How Navy SEAL Andrew “Sully” Sullivan Thrived with ADHD - podcast episode cover

How Navy SEAL Andrew “Sully” Sullivan Thrived with ADHD

Oct 25, 202336 minSeason 1Ep. 36
--:--
--:--
Download Metacast podcast app
Listen to this episode in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episode description

Trigger Warning: this episode discusses sensitive topics about suicide and traumatic injuries.

I had the honor of speaking with Andrew “Sully” Sullivan, a retired Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Navy SEAL. Andrew shared his incredible story of being diagnosed with ADHD in high school but not letting that stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a Navy SEAL.

Andrew completed the notoriously grueling SEAL training and went on to have a nearly 20-year distinguished career full of combat tours and commendations. Andrew explained how the high-intensity, team-focused environment of special operations was perfectly suited for someone with ADHD. He never felt the need to disclose his diagnosis because his teammates naturally complemented each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

We also discussed the mental health challenges many veterans face after transitioning out of service. Andrew now runs a nonprofit (503c) called the Community First Project that ensures the quality and integrity of the nation's law enforcement agencies.

 

Timeline Summary:

[01:07] - Andrew's distinguished military career, awards, and current ventures.

[03:32] - Andrew’s decision to serve in the military and how he approached it with ADHD.

[05:42] - Taking medication while serving.

[07:33] - Follow through is easier with a purpose.

[09:01] - The mental and physical toughness of SEALs training and the prime age for it.

[11:32] - How the Special Ops environment caters to ADHD strengths.

[14:32] - The struggle while exiting service and losing that community.

[15:14] - Adderall medication struggles to help study in college and a surprising way to focus.

[16:32] - Sneaky ways to get the benefits of mindfulness and meditation for ADHDers.

[17:45] - Andrew’s most difficult time in service and how he sought help.

[20:15] - The power of community in supporting mental health and breaking the stigma.

[22:18] - Providing peer support for law enforcement officers after traumatic events.

[25:42] - How the Seals compartmentalize, problem solve, and suppress just like ADHDers.

[26:33] - Mental toughness and dealing with traumatic loss. Nobody is alone.

[27:28] - Explosives brain injury comparison to professional football players.

[31:58] - Andrew found his purpose driving him to serve others through the military and his non-profit.

[34:21] - How to connect with the Community First Project.

 

Connect with Andrew Sullivan and the Community First Project:

Please consider donating to the Community First Project on their website, every bit helps! Please connect through the website or Instagram if you are with law enforcement and would like to get further information about the program.

·         Community First Project website: https://c1p.org/ 

·         Community First Project on Instagram: @community_first_project

·         Andrew “Sully” Sullivan on Instagram: @sully_c1p

 

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Successful with ADHD. If you enjoyed this conversation, please +FOLLOW the podcast on your favorite platform and leave

🚨Calling all aspiring ADHD coaches ▶️ https://bit.ly/CWBCoachCert

Help your clients break free from paralysis and better manage their life with 3C Activation® coach training!

💥Gain a proven process for ADHD coaching

💥Earn 38 ICF Credits and 25.5 PAAC CCE’s

💥Learn the latest neuroscience to boost your practice

💥Qualify to be listed as a “Professional ADHD Coach” Under ACO Directory

Save your seat for the Q&A to learn more ▶️ https://bit.ly/CWBCoachCert

Transcript

Intro / Opening

Andrew Sullivan

And I'll say this specific to special operations in the in the SEAL teams. It is such a team mentality and atmosphere that you constantly have people willing to pick up the slack on things that you're not performing yet. For me sitting down at a computer and doing a PowerPoint is torture, right? I just, it's awful. And without medication, it's something that I would absolutely struggle with, I would put it off, I wouldn't get it done until I had

a deadline. And it would take a deadline of probably tomorrow for me to actually do it. And that's how I wasn't school. Like unless there was a deadline. I didn't get stuff done. So you're in this community of ultra high performers, all with a shared vision and goals, who work together to get stuff done. And it's it's perfect for people with this condition because you have people picking up on your weaknesses in carrying you through.

