Navigating Adult ADHD – Episode #133 Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Navigating Adult ADHD
Host: Xena Jones
Guest: Matt Henderson (“Hendo”)
Episode Title: ADHD Is My Edge: Matt’s Late Diagnosis, Sport & Gamified Life
Date: September 29, 2025

This episode features Matt Henderson, a health and performance coach and former international indoor cricket player, sharing his journey of being diagnosed with ADHD at age 40. Matt discusses how sports served as an outlet and a mask for his ADHD, how he reframes ADHD as his personal edge, and the grief, growth, and self-discovery he’s experienced post-diagnosis. The conversation delves into gamifying life, parenting with ADHD, emotional health, curiosity, presence, and building systems that leverage ADHD strengths.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Matt’s Path to Diagnosis

• Catalyst for Diagnosis: Matt was diagnosed at age 40 after his wife, Mandy, sent him an Instagram post listing ADHD traits. This recognition was a ‘hallelujah’ moment for Matt.
  • Quote:

    "The moment was almost like, hallelujah. Like, okay, yeah, I do all that stuff. But now I know why." (04:09)

• Misattribution: Matt had long attributed his struggles to general mental health issues, particularly depression and low self-worth, due to his family history. Diagnosis reframed his perspective:
  • Quote:

    "I think why I was so elated to receive this diagnosis is actually probably those things were a symptom of not understanding that I had ADHD." (06:04)

Sport as Outlet and Mask for ADHD

• Sport as a Channel: Matt gravitated toward sport as a way to remain focused and engaged, which masked his ADHD challenges, especially during school and young adulthood.
• International Indoor Cricket: After discovering indoor cricket (shorter, fast-paced games), Matt found a perfect fit for his concentration span, representing New Zealand internationally.
  • Quote:

    "I instantly loved the game because the fast-paced nature, a game only takes an hour and a half. Perfect for my ability to concentrate." (08:17)

Gamifying Life & Engaging the ADHD Brain

• Gamification as Survival: Matt explains that much of his success stemmed from gamifying goals and daily routines—whether in sport, fitness, or business—which created ongoing motivation and dopamine satisfaction.
  • Quote:

    "My life was gamified when I was a cricketer... When something's gamified for me, then I'm—I love it... That's how I stay engaged." (11:10-11:59)

• Action-Oriented Thinking: Emphasizes breaking tasks down into “what’s important now, what’s important next” (W.I.N.) to manage overwhelm and prevent overthinking.
  • Quote:

    "The goal in life is to be as present as possible, and that's where the good stuff happens. So what's important now?" (13:07)

Post-Diagnosis Self-Discovery, Grief, and Growth

• Emotional Processing: Matt discusses the grief that comes with realizing how ADHD shaped his life, mixed with gratitude for eventually understanding it and being able to support his own son through a similar journey.
  • Quote:

    "There's an absolute grief process... if only I'd known back then, like, how different my life could have been... but it's also because of that hardness that I'm the person I am today." (15:57)

• Parenting: Having a child diagnosed with ADHD shifts Matt’s focus to providing better support and a different experience than what he had.
  • Quote:

    "I'm really excited to go through this process with [my son]... I'm glad that we've found out as parents." (16:51)

Curiosity & Experimentation as Tools

• Value of Curiosity: Matt credits his innate curiosity for helping him learn about and adapt to his ADHD brain, leaning into experimentation and iterative growth.
  • Quote:

    "One of my key values and I think one of my gifts is just how curious I am. And if you can pretty much do everything with a huge amount of curiosity, it opens you up to possibility." (18:28)

• Non-Judgmental Self-Exploration: Curiosity replaced judgment and allowed growth and learning.

Presence & Emotion Regulation

• The Challenge and Gift of Presence: Being fully present is both the biggest challenge and the key to emotional well-being for Matt. He employs sensory grounding exercises and circuit-breaker rituals.
  • Quote:

    "Trying to be present or working hard to be present is the scariest thing for a lot of people because there's so much uncertainty." (23:15)

• Processing Grief and Emotions: Matt describes actively sitting with emotions—especially recently in losing his father—as a skill he continues to develop (23:10–25:02).

