EP. 399: How Two Years of Cognitive Training Changed Her Brain
EP. 399: How Two Years of Cognitive Training Changed Her Brain  
Podcast: ADHD for Smart Ass Women with Tracy Otsuka
Published On: Wed Aug 26 2026
Description: Tired of ADHD strategies that don’t work? Start with my this training: Stop Trying to “Fix” Your ADHD. You’re Not Broken: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/sign-up_____Tessa MacKay can spend hundreds of hours on a single painting. Her photorealistic work can look almost indistinguishable from a photograph, but for Tessa, that precision became more than technique. It became a way to work with her ADHD, dyslexia, and the way her brain processes the world.An Australian oil painter diagnosed with inattentive ADHD at 18, Tessa built a career around the kind of detail and focus that once helped her make sense of the world. But success also brought her face-to-face with the art world's complicated relationship with photorealism, forcing her to question how she thought, learned, and defended her own work.In this episode, Tracy and Tessa talk about what happened when she decided to retrain her brain, why painting could feel easier than everyday life, and how her latest project, Social Realism, turns forgotten Facebook photos into art.If you have ever wondered how someone can do something extraordinarily difficult while struggling with things that seem simple, this conversation goes there.Resources: Website: https://www.tessamackay.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessamackayart LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessa-mackay-8a7121289 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tessamackayart Arrowsmith Program: https://arrowsmith.ca https://thetrailblazersbook.com Trailblazers by Howard Eaton - https://www.amazon.com/Trailblazers-Spearheading-Educational-Australian-Difficulties/dp/1779414250  The Woman Who Changed Her Brain by Barbara Arrowsmith-Young - https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Who-Changed-Brain-Transformation/dp/1451607946  Send a Message: Your Name | Email | Message Explore more from me:🐝 AOK Hive: https://tracyotsuka.com/hive  🧘 SHIFT: https://tracyotsuka.com/shift📚 Free resources: https://tracyotsuka.com/learn📖 Get the book, ADHD for Smart Ass Women: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book🧠 Join Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy: https://tracyotsuka.com/aok🌐 Visit my website: https://tracyotsuka.com/ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.That’s why most strategies don’t stick. They were not designed for how your brain actually works. If you’re ready to stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits, start here: https://programs.tracyotsuka.com/sign-upConnect with me:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyotsukaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heytracyotsukaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyotsuka/Are You Ready to Discover Your Brilliance? Order Now: https://tracyotsuka.com/adhd-book