Show Notes

Guest:

Dr. Tish Gentile

• instagram.com/truly_tish_adhd
• My ADHD Life (blog)

Sponsor:

Sunsama

Links and show notes:

• Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRSv1.1)
• Tish's Converse Wedding Shoes
• Dome Keeper

Transcript

Tish Gentile: it was almost like therapy for me, telling my story and really kind of breaking it up into sections of the, of what I struggle with.

you know, time perception, struggle with that. Rejection sensitive dysphoria, struggle with that. Struggle with zoning out, daydreaming, you know, forgetfulness. I'm very impulsive. I have, you know, I'm hyperactive internally and externally, and so, when I started to really reflect on each one of those topics, I thought, oh my goodness, this, this is helping me.

Jesse J. Anderson: Hey, my name is Jesse J. Anderson, host of the ADHD Nerds podcast. The show where we talk about living with ADHD, and have some fun along the way.

This is episode 14. And today I'm talking with Dr. Tish Gentile. Tish is an ADHD advocate, mentor, and has worked in healthcare for over 20 years. She currently works as a learning and development consultant at a research medical institute in New England.

Today we talk about how she was diagnosed with adhd at a young age, her experience in special education, and her more recent diagnosis of autism. Plus, we cover how you should prepare for seeking diagnosis and what you need to do to advocate for yourself. You won't want to miss it.

But first I'd like to thank our sponsor Sunsama. Sunsama is the daily planner for your work. You can plan a stress-free workday by pulling together your tasks, emails, and calendars into one place. Prioritize your work day by day and set reasonable goals for what you want to accomplish. You can try Sunsama for free by going to adhdnerds.com/sunsama and that's S U N S A M A. They have a free 14 day trial with no credit card required. Now let's get to the show.

Tish, it is great to have you here today. Thanks for coming on the show.

Tish Gentile: Oh my /goodness. Thank you so much for inviting me, Jesse. I'm just thrilled to be here and talk about ADHD with you.

Jesse J. Anderson: Yeah, absolutely. So I love the, I love to start the show hearing kind of your ADHD origin story. What was it like growing up? When did you get diagnosed? Kind of all that. How did that go for you?

Tish Gentile: Yeah, so my story is a little different than some of the stories that I've heard, um, in our ADHD community. So I got diagnosed at a really young age. Um, I, in first grade, I started to just, my behavior was kind of out of control.

I was just not learning like I should, and so they passed me on to the second grade. And in the second grade, um, they, the teachers said we have to put her in special education. She's not learning like she should. She's being very disruptive, talking too much. She just up visiting too much and so we have to do something about this.

Her reading level is not where it should be. Um, and all of all of the stuff. All the stuff. So had to take a test and it was determined after taking that, or actually it was more of an assessment, um, that I should be placed in special education and so, I spent special, I spent my time in special education from the second grade, um, through my senior year of high school.

And so I went to a public school. Um, I just went to different, a different building for, um, some of my classes. And so it was a, it was an interesting experience to try to, you know, balance the special education piece of it with, you know, having ADHD with tutoring after school with all of the stuff that I had.

Really do, um, to just make it through high school. And so, um, I didn't get prescribed medication, What that young, um, it was a little bit later when I got the medication. So, um, but yeah, once I got out of high school, actually right before I graduated high school, I wanted to go to college. Never read an entire book, never.

Algebra. And so I thought, how am I gonna do this? And so I talked to my counselor and so my, of my special education teachers, and so they helped me navigate through all of the stuff and I. I went to college and was given accommodations and with medication and therapy and tutoring. I went to all the, you know, reading labs and, and algebra labs and all the stuff that they offered just because I needed that extra, that extra help.

It was not easy, and it took a very, very long time. But I'll meet it through. So yeah, that's just kind of a brief story to a very long story of my ADHD journey. So, yeah.

Jesse J. Anderson: that's, uh, that's incredible that you kind of, uh, Yeah. Went through that journey. I. I have to imagine that there was a lot of, um, a lot of stigma that you kind of experienced growing up. Like what, what was that sort of like.

Tish Gentile: You know what? I was really lucky because I went to a very small school, um, and so I didn't get treated any differently than the other students did, and so the thing. Me being on special education is that I still was able to participate in, you know, like activities at school.

