Feb 18
Join Tracy as she welcomes entrepreneur Helena Hills to Episode 85 of ADHD for Smart Ass Women. Helena co-founded True Start Coffee with her husband Simon when they were both triathletes. True Start is a feel-good coffee company that is all about positivity and putting people first. It is one of the fastest-growing young drink brands in the UK and has won a host of impressive awards. True Start retails in over 1000 UK outlets, and is exported to several international markets as well. Helena is also the mother of 2 little boys. Helena shares: How she started a business that she realizes today was literally her treatment The circumstances surrounding her diagnosis How ADHD affected her childhood What kind of teenager she was Her favorite subjects in school How she realized that drivenness is a form of hyperactivity The importance of interest to her brain The importance of environment and positive emotion Her experience with RSD (rejection sensitive dysphoria) What she loves to do at TrueStart What she doesn’t love to do at TrueStart The ADHD traits that she believes are responsible for her success The key to living successfully with ADHD The importance of reducing stress levels Her best ADHD workarounds.
APPLE
SPOTIFY
YOUTUBE
"I feel like my life just makes a lot more sense. But I'm still learning and I think I literally always will be, but I'm seeing neurodiversity and other people just all over the place."
- Helena Hills
"I'm also massively wired for interest, right? So everything I'm really in Interested interest, obviously. So I'm absolutely all in on it."
- Helena Hills
"I realized that basically, it's not a coincidence at all that people with ADHD have got comorbidities that are ultimately linked to stress, right? Especially women, as you said earlier, because we've got way more complex and change your hormonal levels anyway compared to men."
- Helena Hills
- Helena shares how her business was inspired by a podcast that changed her life, despite caffeine not working for her due to anxiety.
- Helena discusses her experiences with ADHD, social issues, and academic performance in school.
- Helena describes her experience with ADHD, including her positive outlook and how it affects her energy levels.
[21:55 - 38:00] ADHD, Parenting, and Entrepreneurship
- Helena describes the origins of her business, the "Feel Good Coffee Company," which was born out of her own struggle to manage negative emotions and create a positive impact in the world.
- Helena shares her journey of creating a coffee brand and energy drinks to spread positive energy and make others feel good.
- Helena has zero patience for mundane tasks and small talk, often wanting to tell people to "get away" in a nice way.
[38:00 - 59:29] Creative Thinking and Sleep Habits
- Helena learned she has ADHD at age 7 and realized she's been "freed from a mental prison" after understanding her brain works differently.
- Helena shares her ADHD workarounds, including root cause analysis and creative problem-solving, and discusses how her brain works differently in the evening.
- Helena shares tips for improving sleep, including lavender essential oil, eye masks, meditation, and a weighted blanket.
