ADHD & Executive Dysfunction | Why I don't make videos...
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- twitter: / oh_itsjustkim
instagram: / stilljustkim
BBC article (also includes similar statistics to US prison inmates study) www.bbc.co.uk/...
Inmates statistics add.org/undiag...
"300% more likely to start own business": www.psychology...
Hey gang :)
Just wanna clarify here that executive dysfunction isn't just a symptom of ADHD. It's experienced in a few different neurodivergent conditions, and even mental illnesses like depression and anxiety can cause issues with executive functions.
Identifying with some aspects of this obviously doesn't necessarily mean you have ADHD. There are so many other symptoms which are all only considered once they severely and consistently impact multiple areas of your life. Questioning and comparing your own experiences in relation to this is healthy and can be helpful if you think you may have an issue with executive dysfunction (or anything else mentioned) and I'd love to see support and discussion between comments! But it's not always productive and can contribute to negative stereotypes if that comparison breaches into self-diagnosis with fairly shallow basis. Hope that makes sense. x
This makes so much sense, I don't have ADHD in any capacity, but I'm diagnosed with anxiety and depression and a lot of what you described for executive dysfunction resonated with me. I've managed to scrape through a degree, PGCE, MSc and now I'm coming to the end of my 3rd month of a PhD, however I have done almost no work in this time as it feels like everything is the utmost of importance at the same time and I can't seem to figure out what I should be doing first. I often just sit on the sofa staring into space feeling overwhelmed. Or stay awake all night worrying about everything I need to do until I literally pass out from exhaustion and then sleep all day and get nothing done. I'm sorry this is something you've had to deal with for your whole life, but I'm glad you're beginning to understand it better and it's great that you have so much creativity. I'd love to be creative. I'm musical and artistic, but I don't have creative thoughts, I'm just a copycat 😅
I am not sure if youtube has a thing to do it but you should pin this to the top if it is an option.
I found out about my ADHD four years ago, have been all over, up and down the ADHD side of the internet, and Kim this is one of the best descriptions of the disorder I’ve seen!!
It definitely makes sense and many of us understand. It’s practically my life!
BBC stories have just released a few videos on ADHD, really interesting and I encourage you all to watch them
The inconsistency is the only consistent thing about your channel
at least im #OnBrand
I’m sending this to a friend I’ve tried to explain ADHD to and write “I dare you to watch this”.
Thank you!
Hearing someone else talk about the same symptoms I've had for so long
.. is like poetry.
OML it's Kim. She be living, and not just on twitter
😂😂😂 At a glance i read "FML" haha
look at u popping up in my subscriptions. what is this 2011?
Gotta love that hyperfocus! Always useful at the most random times for the most obscure task.
Wow this was enlightening, I had no idea about 90% this. Thank you for sharing, it was honest and informative! 💗
Hey!! I'm so glad to see people who had limited knowledge on some of this come out with a better understanding. Thank you so much for watching and commenting!!
P.S I love your videos! :) x
I'm autistic and I struggle with executive dysfunction in very much the same way you describe it, a lot of the things you said in this video makes total sense for me as well. Also it's good to see you again!
Fun fact. Between 10% and 80% of autistic people (depending on which study you read) also probably have ADHD; much higher than the general population. However, until relatively recently, Autism was considered an "everything" diagnosis - if you had that, you probably didn't have any other developmental condition. That's no longer the best practice view. If you find all these symptoms in yourself, consider persuing a full diagnostic assessment for ADHD as well.
Anxiety and depression sufferer here.
A lot of what you said makes sense to my brain. Being stuck in bed, not showering for days (or weeks when times are worse), the understanding of: "I will do that" as just ."I will do that at some point in the future." There's often a choice to make between hugging or fist bumping a friend and I just wait until they do something, choosing between 2 different chocolate bars results in giving up and taking both, even if I can't afford it. When deciding on what to drink in a pub or at a cafe I just wait for my friends to order first and just add "the same" at the end, even if they pick something I don't enjoy.
I'm lucky enough to be living in a country with a lot of very understanding people and healthcare system I'm proud of and I'm actually waiting for a decision by doctors on my ability to actually work or are my health problems too much. I'll probably land somewhere in-between and will be able to have a job, with the government paying the company to employ me as it's better for the state if their people work.
Anyhow... I enjoyed this video a lot.
P.S.: Sorry if my English and grammar aren't too good - I have Grammarly installed, but English isn't my first language, so I'm still a bit shite.
