Podcast Summary: Overcoming Distractions – Thriving with ADHD, ADD

Episode: "Breathwork for the Busy ADHD Brain"

Host: David A. Greenwood
Guest: Curtis Lee Thomas, Corporate Mindfulness Trainer & Founder of Breathwork Detox
Date: April 11, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the transformative role of breathwork for busy adults with ADHD—especially professionals juggling demanding workloads or feeling overwhelmed by daily life. David Greenwood talks with Curtis Lee Thomas about why breathwork is uniquely effective for ADHD brains, how it compares to meditation or yoga, and what actionable steps listeners can start taking immediately. The tone is practical, conversational, and nonjudgmental, aiming to help adults with ADHD regulate stress, gain clarity, and improve productivity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding Breathwork & Its Unique Benefits

[03:06] Curtis Lee Thomas:

• Breathwork as an Umbrella Term: "Breath work is an umbrella term, right? Like yoga...breathwork's no different, it's an umbrella term and there are all different types of breathing."
• Breathwork Detox: The method Curtis teaches is described as "the most powerful somatic, cathartic breathing technique in the world." Unlike basic breathwork, Breathwork Detox is intended to create rapid, multifaceted shifts—emotional, mental, and physical.

2. Curtis Lee Thomas's Journey

[04:12] Curtis:

• Shares how traditional medicine failed to resolve his chronic stomach condition, pushing him to explore alternative practices, including plant medicines and eventually an ancient breathing technique.
• Breakthrough Moment: "Within one session, my stomach condition completely eradicated. That's amazing. My life changed, my health changed." [05:17]

3. Why Doctors Overlook Stress & Emotions

[08:01] David & Curtis:

• Discussion on how the majority of doctor visits are stress-related (Harvard study: "60–90% of all doctor's visits are stress related" [08:48]), yet stress rarely gets directly addressed by medical professionals.
• Curtis: "...If you're looking for something to help eradicate your stress, I haven't found anything that works faster and more efficiently than this."

4. ADHD, Stress, and The Challenges of Meditation

[10:42] Curtis:

• For those with ADHD, "it's sometimes hard to sit down and be quiet." Traditional meditation often increases stress for ADHD brains due to racing thoughts and discomfort with stillness.
• Fascinating Stat: "We have approximately 50,000 thoughts per day. 80% of those thoughts, unfortunately, are negative...98% of the thoughts we had today were the same thoughts we had yesterday." [11:13]
• Meditation requires stillness and singular focus, creating a "barrier to entry" for ADHD folks. Breathwork, by contrast, is active, somatic, and accessible even to those with busy, restless minds.

5. The Impact of Technology on Focus

[13:04] Curtis:

• The smartphone is described as "a thousand dollar device that will help you defocus, right? And de-meditate."
• Curtis: "You're practicing defocusing every day. It's unwinding any of the bliss or peace that we even had left in our life..." [13:15]

6. How Breathwork Works (Scientifically & Somatically)

[16:17] Curtis:

• "The issues are in the tissues." Breathwork allows the body to release stress and trauma that the mind cannot logically process or let go of.
• Breathwork Detox uses mouth breathing to access and clear the sympathetic nervous system, releasing pent-up stress, unresolved emotions, and trauma. This commonly triggers an emotional release, even in those who "weren’t expecting this" (e.g., Navy SEALs, veterans, CEOs).
• Memorable quote: "You don't know what you’re carrying until you release it." [19:04]

7. Burnout and Chronic Stress — The ADHD Trap

[20:15] Curtis:

• Chronic, unaddressed stress accumulates until it "begins to wreak havoc on your nervous system." Many don't realize how bad they feel until they experience relief.
• Curtis draws from personal experience with plant medicine, ayahuasca, and extreme healing attempts, concluding that stress is often an energetic/emotional—not physical—problem.