I was in band, I was in cheerleading except for one year because I, my grades were not good enough to be in cheerleading, so I got kicked off the squad . Um, but I was able to still participate in, you know, public school activities. Um, so I'm very, very lucky. And not everyone's story. Like that. Um, and so when I graduated from high school, I, when I went into college, I didn't tell anyone I was in, I had been in special education.

I didn't want that stigma because people, people can look at you like, you know something, What's wrong with her? Why was she in special education? How'd she get here, What'd she have to do to, you know, get into college? And so I didn't wanna have to deal with all of that. So, you know, I just kind of kept it under wraps and just struggled my way through.

And yeah, it, it was not easy. So I actually haven't, I actually didn't open up about my story until last year. It's took, I'm 45 now and I didn't open up about my story till last year because I was, so, what are people gonna think? You know? So, Yeah. And I think a lot of us go through that. You know, what if your work finds out about it, what if someone so, But it's like, this is who I am, this is, and if my story can help someone else, I wanna share it.

So,

Jesse J. Anderson: Yeah, that's, that's definitely kind of been my experience with, uh, ADHD in just sort of, , You know, I found out that I had it when I was 36 and I, it was like, Oh, this really explains a lot of my life. Um, so very different, uh, from your story, like finding out so late. But yeah, I, and I didn't really talk about it much at the time, but even once I did kinda open up, I realized, I think I realized how much what I had learned about myself and sort of experienced really was helping other people that had that same story.

And because you just, like,

Particularly my, my own experience growing up with ADHD, I just felt so alone and so isolated with kind of all, I was like, there's all these weird things about me or about my brain or things I do and I don't want, like, so much of what I'm doing is like trying to avoid people finding out these negative things about me or these different, not negative, but just these different things about me that I was like almost ashamed of and trying to hide from people.

Tish Gentile: Yeah. And the thing is, is that, I noticed this about myself, and I don't, this may have happened to you too, is that just when you, When I started to tell my story and I really started to kind of peel back all of those layers of all the stuff that ADHD entails.

I mean, there's just so much more to it than, Oh, you're hyper, or, I just can't focus it. There's imposter syndrome, there's rejection sensitive dysphoria. There's the whole, there's just so many different things. And so I, it was almost like therapy for me, telling my story and really kind of breaking it up into sections of the, of what I struggle with.

You know, you know, time perception, struggle with that. Rejection sensitive dysphoria, struggle with that. Struggle with zoning out, daydreaming, you know, forgetfulness. I'm very impulsive. I have, you know, I'm hyperactive internally and externally, and so, when I started to really reflect on each one of those topics, I thought, oh my goodness, this, this is helping me.

This is really helping me learn myself and it's therapeutic. So I kind of felt like this huge weight had just kind of been lifted off of my shoulder. So I don't know if you felt the same way, but

Jesse J. Anderson: Abs. Absolutely. I feel like, yeah, sharing that story, really. Yeah. The more I talk about ADHD, like it really does feel like therapy for, like, I'm working through my own stuff, but also like, like growing from it and helping others is like, yeah, it kind of helps me work on myself kind of at the same time.

Um, yeah. And also I wanted to jump back. So you, I, I think you kind of briefly went over your story with college, but like you did it on hard mode, like you're a doctor now, so like how, how much, how first, I don't know how much like college is that even? And yeah. What did that look like?

Tish Gentile: it was a lot of college. I've spent majority of my, my life in school, and so it took me a very long time just to get my bachelor's degree.

I'm talking, I entered school, um, in 1996 and I didn't graduate with my bachelor's until 2006. Okay. So it took a very, very long time for me even just to get my bachelor's degree. I went straight into my master's degree. I mean, I graduated with my bachelor's and went straight into my master's degree. Um, that took two years.

Um, and so I have a master's of public health degree. Took a little bit of a break and then, um, decided I wanted to get my doctorate. I thought to myself, you know what I've. All of these things my whole life, and I'm sure you've heard some similar things of, you know, you gotta focus more, you gotta buckle down, do better you, you're not gonna to amount to whatever.

And so it's like, you know what, I'm gonna do this for me, but I'm also gonna do this to show people You're not gonna tell me , don't tell me that. I can't focus and don't tell me. I am not going to amount to anything because I'm gonna be a doctor. And so applied to school, actually graduated, I, I, I entered my doctorate program, the same, um, school that I graduated with, my master's, um, degree.