Brooke Schnittman

Welcome to successful with ADHD, I'm Brooke Schnittman. Let's get started. Welcome to successful with ADHD, Andrew Sullivan. Thank you, it's so good to be here. So for those of you who don't know who Andrew

Andrew's distinguished military career, awards, and current ventures.

is, he is a retired senior chief Special Warfare operator seal. Andrew medically retired from the US military in 2020. After nearly two decades of service in the special ops community, including six years at SEAL team to 11 years at Naval Special

Warfare Development Group. His his many combat commendations include the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Star medals with combat valor, the Purple Heart battle, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, six Joint Service commendation medals with combat valor, two Navy and Marine commendation medals with valor, three presidential unit citations and numerous other joint and individual awards. Let me take a breath.

And following Andrews time in service, he started blue forest Strategic Action Group, a SDVOSB that provides tactical security and leadership Consulting at the DOD, federal and law enforcement agencies. And he has consulted with several organizations advocating for mental health treatment for veterans and first responders. And he is a board member at one summit a 5013 C that provides resilience training for pediatric cancer patients. And I'm going to keep going but I know I haven't got

it all. He is an MS in strategic leadership from the University of Charleston, West Virginia, and has two daughters that He currently resides with.

Andrew Sullivan

Right, it's a lot right. Sometimes I look at it and

Brooke Schnittman

hard to believe. Well, you worked hard for all of that.

Andrew Sullivan

I've tried. Yeah, the only thing missing I started my own nonprofit last year called community first project, which see when p.org and our focus is community safety. And we do that by providing free training to law enforcement at the patrol officer and school resource officer level to help them combat some of the high stress critical incidents that we're seeing across the country.

Brooke Schnittman

Wonderful. So you're not busy at all? No,

Andrew Sullivan

not at all. Lots of free time. Yeah, sounds like

Brooke Schnittman

it. So I know that you were diagnosed in high

Andrew's decision to serve in the military and how he approached it with ADHD.

school. Correct? What made you decide to serve out of all the things that you were looking at?

Andrew Sullivan

I always had that, in my mind that I wanted to do something in the services, specifically the SEAL teams, you know, I didn't want to join the military to be a conventional soldier or sailor. I wanted to be at the front lines. And honestly, probably a little bit of complacency on my side, I knew the risk of trying to go to buds, which is SEAL training and that, you know, 75 80% people that try to do it won't make it through and to walk away from where I was in my life at that

point. Even though I wasn't happy with what I was doing. It was a risk. And for me, it took 911 to to push me into making that decision. I went into the recruiter's office the next day 912. I'm like how can I get out of here? What can I do? And I've just I've always had a call to service that that's that's how I motivate myself is I'm a service oriented person. That's why I have so much involvement in the nonprofit side. And that was just another way for me to

serve. And I felt like protecting my family and my friends was where I needed to be in what I needed to be doing.

Brooke Schnittman

Wow. So I know it's not easy to get to where you were and to continue to serve in the ways that you are. When you decided to try out for the seals, I don't even know if I'm using the right word or terminology. So please correct me if I am.

Andrew Sullivan

No, you you've got it. Did you

Brooke Schnittman

disclose that you had an ADHD diagnosis?

Andrew Sullivan

Absolutely not. Yeah, no, the least they knew the better, right? I didn't want to give them any reason to to nip it in the bud before I even got the chance to try. So didn't say a word. In fact, I don't think I've told anybody this really until we started talking. in retirement, so yeah,

Brooke Schnittman

yeah. Yeah, totally. And you were not taking

Taking medication while serving.

medication at the time. For ADHD.

