ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka cover art

ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka

ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka

By: Tracy Otsuka
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About this listen

Want to fall in love with your ADHD brain and make it work for you? Learn more about my patented program, Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy here : programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

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I have NEVER met an ADHD woman who wasn’t truly brilliant at something! This podcast, with nearly 7 million downloads, is for smart, high-ability ADD/ADHD (diagnosed or suspecting) women who see their symptoms as more positive than negative. If you want to fall in love with your ADHD brain and discover where your brilliance lies, this podcast is for you!
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ADHD for Smart Ass Women is globally ranked in the top one-tenth of one percent of all podcasts in the world on any subject. It’s streamed in more than 160 countries and is downloaded by more than 150,000 listeners every month. My book of the same name, published by HarperCollins/William Morrow, was recently honored by Amazon Editors as a Top 20 Best Nonfiction Book of 2024.
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I’m Tracy Otsuka, your host. I’m a lawyer, not a doctor, a lifelong learner, and a certified ADHD coach. I’m on a mission to change the conversation around ADHD because I believe it’s time to focus on the strengths that come with our unique brains. When I was diagnosed eight months after my son, my entire life finally made sense, yet all I read and heard about ADHD focused on what I should struggle with. What I discovered, though, was that my ADHD was responsible for some of my greatest strengths.
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Another thing we constantly hear is all the success stories about ADHD men, but no one talks about the women. This podcast is here to change that. ADHD women are my people, and I’m here to acknowledge, support, and cheer them on. My experience as an adult living with ADHD, along with my expertise, is regularly sought out by top-tier media, including Bloomberg, Forbes, CBS Mornings, ABC News Live, Inc., Prevention Magazine, Verywell Mind, ADDitude magazine, and The Goal Digger Podcast, etc.
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adhdforsmartwomen.com

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The content in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and does not constitute medical or professional advice. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of anything you have seen or heard from Tracy Otsuka, her guests or this podcast.

© 2026 ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka Alternative & Complementary Medicine Hygiene & Healthy Living
Episodes
  • EP. 373: Stories We Tell Ourselves (And About Each Other)

    EP. 373: Stories We Tell Ourselves (And About Each Other)
    Feb 25 2026

    Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

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    Your ADHD brain is one of the best storytellers in the room. The problem is it doesn't always know when it's making things up.

    I'm recording this two days before movers arrive, from a house I no longer own, in a t-shirt, with dilated pupils. Classic.

    I sold Bullfrog Farms, my six-and-a-half-acre country home, and decided to do the most opposite thing possible: move into a high-rise in San Francisco. Three HOA rejections later, all because of two small dogs named Teddy and Moe, I went from "this is inconvenient" to "we're basically going to be homeless" in under a week.

    That spiral brought me back to something I keep teaching but had to relearn myself. In this episode I talk about the ADHD brain's compulsive need to fill uncertainty with narrative, the difference between reacting to a story and reacting to data, why public criticism hits differently than private criticism when your nervous system has no agency, and how a misidentified baby egret became the most honest lesson of the month.

    If your brain has ever taken one rejection, one unanswered text, one hard week, and turned it into a verdict about your entire life, this one is for you.


    Resources:

    • Website: tracyotsuka.com
    • Instagram: https://instagram.com/tracyotsuka
    • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tracyotsuka4796
    • FREE 3-days to Fall in Love With Your ADHD Brain training on Jan 6th: https://tracyotsuka.com/ilovemybrain
    • Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com



    Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message

    If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

    Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

    ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

    That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

    Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

    Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

    Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
  • EP. 372: Motherhood, Hormones, Trauma and Addiction with Dr. Anupriya Gogne

    EP. 372: Motherhood, Hormones, Trauma and Addiction with Dr. Anupriya Gogne
    Feb 18 2026

    Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

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    What if the season that feels the most destabilizing is the moment your brain is asking to be understood differently?

    Dr. Anupriya Gogne is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist specializing in perinatal and reproductive psychiatry at Brown University Health. She recently authored Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Adult Women.

    When Dr. Gogne became an attending, her caseload doubled overnight. She stayed late finishing notes while colleagues went home. Around the same time, she impulsively adopted a baby husky. Six years into her career, testing confirmed ADHD and NVLD, a visual-spatial learning difference that explained why she didn't drive until age 30 and why every parking lot looked identical.

    Now she treats pregnant and postpartum women with ADHD, addiction, and trauma. In this episode, Tracy and Dr. Gogne discuss ADHD and NVLD in adult women, how visual spatial differences show up in daily life, the overlap between trauma and addiction, the role of stimulants in recovery when carefully managed, and why pregnancy and postpartum can intensify symptoms through hormonal shifts and sleep deprivation.

    If you are in a season where your systems stopped working, this conversation offers context. Sometimes it feels out of control because it is out of control. And that means you need support, not shame.

    Resources:

    • Website: https://www.brownhealth.org/providers/anupriya-gogne-md
    • Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Adult Women: Special Considerations in the Perinatal Period: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-86588-6

    Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message

    If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

    Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

    ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

    That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

    Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

    Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

    Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 22 mins
  • EP. 371: When the Problem Isn’t You - It’s the System with Stephanie Ray

    EP. 371: When the Problem Isn’t You - It’s the System with Stephanie Ray
    Feb 11 2026

    Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Here’s what actually does. FREE training here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/signup

    _____

    Many neurodivergent women are not struggling because they lack ability. They struggle because the systems around them were never designed for how their brains actually work.

    In this episode, Tracy talks with Stephanie Ray, a neurodivergent lawyer, coach, and founder of Growthset Coaching. Diagnosed with ADHD in her early 30s, Stephanie spent years succeeding on the surface while quietly struggling with memorization, rigid study methods, and performance pressure in law school and legal practice.

    Once she understood how her brain learns best, she stopped forcing traditional systems and built visual, movement-based, and story-driven approaches that actually worked. Tracy and Stephanie break down why standard study advice often fails ADHD learners and what makes information stick instead.

    They also cover imposter syndrome, accommodations, time blindness, and task initiation, along with practical strategies for studying, exam prep, and managing demanding careers. If you feel smart but still behind, this episode will help you see why and what to change.


    Resources:
    Website: https://www.growthsetcoaching.com
    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-didomizio-ray-esq-75157347


    Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message

    If this podcast helps you understand your ADHD brain, Shift helps you train it. Practice mindset work in just 10 minutes a day. Learn more at tracyotsuka.com/shift

    Instead of Struggling to figure out what to do next?

    ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.

    That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/aok-academy

    Learn more by connecting with Tracy through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or visit adhdforsmartwomen.com.

    Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/book2

    Visit our website: https://tracyotsuka.com

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 13 mins
All stars
Most relevant
Diagnosed at 49, this podcast has been a game changer for me. No more self judgement, just acceptance and love.

Game changer

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Loved this first episode, and interesting to learn about the Hunter gatherer idea. Thank you

Awesome 1st episode!

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