And so that took four years. It took four years to get my doctorate. Um, cuz there's a lot of research and everything that goes into that. I have to, Yeah. Anyway, that's just a, that's a whole other story, but it took a long time. Um, but I will say, If I didn't have the tools that I have in my little ADHD toolkit of medication, which medication's, not for everyone, but for me, it definitely helps medication, um, therapy, accommodations, tutoring, the whole thing.

Even really getting to know my professors and being honest with them and letting them know that, Look, I have problems with reading comprehension. I have problems with all, you know, this, this, that, and the other. And so, Just letting them know that. And if I need an extension on staff, then they would be more than happy to, you know, try to accommodate me the best this they could.

So it wasn't easy, but that's it. I graduated with my doctorate, um, in 2019. And so, yeah, when I say I've been in school for really my entire life, I've really been in school my whole life.

Jesse J. Anderson: Right, Right. Yeah, I definitely relate with that. Uh, it reminds me, I mean, I haven't done any of that school, so I did community college for like three or four years and I didn't quite get my AA degree, which is a two year degree. Um, , I got real close. I think I'm like eight credits shy. And so I really should probably do that just so I can have that, like, at least that thing accomplished for the time I spent in there.

But I really relate with what you said of like, People saying that you can't do it. Uh, there's a, I used to watch the show lost and, you know, years ago and on it, one of the characters, Locke, he says, Don't tell me what I can't do. And oh my gosh, I relate to that so much. Like someone tells me I can't do something

Tish Gentile: yeah,

Jesse J. Anderson: like, well now there's, there's nothing in the world.

I want more than to prove you wrong about that thing. And just sort of like step up to that, that challenge and kind of take it on.

Tish Gentile: Yeah. I think another thing too, to add to this is that, you know, when you're. And you have ADHD, you don't, you're, you're learning what works for you, what doesn't work for you. And I mean, I'm still learning what works and what doesn't, but I have it in a, I'm in a better shape, of course, than I was when I was younger.

And so it was almost, I, I craved school because it was, I didn't really get to learn a. Through second grade. I'm not saying because of special education, it was because I didn't have the tools really to really learn what I wanted. Yes, I went to tutoring. Yes, I, you know, did you know X, Y, and Z, but I didn't have exactly what I needed to.

The whole combination of things to really get me through. Um, to where I could learn and actually soak, soak it up and get something out of it, and not just, Oh, I have to get through this, you know? So,

Jesse J. Anderson: I, I find that so many people with ADHD like. Often struggled in school in different ways, but almost universally we love to learn. And so like, there's this kind of weird conflict of like school being like not quite designed right for us to get us what we need. Yet we have this like yearning inside to learn more things.

Like we're, you know, we're craving that almost that novelty of something new. Like, I wanna learn more about this thing and I want to like perfect it and then move on to another thing and like keep learning. I, I want to keep acquiring knowledge. Um, my career is in, um, uh, software development, which is a great career for me because there's so much to learn that I'm always able to kind of like, you know, pursue that, that desire to learn more things cuz there's always new stuff to learn and I really kind of dive into that.

And yeah, I love that. I love learning new things,

Tish Gentile: Yeah, me too. I really do. I crave it. Um, again, it's nothing, I'm not saying anything negative about special education, but there is limitations to special education.

And so, I, I just, I still love school that I'm not gonna go back anymore. . It's too much. I'm done. No more

Jesse J. Anderson: Right. recently, I know you've had a new development or new understanding in kind of your diagnosis. Uh, maybe you'd like to talk about that a little bit.

Tish Gentile: Yeah, so I recently got diagnosed with autism. Um, and so I honestly had no idea that I was autistic and it was brought to my attention, um, by a couple of people.

My therapist brought it to my attention as well, and um, at first when I started to hear this about myself, I. No, I'm not. I, it's just ADHD, you know, I don't, not just ADHD, but it's only have ADHD. I don't have autism. And so I kind of push back on it a little bit. And so, um, and at my age, what is an assessment gonna do?

You know, That's what, that's what I was thinking. What, you know, what am I gonna be able to. Like, why now at 45 would I wanna go and get an assessment? And so, um, Tom went on, therapy went on. You know, the couple of people that had brought it to my attention kind of didn't push, but you know, you may. You can get accommodations at work and whatever you know, you may need, just go see if you have it or not.

You know, what's it gonna hurt? And so I, uh, made the appointment with a psychiatrist, um, and she went through the whole laundry list of questions and things, and she had, um, you know, she diagnosed me with autism, but she still wanted me to go to a neuropsych, go through a neuropsych assessment. And so, That is a very long process.

