- 14
- Episodes
- 2
- Ratings
- Weekly
- Cadence
- 2025
- First episode
About ADHD Running in Heels
Imagine running a marathon, but instead of a smooth track, it’s filled with hurdles only you can see. For female entrepreneurs with ADHD, including, and maybe especially, those who have been late diagnosed, this is not just a metaphor - it’s life. Welcome to 'Running in Heels,' where we explore the unique challenges and triumphs of women balancing business dreams, life, relationships, and ADHD. The plan is to dive deep into the reality of building a business while managing a brain that doesn’t always play by the rules. Whether you've been diagnosed with ADHD or self-identify with its traits, this space is for you. Here, we don’t just talk about surviving - we’re all about thriving. So, lace up your choice of footwear and let’s hit the ground running.
- Publisher
- Mineela Chand
- Category
- business · education · health & fitness
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 20 Aug 2025
- Latest episode
- 7 Nov 2025
Latest episodes
14 episodes in the feed.
7 Nov 2025
Ep014 - ADHD, Brain Fog and Estrogen
What if the problem isn’t burnout, age, or motivation - but estrogen? In this episode of Running in Heels, we unpack the cognitive chaos that hits high-functioning ADHD women during perimenopause and menopause. The conversation moves beyond hot flashes and mood swings into the neurochemical fault line where estrogen and dopamine collide. You’ll hear what the data actually shows - 94% of ADHD women report worsening symptoms, 70% call the brain fog life-altering, and nearly half don’t discover their diagnosis until their forties. You’ll meet Elaine, a senior executive whose sharpness starts to slip as her chemistry rewrites itself, and you’ll learn why this isn’t personal failure - it’s biology misread by systems built for hormonal stability. This episode explains how fluctuating estrogen disrupts executive function, why medication suddenly feels unpredictable, and how workplaces mislabel neurological volatility as burnout. You’ll also learn what scaffolds actually work - cycle mapping, medication synchronization, load redesign, and language that turns shame into data. This episode isn’t about fixing women’s brains. It’s about redesigning systems that still expect linear performance from cyclical bodies. Key Topics: The dopamine–estrogen link and its role in executive function How perimenopause unmasks long-compensated ADHD patterns The difference between burnout and biochemical fluctuation Scaffolds that stabilize function during hormonal transition Why leadership and medicine must evolve beyond the male baseline Ready to get more specific about your particular flavour of ADHD? Check out the Executive Function Inventory. - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that identifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolstered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday. https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
4 Nov 2025
Executive Function Deep Dive: Organization
Disorganization isn’t about mess - it’s about inability to find what you need to accomplish a task. This episode breaks down the executive function of organization through a practical, neurological lens: what it is, how it works, and the ten principles that make order sustainable across every domain of life. We’ll strip the concept of organization down to its real function - a system for finding what you need when you need it. You’ll learn why ADHD brains struggle to maintain structure even when motivation is high, how dopamine and working memory affect system reliability, and why most “get organized” advice collapses under real conditions. From physical environments to digital files to thought processes, this episode offers specific strategies you can apply immediately: visibility that keeps your brain anchored, proximity that reduces friction, labeling that mirrors your cognitive patterns, and maintenance rhythms that keep systems alive without demanding perfection. Because organization isn’t about being tidy. It’s about designing your world to remember for you. By the end, you’ll know exactly what the organizational executive function does, why it fails under pressure, and how to rebuild trust between your brain and your environment one findable thing at a time. Ready to get more specific about your particular flavour of ADHD? Check out the Executive Function Inventory. - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that identifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolstered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday. https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
30 Oct 2025
ADHD and the Trap of Imposter Syndrome
Why do so many high-performing women with ADHD feel like frauds—even when they’re crushing it? In this episode, we unpack the deep connection between ADHD and imposter syndrome, and why this experience is so often missed or misunderstood in women. We explore how a lifetime of masking, over-functioning, and internalized self-correction can create a disconnect between external success and internal self-trust. If you’ve ever felt like you’re faking it—like your competence is a performance, like you’re one mistake away from being exposed—this conversation is for you. This episode isn’t about “overcoming” imposter syndrome. It’s about understanding it. And more importantly, reclaiming your identity, authority, and leadership as a neurodivergent woman. Key Points Covered The silent burden of masking ADHD symptoms and how it fuels imposter syndrome Why women with ADHD often feel like their success isn’t “real” or sustainable The difference between performing competence and embodying self-trust How rejection sensitivity, perfectionism, and