the different events. I'll put the link up in the top so you guys can see what's coming up, and then we'll hop over to Shady. Oh, Teresa, I'm sorry, I passed you over because you were on the phone, but I'll, I'll come back to you.

Hey everyone, this is my first time in this room and I'm loving the energy because, uh, honestly, I am lately trying to, you know, up my frequencies when it comes to dealing and managing and my perspective and mindset when it comes to ADHD and stuff. And I'm honestly loving this Room so far, and I'm loving how unapologetic everyone is about who they are and what they want, and the the direction they're aiming for, and not losing hope. Because honestly, I've had a rough rough time because I was diagnosed only in when was it in February at the age of twenty five. So. I'm still, you know, trying to figure things out slowly and understanding how I can manage it better and also without having to sacrifice my goals and ambitions and, and the things that I want in life. And to be honest, just to share a positive thing is that I am really doing the work at the moment that I need to be doing. I'm doing the reading that I need to be doing. I'm reading the books that I need to be reading in order to just thrive and rise, as you guys are saying. And yeah, I mean, I don't really want to add too much. I'm just really I'm here listening as I'm working on my stuff, and it's really motivating me. So thanks to everyone who's in this room so far.

Wow, that's incredible, Shady.

Can we all give some shoutouts and just say welcome, Shady? Oh my goodness, welcome to your family, your tribe. These are your people, and these are the weirdos that you are gonna love the most. I say that I love that. Because this is where I, when I came out ADHD, I was diagnosed maybe 2 years ago this time and actually fell, followed through with it, um, in true ADHD style, had been diagnosed before, but I never followed through with it. Didn't take it seriously. And so I learned, I came on Clubhouse out of this pure desire and desperation of what does this actually mean? Because for me, being a recovered alcoholic of 11 years, I've been sober 11 years. Ugh, another thing I have to deal with? Are you freaking kidding me? And then I was like, no, I refuse, right? This is our motto this month, this year, because we refuse to be defined by any limitation.

Any.

And I came on Clubhouse and found my people, and I just want to like, let's all give Shady some flowers and welcome him so much into your, your brand new life. And just know that ADHD is your superpower. It is not a limitation. So welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome. Feel free to reach out to anyone. I know Polly has a lot of experience with, you know, working with men with several, you know, co-occurring disorders, and so he has a lot of wealth and wisdom, and we'll be hearing from him in about an hour. So feel free to reach out, get to know us, follow people, because a lot of the people in these rooms are in a lot of different rooms. So if you want to get your, your hallway full of incredible, positive, amazing things, then follow a couple people in here and just go where they go. That's what I did, and I found incredible spaces. So welcome, welcome, welcome.

And I'm really excited that he's understanding that at age 25, there's so much of his future that's available to him. And he said he's already working on what he needs to work on. It's so exciting. Imagine Getting diagnosed at 62 years old, man, I'm telling you, you got it going on.

Boom. Yeah. Me was— how old was I? 20, 30? How old am I? I don't even know. I was like 37 when I got diagnosed and holy cow, there was a mourning process. So if you feel that, just go, no, that's normal. I went through a whole process of like, oh my goodness, who could I have been? I got mad at my family. My mom has extreme mental illness, and so of course she wasn't able to support and be there for me. But I went through it. I'm going to just be honest and transparent about that. I went through a lot of anger, self-rejection until I decided to rise up and said no. Why? Because we refuse to be defined by any limitation. Man, this was a great theme for the year. I didn't even know how much meaning it was going to have for us. But we we sourced this. You know, I truly believe that everyone who's in this room sourced this energy, this space, this conversation, this event. So thank you guys for sourcing it for with us, and I'm so so excited. All right, Miss Teresa, how are you, my love?

Hi, I'm Teresa. I'm doing well. I'm I'm trying to say that I'm doing well because I completed a. I've had a huge task for most of this year starting in April of deep cleaning my house and oh my gosh, it was hard. And I'm so glad that it's near over. I mean, basically I'm bringing things back and I've toted stuff up, bagged stuff up, pitched a lot of things, but now I have to go through more things before they enter Reenter my house because yes, I have clothes from college over 30 years ago. And I have a dress that I'm never going to get back into and I accept that. So I think I'm just going to find the same style and color in a size that fits me and learn to let go. So then that's— and I don't get evaluated until next month. And so my 23-year-old is fighting me and he says, you can't go around saying this or diagnose other people and you can't do this or that or the other and I just want you to be quiet. And so you're getting evaluated next month but just keep quiet about it. I don't want to hear about it. So I'm just glad to be here in the room. Thank you.