I don't know. Um, when I got diagnosed with ADHD, I didn't go through a neuropsych assessment. I went through the ADHD assessment and I actually got reassessed in 2002 just because I just wanted to know for myself, you know? You know, you just wanna know. And so, um, yeah, I went through the whole neuropsych assessment and that was an all day, six and a half hour day. could not take any kind of medication at all. And it was just one very interesting test after the other, putting blocks together, drawing different things. It was just a whole bunch of different things that, um, they had me do. And so, . Um, and I, I appreciate that because I'm sure that they were looking for other things too.

Maybe O c d or anxiety or whatever, or different learning disabilities or whatever it may be. So, um, long story short, very long process, but I did get diagnosed with autism and I'm still processing that and I'm still trying to learn that piece of it because I didn't realize, I didn't realize some of the things.

I was doing or wasn't doing was because of my autism. I, I just never clicked because I was born this way . And so I just thought this was how things were supposed to be. And also back to the time I got diagnosed with ADHD, at that time they didn't diagnose ADHD and autism together. And so that's been more of a recent, um, thing with the, with the joint, um, diagnosis.

Yeah. I just, it, I had no idea that it was, Oh, well that's an, an autism trait. That's autistic trait. And so,

Jesse J. Anderson: Do you have any examples of that?

Tish Gentile: Yeah. So I, um, I am, I don't read social cues very well. I never have, and so that's always been brought to my attention by family members and friends and things. And, um, I. I'm not saying that all autistic people are socially awkward.

I, I'm telling, I'm saying that for myself. I'm very socially awkward. Um, and so yeah, I don't, I have to force eye contact. I get very, I don't like making eye contact. I don't understand stand sarcasm or jokes. I never have. And so a funny story, I guess, um, back in college, you know, go to comedy, you know, shows and things like that with friends or whatever. And I would not laugh because I, I don't understand like the sarcasm, I can't, To me it's just, that's just normal, like everyday life, like what they're joking about. That's just kinda like, this is just kind of how, like what's funny about this. And so I would get called out. I mean, my friends would be, Why are you, this is funny.

What's like, what's going on with you? And so I learned to read the room. I mimic people. So I'll mimic people. Now, if I, if I see somebody laughing at something that I thought was kind of a literal thing, if it, I, okay, I'm supposed to laugh. Haha, you know, cuz I don't wanna get called out anymore. And so I just am watching movies and things like that.

Um, it takes forever. Well, with the ADHD side of stuff, I just cannot sit still ,

Jesse J. Anderson: I was just gonna say, yeah. Like what? The combination of ADHD and autism is really kind of interesting. It seems, I mean, there's a lot of overlap. There's a lot of, And like the comorbidity rates, like the, having both of them is fairly common. Both of them are, you know, I, I've heard people say ADHD comes with friends being other, you know, neurological conditions.

And I've heard autism is the same, where often there's kind of that overlap. But yeah. How, what is that like having the ADHD and autism kind of conflict with, uh, certain symptoms and sort of dealing with that?

Tish Gentile: It's really interesting because I, it is a lot of conflict. Um, one side of me is I really do fly by the seat of my pants with pretty much everything in my life. But then there's this other side of me that I do not do well with change. Um, I didn't realize. Uh, transitioning from one thing to the other, or if something is kind of just spur the moment put on me, I don't do well with that.

And I would, I would hide my, my meltdowns and I didn't, I didn't realize that that was an autistic trait. I, I thought that it was just who I am and it is, it's autism. You know, you, it's, you're kind of a rigid thinker. You don't do well with change and you don't like this me, and I can't put a blanket statement out there.

But you know, just the spur of the moment kind of thing can be difficult for me with having autism. And sometimes it can really get me into a spiral and it's kind of hard to pull me outta that spiral sometimes. So,

Jesse J. Anderson: Right.

Tish Gentile: Yeah.

Jesse J. Anderson: one, one other thing I, I kind of wanted to ask about, so your, your background, You're in healthcare, and I know a lot of people, a lot of people come to me asking and saying, you know, they saw a meme or a TikTok, or they saw something that kind of gave them that aha moment of like, Wait a second.

Do I, maybe I have ADHD What? What now? What do I do now? And so I kind of, yeah. What is it from the healthcare kind perspective, what should people know? Kind of going in, like where do they go for diagnosis and what should they kind of Yeah. Have prepared, uh, for that experience?