emotional dysregulation reinforce internalized fraudulence The cultural and systemic forces that invalidate neurodivergent strengths The role of feedback loops, working memory, and trauma in shaping imposter narratives What it means to strategically unmask in high-responsibility spaces Why your adaptability isn’t fraudulence—it’s fluency How to begin rewriting the internal story from “I’m faking it” to “I’m navigating it” The power of self-recognition and identity reclamation in dissolving imposter syndrome Ready to get more specific about your particular flavour of ADHD? Check out the Executive Function Inventory. - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that identifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolstered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday. https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
29 Oct 2025
Executive Function Deep Dive: Metacognition
What if the real problem isn’t your attention - but your awareness? In this episode, we unpack the often-overlooked executive function called metacognition: the ability to notice your own thinking while it’s happening. For ADHD brains, this function doesn’t always show up on time. And when it lags, everything else goes sideways. We’ll explore why delayed self-awareness creates patterns of impulsivity, emotional reactivity, and decision fatigue, and how that lag affects not just productivity, but confidence, leadership, and relationships. You’ll learn: What metacognition actually is (and what it isn’t) Why ADHD disrupts this skill in real time, but sharpens it in reflection How late insight warps self-trust and creates reputation gaps Practical ways to build real-time awareness without constant self-monitoring or shame Why “trying harder” doesn’t work and what to design instead This is about catching yourself before you’re in clean-up mode. And it starts with seeing your mind clearly, while it’s still moving. Ready to get more specific about your particular flavour of ADHD? Check out the Executive Function Inventory. - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that identifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolstered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday. https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
23 Oct 2025
What Happens When the Assessment Says "Normal"?
What Happens When the Assessment Says "Normal"? You got tested. You wanted answers. You expected clarity - maybe even a name for what’s been quietly draining your capacity. Instead, you were told your executive function was “within range.” No ADHD diagnosis for you. No plan. No support. And now you're left trying to reconcile test results that say you're fine with a life that feels anything but manageable. This episode examines what happens when the assessment misses the reality - especially for high-functioning, high-responsibility adults who are navigating subclinical ADHD symptoms and executive dysfunction that doesn’t show up on paper. Inside: Why traditional ADHD evaluations miss so many competent adults How coping strategies can hide executive breakdown until it’s too late The emotional toll of being told you’re fine while still unraveling What research says about subclinical symptoms and real-world impact Why access to care, meds, and accommodations still hinges on thresholds that don’t reflect reality If you’ve ever walked out of a diagnostic process more confused than when you walked in, you’re not imagining the disconnect. And you’re not alone. Ready to get more specific about your particular flavour of ADHD? Check out the Executive Function Inventory. - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that identifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolstered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday. https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
20 Oct 2025
Executive Function Deep Dive: Goal-Directed Persistence
Executive Function Deep Dive: Goal-Directed Persistence Goal-Directed Persistence: How to Return to Yourself When Urgency Disappears Why can you move mountains for other people but lose traction the moment the only person depending on your persistence is you? Why do your goals feel solid one day and dissolve into fog the next? And why does trying harder keep making it worse? In this episode of Running in Heels, we dismantle the myths about ADHD and “inconsistency” and trace the real story: how persistence fractures when external urgency goes quiet, and how to rebuild functional return pathways that don’t rely on panic, pressure, or other people’s expectations. You’ll learn: How early socialization trains ADHDers to anchor persistence to external expectations, not internal goals. What Goal-Directed Persistence actually is and how it differs from motivation, grit, or self-control. The neurological fault lines where ADHD persistence snaps: temporal flattening, dopamine depletion, urgency binary, emotional weight accumulation, phase fragmentation, and post-success shutdown. T he hidden social cost of “inconsistency” and why shame becomes the real derailment engine. Why trying to brute force your way back into a goal just drives the fracture deeper. The scaffolds that make return possible: frictionless re-entry, visible anchors, value visibility, soft accountability, effort calibration, interruption mapping, emotional threat calibration, structured recovery, and quiet proof points. How to build persistence that belongs to you - not your deadlines, your boss, or the crisis. This isn’t about becoming more disciplined. It’s about lowering the emotional cost of return so your goals don’t die in the silence between bursts of urgency. Listen if your goals keep slipping out of reach the second no one’s watching. Ready to get more specific about your particular flavour of ADHD? Check out the Executive Function Inventory. - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that identifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolstered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday. https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