8. Ruminating, Overthinking & Interrupting Thought Loops

[25:10] Curtis:

• Breathwork, while initially challenging ("in the first five to eight minutes...you're cursing me out in your head" [25:10]), cuts through resistance and creates a flow state (transient hypofrontality), quieting the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for self-judgment and overthinking.
  • "You enter into the space where you feel connected to everything...major problems—all of a sudden, the simplest solutions just drop in your head like a download." [26:13]

9. Clarity and Creativity Through Breathwork

[27:31] David & Curtis:

• ADHD adults are natural problem solvers but are prone to lack of clarity. Breathwork helps them "reach a place that you've probably been trying to reach for 20 years."
• Tony Robbins Quote (shared by Curtis): "My vision is so clear that it pulls me toward my goals." [28:23]

Actionable Takeaways & Simple Techniques

Starting Breathwork Now: The 15-Second “Sigh” Exercise

[31:28] Curtis:

• Start with the body's natural stress reliever: sighing.
  1. Take a big inhale through the nose.
  2. As soon as you reach the top, release audibly through the mouth—a natural sigh.
  3. Imagine letting go of tension or a burden as you exhale.
  4. Repeat 3 times, checking in to notice how you feel before and after.
  • "Do three of them in a row, three conscious sighs...that is a 15 to 25 second exercise. That is a great starting place." [32:02]
  • Consider expanding to 3 sets of 3 sighs, totaling under 3 minutes.

Why This Works for ADHD

[33:42] Curtis:

• Breathwork burns off excess nervous energy, creates a "healthy euphoric high," and supports dopamine seeking in a non-destructive way.
• Acts as a rapid reset, supporting productive focus and emotional regulation—something medication alone cannot offer.

Practical Advice

• "If medication works for you, totally cool." Still, many seek alternatives or adjuncts to medication (e.g., breathwork).
• Regulation of nervous system is essential—no matter how busy you are, daily de-stressing is "mandatory."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "We have approximately 50,000 thoughts per day. 80% of those thoughts, unfortunately, are negative in nature..." — Curtis Lee Thomas [11:13]
• "You don’t know what you're carrying until you release it." — Curtis Lee Thomas [19:04]
• "Burnout is just chronic stress—death by a thousand cuts." — David Greenwood [19:17]
• "You enter into the space where you feel connected to everything...major problems—the simplest solutions just drop in your head like a download." — Curtis Lee Thomas [26:13]
• "My vision is so clear that it pulls me towards my goals." — Tony Robbins quoted by Curtis Lee Thomas [28:23]
• "You can feel busy and not be productive...I've been busy and haven’t got anything done. No progress." — Curtis Lee Thomas [36:42]

Important Timestamps

• What is breathwork? [03:06]
• Curtis's story & how Breathwork Detox helped him [04:12–06:02]
• Stress & the medical model [08:01–09:04]
• Why meditation is hard for ADHD brains [10:42–13:08]
• Phones, media, and 'practicing defocusing' [13:04–13:51]
• How breathwork releases trauma (the 'issues are in the tissues') [16:17–19:04]
• Burnout as 'death by a thousand cuts' [19:17–20:15]
• The pain and reward curve of breathwork; achieving flow state [25:10–27:31]
• Clarity as an antidote to confusion in ADHD [27:31–28:23]
• Quick sigh exercise explained [31:28–32:02]
• Breathwork vs. medication for ADHD [35:00–35:57]
• Making time for nervous system resets (the busy paradox) [36:18–37:35]

How to Go Deeper

• Experience breathwork with Curtis at breathworkdetox.com
  • Free masterclass, virtual events, daily live group sessions
  • Discount code: podcast50 for 50% off virtual events
• Connect with Curtis: Instagram @manfromthestars

Closing Thoughts

This episode offers an accessible, stigma-free introduction to breathwork for adult ADHD. Curtis demystifies breathwork as an actionable, science-backed, rapid-reward tool—one that anyone can try in under a minute. Listeners are encouraged to get curious, experiment with the sigh exercise, and reflect on the transformative power of simple, deliberate pauses in their daily routines.

“You don’t know what you’re carrying until you release it.” — Curtis Lee Thomas [19:04]