Pills Don’t Teach Skills: ADHD Strategies That Actually Work
Jorie Houlihan guest of the minute mastery episode 056If you’ve ever wondered why medication alone doesn’t fix ADHD challenges, this episode is for you. My guest, Jorie Houlihan, is an ADHD life coach, speaker, and mom of two teens who didn’t receive her own ADHD diagnosis until age 49. After decades of feeling scattered, misunderstood, and dismissed, she finally found clarity, and a mission: to help women understand that pills don’t teach skills.
In this episode of the Minute Mastery Podcast, we dive deep into what really helps women with ADHD thrive, science-backed strategies, mindset shifts, and daily systems that bring calm and clarity.
Why Pills Do Not Teach Skills?
Medication can be life-changing for people with ADHD. It helps the brain stay present, reduces emotional spirals, and makes learning new habits possible. But medication isn’t a magic wand, it can’t teach organization, prioritization, or time awareness.
As Jorie explains, “Pills helped me learn the skills because I could finally be present enough to retain information. But they’re just one tool in the toolbox.”
Women often expect that medication will erase their struggles, but ADHD management requires a mix of tools, self-awareness, and compassion. Without skills, structure, and support, symptoms can quickly resurface.
The Science Behind ADHD: Dopamine and Norepinephrine
To understand ADHD, we need to understand brain chemistry. Two neurotransmitters: dopamine and norepinephrine, play key roles in focus, motivation, and emotion.
People with ADHD usually have lower dopamine levels or receptors that don’t process dopamine efficiently. Dopamine is the “do the thing” chemical, it gives you the motivation to start and the sense of accomplishment when you finish. Low dopamine explains why task initiation can feel almost impossible.
Dopamine then converts to norepinephrine, which powers the brain’s frontal lobe, the center for planning, prioritizing, and filtering information. When this system is underactive, everything feels urgent and important. That’s why many women with ADHD describe their minds as noisy and scattered.
As Jorie says with humor, “It’s like having a Mac brain but using a PC manual. There’s nothing wrong with your brain, you just need to write your own owner’s manual.”
Building an ADHD-Friendly Life System
Every woman with ADHD needs a structure that flexes with her brain, not against it. The trick is to design systems that feel natural, not forced. Here are Jorie’s top strategies:
- Track Time to Spot Patterns:
People with ADHD are “time optimists.” We underestimate how long tasks take, or overestimate boring ones. Start by writing down your estimates vs. reality. Over time, you’ll see patterns and plan more accurately.
- Work With Your Energy
Instead of forcing yourself into a 9–5 productivity box, learn your energy rhythms. Most people with ADHD have focus peaks and crashes. Save your high-energy hours for mentally demanding work and low-energy times for creative or routine tasks.
- Keep Systems Simple
ADHD brains love novelty. That’s why planners and apps often get abandoned after a few weeks. Choose a simple, visual system that you can tweak over time. As Jorie puts it, “You’ll have a system that works, until it doesn’t. And that’s okay.”
The Power of Micro-Wins and Humor
Self-compassion and humor are two underrated ADHD tools. Many women grow up believing they’re lazy or broken because they can’t stay consistent. Reframing this through curiosity changes everything.
Ask yourself:
- “What happened here?”
- “Was it time, energy, or focus?”
- “What can I learn from this pattern?”
When you treat mistakes like data, not failure, you make space for growth. And celebrating small wins, folding three shirts, finishing one email, showing up on time, trains your brain to release dopamine naturally. Over time, you’ll feel more capable and less critical.
Managing Emotional Dysregulation and RSD
ADHD isn’t just about attention, it deeply affects emotions. Many women experience RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria), where even perceived criticism feels unbearable. Emotional whiplash, anxiety, and guilt can make daily life exhausting.
The key is learning quick regulation tools:
- Deep breathing: slow, intentional breaths calm the nervous system faster than logic.
- Safe spaces: step away, take a sensory break, or use a “code word” with trusted friends.
- Supportive environments: surround yourself with people who understand ADHD instead of judging it.
As Jorie says, “If you’re too much, they can go find less.”
Redefining Productivity: Progress Over Perfection
ADHD often pairs with perfectionism, the belief that everything must be flawless before starting. This keeps many women trapped in “almost ready” mode. The cure? Progress over perfection.
Start with one tool, one strategy, one habit. Test it, tweak it, and let it grow. Trying too many fixes at once only leads to overwhelm. Real progress happens when you experiment gently and celebrate the small, sustainable shifts.
You’re Not Broken: You’re Wired Differently
If you’ve tried every planner, productivity hack, or mindset book and still feel stuck, the problem isn’t you, it’s the manual you were given. ADHD brains are creative, intuitive, and resilient. Once you learn how your brain works, you can design systems that fit your rhythm instead of fighting it.
As Jorie beautifully said, “You don’t have to fight ADHD. You have to learn to dance with it.”
Episode Takeaway
Medication can open the door, but skills keep it open. Learn how your brain operates, track your patterns, simplify your systems, and surround yourself with compassion. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s progress.
Listen to the full conversation on the Minute Mastery Podcast
Episode: Pills Don’t Teach Skills, ADHD Strategies That Actually Work with Jorie Houlihan
Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Learn more:
- Guest: Website| Instagram: @joriehoulihan Podcast
- Host: | Instagram: @ngoziedema
- Course: Delay to Daily Action: A 12-week program to overcome procrastination, perfectionism & self-doubt. Use Code Action15 for 15% off until December 31st, 2025.
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