I'm sorry you're having such a tough time but I'm glad you're somewhere where you can get help. Thanks so much for watching and commenting, and I hope you find something that works for you. xx
(P.S your english is better than mine mate, don't worry at all!!)
It saddens me that a country as important as the UK doesn't have good ADHD institutions, while some countries put a lot much focus on mental health issues, even if it doesn't make economic sense and are therefore worse of financially.
The number of suicides is actually scary and should be a good enough reason for anyone to look into the reasons and try to help.
Imagine if every suicide would be as widely covered as bombings and shootings, half the population would kill themselves because of the depressive state of mind it would put them in and the other half would just be too shocked to do anything at all, leaving only a few who actually know the numbers already to live as we usually do. (The maths here is a bit off, but you get my point)
And no, I wasn't arguing with myself for the past 20 minutes, if this would put anyone in a bad mood or not.
I have a tragi-comedic view on life, meaning whenever I'm split on something, one half is like: "That would be so sad!" and the other like: "OMG that's amazing! I'm crying!"
i just want to tell you how much this video means to me. i cried a lot while watching it. i found out last year i have really bad adhd/add but executive dysfunction had affected me my entire life, my school, relationships and self-worth. even though there’s a lot of people with adhd, it never seems to affect them as much. i’ve never related to anything as much as this.
it felt quite ironic watching this cause im currantly sat doing some course work for my art gcse that was ment to be done over year ago, so ye, progress is progress I agree
Kim- I wept when i saw this. I live in Toronto, Ontario and have been living with ADHD for my whole life. I am 57 now. Advised by a therapist I was seeing at the time, I was sent to a ADHD specialist here in Toronto. I agreed to having a brain scan which came back positive for ADHD. Since then I have been looking for support and also, as you so articulate, an understanding of what has been with me all my life and was greatly affected my daily life, career and dreams. And again I am nr taken serious when I inform people of my diagnosis. I am not sure I even believe it.
Thanks for sharing this David.
I'm so touched by how many, and what a broad range of people this video has resonated with. It's almost funny how shockingly similar all our experiences are. I find it quite validating, but also heartbreaking. We slip under the radar of diagnosis because we can appear to function just fine, whilst drowning underneath. And the symptoms of ADHD are really more about internal sensation than outward expression, despite the diagnostic criteria being entirely based on how it affects our ability to blend in and conform to societal expectation. Congratulations on your diagnosis. While upsetting I'm sure, I hope it answers a lot of questions for you, and you're able to be kinder to yourself knowing that all of those moral failings you'd been convinced you had were actually just the result of being untreated. I hope to make a habit of videos that attempt to explain symptoms in a more accessible way. Good luck in finding peace in this next stage of your life post-diagnosis.
I'm surprised such an eloquent explanation is still buried so deep in the RUclips algorithm, shame more wont get to see it.
as someone who also has a brain that doesn't work in ways society is designed for i greatly sympathise with your struggle.
with the demolition of most metal health support under the NHS, especially in rural areas, more and more of us are going ignored in the shadows of our society. i hope you keep on reaching out.
The third flatmate is probably one of the best explanations of an aspect of a chronic condition since Spoon Theory.
Also, I think "progress is progress" is my new mantra.
I haven't been diagnosed with ADHD itself, but all of the symptoms, which is.. Exhausting. It's good to see you talking about it so openly, and i'm glad you're doing good! Always nice to see you upload 💖
thanks mia :)
The shock of recognition just made me cry. Thank you.
I worked with kids in a special needs school for about 4 years in my last job, I've never heard ADHD explained like this and it makes so much sense.
Well done for making this video and helping us all understand the lives of people with ADHD a bit better.
It's very difficult to bare yourself to the public like this and I think you're very brave for doing it and for proactively researching something so difficult.
Well done, and if you keep going as you are, you won't end up too far off where you want to be
i was diagnosed pretty early on, and even though i've managed to find a medication that helps, and even though I know that there are plenty of other people like me, hearing my own experience come from someone else is just so powerful and validating. Thank you for being open enough about this to talk about it on your channel
I agree! I love hearing others talk about their experiences. Medication definitely helps me, but I still have ADHD while on it, so its about developing self-discipline and organisational techniques. Doesn’t always work, but I can fool everyone around that I have a handle on things 😂
Gosh. This video made me cry. It hit the nail on the head.
Thank you for making this! My partner has adhd and it was really helpful for me understanding him a bit better.
