Ep: 003 - Embracing my ADHD Diagnosis
Living as my True Authentic Self
Rosanna Campbell - Bio
Rosanna Campbell is a freelance content writer for the B2B SaaS industry. She lives in Spain with her husband, her son, and a beagle puppy who eats her furniture. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
Rosanna’s contact Information: LinkedIn
Episode Highlights
We need to be aware that we all have needs as human beings and that those needs need to be recognized if we are to thrive and do our best work. And from the bottom line point of view, if you create a kind of workplace where people can show up as themselves, where people can be vulnerable, you create a more innovative company, you create a more productive company, you create a happier work environment, you create better collaboration.
The invisible condition that I live with is ADHD. As an employee, one of the things that being an employee gives you is that structure, that regular schedule, somebody to tell you what to do. Suddenly when you're working for yourself, the training wheels are off. And if you have ADHD, it gives you a lot of challenges around time management, productivity, task management. And so yeah, it was a steep learning curve, I would say, at the beginning.
It's absolutely changed how I see myself, I would say. You're right, I am hard on myself and that's a work in progress. But having an explanation for why I am the way I am. And then finding an entire community of other people who are exactly the same way, which has also been a total game changer. Yeah, it's been, it's been a complete revelation and it's made me feel able to, I guess, forgive myself for shortcomings now that I know that there are actually symptoms.
And in terms of how that's shown up for me, it's creating the structures and framework that mean that I can do my job. It may mean acknowledging areas of weakness and compensating for them and technology is wonderful for that.
It is eminently possible to create the kind of life that you are imagining and that you are hoping for, regardless of your condition. It may not look the way that you expect and it may not be perfect, but you can be happy and fulfilled. You can find ways to use your condition to find a positive. side to your condition. That is possible. You don't have to be a victim of your own circumstances. that there are people out here who are here to help and would like to help.
And one of the statistics that I shared with them is that the estimate is that 25% of the US workforce is living with some kind of condition that would usually require workplace accommodations and yet the number of people who feel comfortable disclosing is something like 5%. Clearly this is a huge problem and companies have, like what is that, a quarter of their workforce struggling silently or a fifth of their workforce struggling silently. They need to do something. This is an idea that time has come and we should be talking about it and shouting about it.
Transcript
Tim Reitsma:
Rosanna, thank you for joining me on today's show. I'm so honored that you're here to share your story, your experience, but before we get into that, I think it's just fun to tell our listeners how we met, and that's through the power of content.
Rosanna Campbell:
Right?
Rosanna Campbell:
Well, thanks so much for inviting me to be on here and to share my story. Yeah, we met, we did meet through the power of storytelling, I guess, because you wrote an article about management that I thought was the best thing that I'd read about management. And I couldn't help it. I just wrote to you and said, this is the best thing I think I've read online about management
Tim Reitsma:
Ha ha.
Rosanna Campbell:
and I read about it all the Tim. And then you, you know, when we got to chatting and then... we realised that actually there was an opportunity to work together. So
Tim Reitsma:
Mm-hmm.
Rosanna Campbell:
yes, we are here. We were brought together by the power of content. I do call it a job, very much a job. I have a small freelance writing business is how I probably think about it. I've been writing now professionally for about six years
Tim Reitsma:
Mm-hmm.
Rosanna Campbell:
and I have to say I love it.
Tim Reitsma:
Yeah, you went from that corporate setting, that corporate world into freelancing. And
Rosanna Campbell:
That's
Tim Reitsma:
I
Rosanna Campbell:
right.
Tim Reitsma:
don't want to spend all our time here, but I'm just curious, because I know people like myself who live with something invisible, invisible condition, is often feeling like, okay, is the nine to five is the workplace where I need to be? Or how do I jump into this world of, everyone's a freelancer, so I'll just jump in with that. And how was that transition for you?
Rosanna Campbell:
It was both wonderful and challenging. Definitely the best of times and the worst of times.
Tim Reitsma:
Hmm.