Andrew Sullivan

I did. My first attempt at college I was taking, I think I was taking Ritalin at the time. And I just didn't like it. I, I was never a big kid. But I played sports. And my life revolved around wanting to play sports. And I think I lost 1520 pounds in a couple months, and no appetite. It wasn't for me, and I would rather do terribly in school and lose focus, then then not be in the shape that I want it to be,

Brooke Schnittman

where people allowed to serve who are taking stimulant medication. I, you know,

Andrew Sullivan

I've never heard otherwise. And I don't know if it's a disqualifier, or not to be completely honest, I've never even thought about that. It's ironic, I think people with the condition actually tend to do better in the military. It certainly in specific jobs in the military, like Special Forces, it's, it's almost the perfect environment for it, because you, there's so much going on, it's really hard to lose focus. So it worked out

great for me. And really, I didn't, I didn't get back into medicating Adderall until later in my career when I when I got back into college. And when I moved to a higher leadership level to where I spent a lot of time having to be at a desk and write evals and wards and do more administrative stuff. And I found myself kind of reverting back to my high school days where I just couldn't stay there, I couldn't sit in focus.

And it would take me four or five times longer to do the same task as other people because I just, I couldn't make myself do it. So the rest of the career as long as we were in combat going overseas and doing that job, it was it was fantastic from from that perspective,

Brooke Schnittman

so funny, because people say that people

Follow through is easier with a purpose.

with ADHD have a hard time following through. And you had the accountability, you had the desire, the interests, you had the core values, the purpose, and the strengths. So you accomplish the most difficult psychological and physical training, I think, that exists in the world.

Andrew Sullivan

I agree. But to me, the following through part is definitely an issue in my life. It always has been. But if I have a purpose, it's a lot easier for me to follow through on things and 911 What other purpose do you need really to get through the training, because it was life and death for our communities. And it was so much easier to do and really to be completely honest, there's not a lot of thinking involved in bugs, it's just keep moving forward and, and get kicked in cold and wet and Sandy

repeatedly over and over. And it's not hard. It's like playing a sport almost. So it wasn't as difficult from the the mindset as you would think.

Brooke Schnittman

And love how you say, Yeah, I love how you say it wasn't that hard. It wasn't as difficult as you would think. But meanwhile, meanwhile,

Andrew Sullivan

this is I would never want to do again, put it that well.

Brooke Schnittman

Okay, 20 years if it is enough, and how

The mental and physical toughness of SEALs training and the prime age for it.

many people try out? And how many people make it I noticed that 75% Yeah, people to try out, don't make it.

Andrew Sullivan

You know, and I can give you a generalized number. My buds class started with I think 188 And we finished about 22 of the original people that started so it's a high attrition rate. And if people quit, not a lot of people get get dropped from SEAL training. It does happen. But the majority of people that don't make it through it's because they choose to deselect themselves. And for whatever reason, whether physically they don't like it emotionally or mentally they

can't handle it. And some people I think are young and never been away from home and this is their first experience with with life away from mom and dad and man. It's a shock. For me, I you know, I went to college first and had a job and had some life experience of being on my own before I went and I knew I didn't want to go back to that and that's a great motivator as

well. So Oh, you know, perspective mindset, trying to have goals and orient towards them helped me to maintain focus in situations where, you know, normally it would be difficult for me to do. So.

Brooke Schnittman

Were there ever moments where you just wanted to give up.

Andrew Sullivan

There were moments where I wanted to be warm and not wet. But the idea of quitting. I, I never thought about quitting. For me, it's funny, I talk about being 24 in training, like, like an old being an old man. And it really is physically. 21 is kind of that sweet spot, sweet spot. 2122 1819, you're fresh out of high school. And it's really mentally your first experience with with being away from home,

and it's mentally tough. Once you hit 2425, the physical pain of doing this repeatedly for six to eight months becomes becomes hard. And for me, it was always, I don't want to get hurt, I gotta maintain it and not do something that's physically going to prevent me from making it through. And that sweet spot at 2122. It's great, because you have that mental toughness, and physically, you recover a lot quicker. And I know it's weird. I'm talking about 18 to 25. Like, it's this huge age range.

