ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka

Episode 359: “ADHD Writing: Embracing Your Brilliance”
Guest: Susanna Sultana, ADHD Writing Coach
Date: November 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode centers on ADHD and writing, featuring Susanna Sultana, who is thought to be the first adult ADHD writing coach. Tracy and Susanna delve deeply into how women with ADHD experience the world, their unique strengths and challenges—especially in the realm of writing and academia—and how to transform perceived “failures” into brilliance. The conversation also covers the need for proper support in workplaces and universities, the evolving landscape around ADHD in women, and practical strategies for thriving as a creator with ADHD.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. ADHD in Women: Recognition and Misunderstandings

• Tracy opens with a commentary on the rarity of women’s ADHD success stories and introduces Susanna’s groundbreaking role as an ADHD writing coach ([00:02]-[04:28]).
• Diagnostic Journey:
  • Susanna was first diagnosed at 15 after two years of weekly psychiatric visits ([05:19]).
  • Lack of resources and ADHD awareness (especially for girls/women) meant the diagnosis was nearly forgotten, only resurfacing during university when she needed accommodations ([06:44]-[08:18]).
  • “Everyone forgot about the diagnosis. It didn't mean anything.” – Susanna ([08:03])
• The discussion highlights the historical lack of support and appropriate interventions for ADHD women, especially non-hyperactive, inattentive types.

2. Growing Up and Challenges in Academia

• Susanna describes being a voracious reader as a child, socially different, and how books became both refuge and instructional tools for social skills ([08:49]-[09:35]).
• She reveals that she failed some courses not due to lack of understanding but because of creativity and non-linear thinking, which wasn’t always appreciated by teachers ([13:36]-[14:44]).
  • “Was it that you were too creative in your answers and not, you know, linear?” – Tracy ([14:38])
• The importance of finding both structure and creative freedom is stressed:
  • “The key to ADHD management is to find that balance constantly between just enough freedom that your inner rebel doesn't come out, and just enough structure that you actually know where you're headed and have a sense of momentum.” – Susanna ([10:26])

3. Career Evolution and “Lean into Your ADHD”

• Susanna explains her path from managing a health store, to door-to-door sales, to directing publications for an academic research organization, and finally, to ADHD writing coaching ([15:52]-[18:17]).
• She emphasizes that her own methods (and website SEO!) brought ADHD writers to her, revealing a deep unmet need.
  • “Within the year, I had reorganized everything around ADHD writers because… I just realized there was a need for it and there was no one else.” ([19:07])

4. Unique Strengths and Challenges of ADHD Writers

• Broad client base: academics, activists, memoirists, novelists, journalists, etc. ([24:11]).
• Compensation Strategies:
  • Many have compensated for executive function challenges by being more creative, more productive, redefining genres or disciplines just to keep up ([27:36]-[28:38]).
  • “They have compensated for missed deadlines, for stupid spelling errors that they keep looking over because they do not really have a very eye for detail… by just being better and being new and doing something completely creative and completely original.” – Susanna ([27:36])
• Common experiences: boom-and-bust cycles, struggles with consistency, “writer’s block,” and perfectionism.

5. Coaching and Practical Writing Solutions

• Consistency is often a myth for ADHD writers; the core struggle is usually starting and finishing, not motivation.
  • “Even the people with ADHD who need to write every single day have challenges. …They keep starting new projects because they rely on novelty, or they keep getting stuck in the messy middle…” – Susanna ([30:06])
• Key coaching strategies:
  • Break projects into small, manageable chunks.
  • Balance structure vs. freedom—tailor approaches to individual needs ([31:04]).
  • Reframe “messy middle” blocks by mapping the two-dimensional ADHD mind into the one-dimensional narrative required by writing.
    • “When you are writing, writing is a one-dimensional form of communication… So what you need to do …is you take this two-dimensional map that you have in your head… and for the purposes of this story, you draw a line through the map.” – Susanna ([34:32])
• Use tools like the “ideas parking lot” to save extra ideas for future projects ([34:32]).

