In this deeply personal episode of Second Story, Josh opens up about one of the most challenging years of his life. After being diagnosed with ADHD, while also dealing with mental health struggles, chronic pain, and the prospect of double hip surgery—he reflects on what it feels like to finally put names to struggles he's carried for decades.
The conversation explores the grief and relief that come with a late diagnosis. Josh shares how people-pleasing, overworking, perfectionism, and the constant need to earn approval weren't personality traits at all—they were survival mechanisms. Through therapy and self-reflection, he's beginning to understand how childhood experiences, trauma, and undiagnosed ADHD shaped the person he became and why happiness often felt just out of reach, even during life's best moments.
This episode is an honest look at mental health, masculinity, burnout, and the pressure many adults feel to have everything figured out. It's a conversation for anyone who feels stuck in survival mode, wonders why life feels harder than it should, or is learning that healing isn't about becoming someone new—it's about finally understanding who you've been all along.
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What is Second Story?
Everyone has a second story, some people have a few. It’s the story we create after we’ve had that moment in our lives that move us in a different direction. For some people, its personal, they lose a loved one, or they find one. For others, it is professional, they chase a dream, or they miss out on one. Its what we do after that often defines the direction our life will go. Are you going to rest on your laurels? Or push even harder. Are you going to sit and stew, or stand up and fight? Are you going to stop at one story? Or are you going to re-write your own history? This is Second Story.