And when it comes to that kind of world, it is, I mean, look at pro athletes, right? A lot of pro athletes, football, whatever they're done by toys. And that's the reason. So it's the same with us.

Brooke Schnittman

Wow. Wow. Okay, so what do you think? The

How the Special Ops environment caters to ADHD strengths.

benefit? No, you said there's so much stimulation. But why do you think besides that someone with ADHD could have more of an advantage in serving.

Andrew Sullivan

And I'll say this specific to special operations in the in the SEAL teams, and I know army, you know, their higher level Special Operations the same. It is such a team mentality and atmosphere, that you constantly have people willing to pick up the slack on things that you're not performing yet. And, you know, let's say I'm the guy, you know, I need to do a PowerPoint. And for me, sitting down at a computer and doing a PowerPoint is torture. I just, it's awful.

Yeah. And without medication, it's something that I would absolutely struggle with, I would put it off, I wouldn't get it done until I had a deadline. And it would take a deadline of probably tomorrow for me to actually do it. And that's how I was in school. Like, unless there was a deadline, I didn't get stuff done. So you're in this community of ultra high performers, all with a shared vision, and goals, who work

together to get stuff done. And it's, it's perfect for people with this condition, because you have people picking up on your weaknesses in carrying you through. It's great. And honestly, I try to recreate that now, in my business and my nonprofit, because I function really highly in that type of atmosphere in that community.

Brooke Schnittman

I was going to say the same thing. I mean, isn't that the truth? If we are in an environment where there's different types of learners, there's different types of strengths? And we can all complement each other? Wouldn't that be ideal? Especially if they have the same values? As you?

Andrew Sullivan

Yes, absolutely. And I think a lot of the business world, it's you're competing against people not with people. Yeah. And that's where we separate the military's you know, we have a common goal, and it's defeat our enemies, right. And we are working together to get that done whatever way possible. It is the epitome of a team atmosphere. And it is so functional. It's really a great environment to be in and to work in and to learn

it. You know, every day I went into work, and I viewed it as if I don't get better today, someone's going to take my job for me. So there was never that point of complacency that I had in school, where if I don't learn this, who cares? I'll just look it up online. 10 years from now, right? It's man, I need to be a better shooter today. I need to be better today, or else. This kid behind me is going to take my job, right? Yeah. It's a great motivator.

Brooke Schnittman

You mentioned also that many seals have ADHD or undiagnosed ADHD. Yeah. Okay.

Andrew Sullivan

You know, I think it's commonplace in our community. And we make it function because of how our community operates. And it's really cool to see. But it also and I don't, I guess it's kind of negative. And I don't mean it

The struggle while exiting service and losing that community.

that way. But at some point, the ride ends and you have to get off the train. Yeah. And you have not prepared yourself to handle the life situations or the next career. Because you've worked in a community that you will never again work in, and never have the ability to to have those people around you to

help you be successful. So you know, for me, I lost 20 years of trying to learn how to accept and and overcome My ADHD, because I never had to, you know, I just had people naturally around me that helped me and also who probably had the same issues a lot of them. And I know, it's kind of a weird catch 22 Right, so So I got out and it's like, oh, God, what do I

Adderall medication struggles to help study in college and a surprising way to focus.

do, and, you know, I was still working on my master's. And at that point, I, I got on the Adderall train, and I needed it. I didn't like it, but it was a necessary evil for me to, to be able to focus and sit down and study and write papers, and, you know, sit through classes and, and at the same time, start a business and do all the business paperwork that comes with, you know, business plans. And, you know, and as soon as that ended,

I tapered back. And actually, I went cold turkey and stopped taking it for almost two years. And then I kind of got back to the point where I was like, okay, you know, for me to function, I need to take a little bit in the morning, give you that boost. Yep. And I see where my day goes. And I get most of my critical thinking for work done in the morning, actually, while I'm working out of all places, because the, you know,

Brooke Schnittman

the dopamine gets flowing the dopamine, but

Andrew Sullivan

it also it channelizes My focus, like when I'm doing all this ancillary stuff, lifting weights running on a treadmill, it is a lot less for me to think about, because it's just second nature. So I'm able to focus on some strategic things. And I have a whiteboard in my gym with me, which is my garage, and I just, I take notes as I work out. And then when I get done, I go to my computer, and I bring my whiteboard with me and I, I transfer that information. You know,

Sneaky ways to get the benefits of mindfulness and meditation for ADHDers.