Rosanna Campbell:
On the one hand, being an employee, and I guess we'll come to this later, but my, the invisible condition that I live with is ADHD. As an employee, one of the things that being an employee gives you is that structure, that regular schedule, somebody to tell you what to do. Suddenly when you're working for yourself, the training wheels are off. And if you have ADHD, it gives you a lot of challenges around time management, productivity, task management. And so yeah, it was a steep learning curve, I would say, at the beginning.
Tim Reitsma:
Yeah. And you alluded to it and diagnosed with ADHD when you were in the, that, that work world, um, how did that really kind of affect you? How did it, did you, well, let's, let's back up a minute. When were you diagnosed with ADHD? Would you be able to share with us?
Rosanna Campbell:
This year.
Tim Reitsma:
this year. Okay.
Rosanna Campbell:
Actually, yeah, formally diagnosed a couple of months ago.
Tim Reitsma:
Okay.
Rosanna Campbell:
I knew that there was something going on and was misdiagnosed with a whole bunch of other things, but didn't actually get an ADHD diagnosis until this year, which is unfortunately still very common, especially for women.
Tim Reitsma:
Wow. Okay. Well, I want to touch on that a little bit and, and so big diagnosis this year, it's the year 2023. You know that you've lived with something for forever. And when you were in, in that corporate setting, there's lots of pressure, lots of, I mean, you're in a, in a high functioning role. How did it How did, how was work? How were you able to perform and with work and life? And I know you're a mom and, and, uh, if you share some insight
Rosanna Campbell:
Yeah,
Tim Reitsma:
there.
Rosanna Campbell:
I was very tired a lot, I
Tim Reitsma:
Hmm
Rosanna Campbell:
would say, is the short answer. How was I able to perform at work? ADHD is one of those conditions where you are consistently inconsistent. So I can be very, very strong at certain aspects of work and really struggle with other aspects which seem much more, which might seem to somebody else much more basic.
Tim Reitsma:
Mm-hmm.
Rosanna Campbell:
you know, like I would be able to deliver a very high quality piece of work, but on the other hand, you know, struggle to deliver it on time or I would struggle to, you know, remember the basics, tick the boxes, that kind of stuff. Anything administrative and tedious is a real struggle for people with ADHD. And because I wasn't diagnosed, I just thought it was me. I just thought I was flaky and incompetent. And, you know, yeah. Should probably not aim too high professionally.
Tim Reitsma:
Wow. Okay. So it's, it's, you know, just knowing that now that you look back and see the, the symptoms and how it affected your life and now what made now, what made now the right time to pursue a diagnosis.
Rosanna Campbell:
Um, I think because, well why now? A lot of things came together at the same time. I was talking to a friend who'd recently been diagnosed and the symptoms he was describing and I was like, oh, that's me. I was, you know, managing my own business and... some great results but noticing that there were some areas that I was still really struggling with and I suppose just being that little bit older and having got to a point in my life where I'm like perhaps perhaps there's something else going on perhaps this is not just my failure and my problem maybe maybe I should look and see if there is a solution here and so yeah so I It is something that's come up on my radar a few times over the years, but ADHD being what it is, I would remember about it and then forget about it. Or not follow through to the end of actually seeking a diagnosis. And so I guess, yeah, I guess just a lot of things came together at the same time and it seemed like the right times.
Tim Reitsma:
Yeah. And so, you know, like, like you said, it's, you saw a pattern, you saw some, you saw something throughout the history of, of work and life. And, and talking with a friend, it just kind of sparked something of, okay, and maybe I need to see something. And you mentioned something that's that I never really made a connection to previously, which is, um, you're pretty hard on yourself and. And. I'm curious how that may have had an impact on you and throughout your journey. And, uh, yeah, is, and I, I'm, you know, I self-admit, I don't know a lot about ADHD. So, um, I'm just curious how that, how now being diagnosed, looking back and how this has really changed your trajectory, changed your outlook.
