361 | Living with Bipolar and ADHD Malaika Tolford

Do you think you might have a Bi-Polar disorder? Listen as your host, Eric Tivers, and his guest Malaika Tolford discuss her diagnosis of Bi-Polar disorder and ADHD, how common it is to have both, and the difference between Bi-Polar one and two, plus much more on this episode of . Malaika is a ceramic artist and owner of ; she also teaches at a nonprofit craft organization. They diagnosed Malaika with Bi-Polar two disorder in 2013 and added an ADHD diagnosis in January 2020, which provided some pieces of her mental health puzzle. She is a mom of two boys trying to navigate COVID while working from home and keeping out of the way of her husband's zoom meetings. Listen as Malaika shares why she got in touch with Eric, the difference between Bi-Polar one and two, and what led her to seek evaluation and diagnosis for Bi-Polar disorder. Because of suicidal thoughts, Malaika sought medication for Bi-Polar depression and was lucky enough that the first thing they tried worked for her. Malaika discusses what happened in her life that led her to believe that she might also have ADHD, the struggle to figure out who she really was and how the pandemic made that journey even more difficult. Eric believes that if you can tolerate it, medication is one of the best treatments for ADHD. Malaika speaks about her pottery business, how she has pivoted to online sales since the pandemic, and how pottery is relatable to both of her diagnoses. She describes her pottery and shares that she puts maps on all of her pieces because she likes geography, so please check out her work at You'll learn: [03:28] Welcome to the show, Malaika! [04:22] Malaika discusses why she got in touch with Eric. [07:19] Malaika shares what she understands about Bi-Polar and the difference between 1 and 2. [09:44] What led you to seek evaluation and diagnosis of Bi-Polar? [11:16] Malaika speaks about why she sought medicine for her disorder. [13:02] Eric says that having suicidal thoughts is the language of an illness. [16:05] Malaika discusses how ADHD may have led to the cycle of depression. [22:36] They talk about the medication Malaika was prescribed for her Bi-Polar disorder. [25:08] Malaika shares what happened that led to the ADHD diagnosis. [28:28] ADHD Alien led her to her ADHD diagnosis. [31:15] Malaika discusses the struggle to try to figure out who she was. [33:51] They speak about the pandemic and what they were doing when they were shut down. [37:43] Malaika shares the meds they have put her on for her ADHD. [39:57] ADHD is not a skill deficit. [40:54] Medication, if you can tolerate it is one of the best treatment plans for ADHD. [47:07] Malaika discusses her pottery business and how it is relatable to her diagnosis. [50:54] Most of Malaika's work has to do with geography. [52:37] What has been the hardest thing about pivoting with Bi-Polar, ADHD, and COVID? [54:50] Malaika speaks about moving during all of this craziness. [57:00] Malaika shares the interesting things that have come out of her diagnosis. [1:01:19] Eric talks about how great the Bose noise-canceling headphones are. [1:02:09] Is talking to people with masks on hard for you? [1:03:16] Malaika shares some final thoughts for people who might think they have Bi-Polar disorder along with their ADHD. [1:08:37] Thank you so much for being on the show! [1:09:50] If you are a regular listener, consider becoming a patron click on our Patreon tap at Links and Resources Find Malaika: Use my Audible.com affiliate link for your favorite titles: ADHD reWired Coaching and Accountability Groups The 16th season of the ADHD reWired Coaching and Accountability groups are ending soon.  ArC 17 Summer Sessions run July 11th – Sept. 19th.   We only have 9 spots remaining. Please visit to learn more and sign-up for our Last Scheduled Registration Event on June 11th at 3 PM CT.  You don’t want to miss it! Support the Podcast on Patreon Patreon allows listeners like you to support content creators like me. With a monthly contribution, you can get access to different levels of perks.  One perk example is our Patron-only Group Coaching Sessions.  Learn more at . ADHD reWired Facebook Group: If you would like to apply to join the ADHD reWired Secret Facebook group, go to and fill out the application. Productivity Q&A Get your ADHD questions answered live! These Q&A sessions take place on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 12:30 PM CT. Go to Want to be a guest? Hey! What about you? Do you have a story? Are you a coach? Are you an ADHD Clinician? If you answered yes to any of these questions and you’d like to be a guest, .