Oh my goodness, love! Well, I'm glad you're in this space because guess what? We do want to hear about it. We want to know. We want to see the journey. We want to walk with you. We want to rise with you. We want to know what's working. We want to know what's not working. So you are in the right space here. Can I get an amen and a mic drop to our family does not understand, nor are they ever going to. So this is the space where we get to be raw, unfiltered, weird, kooky, crazy, forgetful. All the things. There's no apologizing. So I'm so glad you're here, Teresa. It's been an honor to get to know you over the past year as well, and I just love you so much. Well, this Belinda real quick.

I wanted to add one little thing that I forgot a year ago. My husband. I'm sorry.

I see you flashing, but I don't hear you. This app is so glitchy lately. Is that better? No.

I like it.

Now I can hear you.

I wanted just to say real quick, a year ago, my, my husband wasn't— and some— and I don't want anybody— no, you're not alone. Just understand that. Because a year ago, I did not have that 100% support, uh, of neurodiversity at home or for our son in the sense that—

Oh, she's gone again.

Oh.

Is that better?

No, actually we lost you.

I jumped out and came back in. I thought maybe that was glitchy, but I want to add that 100%, um, last year I didn't have all the support that I had wanted, and some of you may know that, you know, if I spoke to you personally in another, in another room. But I'm happy to say that as of, I don't know, maybe a couple weeks, maybe a month, a couple weeks ago, We are— my husband's on board.

I know.

Basically full support of minor diversity acceptance within the home. Not that he never accepted it, but it's just, it's hard when you want those who are close to you, family, to support you and accept you and, and first of all, believe also, especially for those of us who are late diagnosed, especially for those who have a child or we care for someone who's younger. So just don't, don't lose hope. You're not alone. And I'm happy to say we have a conference today at the school in full support of our son because there have been some difficulties from other children not accepting. And I'm just happy that I'm not going alone, that my husband will be there next to me. And it happens. Change can happen. Acceptance can happen, even if it's from those that are closest to you. Um, so I wanted to throw that out there because it's way different from how it was a year ago. And part of that is, I think what I've learned from each and every one of you, this room, this club, is to— those lessons I brought to my home from my heart, from Clubhouse to my heart, to my home. And now I see it. I see the changes. So it's not impossible for those of you— I know, Shady Georgia, you had— you're new to this and it's just, it may feel like you might Again, drowning at times in a cup, but you won't. And with the support that you get here, truly you will rise. I mean, there's no other word for it. R-I-S-E capital capital. Thank you. I just want to add that. Thank you, Val. Appreciate you giving me a couple minutes.

Thank you so much. Yes, I love that your experience, strength, and hope of a year ago you felt this way and now you have that rise. I love it.

Hey, Val, can I just add to that?

Yeah, absolutely, please do.

Wow, thank you so much for that. You know, that, that principle, that idea of support is so important with, uh, mental wellness challenges, ADHD, or any mental wellness challenge, right? Growing up, my father was a great man, really good man, but he was very black and white. If something didn't serve him, he changed it. If he wanted to quit a bad habit, he just quit it. He could never, no matter how hard he tried, he could never understand why I acted, behaved, thought the way I did. We were complete 100% opposites. And we struggled and we struggled and we had counseling and, and there was a lot of Fights, but slowly but surely through communications, he came not to understand but to accept. He still never understood why I thought the way I thought, but he learned to accept me for who I was and that I was the way I was, and that was okay. But the point of getting support then—I had to get support somewhere else. He couldn't support me; he could love me. You know, unconditionally in his own way, but he couldn't support me because he didn't understand it. So that's why it's so, so important, everybody, to find your tribe, to find your community. Our stories are what connect us with our community. And, and find a community, find a coach, find a mentor, find whatever resource you need so that you can rise, because that's what it's all about, right? That's why we're here. We're here to rise, and we're here to help you rise. Because out of everything that's happened in my life, I'm here today very simply because there were people there that carried me when, when I was down and out until I could carry myself. And once I was able to carry myself, then I was able to rise up and help others. So that's what it's all about— giving back, sharing. And I'm just grateful to be here today. And with that, I'm complete.

Woo! Yes, that was beautiful. Mic drop. I think you defined so much, you guys. Mr. Polly A, he definitely dropped the mic there. Loved it. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much.

Thank you, Polly.

You're welcome.

All right, Diana. Hope I'm saying your name right. Diana. Hello, Diana. Good morning, beautiful. How are you?