Rosanna Campbell:
Oh it's been incredible. It's absolutely changed how I see myself, I would say. You're right, I am hard on myself and that's a work in progress. But having an explanation for why I am the way I am. And then finding an entire community of other people who are exactly the same way, which has also been a total game changer. Yeah, it's been, it's been a complete revelation and it's made me feel able to, I guess, forgive myself for shortcomings now that I know that there are actually symptoms. Um, and instead of approaching things from the point of view of, oh, that's just me. Oh, I'm just. flaky or I'm just dumb or whatever. I now come at it with the, okay so that's a challenge, how can we solve it?
Tim Reitsma:
Mm-hmm.
Rosanna Campbell:
Which is obviously a much healthier and also more constructive way of dealing with it.
Tim Reitsma:
I love that reframe and it's not easy to make that reframe of going, okay, this is something I live with. Let's figure it out and embrace it. And as you said, find a community of people and you've, and it's opened up a community and, and I know that there's so much stigma about sharing and, and so tell me about tapping into this new community that you've uncovered or discovered.
Rosanna Campbell:
I love listening to podcasts and I have found that there are so many incredibly useful podcasts about ADHD. And just listening to people sharing their stories, listening to people talking about what it's like, and just it feels like finding my tribe. And I'm incredibly lucky. I have wonderful close friends. However, it's a different feeling when you hear people whose brains work the way your brain works, whose struggles are the same as yours, who've experienced what life is like with ADHD, and who do the same ridiculous things that people with ADHD do. We do strange and wonderful things. And it's lovely to find other people sharing their stories and their... you know, we can be very competent and very professionally impressive or whatever, and then struggle with the most basic things in life. And it's just very refreshing to hear other people talking about that. I think that's been very, very helpful for me.
Tim Reitsma:
Yeah. I'm going to put you on the spot and I think I told you I wasn't going to, but I'm curious if you have an example of, of something, like you just said, like where, you know, some things are do it with ease and some, some things are not. I'm just curious how, how it shows up in, in, in you and with, with you and with your, in your life and with your, your family.
Rosanna Campbell:
That's a great question. Well if I think about work for example, sometimes people talk about ADHD as being a superpower and while I don't love that description it can be incredibly helpful in work. So for example, if I'm really focused on a project, ADHD is very poorly named, we don't have a deficit of attention, we have a deficit of control of where that attention goes. But if it happens to go onto the work that I'm supposed to be doing, I can be prolific, I can be incredibly productive, probably more so than somebody who doesn't have ADHD. We also tend to be very, very good in a crisis, for example, because we live in crisis. Everything is a crisis. With ADHD, you've always forgotten something or dropped the ball somewhere. So you're constantly problem solving under pressure, which means that when a real work crisis comes up, you need the person with ADHD in the room. They will be the person who you could go to who'll be like, oh, this is fine, we sorted it. On the other hand, so that's where I guess it shows up as a strength. In terms of the basics, the weaknesses, I have a lot of problems with being on time to meet people, for example. I have one particular friend who is incredibly punctual and... punctuality is very important to her and I know this and I love her and I want to be on time for her and every single time I meet her something goes wrong and I'm always reliably 15 minutes late and because I'm very lucky and she is a very kind person she lets it go but that kind of thing, you know things that you feel like as an adult as a 40 year old woman I should know how to leave the house on time That's an example
Tim Reitsma:
Thank you so much for sharing your examples. I think, you know, for people who are listening, sharing examples makes it real and potentially drives that connection and drives that deeper insight. So I appreciate you sharing and for allowing me to put you on the spot. And, and I, as, as you know, I'm really passionate about story and about sharing and that vulnerability. And, you know, I keep reading article after article about the workplace. I, I'm fascinated about the world of leadership and management and, and keep reading about, you know, in order to create high performing workplaces, we need to create that foundation of trust and leaders need to be vulnerable. And yet we still have, I mean, we're still living in this work world where people are just miserable. And we're afraid to be vulnerable. What does vulnerability mean to you?
