# The voice in my head said “You’re stupid”: ADHD and negative self-talk (Carla Ciccone’s story)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/adhd-aha-4325260/the-voice-in-my-head-said-you-re-stupid-adhd-and-negative-self-talk-carla-ciccone-s-story
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/adhd-aha-4325260/the-voice-in-my-head-said-you-re-stupid-adhd-and-negative-self-talk-carla-ciccone-s-story.md
Podcast: [ADHD Aha!](https://stenobird.com/podcast/adhd-aha-4325260)
Published: 2026-04-28T04:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.understood.org/en/podcasts/adhd-aha/negative-self-talk-carla-ciccone
Audio file: https://mgln.ai/e/1245/afp-935247-injected.calisto.simplecastaudio.com/608ae5c9-7135-4564-9708-367bb0e6dc78/episodes/a55a7a23-e8aa-4cbb-abb5-e6e6d90a0955/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=608ae5c9-7135-4564-9708-367bb0e6dc78&awEpisodeId=a55a7a23-e8aa-4cbb-abb5-e6e6d90a0955&feed=yjHKUkkH
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/adhd-aha-4325260/episodes/the-voice-in-my-head-said-you-re-stupid-adhd-and-negative-self-talk-carla-ciccone-s-story
Duration seconds: 1384

## Resource

Carla Ciccone, author of Nowhere Girl: Life as a Member of ADHD’s Lost Generation, shares what it’s like to grow up thinking you’re the problem. She talks about learning to mask when she was just 6 years old and living with constant negative self-talk. Like many girls with ADHD, Carla hid her struggles and felt like a lost cause. Carla opens up about her inner voice — the one that says “you’re stupid” — and how fear, failure, and pressure from others can build deep self-doubt. Motherhood became a turning point, pushing her to change the way she spoke to herself so her daughter wouldn’t continue the cycle. Also in this episode: Carla draws parallels between her experiences with asthma and ADHD.

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## Transcript

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