Tish Gentile: Yeah, that's a good question and I do get a lot of questions about that. Um, and I do wanna say this too, because I don't wanna discredit anyone but a self diagnosis, I mean, I find that's okay if somebody wants to self-diagnose with ADHD and autism, I respect that 100%. Um, I do think it's important to go through an assessment and go and get diagnosed.

And the reason for that is because when you do get that diagnosis, first of all, you're gonna know exactly what type of ADHD that you have. There's, there's three main types of ADHD and. Depending on what type, it may be treated a little bit different. The care plan may look a little different.

Accommodations may look a little bit different, and so knowing exactly what you, your diagnosis is, is important. Getting that diagnosis, especially if you're in school or even at work, you can get accommodations made. You can, you know, go to a room and take tests. You can get extra time taking tests. You know, there's a whole lot of things that, um, you can get accommodations for.

And with the diagnosis, if medicine is about fit for you, again, it's not a good fit for everyone. And I don't, I don't usually talk about medication. Um, but working with your doctor, it, it can, it can really change your life in a, in a good way. It's not a fix all you, it's definitely not a fix all, but it does for me, It does help me.

Um, so having that option to either take the medication or not, it's your choice, but at least you have that option, um, to kinda lean on if you, um, go through an assessment. So, Yeah.

Jesse J. Anderson: I, I, I, similarly, I kind of, I see how I see the validity of medication and how for some people it makes like a huge difference. But I also, I kind of don't talk about it a lot just because it's not my area of expertise I know. Like, I think some people will reach out and be like, What medications have you tried?

And it's like, well, that's not really how it works. So the ADHD meds are so different person person that there's like, I know there've been studies of like siblings where one will need like a high dosage of this medication and the other one that won't do anything and they'll need a much lower dosage of a different medication.

That's kind of what works for their brain. And so that's like a whole field that. Like you need to find a doctor that really knows kind of, Or

Tish Gentile: Oh, yes.

Jesse J. Anderson: Is it psychologist? A psychiatrist?

Tish Gentile: Psychiatrist.

Jesse J. Anderson: Yeah.

That really knows that kind of medication world and can help you with like titration and finding like that dose that works for you.

But again, like you said, it's kind of, it's an option that's there, but it's not. It's not like you get diagnosed and then someone beats down your door and says, All right, now you have to take these meds. Like it's just sort of an option that kind of. Available if it's something you wanna pursue.

Tish Gentile: you Absolutely. Yeah. And just like you, I just wanna, you know, I do not talk about medication, so anything that I say related to medication with you is just my experience with it.

And so, um, but I do think it's important to have those options if you, you know, a person to have those options if, you know, they decide to go, um, down that, that road. So, um, Yeah, so I also get asked questions, you know, where do I go? Where do I go to get a diagnosis? You know, where do I even start? And so, There's different options that a person can choose and, and depending on your insurance, there's so many factors that play into it with insurance and white country you live in and just, you know, the access that you have to healthcare.

Not everyone has, um, the access, um, to healthcare to be able to get the help that they need. But, um, if you do, I recommend starting off with your primary care physician. And the reason why I say that is, They have your medical history and I think it's important for them to help be there, to help you navigate through the assessment process and, and, and almost be, almost you're an advocate for yourself, but help, you know, they can help advocate for you as well if they feel.

That you're, um, it's appropriate for you to go through an eight ADHD assessment. And so, um, I, I think it's important to start with your primary care doctor, um, and go from there and either, you know, they can refer you to a psychiatrist, um, or some, some primary care doctors. They may feel comfortable and may have enough knowledge, um, to even do an ADHD assessment.

And so it really just depends, um, on the primary care doctor. Personally, and this May, this is just my opinion, but I think starting there is good.

Jesse J. Anderson: uh, what would you say to somebody that has the unfortunate experience? I've heard of several times where. Talk to their primary care and they, you know, they're told like, Oh, ADHD doesn't exist, or, or they'll just say something like, Oh, you're successful. Look, you're doing really great in your career.

Or You did, you did great in school, so you can't have ADHD because you wouldn't be able to succeed if you had ADHD. Uh, yeah. What would you suggest for somebody that HA does have that unfortunate experience?

