{"podcast":{"title":"ADHD Mums","slug":"adhd-mums-6363089","podcast_index_feed_id":6363089,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/adhdmums/","website_url":"https://www.adhdmums.com.au/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/36034d34-12a3-48c5-b350-38b0ca05e100/image.jpg","author":"Jane McFadden","episode_count":307,"summary":"Being a mum is hard enough. Being a mum with ADHD — or raising neurodivergent kids — is a whole different level. ADHD Mums is the unfiltered, science-meets-reality podcast hosted by Jane McFadden — an Autistic and ADHD mum with a Master's in Neuroscience and Psychology and certification as an ADHD and Autism assessor. This isn't another polished parenting show with 'ten easy tips'. It's real stories, confessions we're not supposed to say out loud, and the research that explains why so many of us are running on empty. Every week you'll hear: 🎙️ Confessions — raw, anonymous truths from mums navigating rage, burnout, and survival. 🧠 Expert insights — from clinicians, researchers, and policy leaders on ADHD, autism, and mental health. 💬 Advocacy in action — exposing ADHD medication shortages, NDIS red tape, and the hidden costs mothers carry. With over 1 million downloads from around the world, the podcast has influenced ADHD reforms in Australia, been featured in national media, and pushed politicians to answer the questions mothers are asking. If you've ever screamed in the car, forgotten every form until the night before, or wondered if you're the only one falling apart — this podc…","last_synced_at":"2026-09-17T06:22:15.189015+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/adhd-mums-6363089"},"episode":{"title":"26. Why You Can't Accept Kindness: Masking, Surface Acting and the Wall That Blocks Love In","slug":"26-why-you-can-t-accept-kindness-masking-surface-acting-and-the-wall-that-blocks-love-in","published_at":"2026-08-19T19:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/adhd-mums-6363089/26-why-you-can-t-accept-kindness-masking-surface-acting-and-the-wall-that-blocks-love-in","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/adhd-mums-6363089","url":"https://adhdmums.com.au/captivate/why-you-cant-accept-kindness-masking-surface-acting","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/ade96f22-2f15-4122-ab2b-9c5b98761166.mp3","summary":"Your best friend leaves a box of tampons on your doorstep on the worst day of your fortnight — no fuss, no waiting around, just quietly handling the piece of the nightmare nobody else saw. And you well up. Real tears. And then you wait ten minutes to make sure she's gone before you'll even open the door, delete the thank-you you started typing, and walk off. Because you could not have said it to her face if someone paid you. If you're the woman who leaves a gift on a doorstep and runs, who dodges goodbyes with people she loves, who can't stand inside a thank you — you've probably filed that away as proof you're cold. Broken in the part where you're meant to feel things. This episode is Jane pulling that file back out and finding the opposite: it's not that the love is missing. It might be flooding. Masking, surface acting, and the wall that goes up right where other people let love in — and why every piece of advice you've been given points you the wrong way. CHAPTERS 00:00 — Twenty-one, on an Emirates training flight, and my face is the problem 01:34 — Learning the Barbie-princess smile in the mirror 02:32 — The box of tampons, and the door I couldn't open 04:45 — Ten minutes, a deleted text, and walking off in tears 05:31 — The filing cabinet: 'there's something wrong with me,' opened at 2am 06:22 — The goodbyes I swerve, the thank-yous I can't stand in 07:43 — 'I'm not cold. I cried over a box of tampons.' 08:33 — The real problem: a feeling with no volume control 08:56 — What was actually happening on those flights 13:46 — Surface acting: the sociologist who studied this in 1983 16:05 — Two settings — perform the okay face, or leave 18:49 — Why every piece of 'just be present' advice fails someone like me 20:55 — The therapy this is secretly built on — ACT, and act…","meta_description":"Your best friend leaves a box of tampons on your doorstep on the worst day of your fortnight — no fuss, no waiting around, just quietly handling the piece…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1707,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/adhd-mums-6363089/episodes/26-why-you-can-t-accept-kindness-masking-surface-acting-and-the-wall-that-blocks-love-in/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/adhd-mums-6363089/26-why-you-can-t-accept-kindness-masking-surface-acting-and-the-wall-that-blocks-love-in.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}