16 Oct 2025
How Did I Miss It?! (Mineela's ADHD Story)
How Did I Miss It?! (Mineela's ADHD Story) How does a therapist and executive function coach - someone trained to spot ADHD in others - completely miss it in herself? In this episode, Mineela breaks down the subtle ways ADHD hides in high-performing women. She explains why “high-functioning” is a misleading label, how performance becomes a mask, and what finally made the patterns impossible to ignore. You’ll hear the difference between coping and scaffolding, the role of executive function in late-diagnosed adults, and why support often arrives too late - or not at all. This is not a diagnostic checklist or a memoir. It’s a precise, strategic map of how ADHD performs in people who overcompensate by default. You’ll learn: Why being “high-functioning” often delays recognition and blocks support What performance masking actually looks like in adult life How executive function impairment can exist under outward success What finally brought clarity after years of overcompensating The six foundational anchors Mineela now uses with clients to rebuild function If you’ve ever been praised for how well you’re holding it together - while quietly unraveling - I am in good company! Ready to get more specific about your particular flavour of ADHD? Check out the Executive Function Inventory. - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that identifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolstered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ (https://www.mineelachand.com/) Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday. https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
13 Oct 2025
Executive Function Deep Dive: Emotional Management
Executive Function Deep Dive: Emotional Management Feel It Without Falling Apart: ADHD, Emotional Management, and the Myth of Stoicism Someone told to stay calm, be professional, and don’t take things personally. But for ADHD professionals with reactive nervous systems, emotional regulation is a survival skill. In this episode, we dismantle the cultural obsession with stoicism, clarify what emotional regulation actually is, and unpack why traditional advice fails the ADHD brain. We cover: The cultural lie of stoicism as emotional strength How emotional suppression leads to executive dysfunction, not composure The difference between awareness, expression, intensity, and regulation Why emotional regulation relies on executive function and where ADHD disrupts it The neurobiology of fast feelings and the reality of amygdala hijack What ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) offers ADHDers that other frameworks don’t Concrete practices for emotional containment, not erasure External scaffolds for ADHD emotional recovery and regulation What to do when you’ve already lost access to your tools How to rebuild self-trust after dysregulation without shame This episode is not about becoming less emotional. It’s about building the capacity to lead, respond, and recover while feeling everything - without letting it destroy your credibility, your relationships, or your nervous system. Ready to get more specific about your particular flavour of ADHD? Check out the Executive Function Inventory. - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that identifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolstered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ (https://www.mineelachand.com/) Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday. https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
7 Oct 2025
Executive Function Deep Dive - Cognitive Flexibity
When people say “just go with the flow,” they’re usually not asking for adaptability. They’re demanding compliance. For ADHD professionals, especially those navigating executive dysfunction under pressure, the cost of cognitive flexibility is rarely acknowledged and almost never supported. This episode strips the moralism off “being flexible” and gets down to what cognitive flexibility actually is: a metabolically expensive executive function that depends on safety, structure, and recovery. You’ll learn how the ADHD brain processes change, why sudden pivots cause shutdowns, and how to re-enter without identity collapse. We’re not here to teach you how to bounce. We’re here to show you how to stay whole when the context shifts without warning. In this episode: What cognitive flexibility actually is (and what it’s not) Why ADHD makes strategic shifts feel threatening - even when they’re logical How trauma, masking, and performance shame destroy adaptive capacity The dangerous cultural mythology of “go with the flow” What real flexibility requires: safety, scaffolds, and structural re-entry How to protect your identity while learning to shift gears without burning out This one is for the professionals holding everything together...until someone changes the plan. Ready to get more specific about your particular flavor of ADHD? Check out the Executive Function Inventory - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that identifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolstered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ (https://www.mineelachand.com/) Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday. https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
7 Oct 2025
Series Kickoff: Understanding Executive Function