Rosanna Campbell:
Thanks. What I'm doing right now feels very vulnerable and the reason is because I am being very honest about my lived experience and about areas of who I am that are less than perfect. I think as a professional in the workplace, whether that's... as a freelancer or when I've been an employee, I think there's a tremendous amount of pressure placed on people to sort of perform themselves, to perform their own identity, to show up and be like, no, I am perfect, I'm fine, I've got everything together. It's... both very vulnerable and I think very powerful, to show up and say, I'm not perfect, I don't have it all together. Sometimes I make terrible mistakes, sometimes I make embarrassing mistakes. And I think that can be very helpful because, you know, people listening to that, and I think especially if you're a manager, people listening to that will hear that and say, oh, okay, that gives me permission to be vulnerable too, to be imperfect.
Tim Reitsma:
Mm-hmm.
Rosanna Campbell:
And from my own, you know, current work situation, my work got dramatically better. My writing got dramatically better when I started showing up as myself and writing the way that I wanted to and the way that I speak. And being... funny or, you know, I think it's funny, or being slightly cheeky or swearing when it's appropriate or using weird and wonderful examples that my ADHD brain throws up constantly. That's a way that I've introduced vulnerability into my own work and I think it's reflected in the fact that my work got better.
Tim Reitsma:
You said something that just strikes so much emotion in me and, and that is your ability to show up as yourself. And, um, so often in life, regardless of it's work or home or friends, sometimes when we're, we have something that is invisible, it's hard to show up as ourselves. And. And whether we, whether, at least for me, I can speak on, you know, for me, and I can't, you don't want to speak for anybody else, but it's that stigma that I've made up and sometimes I've made up in my own mind because of past experience. And, and yet we know that in order to reduce and remove the stigma is to, one of the ways is to advocate in order to be advocate is to share and to be vulnerable. And yet then we get into this weird cycle of, but I don't want to share because of the stigma and, but I want to be an F and so how, you know, our purpose is really to remove the stigma that surrounds invisible conditions. When you hear that, what comes to mind? What needs to change? What, what, what is your hope for, for that future for that? of the world where people might be afraid to share.
Rosanna Campbell:
I hope that... I hope that managers can start to receive some training around having difficult conversations with people in their teams. So many managers, and this is something you and I have talked about before, are thrown into management because they're very good at their job and that really has very little to do with whether or not they're a good manager. And suddenly they're in a position of authority over people where they're expected to encourage and foster connection and relationship. And they're suddenly in a position where they're having very difficult conversations with people with absolutely no training whatsoever on how to do that. Or how to create psychological safety for one of the teasers. trendy phrase or how to be empathetic really. It's not something that comes naturally to everyone. And it's not something that we tend to promote people for. Whereas in fact, that's exactly who you should promote, is the most empathetic person in the room. Because they're gonna be the person who's going to be able to bring the best out of the rest of the team, who's gonna be able to have these very vulnerable conversations, who's gonna create an atmosphere where people do feel like they can be themselves and be vulnerable and be flawed. I don't know if that answers your question, but I think that's
Tim Reitsma:
It does.
Rosanna Campbell:
one of the things I'm hoping for.
Tim Reitsma:
Yeah. The, the empathy, um, creating that place of psychological safety training, you know, managers, especially new managers and existing, maybe you've been a manager for 20, 30 years, um, yeah. Creating that space where people can be vulnerable and, you know, again, for speaking on, uh, for myself is well, if I, if I'm vulnerable and I share. then I might not be able, maybe I'm not able to perform my current job. So then maybe there's fear that I might now get passed up for a promotion or I might get let go. And there's just all that fear of emotion, but any, any thoughts or insights or wisdom you'd like to share to, to someone who might be even listening and going, yes, I want to share, but I don't think I can.
Rosanna Campbell:
I would say, and I certainly think this does come up a lot for people with ADHD, there's a lot of stigma around ADHD and if you are worried about sharing it with someone, you have reason to be sometimes because
Tim Reitsma:
Mm-hmm.