Brooke Schnittman

it's so interesting. People with ADHD, they always hear about mindfulness and meditation. And unfortunately, there's too much of a negative connotation with having to do this and stay focused. But working out really is meditative. Because you're focusing on one thing, right?

Andrew Sullivan

100% it that is my my therapy. If I don't do it, I feel different. I hate taking off days for that reason. I'm open to anything. So I've tried float tanks. I've tried acupuncture, I've tried Reki anything, you name it, I've tried it at some point in time. And within two minutes, I'm like, get I start get angry. I'm like, get me out of here. This This isn't for me. I don't sit still I can't stop moving. And the gym, it gives me the best of

both worlds. Like I can turn my mind down, but keep the physical activity up, which is what I need to really reset.

Brooke Schnittman

Yeah, so you've definitely had enough cold exposure in your lifetime. I'm guessing you're not into it at this point.

Andrew Sullivan

It's funny, my kids were like, can we go to the beach? I'm thinking wet Sandy. No, no, no, thank you. Yeah.

Brooke Schnittman

Yeah, so transitions are very hard for

Andrew's most difficult time in service and how he sought help.

people with ADHD. But I'm sure there's a level of PTSD that you had to deal with transitioning.

Andrew Sullivan

Yeah, and honestly, you know, I had a really difficult time. So when I, when I got shot, I also had a, one of my close friends get shot. And so I had survivor's guilt, because I made it and he didn't. And that really, for me, was one of the hardest times on the emotional side, which brought out a lot of the issues with the ADHD and the focus. And because it was towards the end of my career anyway, that was 2017. And it's the first time I ever went and saw someone talk

to someone. And you know, just growing up in a community where we're seeing a therapist or shrank or whatever, it's just, it's never been a real open dialogue, dialog, meaning meaning if guys do it, they hide it, because they don't want to

see weak. And for me, I was just in a position where I had to, and that's kind of how I actually got back onto the Adderall or not on back on but how I started taking Adderall was was just helping me focus, my ability to work through some of the issues I was having on the post traumatic stress side, which I find out then helped me to focus on some of the issues I was having on school, or work or, or family, right, where I was more disassociated than I

want it to be. And on that side, having this condition really, it exacerbates my ability to look at negative, extreme negative and extreme positive and hyper focused way. Interesting. And at that point, everything, everything was very negative for me. And I was very hyper focused. And, you know, I think a lot of being on Adderall as much as I was on at the time didn't help that either. So sure, you know, it's, it's a constant fine line of up and down to get to where I need to

be. I'm right now and, you know, talking about it turned out to be the greatest thing I could ever do and, and then talking to my teammates about what I was going through and finding out that almost all of them were going through the same thing. And now we're actually going to talk about it and change the culture or at least try to change the culture to where it becomes acceptable to talk about PTSD to talk about ADHD to talk about being on medication for

this types of stuff. It made a huge difference, at least in my team and with with my guys.

The power of community in supporting mental health and breaking the stigma.

Brooke Schnittman

Yeah, the power of community. It's great,

Andrew Sullivan

right? We do it so well in our jobs, but we don't do it well, in mental health. It's done in our logical, yeah,

Brooke Schnittman

we don't. And definitely, stigmas have been broken a little bit more since the pandemic, but still it exists today. My goal is to really reach millions of people and know that they're not alone. Yeah, and the more you talk about it, the more you hear, it was like when I went on antidepressants for the first time, and then I started talking about it. People like I am honored to, really, but just no one talks about it.

