In this episode of “ADHD for Smart Ass Women,” Dr. Lorre Laws joins Tracy Otsuka to explore the deep connections between ADHD, trauma, and burnout – especially as they affect women who have spent years pushing through stress and self-doubt. The conversation highlights that you can’t simply organize your way out of trauma or schedule your way out of burnout – but healing is possible and it can change everything.
Dr. Lorre shares her personal journey as a woman with ADHD, reflecting on how trauma shaped her brain and behaviors. Sometimes she appeared calm on the outside while feeling scattered or dysregulated inside. Together, Dr. Lorre and Tracy discuss the nervous system’s crucial role in attention and emotion – and why so many women with ADHD keep pushing themselves, often ignoring the signals their bodies are sending.
Throughout the discussion, Dr. Lorre offers practical and compassionate tools for slowing down and tuning into the body – starting with something as simple as breath and awareness. She explains her “three A’s plus B” approach: Awareness, Attending, Alignment, plus Balance – which all lead to Regulation, Reconnection, and Restoration of the heart.
This episode speaks to every woman who has ever wondered, “Why can’t I just get it together?” – reminding listeners that they are not broken or lazy, but likely carrying more than their nervous system was built to hold. Dr. Lorre hopes this conversation helps others set down some of that burden and begin the journey toward healing and thriving – with kindness and without shame or overwhelm.
