Translating ADHD – Episode Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Translating ADHD
Hosts: Asher Collins (Ash) & Dusty Chipura
Episode: Beyond Guilt: Finding Balance in Phone Usage for ADHD
Date: April 14, 2025

This episode dives deep into the complex relationship between adults with ADHD and their phone usage. Ash and Dusty, both ADHD coaches, discuss why phones are such a draw for neurodivergent brains, how guilt and shame often emerge around screen time, and—most importantly—how to shift from self-judgment to curiosity and intention in managing digital habits. The conversation challenges the cultural demonization of phone usage, explores personal and client experiences, and offers practical, individualized strategies to foster a healthier balance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. ADHD and Phone Usage: More Than Just “Addiction”

• Phones as Universal ADHD Challenge (01:22)

  • Both hosts agree phone use—especially compulsive or unintended use—is a pervasive issue among their clients.
  • The phone functions as a perpetual “easy break," providing constant dopamine hits for ADHD brains (03:20).

• Role of Guilt, Shame, and Time Loss (02:27)

  • Strong feelings of guilt and wasted time arise around phone usage.
  • Morning and evening routines are particularly vulnerable to disruptive phone use, impacting sleep and day starts.

2. Why Phones? Layered Reasons for Usage

• Diverse Motivations for Phone Use (03:20–06:27)

  • Phones offer multiple “pulls”: games, social media, endless research, communication, avoidance, and habit.
  • Societal expectations mean phones are nearly unavoidable (“it's just…you can't live these days without it”—06:27).
  • Even "dumb phones" may not be practical because of reliance on GPS, QR-code menus, and digital payment systems.

• “Not all phone usage is bad” (18:44)

  • Phones can be adaptive tools for engagement, connection, and accommodation (Dusty’s example of using a phone to endure understimulating meetings—13:12).
  • For some, the phone replaces other forms of self-soothing or stimulation (e.g., books, doodling).

3. Challenging the Moral Panic Around Phones

• Parallels to Past Judgments (10:29–13:12)

  • Dusty draws parallels with historical moral panics: TV, video games, even reading.
  • Both hosts argue that the medium (phone vs. book vs. TV) is less important than underlying attentional challenges.

  “We always did this in social situations... it’s just that the medium has changed.” – Ash (10:29)

• Contemporary Social Pressures (13:12)

  • The expectation to always be reachable and responsive via phone can heighten ADHD-related stress, due to task-switching struggles or social anxiety.
  • Phone use is often unfairly judged from the outside, ignoring the ways ADHD brains regulate stimulation.

4. Individualizing Phone Strategies

• Finding Your Intentions and What Matters (12:50, 18:44, 23:07)

  • Real change starts with understanding why you want to shift your phone habits (“It really is about why… not good enough to just be like, ‘oh, being on the phone is bad and I want to do it less.’” – Dusty, 13:12).
  • Explore what needs phone use is meeting—stimulation, avoidance, comfort, connection.

• Identifying Value vs. Autopilot Use (18:44–23:07)

  • Social media and online communities can be personally meaningful. The key is recognizing when engagement ceases to add value and turns into mindless scrolling.
  • Example: One client physically holds a rock before engaging online—a tangible check-in to recall intentions and prevent endless scrolling (22:55).

5. ADHD-Friendly Approaches & Tools

• Built-in Tools Often Fall Short (23:07)

  • Screen time limiters and “focus modes” usually don’t work for ADHDers—they’re too easily bypassed and require in-the-moment executive function.

• Creative Interventions (23:50–28:31)

  • App Highlight – One Sec: Instead of blocking, it interjects with a pause (“Take a breath. Do you really want to go there?”), bridging intention and impulse (24:30).
    • “What I love is something like this creates a bridge between the two people [intention-setter and in-the-moment self].” – Dusty (24:59)
  • Removing social media apps from the phone entirely, requiring web-only access (Ash’s method at 26:06).
  • Using interests like Goodreads to turn phone use into a springboard for preferred activities (Dusty’s method at 28:31).
  • Physically distancing internet access—e.g., only using certain sites on desktop computers, not phones.

• Personalization is Key

  • Hosts’ personal solutions are opposites, underlining the need for individual experimentation:
    • Ash: "My engagement was in a place... the internet lives in a place, and that place is not your phone." (26:06)
    • Dusty: Leverages phone apps like Goodreads and YouTube as inspiration to pursue hobbies, minimizing passive scroll.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Stigma and the Phone Moral Panic

  • “There’s totally this moral thing that just—oh, it’s the new thing, whatever the kids do is bad… is it the phone or is it just that, like, it’s hard for me to be present… in any circumstance?” – Dusty (09:33)
  • “Instead of focusing on the scary headlines or shame, turn your attention towards why you want to change this. Why is this important to you?” – Ash (33:12)

• On The Real Goal

  • “If you’re noticing that you want something to change, there’s an opportunity there to get curious about what’s going on.” – Ash (11:48)
  • “Guilt and shame isn’t the way. And so if you’re already feeling like that’s hard for you, you don’t need to really stress about it. Like, it is what it is.” – Dusty (31:13)

• On Practical Adaptations

  • “For me, I think there are parts of my life where the phone is adaptive, where... I don’t care what you think about it because that’s how I actually stay engaged.” – Dusty (15:24)
  • “My solution looks completely different from your solution [Dusty’s].” – Ash (26:06)

Important Timestamps

• 01:22 – Introduction to phone usage as a universal ADHD challenge
• 02:27 – Discussion on guilt, shame, and time loss
• 03:20 – Breakdown of individual reasons and behaviors around phone usage
• 06:27 – Societal expectations and the near-necessity of smartphones
• 10:29 – Moralizing phone use; parallels with newspapers/books
• 13:12 – Task switching and “being available” pressures for ADHD
• 15:24 – Adaptive vs maladaptive phone usage; Dusty’s meeting anecdote
• 18:44 – “Not all phone usage is bad”—client stories and value-based engagement
• 23:07 – ADHD tools and hacks for intentional phone management (One Sec app, physical reminders)
• 26:06 – Removing apps; compartmentalizing online activity
• 28:31 – Using the phone in service of meaningful hobbies (Goodreads, music, etc.)
• 31:13 – Don’t let headlines fuel guilt or shame; historical context
• 33:12 – Focus on positive intentions and outcomes, not just avoidance

Takeaways for Listeners

• Self-Compassion Over Shame: Phone, internet, and social media use are not inherently bad; context, intention, and function matter—especially for ADHDers.
• Curiosity is Key: Examine what need the phone is meeting—stimulation, comfort, connection—and personalize your approach to change.
• Forget “One-Size-Fits-All”: Effective strategies are individual and may require some creative experimentation.
• Small Interventions Help: Physical reminders, intentional app removal, or targeted digital tools can help bridge intentions and real-life habits.
• Aim for Positive Change: Focus not on what you want to avoid, but what you want to cultivate—more sleep, presence with loved ones, or engagement in hobbies.

In the end, Ash and Dusty emphasize replacing judgment and guilt with curiosity and clarity about personal values and needs—a message both universally resonant and especially meaningful for adults with ADHD.