Good morning. I just want to thank you guys all for being here. Um, you know, you guys got a lot of nice shares and gems. Um, this is my first time in this room. I seen ADHD pop up and I was like, um, I definitely need to be there. And especially because, you know, story time, I just left this, um, I'm in a parenting class and Oh my God, I'm like the most fidgety person, and it's like it's so hard to focus. And I'm just realizing this, like I'm just realizing this whole ADHD thing about me. So this is like fairly new. And, um, I was just like, when I left there, I was just like, oh my God, like what the heck? Like what is wrong with me? You know what I'm saying? So it's like, it's so good to have people like you guys around, you know, like-minded people, and You know, with like-minded goals. Yeah, I'm grateful to be here. Thank you. I want to hear more.

Woo! Love it. So awesome. I'm loving people bringing back their. I just saw Jocelyn and Vandy both did the the retro last year. I was trying to dig up that logo. I don't know where it went, but I was like, oh my gosh, it's so cool to see those. Val, I'm so glad we have someone.

We're wondering if we're going in popcorn style or if we're gonna go in order. So, um, we're going in order. Let's say you in order. Okay, thank you. Florida. Okay, perfect.

Then we have Billy up next. Good morning, Billy.

Good morning. How you guys doing? So good. How are you? All right. Um, this is my first time in here. I was invited in here by a friend of mine. Uh, I lost my dad in 2020 and I lost my sister Turn 21, which was my last family member. So, uh, I'm actually an NFT artist. I work on— I'm a graphic designer. Um, I live down in Key West, Florida. And, uh, I really came in here, I was just listening to you guys talk and throw around the love. I have a nugget for you guys. Um, usually micro mindfulness and meditation is kind of a way that I try to overcome, um, obstacles in my mind sometimes. So I go out to the ocean sometimes. When you actually ground yourself in the earth with your feet, you— when you stick your feet in the sand and you're in the ocean, it stimulates your body by about 20%. And micro mindfulness meditation, just when you try to focus on your breathing, it kind of slows my mind down a little bit anyway sometimes. My mind jumps around from place to place sometimes, so meditation and micro-mindfulness, it kind of tries to help you get a little bit more centered and focused. So that's my nugget that I brought for the group today, and thank you guys for welcoming me.

That's an awesome nugget. I'm telling you, Billy, that completely changed my life in the past 3 years. And Billy, I hope your family and you are safe.

Thank you.

Yeah, I was gonna ask, how are things in the Keys? Because when I was going to Florida, I was going to go to the Keys for a couple weeks, but I wasn't sure if they were— how things were going.

Uh, the storm is— it really just had a lot of debris. It didn't do a whole lot of damage. Um, the Keys are nice, the weather's nice. They're getting ready for Fantasy Fest next week, so Um, a good friend of mine I met on a Twitter Space actually invited me over here. But, uh, I go in there and I kind of learn about Web3 and NFTs. Uh, here right now it's beautiful, the weather's nice. Um, I'm actually out. I work— I worked in like the highest-end art gallery in Key West and I got hurt at work, so I've been out of work actually working on my project. It's called The Butterfly Effect. So the weather's nice, it's going to be nice for another week, and then you got Fantasy Fest, which a lot of people are coming into town and it gets Crazy, so but the locals don't really go around like the more commercialized places of Key West. We kind of hang out in the more quiet, peaceful places. But the weather's beautiful down here. I just wanted to pop in and introduce myself. You know, it seems like you guys are throwing around some love in here, and I like the I like the fact that it says rising. We always come through these adversities in life, and we usually take mostly everything for granted. I read a lot of books, and I. study. So, um, every time I try to find a little bit of information, I try to share it with my friends or whoever I'm communicating with. But, uh, thank you guys for the welcome. I have some kind of weird confetti by my name. I don't know why, but I just set up my profile real quick yesterday. I didn't really take too much time to do it, but, uh, thank you guys for welcoming me.

Welcome! Yes, you have the little confetti because it shows us that you're new on the app. And you'll have it for the next— you'll have it for the first 7 days on the app. And it's kind of a cool way for people who, you know, know that they can go, oh, you're new, awesome, great, you know, welcome, and, and really just honor you and celebrate you. And so it's, it's kind of a way of us getting to know you. So you'll have that for the next 7 days since you started your profile.

Cool. I got a rookie stripe.

Ooh, rookie stripe. I love it. All right, and I hope we, I hope we continue to see you around. We have a lot of events coming up throughout the next month. It'll be super fun, great topics. And, um, with that, we'll hop over to Adam. I'm not sure, I don't see your mic, so you might be in the glitchy glitch. All right, Danielle.

I'm sorry, y'all, like, I've been like, I'm, I'm multitasking.

Oh no, no worries.