Vulnerability & Growth Mindset

• Openness as Strength: Matt speaks about his willingness to be vulnerable as integral to moving past failure, building resilience, and connecting with others.
  • Quote:

    "You can go two ways in that moment. ...Or you can go, that was interesting. Why did that happen? What I need to do to step into that stage again and be able to overcome that?" (29:25)

• Normalizing Failure: Past failures, especially in high-pressure sports situations, taught Matt to embrace the learning opportunity and remain present, regardless of anxiety or stress.

ADHD Strategies: Rituals, Nutrition, and Self-Care

• Work-Rest Balance: Matt insists on a 1:1 ratio between focused effort and downtime; pushing beyond leads to breakdown.
  • Quote:

    "For every minute that I'm doing that, I need a minute of nothing." (33:17)

• Physical Wellbeing: Regular exercise, nutrition (especially balanced with DNA/blood markers), and supplementation (notably creatine, B vitamins, fish oil, magnesium) are foundational.
  • Quote:

    "My supplementation regime is pretty good. My nutrition plan is pretty good. And when I do that, I feel amazing. When I don't, I fall off and do my best not to beat myself up." (35:04)

• Embracing Imperfection: Perfection isn’t required—80% effort is “world class”, referencing elite athletes.
  • Quote:

    "80 is world class. ...The top 1% of the 1% are good about 80% of the time." (35:57)

Outsourcing Weaknesses & Playing to Strengths

• Delegating Non-Core Tasks: Matt shares his realization that it's okay not to excel in every area (e.g., finances) and to seek help or outsource what doesn’t light him up.
• Living Differently: Emphasizes embracing the unique perspective that ADHD brings rather than viewing it as a deficit.
  • Quote:

    "How exciting. We get to live a life that's a little bit different than 90% of the rest of the world, right? Why don't we find out what that looks like? That's pretty cool." (48:02)

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• The ‘Aha Moment’ of Diagnosis:

  "The moment was almost like, hallelujah. Like, okay, yeah, I do all that stuff. But now I know why." (04:09 - Matt)

• Gamifying Life as an Edge:

  "When something's gamified for me, then I'm—I love it... That's how I stay engaged." (11:10 - Matt)

• On Living in the Present:

  "The goal in life is to be as present as possible, and that's where the good stuff happens. So what's important now?" (13:07 - Matt)

• On Grief and Gratitude:

  "If I didn't have that, I wouldn't be me... so I'd just be hugely grateful that I've found out now." (15:57 - Matt)

• On Curiosity:

  "If you can pretty much do everything with a huge amount of curiosity, it opens you up to possibility." (18:28 - Matt)

• On Being Vulnerable:

  "You can go two ways in that moment... Or you can go, that was interesting. Why did that happen?" (29:25 - Matt)

• On Not Being Broken:

  "There's nothing wrong with you." (46:54 - Matt)

• On Outsourcing Weaknesses:

  "I don't have to force myself into a space where... it's not a place that I care for... I might go get some help with that and they can do that and I can just be." (49:07 - Matt)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Diagnosis Story – 04:09–07:26
• Sport and ADHD Masking – 07:27–11:10
• Gamification & Life Engagement – 11:10–13:49
• Grief, Self-Discovery & Parenting – 13:49–17:24
• What ADHD Means to Matt – 17:35–18:28
• Curiosity & Learning – 18:28–19:45
• On Presence and Emotion Regulation – 22:02–25:01
• Navigating Grief with ADHD – 25:16–27:19
• Vulnerability and Growth Mindset – 29:25–32:18
• Personal Rituals & Self-Care – 32:57–37:18
• 80% is World Class – 35:57–37:18
• Nutrition & Supplements – 37:18–42:07
• Managing Weaknesses/Outsourcing – 48:54–49:07
• Advice to Late Diagnosed ADHDers – 46:54
• Final Thoughts on Living With ADHD – 48:02-50:49

Conclusion: Key Takeaways & Final Message

Matt reinforces that ADHD is not a flaw to be fixed but a system with unique strengths and challenges to be understood, gamified, and optimized. Presence, curiosity, self-compassion, and vulnerability are his cornerstones for thriving. He encourages listeners to embrace their differences, ask for help where needed, and remember—“there’s nothing wrong with you; you might be about to embark on a cool little journey, so let’s see where it goes.” (46:54, Matt)

For more on Matt, links and contact info are in the show notes.