Rosanna Campbell:
ADHD is one of those conditions that people think they know all about it. they have a lot of preconceived ideas. And I say this as somebody who had those preconceived ideas. One of the reasons that never occurred to me that I had ADHD is because of my preconceived ideas about what it looked like and what it would mean. And so if you are fearful about, say, talking, you know, asking for workplace accommodations, talking to your manager. it may be that you need to provide your own accommodations. For example, you might not feel comfortable saying to your manager, I have ADHD, but you might feel comfortable saying to your manager, if we're working on a big project, please can you provide me with multiple check-ins and deadlines because that will help me to make sure that I can keep on the same page with you. And you
Tim Reitsma:
Mm-hmm.
Rosanna Campbell:
can also be thinking, and also it will help me make sure that I don't procrastinate this to the last minute. which is something that ADHD people have a tendency to do. So I think I would say look for opportunities to create your own workplace accommodations and look for opportunities to create your own sense of psychological safety. You know, an awful lot of times, and I think this is something you've touched on just now, is we are our own worst enemies and worst critics, and sometimes a lot of the stigma that we think other people might have about our invisible condition is all in our heads.
Tim Reitsma:
Hmm.
Rosanna Campbell:
And so I think there are opportunities in the workplace to stop beating yourself up for being imperfect or for having a condition and stop judging yourself first.
Tim Reitsma:
So powerful, Rosanna, it's just that stop beating yourself up. Stop, stop judging yourself. We are perfectly imperfect. Um, that's something, a phrase that I've grown accustomed to live by that my definition of perfect and normal is different than your definition. And is different than, you know, my partners and my friends and workplaces is, you know, the sense of normal. I just, part of me just wants to get rid of that word out of our vocabulary because I don't know what normal is. I've just have no idea. I've gone to AI tools to try and understand like, what do they believe normal is? And, and it's, to me, it's superficial. And so, you know, we've, we have been. you know, given, or we live with these conditions, often invisible. That's the focus of our show is invisible conditions. And so there's, there's almost that level, an extra level of some stigma there where, okay, I've heard stories of, well, prove that you're disabled, prove that you have something. Um, and so when somebody's listening, I just love that encouragement Rosanna, which is. how do our own judgment, we're imperfect and let's embrace that. And do you have, I'm curious about, you had preconceived notions of ADHD and now diagnosed with ADHD and finding this voice and finding this community. Is there anything in your routine or your life that has helped you kind of reframe things? Reframe, um, reframe that, that, that notion or that judgment.
Rosanna Campbell:
Um, yes, I think that- I saw a great analogy the other day that someone was saying, one of the things with ADHD is that a lot of the challenges that you're working with, everyone has to a certain extent. Everyone procrastinates sometimes on it. Nobody likes to work on boring tasks. Most people will struggle with time management or task management in some situations. It's a little bit like being short sighted, which I also am. If you sit someone far enough away from the screen, they're not going to be able to see it. And that's going to be true for everybody with ADHD. We just, in order to see it, while we're sitting in the same place, we're going to need glasses. And in terms of how that's shown up for me, it's creating the structures and framework that mean that I can do my job. It may mean acknowledging areas of weakness and compensating for them and technology is wonderful for that. And one example is I have a lot of notifications going off all the time which I know you can probably hear with the mic so I'm sorry. That's a way that I've harnessed the tools in my life anyway to give me reminders and prompts and make sure that I don't drop the ball. Something that I found incredibly helpful is something called body doubling, which is where I can work online with somebody else who probably also has some trouble with focus. And there's an app that I use called Focusmate, which... is great if you are having a low energy day. I think it would be helpful for all kinds of invisible conditions, not just for ADHD, because it gives you that structure that you might need to push through when you are, for example, feeling tired or having a low energy day or just not feeling great. And you literally work, you turn up, you say what you're going to work on for the next 25 minutes or 50 minutes, you work together and then at the end you but it's absolutely transformational. It's crazily effective. It's been the single best thing I've done for my business and this platform for example costs about I think $10 a month and yeah it's a hugely helpful thing if you especially if you're working from home and you don't have anyone you can partner with. Other frameworks and structures that I find helpful? you must, yeah, if you have ADHD I think using a calendar, using a single to-do list, and having an everything book. These are the things that I would say that everyone with ADHD could benefit from. And the everything book being, you know, every single note it's not in different notebook every day, it's all in the same book, so you can find it. And just sort of the parts of your brain that need a little bit of extra support.