We can hear you. But anyways, so I'm Danielle Stevens, and I've had ADHD for as far as I can remember. Oh. This meeting will enter. Okay, I'm sorry. Um, so I've had ADHD as far as I can remember. Um, I was, I was diagnosed when I was younger, but back then, um, they only had Ritalin, so I wasn't on any medication at the time. My mom kind of helped me kind of, uh, get, stay organized, stay on track, all that good stuff. Then when I turned 18, I decided to go on medication and I've been on several different ones. And the one I found that works for me is Vyvanse. And so, yeah, that's what I'm taking. And I'm just here to get support and kind of network, because I'm actually looking for a job at the moment.

Nice.

So, um, yeah, I'm just here to like improve myself and, um, help any way I can. I'm looking to network and, um, I'm really interested in the tech space. I'm also visually impaired, so that's a little bit about me.

Thank you so much. So good to see you and have you as a In this event and have you in the space. I'm sending you so much love. And we will hop over to Jocelyn. Jocelyn, how's it going, my love? Bring in the funny with my honey.

What's up, Val? Hi, everyone. Yeah, so I'm Jocelyn. My story is I started doing stand-up sitting down right here on Clubhouse. So that was like my main lane that I traveled in. And then I stuck around and found my ADHD, uh, community. And, um, one thing I'll say is, um, last year we did a 24-hour room on October 1st to celebrate ADHD Awareness Month. And that's where I got to meet a lot of people and learn a lot of things. And I honestly learned more about being ADHD in that one day of being in a room than I had my entire life. And, you know, for the most part, I felt really alone. And it was nice to find people who actually knew what I was going through and were experiencing firsthand alongside me. So yeah, Billy here is my friend who I met on a Twitter Space. Yeah, talking about NFTs and Web3 and crypto and all that stuff because I'm kind of a social audio savage nowadays. One of the ways that I've learned how to get my voice out there. One thing about me is I'm a first generation, and so I thought that I was gonna have to work for somebody else and kind of like, because that's what my parents did. And honestly thought I was just gonna have to be miserable the rest of my life. But for the first time in my life, I'm exploring the idea of being my own boss. Being an entrepreneur and a business owner, thanks to Val and Belinda and everybody else. And yeah, so I'm just happy to be here. Happy to celebrate. Happy to support. But yeah, Billy's my friend. Onboarding him a little bit because I think he'll benefit a lot from Clubhouse because of just like the community he can build, the support he can get, and like just yeah, there's just because Twitter Space is just it's from what I experience, it's mostly that. Like that Web3 crypto NFT place. But here on Clubhouse, I know he'll be able to like find these mindful meditation kind of rooms and just like, you know, make new friends and stuff like that. So thank you guys so much for being so kind to him and to welcoming me. Um, one thing that I have going on is, um, I actually got— there was a request for me to host like this comedy hour on Clubhouse, and obviously like I will always Being willing and wanting to do jokes and make people laugh. That's my thing. Um, and I've only been in comedy for less than 2 years, and it was my first opportunity to just do as much time as I wanted. And I'm— and it's kind of exciting to know that, like, I have at least a solid 15-20 minute set, which is what most comedians need in order to hit the road. So yeah, I plan on hitting the road probably next year and do a tour. Called From Clubhouse to Your House, where I basically perform my comedy in real life and get to meet all the people that I've spent the last year and a half connecting with and making laughs. But yeah, just happy to be here, happy to see a lot of familiar faces and new ones. Um, yeah, so thanks, Val, and everyone. That's me, Jocelyn.

Love you, Jocelyn. Thank you so much for sharing. And yeah, so cool that Billy's your friend. So he is definitely— he's, he's family. I love that.

Thank you guys for welcoming me. I don't really know, I see all the mics clicking, but yeah, I just wanted to thank Jocelyn for inviting me. We kind of became friends immediately on Twitter Space, and we're both kind of brand new to learning about Web3 and stuff. But, uh, every day that I talk, I try to think about it from different angles and different perspectives and kind of see what I could bring to the table. Or, you know, a good friend of mine always taught me to leave people better than you found them, and that kind of really stuck with me the last few years. I try to take that principle with me everywhere I go. So thank you guys for welcoming me with open arms.

Yes, love it. Love, love, love. These rooms always turn into love fest, as you guys know. So with that, we'll hop on over to Adam, good morning or afternoon. I'm not sure what time it is in your space.