Andrew Sullivan

The right the stigma, the stigma, and you have this group of high performing alpha males who don't ever want to look weak in any way possible. And to talk about being depressed, or mental health issues, or PTSD, or whatever, it just, it didn't happen for the longest time. But we're changing. And now as I get out, and I started my nonprofit, and I start talking to law enforcement about their needs. One of the first things every single department I go to, they

bring up his mental health. And, you know, what I see in law enforcement right now with with all the stuff that is going on in the media and how they're being used as kind of political tools from the right and the left, is that there were Special Forces community was about 10 years ago on the mental health side with the suicide rate increasing and the job satisfaction, decreasing in morale, decreasing in retention, and recruiting, all decreasing.

And a big part of that has to do with the mental health of the job and the environment, and a failure to be able to talk about it amongst your peers. So we really are digging into that and digging into, you know, how our community has been affected since we started opening up more about it and treating it. And hopefully we can take that to the law enforcement community as well.

Brooke Schnittman

Yeah, so tell me a little bit more about what

Providing peer support for law enforcement officers after traumatic events.

you guys actually do to help law enforcement with mental health.

Andrew Sullivan

Yeah, so one of the pillars of the nonprofit, and it's something we've really just touched upon. And it was by circumstance, because me being someone who's been shot been, you know, in some catastrophic incidents, the law enforcement doesn't really have a lot of that, meaning there's not a lot of police officers, if you look at all the numbers, over 700,000 police officers, the number of officers who are shot on duty is relatively small. And it seems to be growing, which is

absolutely terrible. And another story, also, the number of officers who have to use their gun in the line of duty, it's less than half of police officers will ever use their gun in the line of duty throughout

their career. Wow. As we see these things happening, and as I started getting more involved with the law enforcement community in realizing that when an officer is in a critical incident, whether or not they're the shooter, or the one that has been shot or injured, there's nobody on their job, who can share that similar experience, and maybe some of the big

cities. So my idea was, well, why don't we pair them up for some peer mediation with somebody from my professional who has had a similar incident or similar injury, and let them be there to support. It's not a clinical, you know, anything. It's just, hey, here's a friend that you can talk to, when you're going through rehab, or you're looking for doctors, and you want to know, hey, did they tell you this when you got shot? And I'm like, yep, that's exactly what they did for me.

And it worked out great. I got the feeling back, blah, blah, blah, whatever it is, right? Or, you know, I had a kid last year who was on the job for less than a year, and his partner got shot, and he had to shoot and kill the person that shot his partner, and he was devastated. He, you know, he took a life. And, and you don't think about that in policing as much as you do in the military? Because you tend to expect that in the

military. And I think in Special Forces, particularly, you know, I didn't sign up and think to myself, well, you know, I'm never gonna have to shoot someone. Quite the opposite, right? So there's a different mental acuity that we have in Special Forces that isn't always seen in law enforcement, especially at the patrol level, maybe not Swat. So, you know, sitting down with him, and talking to him, and letting him know that he did the right thing. And he did 100% And

they're there. You know, he saved his office, his partner's life by doing what he did. It was a very difficult time and he didn't have anyone to talk to and just being there on the mental health side to provide some some guidance and so reassurance that everything's gonna be fine. And you did do the right thing, honestly, we get a lot of support for that. And a lot of people will take an interest in that.

Brooke Schnittman

Yeah, it's so nice because people don't really know, if you haven't gone through that yourself, how can you really talk through experience with someone who is feeling that way? So that added value is huge, because you've been there, done that?