Tish Gentile: Um, well, I wanna back up just a little bit. So, um, , I think that preparing for just that initial conversation with the doctor will kind of lay the foundation for how that conversation's gonna go. I really do. And so, um, so step one is make the appointment. Step two is to prepare for the appointment. And what I mean by prepare for the appointment, that is if you have, this isn't ne necessary, but if you have old report cards or letters or notes or something from, you know, teachers or your school, um, that may say inattentive, you know, talks too much, you know, all the stuff that we hear, take those, you know, take them, take it with you.

Um, also, Sit down and print off a symptom, a traits, um, checker. Honestly, You can print one off and just kind of go through the list and check mark the things that you feel that you experience, um, if it's, you know, daydreaming or zoning out or you know, I impatient or whatever it might be. And once you go through that checklist, then the next step is, What are real life examples of how that impacts and interferes with your daily life at work, school, or home.

And so, um, if you have those examples, you know, I, I, Adrian all the way through a meeting wasn't paying attention and I left and had no idea what I was supposed to do. That's an example. Um, but to really show those examples and how long that this has been going on, um, with you, how long have you been having.

you know, filling the, how long have you been filling this way? And so, um, so that's the next step. I'll also recommend going and taking in a free online assessment. Now, that is not a diagnostic tool at all, but if you go, there's a ton of free online assessments that are available. I know Mental Health America has a really great, um, assessment tools available on their, on their site. take the assessment and uh, print it off and take that with you too. So you have your, you know, report cards and letters if you still have those from school. You have your symptom, you know, checklist. You have your real off examples and you have your, uh, free assessment. And so you put that all together.

And take it with you because I know some people, I know myself, I get nervous sometimes when I go to the doctor and I forget stuff. And so if you hand the doctor a package of information and kind of talk and walk through it, it's really difficult to find the facts sometimes. Now there are gonna be some of those, some doctors that may be completely against ADHD.

It doesn't exist the whole thing, which there are some out there. Um, but if you go prepared and. Are showing all this information and even take a friend or a family member with you that may say, Yes, she's been like this her whole life. It's, you know, she whatever. And, and also ask about family history. Um, cuz it's, it is hereditary.

So ask your family and collect that information before you go too. So there's a whole checklist of stuff to really get all of your stuff together, take it with you. If you go to your primary care doctor and they say, This isn't no. We're not gonna, you know, you're not gonna get an assessment. you don't, you did good in school.

All the stuff. Get a second opinion, always get a second opinion. Always advocate for yourself because you are the only person that knows you inside and out and how you're feeling. The doctor's not with you all the time. You're with yourself 24 7. So it is so, so important to advocate for yourself and sometimes that is not easy.

It can be intimidating, um, to kind of not, I'm not saying like I disagree with the doctor, but, you know, kind of challenge a little bit with, with the doctor. It's not, it's not easy, but advocate for yourself because it can really make a big difference.

Jesse J. Anderson: I think that's such a great set of sort of suggestions you've given there that I think that's a really good guide for people. Uh, yeah, I, I often tell people the same thing, like, you need to write stuff down cuz you're gonna get there and you're not gonna remember any, Like, you're gonna think you have all this stuff.

And then they'll ask you and you're like, I can't remember. I, I can't remember anything right now. My mind's gone

Tish Gentile: what's my name?

Jesse J. Anderson: Yeah, exactly. What is my name? Um, one of those self-report tools that, um, I know people have recommended.

It's called the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale, and it's based on the DSM four, so it's slightly out of date, but it's a really great form. That's really easy to kind of like fill out and then have like, Oh, this, You know, Usually I think when people have ADHD and they fill out a form like that, it's just like mind blowingly obvious.

It's like, Oh, I'm checking the box for every single one of these. How has, how have I not known about this before?

Tish Gentile: Yeah. Yeah, that's, Yes. I will tell you, um, when I went through my autism, uh, assessment, I actually was late to the appointment. I didn't have all anything together. I was supposed to fill out all this stuff beforehand and didn't do it.

So that right there, which should, at least with the ADHD side of stuff, they were like, Oh, yeah, there's no doubt

Jesse J. Anderson: Right, right.

Cool. And I'll include a link to that, uh, self-report scale in the show notes for anyone that wants to, uh, check that out. And, uh, yeah, I think this is a great time to kind of transition to, uh, shiny objects. And so, Tish, what is a shiny object that has grabbed your, uh, interest or fascination lately?