6. On Processing Trauma Through Writing

• Writing, especially memoir, can be a profound tool for processing trauma—but ADHDers must be cautious about not re-traumatizing themselves.
  • “When you are writing trauma… write in short bursts. …No work of art… is worth you re-traumatizing yourself.” – Susanna ([45:05])

7. Transforming Toxic Relationships with Writing

• Susanna defines and discusses a “toxic relationship with writing”—when shame, guilt, and fear corrode confidence and personal life ([47:13]):
  • “Their confidence drops, and that starts to affect the rest of their lives too…” – Susanna ([47:13])
• She shares a story of a novelist crippled by fan pressure, who recovered by rediscovering joy and play in her writing process ([49:11]):
  • “For her, the key was play and joy—reconnecting with that joy that brought you to writing…” ([51:25])

8. Patterns Among Highly Successful But Struggling Clients

• Tracy observes that struggles often peak for high-achieving ADHD women in their mid-40s, typically around perimenopause due to neurological shifts ([54:07]-[54:41]).
• Many academics are lost at the final stage (e.g., PhDs “all but dissertation”), illustrating how executive function issues undermine years of hard work ([51:40]-[52:40]).

9. Creating Systemic Change and Community

• Susanna is launching a new platform aimed at providing support and information to employers—universities, publishers, NGOs—to better aid their neurodivergent talent ([55:36]).
• She offers not just one-on-one coaching, but also group coaching and “body doubling” sessions—where writers come together, declare their intentions, and check in after a work sprint ([57:48]).
  • “I am trying to create more community as well because I know that so many ADHD writers feel completely isolated…” ([58:34])

10. Biggest Takeaway: Acceptance Over Adaption

• Susanna’s top “workaround”:
  • “Just accept that you have ADHD. …Accept all the little things that you struggle with and then find strategies and solutions for each instead of just wishing, trying to wish the ADHD away, which hasn't helped you in the past.” ([60:04])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the lack of diagnosis for women:

  • “There's no information on ADHD in women. …It just disappeared.” – Susanna ([08:03])

• On structure vs. freedom:

  • “You always have to… find that balance constantly between just enough freedom that your inner rebel… doesn’t come out, and just enough structure…” – Susanna ([10:26])

• On the ADHD writing experience:

  • “Consistency is a myth and it's never going to really work for you.” – Susanna ([31:04])

• On storytelling and ADHD:

  • “We have a two-dimensional way of thinking… writing is a one-dimensional form of communication…” ([34:32])

• On trauma and creativity:

  • “No work of art… is worth you re-traumatizing yourself by pulling in all these threads that you've been burying.” – Susanna ([45:05])

• On joy and play:

  • “If we do not enjoy something, it's going to be very, very hard to do it…” ([49:14])

• Final advice:

  • “Accept that you have adhd… and then find strategies and solutions for each instead of just wishing…” – Susanna ([60:04])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• ADHD in Women & Diagnosis: [00:02]-[08:18]
• Academic & Writing Challenges: [12:14]-[15:07]
• Career Journey & Writing Coaching: [15:52]-[18:17]
• Coaching ADHD Writers: [27:36]-[31:04]
• Time Sense & Idea Management: [34:32]
• Processing Trauma Through Writing: [42:32]-[47:06]
• Transforming Toxic Writing Relationships: [47:13]-[51:25]
• Supporting Academics/ABDs: [51:40]-[54:07]
• Systemic Advocacy & Community: [55:36]-[58:34]
• Parting Workaround & Strengths: [60:04]

Where to Find Susanna

• Main website: passionatercoaching.com
• Instagram: For individuals passionate about writing
• LinkedIn: For organizational collaborations (pending relaunch)

Conclusion

Susanna Sultana’s work and Tracy’s advocacy both stress that ADHD is not a deficit but a different wiring that, with self-acceptance and the right support, becomes a source of brilliance. Whether you’re struggling with a dissertation, a novel, or want to find more joy in daily writing, the message is clear: embrace your strengths and connect with community.