Andrew Sullivan

Yeah. And had the same feelings. And to our community, we very, we get typecast quite a bit. People hear what we do. And they have this image of Navy SEALs as invincible and, you know, tough and strong and without feeling

How the Seals compartmentalize, problem solve, and suppress just like ADHDers.

heartless sometimes, right? And it's not like we go through the same emotional distress that anybody else does. We just do it over. And over, and over, as long as we keep doing that job. And we compartmentalize really well, which I think is, you know, nada, HD thing, right, we were able to separate feelings from thoughts, and,

Brooke Schnittman

and all that. So problems off really,

Andrew Sullivan

really well. And we suppress feelings really well, also,

Brooke Schnittman

until we can't anymore. Yeah, exactly.

Andrew Sullivan

And it takes, you know, for me, it was getting shot, and losing another friend that really brought everything to the boiling point. And it really forced me to actually get help.

Brooke Schnittman

So you have been trained on mental

Mental toughness and dealing with traumatic loss. Nobody is alone.

toughness, more than I, you know, any other profession in the world, and you're coming out saying, even with all of that training, you know, you still have emotions, you still have feelings, you still get sad, you you know, even though you can decompartmentalize, eventually Barry and Barry and Barry, it eventually comes out somehow. And you know, you're not alone in this feeling. And there's other people out there that you can talk to. I love that.

Andrew Sullivan

Absolutely. And I mean, just look at the suicide rate in our community, right in the veteran community 22 A day in the seal community, I don't know the numbers, but I've lost half a dozen friends to suicide in the past few years. So it is predominant, which is people not communicating, you know, and whatever the cause, obviously, you know, CTE in our world is

Explosives brain injury comparison to professional football players.

significant, which is the same NFL players are going through with the brain trauma, the kinematic brain injuries. So for us, it's they're finding that it's, it's less about the the impact which so NFL players are repeated impacts where they're having the dead brain cells. With us, it's from explosives

passing through our brain. So being in close proximity in me being a preacher who was an explosives guy throughout my career just being in close proximity to these explosives, we're finding the the rules and regulations for distance from the explosions really weren't accounting for the blast waves traveling through our skull. And actually, the helmets we wear caused them to reverberate continuously throughout school. And now we're doing the donating the brains of guys that are

killing themselves. And we're finding similar responses in the brain that these NFL players just in different locations like ours are way more internal. There's a more external of the brain from the brain bouncing off the skull. Ours are the blast waves traveling through the brain and reverberating back through.

Brooke Schnittman

So are you having blackouts? And I am not no. So

Andrew Sullivan

I've been pretty fortunate on my brain health, I say that I've had a brain tumor that I had ever moved. So which you know, why someone that my age in my health has a brain tumor? Who knows right? And right now the Pentagon isn't too willing to talk about it or look into it. And it's another thing in our community that the amount of cancer testicular and in the brain, and the amount of tumors mine was fortunately benign is for the population and the health of our population in that

age range. It shouldn't be there. It just should.

Brooke Schnittman

No, no. Wow, I'm getting the chills. It's almost hard for me to speak and this episode better not be flagged on Spotify or any podcast. We can approve. Right? Okay, good. Yeah, exactly. And thank you for doing that. Because there are people listening who want it serve or have served and I personally unfortunately know someone who did serve his brother served and then committed suicide after Iraq because it was just too

much for him. And then unfortunately, the friend of mine who was the older brother had severe ADHD and was a big supporter of the service units and military and he jumped he dove into a canal headfirst. And it was too shallow. And that was it. So I mean, there's just so much there. And I'm not trying to scare people who are

listening. But like, if you are listening and you feel alone reach out to Andrew, he can get you, you know, connected to the right people, whether it be his community or someone else, you're not alone. Yeah,

Andrew Sullivan

absolutely. It's a group effort. And we all have to be their support, right. And it's, you can never tell who it is. And I hate to say that the friends that I've had, I've lost a suicide, I just, I never would have believed I didn't see it. I don't know how other than having the conversations regularly, and checking up on your friends. And, you know, the military offers some great benefits. And it's been really

good to me and to my family. But there's also a detriment, especially when you're two decades of sustained combat, right? It wreaks havoc on physically and mentally on people's bodies. So we just need to be aware of it. And we need to be talking about it. And you know, there's great opportunities in the military for people with with ADHD and other conditions that you wouldn't get in, in the business world or other aspects of general population. So

Brooke Schnittman

yeah, and I know we're wrapping up. But if you guys have ever read about hunter gatherers, ADHD, or is where the hunters we go with sly we protect. And I think that really ties into the benefits of, you know, being able to serve with ADHD. So if you are recruiting, and you have an ADHD or who really wants to serve, just remember that.