Tim Reitsma:
Well, I think that's, that's great. And I, you know, at the beginning of the show, I even said, Hey, if you have your notifications on and turn them off. And I love how you normalize that. And even for me, it's, it's helping me to understand how you live with ADHD and normalize that this is, this is what you need. So I know there's podcasts hosts and producers who are like, no, we got to turn everything off, but this is. This is what you need. So let's embrace that and normalize it. So thank you for, for educating me and teaching me that, that it's okay to, to, uh, to hear the, the ringing and the dings and, um, because it's, it's, it's your story, not mine. And you've invited me into your story. So thank you for that. I really appreciate that. And, uh, the body doubling just sounds scary. Um, but I could.
Rosanna Campbell:
A lot of people say that it's weirdly effective, but I think until you've done it, once you're like, I'm going to sit and have a meeting with a stranger where we work in silence, it sounds very awkward. It's so good. Ha ha ha.
Tim Reitsma:
Yeah, I, I just think about, yeah, I could sit here at my computer for two hours and my partner, Tania will say, well, what did you work on? And I have no idea. And so it's like, what an amazing, almost accountability tool of, uh, sitting down. So yeah, there's some great, great tips and practical tips that, that has helped you. And I know. When we were talking about invisible condition, this project that I'm working on and, and it's scary, scary for me. It's scary for a lot of people who are going to share and what makes, what makes now the right time to share your story and how have you embraced that scariness of throwing it out there?
Rosanna Campbell:
I love that question. I... I believe that if you have been given privilege, then you have the obligation or the duty to use that privilege to help other people. And I have a lot of privilege. I'm very lucky that I've stumbled into a career and a way of life that... are ideally suited for my condition. I find, you know, I do work that I find fascinating. I can make my own schedule. I have enough time in my day to exercise, to do self-care, to meditate, all the things that make my brain work well. And I'm also, you know, now, you know, surrounded by... wonderful friends, a very supportive spouse, incredible family, and I work for myself. So I don't have the fear of an employer listening to this and going, oh, I'm not sure about this one. So I don't have any excuse really not to use all of that luck. to try and help people who don't have those kind of privileges. I recognize that I'm extremely lucky and I would like to, if I can, help people who are not in the same situation. I think that's just part of being a human being, right? You, like, if you are lucky you reach out and help people who need help.
Tim Reitsma:
And I think just you sharing and being vulnerable will help. I know it's, it's helped me and it's encouraged me. And so I thank you for, for sharing and, and I know, you know, people who are listening and maybe you're, maybe somebody who's listening as a, as a leader or an individual contributor, whoever you are in an organization, it's like, heck yes. It's time to get rid of that word normal because we're all different. And it's time to invite people, um, to share their story in a safe space, in a judgment free place and a place where we can truly, uh, we truly want to accommodate and drive that, that change. Just in our workplaces, in our society that is needed. And it starts by sharing that story. And so thank you for sharing that. And, you know, I think of, I think of hope for the future. And one thing that I really want from this show is, um, it's for people to share what their hope and encouragement is for the future, um, hope and encouragement they want to leave, um, with our, for our listeners. So anything that comes to mind, anything you want to leave us with.
