Alane Freund is a cherished guest and friend of the podcast and we have had many conversations, always with a unique focus through the lens of High Sensitivity. In this episode as Alane put it best, we have come together around the theme of Mental Health Awareness Month. We weave in and around many topics, including ADHD and Anxiety as overlays to HSP.

Let us know what you gain from this conversation. May you feel support around normalizing these topics and gain your own insight to whatever you may be curious about, wondering about and navigating for yourself, the children and youth you are raising, for your clients, family members and friends.

Show notes.
00:13:57-The conversation with Alane begins.
00:14:59- Julie shows off a touching mother’s day gift from her boys and Alane talks about her 22 year old son wishing her Happy Mother’s Day.
00:21:00- What does it mean to have accommodations at school for kids with certain challenges.
00:24:45 – Through the lens of High Sensitivity and those with the trait of sensitivity: The world is designed for the majority of people (80%). How do the 20% take exams? What about multiple choice exams and self-assessments? And who’s designing these assessments and curriculum anyway?
00:28:15- Alane’s hack for succeeding with self-assessments.
00:30:02- The complexity and importance of understanding neuro-divergence and mental illness.
00:33:00- HSP can look like ADHD, how?
00:36:45- Anxiety, overwhelm and high sensitivity.
00:40:55- ADD and ADHD, the distinctions.
00:47:00- Misdiagnosis- Is it ADHD or HSP? How to prevent a misdiagnosis.
00:51:00- Can both HSP and ADHD be present in an individual?
00:51:40- How do we treat anxiety and ADHD?
00:53:30- The tweet that activated Julie’s biological alarm system. A post by Adam Grant.
00:54:49- #WaitUntil8th
00:58:48- One way to support mental health in your kids.
01:02:00- Executive Functioning, clarified.
01:04:10- Differentiating between high sensitivity and ADHD.
0:1:07:10- Julie speaks about her experience with anxiety, as a HSP.
01:08:10- #1 most effective treatment for anxiety, according to Alane, clinically.
01:14:10- Medication for ADHD and its effectiveness. Being curious about potential misdiagnosis for an HSP.
01:15:44- Ways to connect with Alane.

WATCH our conversation here on YOUTUBE.
https://youtu.be/NzSKQnpyp1Q

Here are links from my previous podcast conversations with Alane.
https://juliecusmariu.com/2023/01/highly-sensitive-person/highly-sensitive-parents-a-conversation-with-alane-freund-and-julie-cusmariu/
https://juliecusmariu.com/2020/09/voices-that-create-change/alane-freund-on-being-a-highly-sensitive-person-in-uncertain-times/
https://juliecusmariu.com/2018/08/julie-in-conversation-motherhood/alane-freund/

Alane’s talk at Google: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tKDnsns2bg

Are you Highly Sensitive? Take the self-test here.

A (Canadian) Public Health Approach to Population Mental Wellness

What is Mental Health? What is Mental Illness?

Find Alane here:

Links to events at https://www.alanefreund.com/events/

Follow Alane IG- https://www.instagram.com/areyouhighlysensitive/

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzyBDAaWBU6qcI71BAR2rdg

Meet Alane Freund, LMFT, International Consultant on High Sensitivity www.alanefreund.com & www.areyouhighlysensitive.com

Alane Freund, MS, MA, is an International Consultant on High Sensitivity (ICHS) and family therapist who helps highly sensitive adults and youth focus on solutions through education, consultation, and speaking. She has developed numerous programs for highly sensitive people and clinicians, including her monthly workshops at Are You Highly Sensitive. She is known for her widely recognized Talk at Google, Understanding the Highly Sensitive Person. Alane Freund can be reached through her website, alanefreund.com.