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December 8, 2025
Some ADHD stories come from authors, psychologists, and researchers. This one comes from a 23-year-old ER nurse who learned early that the brain she has is exactly the one she needs.
Nina Padilla spent ten years trying to get someone to take her ADHD symptoms seriously. From age thirteen through twenty-one, she told her pediatrician every year, “I think I have ADHD,” and every year she heard the same dismissal: good grades and good behavior meant she couldn’t possibly have it. It wasn't until her last semester of nursing school, during a three-day panic attack, that she finally found a therapist who listened. At 23, she was formally diagnosed with combined-type ADHD and started on Adderall.
Today Nina works in the pediatric emergency room at the same hospital where she fell in love with the chaos during her final clinical rotation. She calls herself an energizer bunny, moving so fast that a pediatrician once told her, "Nina, don't fix whatever's going on up there." That was the moment she realized her ADHD wasn't a disability. It was her superpower.
In this conversation, Tracy and Nina talk about growing up emotional and misunderstood, finding your people early, seeking rejection on purpose to heal rejection sensitivity, and why the ER is the perfect place for an ADHD brain that never gets bored.
For any listener in their twenties who feels unsure about the future, Nina offers the clarity so many of us need at that age: follow what interests you, work with the brain you have, and stop chasing a version of “productive” that does nothing but make you miserable.
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“In our ADHD brains, we can't get anything done without positive emotion. Positive emotion spikes our dopamine, and dopamine is what runs the show.”
- Tracy Otsuka
“When we’re in positive emotion, we take action. We’re happier, we’re more inspired, and we move our lives forward.”
- Tracy Otsuka
“When you wake up and begin your day with gratitude, you set the direction for every thought and decision that follows.”
-- Tracy Otsuka
"Whatever we focus on gets bigger. If you focus on what’s good, you’ll see more good. If you focus on what’s wrong, you’ll see more wrong."
-- Tracy Otsuka
"Dopamine feels good, so your brain repeats whatever created it. This is how ADHD brains build habits through positive emotion."
- Tracy Otsuka
"Every time you solve a problem, your brain learns: I’m actually capable. I can handle things."
- Tracy Otsuka
"Hard moments force clarity. Sometimes life closes the door you didn’t have the courage to close yourself."
- Tracy Otsuka
- Nina asked her pediatrician about ADHD annually starting at age 13 but was dismissed because she didn't fit the hyperactive boy stereotype, finally getting diagnosed at 23 after a three-day panic attack during nursing school.
- She describes childhood emotional dysregulation, daydreaming, impulsivity, and excelling academically while staying quiet in class, regulating hyperactivity through five days of weekly sports.
- Her father and oldest brother have undiagnosed ADHD and denied her symptoms for years until a therapist and psychiatrist confirmed combined-type ADHD.
- Nina discovered the pediatric ER during her final nursing clinical and immediately loved the constant stimulation, unpredictability, and never being bored—perfectly matching her ADHD need for novelty.
- After starting Adderall in April 2025, coworkers noticed she was more focused without losing her "sparkle," and her speed and energy became workplace assets.
- A pediatrician told her "don't fix whatever's going on up there" after Nina completed tasks before they were requested, cementing her belief that ADHD is her ER superpower.
[00:43:20 - 01:00:35] Confidence, Rejection, and Life as a 23-Year-Old ADHD Nurse
- Nina actively seeks rejection by applying for underqualified positions, using exposure therapy to overcome RSD, rebuild confidence, and desensitize herself to “no.”
- She advises 20-somethings to work with their brains, pursue genuine interests without needing traditional degrees, and reject toxic productivity culture that harms ADHD people.
- Dating challenges, spontaneity, career freedom, and advice to other twenty-somethings all reflect her belief in working with her ADHD brain, not against it.
ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.
That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here