A crumpled copy of CHADD's October 2026 Attention magazine on the garage floor becomes the starting point for the longest Actually ADHD yet. Psychiatric nurse practitioner Jonathan Murphy, PMHNP-BC, tells the full story: falling asleep in class in fourth grade, graduating high school with a 1.3, crashing out at 22, finding the psych unit, and the imposter syndrome that followed him all the way to writing his first prescription.
Then he reads the magazine. "Everyone Has ADHD, Really?" opens up the language of neurotypical and neurodivergent and where it comes from. David Palmiter, PhD's "Guide for the Perplexed ADHD Consumer" starts with Franz Mesmer and animal magnetism and ends with a list that sends readers to Google Scholar. Along the way: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, media literacy, and who you trust to screw in a light bulb.
This episode covers:
▸ Why a flip phone since 2019 was the choice for an adult with ADHD in a licensed job
▸ Falling asleep in class, a 1.3 GPA, and moving to Duxbury, Massachusetts
▸ ADHD, dysfunctional families, and complex PTSD
▸ Crashing out at 22 and finding the inpatient psych unit
▸ UMass Boston at 27, Quincy College anatomy, and Boston Children's Hospital
▸ Boston College, a 1,000-hour practicum at Cambridge Health Alliance, and the history of psychotherapy
▸ Imposter syndrome: writing a first prescription in Portland, Oregon
▸ Accepting the diagnosis, and what happens when medication is taken every day
▸ Media literacy: what you put in your mind matters as much as what you eat
▸ LegitScript, $2,000, and the YouTube health authority process
▸ Patrick Teahan, and why clinicians should keep seeing patients
▸ A viral YouTube video in 2009, and Marshall McLuhan's "the medium is the message"
▸ Why there will be no short-form content
▸ "Everyone Has ADHD, Really?": neurotypical, critical theory, and setting your own terms
▸ Metaphysics, epistemology, ethics: finding the philosophy under any conversation
▸ Franz Mesmer, animal magnetism, and placebo
▸ Why "go to Google Scholar" is the wrong advice for most people
▸ The light bulb test: the institute's meta-analysis or the person who does it every day?
Find Jonathan on X @ADHDAuthority, or on YouTube at Focus Path Systems.
⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not medical advice, and no clinical relationship is established by listening. Never start, stop, or change a medication without your prescriber. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
Jonathan Murphy, PMHNP-BC | Focus Path
Licensed in MA, NH, WA, OR | NPI 1821441965
Board Certified | ANCC 2017007119
CHADD Professional Member | ADDitude Professional Directory