We kicked open the door to executive function. Now we're going to get into the weeds. This twelve-part series unpacks each function in depth, from cognitive flexibility to working memory. You’ll finally understand why certain tasks feel impossible, why time keeps slipping, and why productivity hacks built for someone else never seem to work for you. You’ll leave with a map, a language, and a way forward. And if you’re ready to get specific? TCheck out the Executive Function Inventory - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that identifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolstered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ (https://www.mineelachand.com/) Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday. https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
2 Oct 2025
Executive Functions: The Brain’s C-Suite
You’ve built a career on clarity, leadership, and delivering results. But behind the scenes? You’re chasing your own calendar, rewriting the same email, and quietly wondering why simple tasks feel...not so simple. This episode pulls back the curtain on executive functions - the brain’s internal management system - and why they matter so much more than most productivity advice ever admits. We unpack: Why experts still can’t agree on how many executive functions there are - The three cognitive systems behind every decision, delay, and spiral. How executive function challenges show up in real leadership (not just in theory). What’s actually happening when you avoid an email or burn out mid-project. Why understanding your own EF “mix” is a game-changer - and not just for your sanity You’ll walk away with clarity, context, and language to finally make sense of why your brilliant brain runs hot one day and flatlines the next. And if you’re ready to get specific? Check out the Executive Function Inventory linked below. The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ (https://www.mineelachand.com/) The Executive Functions Inventory - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that ideantifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolsered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday. https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
25 Aug 2025
ADHD Uncluttered - What ADHD IS (And What It Isn't)
ADHD has been flattened into TikTok sound bites and chaos-core aesthetics. But, the truth is far more complex (and far more interesting). This episode is a sharp, research-grounded unpacking of what ADHD actually is - and all the things it absolutely isn’t. We’ll cut through the noise to explore: The four core traits that define ADHD (and why the rest is just algorithmic fluff) Why RSD, burnout, and trauma aren’t ADHD - even if they travel together How socialization erases ADHD in women and anyone raised to be “good” The real cost of masking, perfectionism, and emotional labor Why ADHD is contextual, not a character flaw, and what that means for your life If you’ve ever wondered where the memes end and the science begins, or why you’re still exhausted even after a diagnosis, this is the clarity you’ve been looking for - minus the clichés and moralizing. ADHD isn’t a trend, and you’re not a broken algorithm. It’s time to understand the wiring, not just wear the label. The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ (https://www.mineelachand.com/) The Executive Functions Inventory - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that identifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolsered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday (scroll to the bottom of the page): https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
25 Aug 2025
Girls Who Slipped Through the Cracks, All Grown Up
What does it really look like when ADHD hides in plain sight for decades? It’s not the little boy bouncing off the walls. It’s the woman with the color-coded planner, the corporate title, and a PhD in pretending everything’s fine. In this episode of Running in Heels, we unpack why so many women miss an ADHD diagnosis in childhood, only to discover it years later - usually after the scaffolding collapses. We dig into the myths that shaped the diagnostic gap, the cost of masking and high achievement, and why burnout, anxiety, and hormonal shifts often bring everything crashing down. You’ll learn: Why the “poster child” for ADHD was a boy - and what that left out. How masking works (and why it’s both brilliant and brutal) The anxiety loop: misdiagnosis and its consequences Hormones, life transitions, and the ADHD flare nobody warned you about What actually changes - and what doesn’t - after a late diagnosis If you’ve ever thought, Why does everything feel harder than it should? This one’s for you. The website: https://www.mineelachand.com/ (https://www.mineelachand.com/) The Executive Functions Inventory - Where are you right now on each of the 12 executive functions. An inventory that ideantifies which EFs are challenges (that need to be bolsered), adaptive (you've built accommodations for yourself), and strengths (to leverage to support your challenges. If you know, you can be intentional. https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi (https://www.mineelachand.com/adhd-adults-efi) Want to get in touch with me, contribute to the conversation, or ask a question you would like some answers for? Here's the form you can fill out - I read all of them: https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3 (https://forms.office.com/r/NFvguHn7s3) Sign up for the newsletter which drops every Monday (scroll to the bottom of the page): https://www.mineelachand.com/about (https://www.mineelachand.com/about)
20 Aug 2025
Orientation Packet (Trailer)
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