Tish Gentile: Um, Converse, I, anytime I see a pair of Converse that is a, you know, it's a limited edition pair of Converse or whatever it may be.

I def, that's my shiny object. I have a lot of pairs of Converse shoes and yeah, it's kind of embarrassing actually.

Jesse J. Anderson: Are you, are you the kind of person that like has displays for 'em, like you set 'em all up or do you wear 'em all out in kind of Uh, yeah.

Tish Gentile: Yeah, so I have a shelf with my Converse shoes on 'em, and some of them I wear, um, and some of them I will not, I won't touch.

I had, um, a custom pair made. I actually went to the headquarters and picked the fabric out and touched it and picked all the stuff out 'em made. And so, um, those were pair that I only wear on really, really special occasions, but yeah. Yeah.

Jesse J. Anderson: is, that is awesome. I have, I have a friend that's, uh, really into that world. It's, it's a, a wild world. There's so much, like the culture is so interesting there and all the, like trying to like get on the next, the new drops there, like the exclusive drops and all that sort of stuff, and like having to time it yeah, it's, it's a pretty wild world and he'll, he'll tell me sometimes

about how he wants to like, buy, like maybe wants to upgrade his camera or something. So he is like, Yeah, so I'm gonna have to sell a pair so that make, get this other thing. And he just ha, I don't remember, I think he has like 30, 30 pairs of shoes that he has like all displayed and it's, I, something I'm afraid of that I'm, I'm like, Oh man, I know I could get into that and spend so much money,

Tish Gentile: I know it's, it's expensive, but you know, it, it's honestly, it's fun. It really is. It's fun cuz it start, it's a conversation starter sometimes, you know, especially if you have a unique, unique pair of shoes on.

And so, yeah, my wedding shoes were. Uh, Converse, high top, sparkly, glittery,

Jesse J. Anderson: Oh my gosh. That is, that's awesome. If you, if you happen to have a photo, I'd love to put that in the show notes.

Tish Gentile: Yes, I would love to. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Jesse J. Anderson: Cool. So, uh, for my shiny object, I, I think I talked on the last episode how a lot of times when I'm listening to like, Audiobooks or podcasts. I feel like there's another part of my brain that wants to be doing something.

And so one thing, a lot of times I'll play like kind of more idle games like Sodoku or, or something like that where I can just sort of like occupy my brain while I'm listening to a podcast. Uh, lately I've been playing, there's this new game that just came out called, uh, Dome Keeper, and it's kind of this really.

It's a simple game. It's kind of this interesting combination of like a tower defense mixed with kind of like mining, similar to an older game called Terraria. But it's, there's something about, it's like this perfect blend of like these two mixes of gameplay that, uh, I have been addicted, which is great cause I'm listening to a lot of podcasts.

Uh, cause I kind of do it in combination, but it's also not great because I'm avoiding other things that I really need to be working on

Tish Gentile: I can relate to that,

Jesse J. Anderson: Yes. Yeah. But it's a really fun game. Don't hear, I think it's like 16 bucks or something like that. Uh, for those gamers out there looking for something, uh, to, yeah, to occupy your podcast listening time.

Uh, that's a good one. So, awesome. Thank you so much for being here, Uh, Tish. This was such a great conversation and. It's gonna be super valuable for people, especially kind of walking through that, that criteria that, that information for how to go about getting your diagnosis and kind of strategies for that.

Uh, how can people follow you and see kinda what you're up to.

Tish Gentile: up to? Yeah, so I'm on Instagram and I'm, um, truly underscore ti underscore ADHD, so you can find me on Instagram and I have a link in my bio that'll take you to a blog that I do.

It's my ADHD life,

Jesse J. Anderson: Awesome. Yeah, and we'll have, uh, links to those in the show notes as well. thank you so much, Tish. This was awesome.

Tish Gentile: Yes. Thank you so much again for inviting me to be a guest. I'm just thrilled to talk to you today about all of the ADHD stuff, so thank you.

Jesse J. Anderson: That's our show, thank you so much for listening. I especially want to thank our VIP patrons, Charise Carlson, Dan Ott, Jessica Cherry DePaul, Luce Carter, Richard Stephens, and Todd Barnett. Your support helps me do this show and the other work I do so thank you so much. If you want to support the show, you can go to patreon.com/jessej that's J E S S E J. And you can always support the show for free by leaving a review in Apple Podcasts or the podcast player of your choice. Full show notes and transcripts are available at adhdnerds.com.