Rosanna Campbell:
I am very hopeful that we are, as a society, making a much better and more inclusive workplace. I think we're on, I think we are on the right track. I think it's slow and it gets frustratingly slow. And I think that it very much depends who you are and what your struggles are, what your challenges are to how much you will feel that this is true. But I do think that, I think the pandemic was... horrendous for so many people but I do think that some good came out of it in terms of forcing us to realise in a work context that we are all people and that we have challenges and we aren't perfect and you know some of us were working while parenting and some of us were working in incredibly difficult situations and I think I think if we can take a lesson from that it was that we need to create a safer place for people to work. And just we need to be aware that we all have needs as human beings and that those needs need to be recognised if we are to thrive and do our best work. And from the most, you know, from the most bottom line point of view, if you create kind of workplaces where people can show up as themselves, where people can be vulnerable, you create a more innovative company, you create a more productive company, you create a happier work environment, you create better collaboration. You know, there's a lot of very hard-nosed reasons to think about. accommodating invisible conditions and creating a better environment for people with these conditions. So
Tim Reitsma:
Mm-hmm.
Rosanna Campbell:
I think that's what I would like to leave everyone with is the hope that we are on the right track and then on an individual from a personal point of view. It is eminently possible to create the kind of life that you are imagining and that you are hoping for, regardless of your condition. It may not look the way that you expect and it may not be perfect, but you can be happy and fulfilled. You can find ways to use your condition to find a positive. side to your condition. That is possible. You don't have to be a victim of your own circumstances. that there are people out here who are here to help and would like to help.
Tim Reitsma:
powerful. I can see the future and the future that my kids and your son will grow up in where there's no fear of sharing. It's no fear of saying to your organization, whether you're working at house or not, but you're sharing that, hey, I live with this and this is how it shows up for me. It's like, okay, thanks for sharing. Anything
Rosanna Campbell:
Yeah.
Tim Reitsma:
you need from us.
Rosanna Campbell:
Right.
Tim Reitsma:
Yes, I need to-do lists and I need deadlines and you need to constantly, you need to remind me, it's like, okay, cool. Let's find, I'll do that. And let's find some technology that, that also helps and, uh, to create a place that you can thrive and. Yeah, that's a future I want to, I want to be part of where, where we're not afraid. And I've had so many messages come, uh, come through LinkedIn since I've Vulnerable like very vulnerably shared that I wanted to create some some noise in this space of people who are just deathly afraid Hey, I'm applying for new job. I want to share but not right now because I might not get the job Hey, I want to share but My boss will likely listen to this and I'm fearful for my job I want to share Because our company is doing something, going on a trip and they didn't think of my condition. And so now I can't go and I feel excluded. And so there's, there's so much fear still wrapped in this and I get it. I'm one of those people, but the hope for the future Rosanna is, as you say, is, is bright, I think. Um, and I love that encouragement. You know, reach out, there's people that want to help people in your own community, your ADHD community. My, I live with Crohn's and arthritis and so living in that community, but also cross communities. I think there's opportunity to share and. You know, your experience may help somebody like me understand. And it has helped me because I don't have a lot of insight into ADHD. And so. I've got some basic understanding, but even just learning from you over this last 30, 40 minutes has really helped me. And so, so thank you for that. And I think if you're a leader, it's, I'll be shares to you with you. Get curious. Um, well, first you got to care. Just, just
Rosanna Campbell:
Hmm.
Tim Reitsma:
care. You know, don't get curious if you don't care. Um, I wrote an article about authentic curiosity and, and self-serving curiosity. So if you don't care. own it and don't pretend you'll probably lose your team but that's fine just you know if that's who you are just just own it and but if you if you're authentically curious just get curious and and ask some questions how can I help what support do you need is there anything I've done that has not served you well and take that feedback and do something with it so I'm rambling, I could go on. Rosanna,
Rosanna Campbell:
No,
Tim Reitsma:
you've sparked
Rosanna Campbell:
I love it.
Tim Reitsma:
so much insight in my brain right now. And I'm like, oh, I gotta write, start. I just wanna take a pause and just write a couple of pages of notes. But
Rosanna Campbell:
Yeah,
Tim Reitsma:
as
Rosanna Campbell:
me too.