It's just barely starting to be afternoon at this point. We've had an adventure already today, but yeah, I definitely struggle with ADD. I actually was diagnosed relatively early when I was 13. The challenge was that my mother did not believe the diagnosis, even though she's in the school systems and an educator. So it was definitely a struggle, and it took me a long time to find my tribe. I definitely agree with Polly, finding your tribe is so relevant and so important. It can be a life changer. So even just reaching out to people, uh, who you may know be struggling once or twice Just to offer them a hand is really something I, I highly recommend, especially if you see people in a leadership position and you find that they're not really receiving. Because some people need permission to receive help. It's a, it's a challenge, but there's actually a lot of people that almost need you to give them permission to ask for help, especially when we struggle, because they're taught that they're wrong for asking asking for help because, you know, they should be able to be normal or ordinary or something like that. The level of shame and struggle involved with people who are, uh, in the neurodiverse spectrum is really, uh, profound. And so I really work toward and really believe in doing whatever we can to reduce the shame that other people are struggling with and experiencing. So that is my share. If people need help or support, please reach out. I love working with people to, as I say, bring them from feeling helpless to being victorious.

Whoop whoop! From helpless to victorious. And yes, sometimes we do need permission to get support, right? We all need permission to get the support that we need and Yeah, so if you're waiting for permission, maybe that's it. Maybe that's it. Thank you so much, Adam. All right, we have, um, Gihan.

Adam, you rock.

Gihan, I'm not sure if I'm saying your name right. You might have to go out and come back in. Looks like your mic is not there. So we'll pass over to Michelle.

Oh, hey there. Okay.

Oops. Gi-hun, are you ready?

Oh, then I didn't know if Minnie was before me or not. Hi. Very cool room. I— maybe I was here last year. I am a member of the club. I don't kind of go off of the circles that I have normally kind of been in lately with, um, with the sobriety and mental health circles. But, um, yeah, I'm happy to be here. I, I'm glad I'm here. I think it's women's hour now, right? Um, I, I was just diagnosed with ADHD back in like just a couple months before I turned 50. So back last year, um, in Yeah, last year in 2021. Um, so it's been quite the journey, and I have to credit Clubhouse for even, um, receiving the diagnosis. I, um, somebody, uh, she's not downstairs anymore, but, um, somebody who's been a part—

I'm next to you. Oh my gosh, are you next to me?

Oh my goodness. Okay, Jelena.

Jelena talked a lot about being ADHD, and so Sorry, very ADHD of me.

And so then I did get assessed and in addition to ADHD, I'm bipolar 2 and in alcohol addiction recovery and I'm a peer support specialist. And I also can credit Polly for pursuing that for co-occurring disorders because I'm doing it through the state of Wisconsin, which they observe one model. I was trained to do both mental health and addiction through Minnesota, but working in Wisconsin because I just can do it under one umbrella and I'm really passionate about co-occurring disorders. But yeah, the late diagnosis, it's really been something of getting used to. And I just— I had therapy this weekend where I get therapy. They are starting a series for people that have ADHD, and it's one-on-one therapy to just learn skills. And, and I'm really excited for it. It'll be like a 14-week program. And I don't know a lot about it. But I, I'm usually really med compliant, but I am not when it comes to my ADHD med. And it's just been hard. When I take it, I know that my anxiety lessens, and my anxiety has lessened quite a lot since I had the diagnosis. I didn't know that a lot of my anxiety was caused by like having to make decisions. I would get really anxious when having to make a decision and would go on into like a whole full-on anxiety attack and never really realized that that was more of an ADHD reaction than an anxiety disorder reaction. And so, um, so that's been great knowing that part of the journey. Um, but, but yeah, but getting stabilized through, through rather skills rather than medication is something I'm still trying to balance, which is best. Um, my anxiety lessens while I'm on medication, but then I can't sleep as well. And so with bipolar, that can get to be an issue. So yeah, I'm just excited to be here. I, I was in ADHD spaces a lot last year, but kind of don't spend as much time on Clubhouse and I kind of just go to what I know. So I was excited to see that Polly was on this panel and it gave me a reason to make sure I showed up. So thank you. I'm Michelle. I'm done speaking.

Wow, Michelle, thank you so much.

Yes, thank you. It's so funny when you were talking, I was immediately thinking Paul needs to connect with this woman. Then I was like, oh, okay, never mind, they're connected, they're good. So, so great to have you. I'm excited. I send you so much love. Go ahead, Paulie.

Oh, absolutely, we connected. She is so inspiring. She every day, she She suits up and shows up for her community and the co-occurring disorders. And she does not— she refuses to stop being and letting any limiting beliefs stop her. And she is moving forward. She's courageous. She's a warrior. She's a hero. She is an inspiration to me. So follow Michelle and be inspired. Thank you for being here today, Michelle.

Thank you. This is ADHD Rise. When I rise, you rise, we rise together. This has been our kickoff celebration.