Andrew Sullivan

Exactly, no. And it just, we need to be able to figure out how we function. And I think, for me, I never

Andrew found his purpose driving him to serve others through the military and his non-profit.

thought about, I always thought about how it limited me, I never thought about the advantages of having it and how I could function with it. And I just luckily found this community and got into it, and thrived. And it just made me reevaluate, you know, this condition and how I can be successful with it.

Brooke Schnittman

So good. And people ask all the time, how do I find what I want to do with my life? Do I get a career coach? Who do I speak to? And so many times, like you said, it was purpose 911 happened. And that was it, you know, that change, a real traumatic event, one of the biggest traumatic events in the US. And you decided that that was the breaking point, I have

to do something about it. So sometimes, it's not, you know, you studying up on something, it's not you getting a coach for something, it's a feeling inside of your body and a change and a purpose that is just driving you to do the thing.

Andrew Sullivan

Exactly. And honestly, I never felt like I was working. I always felt like the SEAL teams was a placeholder for me not to grow up and have to get a real job. And then what I didn't realize at the time, is that my motivation was service. And that's what got me to, you know, more focused in able to be successful and things that I normally probably would not have

been so successful. And you mentioned transitioning earlier, when I transitioned out of service, I kind of went back a little bit and regressed to when I was going into the military. And the nonprofit stuff was, again, just just kind of a placeholder while I figured out what I wanted to do next. And then I realized, no, this is what I want to do next. Is it nervous, like I don't get driven by financial gain, right? Not that I don't like to make money, but it doesn't get me out of the

bed in the morning. Right? What gets me out of bed is helping other people being service oriented and making a difference in communities. I just needed to kind of go from this to this and realize, you know what I needed and what I needed to do?

Brooke Schnittman

Yes, big picture purpose, and then the purpose will drive you and it's your passion and eventually you will get to where you need to financially because the drive there. So Andrew, how can people find you if they want to reach out help out donate?

How to connect with the Community First Project.

Andrew Sullivan

I think the easiest thing to do is to check out our website which is C one p.org. Links to the Instagram page. Instagram is community underscore first underscore project. You know, Ahmet solely underscore see when P reach out anytime you can email me directly through the website, you can hit me up on Instagram. Take a look at what we're doing. If you want to support there is a donate link on on the website. Every bit helps. It all goes to

help law enforcement. You know we're always looking for police departments. So if you have questions from the law enforcement side and you're listening to this, feel free to reach out and have Conversation, sometimes helping just having a conversation is enough.

Brooke Schnittman

Yeah, and I know it confusing with the spelling out of one or, or putting the number one. So we'll definitely have those links in the show notes. So you don't write the wrong way of the number one

Andrew Sullivan

is the one not only just one. Yeah. But yes, I

Brooke Schnittman

remember one. Okay. All right. Well, Andrew, thank you so much for being on successful with ADHD.

Andrew Sullivan

I appreciate it was great to connect with you and to have this conversation anytime you want to chat. Just let me know. Happy to do.

Brooke Schnittman

Thank you. Thanks for listening to this episode of successful with ADHD. I hope it helps you on your journey. And if you need any additional support for you or a loved one with ADHD, feel free to reach out to us at coaching with brooke.com and all social media platforms at coaching with Brooke and remember, it's Brooke with any Thanks again for listening. See you next time.

Transcript source: Provided by creator in RSS feed: download file
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android