Tim Reitsma:
we wrap up, well, one thing before we wrap up, I know you're a freelancer and based on our conversations, you've pitched to a client, we won't say names about writing about invisible conditions. And how did that go?
Rosanna Campbell:
They loved it. They jumped on the opportunity. I read an article the other day that made me realize how incredibly oblivious I am myself, which was a wake-up call because I like to think of myself as somewhat empathetic. So I had been writing a series of articles about... I'll be specific, about paid time off. and had never really thought about the fact that paid time off is a huge issue for people with conditions, visible or otherwise. And for example, companies with unlimited time off, there's lots of arguments on either side, but for people with any kind of invisible condition or disability, that's an incredible benefit because they're not having to use their vacation time. sick days or days because you know days that they need to take off because they're exhausted or they're managing their invisible condition in one way or another. And I there was a complete blind spot for me so anyway I wrote to a client who I knew I think of as being a real sort of thought leader in this in this space and said hey this is a blind spot for me it might be a blind spot for you shall we do something about it? and shall we write some articles about how to help managers support employees with invisible conditions. Anyway, they came back with an immediate and incredibly enthusiastic response because they said it was a very timely reminder. And one of the statistics that I shared with them is that the esTim Reitsmaate is that 25% of the US workforce is living with some kind of condition that would usually require workplace accommodations and yet the number of people who feel comfortable disclosing is something like 5%. Clearly this is a huge problem and companies have, like what is that, a quarter of their workforce struggling silently or a fifth of their workforce struggling silently. They need to do something. This is an idea that time has come and we should be talking about it and shouting about it.
Tim Reitsma:
Yeah. Talking about it, shouting about it. Um, I love that our conversations have, and our friendship has grown over this last year and, and that you're, you're passionate to share and you're not just sharing, but you're, you're driving that ripple of change, reaching out to clients saying, Hey, we need to talk about this. And here's why. And clients saying, you're right. Let's do it. Uh, That's, that's such an encouragement to me. And for people who are listening, I hope that's an encouragement for you as well. As doesn't maybe you have connections to write in publications. Um, invisible condition.com is a place where I've invited people to write as well. And maybe it's just sitting down with your family members or your friends or your coworkers or your manager and be that ripple of change. Sit down with your HR department. Um, and say, Hey, we, I would love to lead a session on whatever, um, your condition is and, and see what happens be that, be that ripple of change. Otherwise we're not going to see change. So Rosanna, thank you so much for, for inviting us into your story and for. For overcoming that anxiousness and that fear and, and leaning in with such vulnerability. Um, You're an inspiration to me and I know for so many who are listening. So if people are encouraged and want to connect, what's the best way to reach you?
Rosanna Campbell:
Best place is probably LinkedIn. I'm on there, Rosanna Campbell. And I'd love to hear from people who listen to this podcast. If you have questions, if there's something I can help with, give me a shout. I would love to help. And Tim Reitsma, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share. It feels great to be talking about this openly. And I hope that in the same way that other people's stories have helped me and inspired me, I hope that I can help somebody who needs to hear this just to know that change is possible, that you are good enough and that, you know, you don't... You have to be a victim of your circumstances and your condition. You are an agent of your own future.
Tim Reitsma:
Such good encouragement to end on Rosanna. Thank you again for coming on and I'll definitely have a link in the show notes to Rosanna's LinkedIn, as well as, um, you know, links to the website and, and how you can get in touch with me, uh, through LinkedIn, as well as through invisiblecondition.com. Our goal is to remove, not re reduce, but to remove the stigma that surrounds invisible conditions. We won't stop until until that, that stigma is gone. And so if you want to be part of this change, reach out. Um, there's multiple ways that you can get involved with the podcast, with writing content, being interviewed. Um, this is just. started and starting and it's already causing and creating change. So Rosanna, thanks for being part of this. And for those who are listening, tell your friends, your family, um, and be encouraged today. And so with that, um, go and have a fantastic day.