I'm so glad!! thank you for watching!! You are great!! xxx
One of the most interesting things to me is how people process the world and their emotions. You did an awesome job with this video. You pulled a lot of information into a narrative that was effective at communicating chaos but delivered in a way that was easy to understand. I appreciated how you were emotionally present while delivering everything because you care that it is understood. Thank you for taking the time to make this video. I am glad to understand in new ways.
At 5:04 is the perfect analogy for this. We literally have no proper filter to help sort this stuff out.
As a fellow adult (debatable) with ADHD I relate to this so much, executive dysfunction is one of the least understood parts of ADHD I think and you did a good job of explaining it ^^
And it’s a massive debilitating number of symptoms that and emotional disregulation as well. Lack of motivation and follow through
This video was extremely helpful for me in realizing my executive dysfunction. I have never had anyone explain this in this way to me, and I relate to it so much. I have had anxiety and depression most of my life, and I always thought it was just me being depressed that doesn't get me to motivate but it's exactly like when you said "there's no emotion attached to it". Thank you for this video, hearing someone who has this issue talk on it definitely helps me feel like I'm not just lazy
I think you’ve just described exactly how I feel like I’ve never heard it, when I’ve always just thought I was a lazy procrastinator.
A lot of what you talk about here hits home in a big way... I don't have ADHD, I have OCD, but a large part of it for me is executive dysfunction.
I work part-time at a University as a psychology technician, the rest of the time I'm studying for an MSc in Psychological Research Methods (it's like a package deal scholarship thing so my degree like, comes free with the job). Some days I'll become totally fixated on a task, programming something or doing some analysis or setting up a website, then a student will come in asking for help and I'll come across as really distant and dismissive towards them because I can't unfocus on what I was doing before. Even though I love helping students, find it really rewarding and generally am very good at it, sometimes I seem like I just want to get them out of my hair as soon as possible because, well... I do. I want to get back to the thing I was super focussed on, even when it isn't urgent at all and their problem may very well be. I've had several meetings about prioritising my time and several complaints (mostly from lecturers, students tend to roll with whatever & are grateful for the help, lecturers get /really/ fussy about customer service) about seeming "unhelpful" even when I've done everything asked of me.
It causes me a lot of problems at home too. I live with my girlfriend and we end up fighting a lot because of the things I do because of executive dysfunction. I'll neglect housework because I'm too busy laying in bed thinking about housework, I'll ignore her for hours because I've started a game of Civ III or I've had an idea that I HAVE to work on right away, I'll be late for stuff we plan, flake because of stress, be distant because my mind is on coding, D&D, politics, the fact that place names Up North sound more German because the Normans invaded from the South... It's exhausting for both of us and puts a huge strain on our relationship.
I find Microsoft's to do app really helpful in particular because of it's "My Day" feature - every day you pick stuff to go in a My Day list and if it's not done at the end of the day it moves to your general To Do list. It doesn't help with the easily procrastinate-able things like going to the doctors or doing personal admin, but it does mean these things can languish in my To Do list forever without it getting in the way of stuff that I actually specifically need to do this day.
This video was really helpful, just knowing that someone else goes through this and feeling validated that this is a real thing and I'm not just a shitty person. Thank you for sharing
The most relatable video I have ever watched, thanks for describing a lot of the things most people ignore about our ADHD!
So Informative! Thank you! You’re an inspiration, keep on keepin on🤩
:)
So. Incredibly. Relatable. I spent a good ten years holding onto a really great organization system trying so hard to use it and make my life work properly. Last year I discovered two things which have been more helpful than all the other ideas and plans I've had: Bullet Journaling, which was just a little bit of organization for a little bit of effort, and Utopia from De Novo supplements, which has given me several wonderful moments where I can briefly experience clarity of mind and realize, "Oh, THIS is what it's supposed to be like".
Best wishes on your journey, Kim.
Thank you SO MUCH for this. It articulates the way our brains work in a way I haven't been able to put into words. Maybe I can even show it to some people in my life who haven't understood in the past why I am the way I am, and they can gain a bit of insight
Thanks for taking the time to talk, its always good to here from ya- doesnt matter how long its been
It took me an hour to watch this video from start to finish. I watch it on my phone, while I have 3 other videos and a Word document open on my laptop...
I think it's fair to say that your story is relatable.
Ive been watching you for so long and the inconsistency is normal like we all know this
Thank you so much for this. Sometimes you just need to hear you're not alone
I’m with you! It’s so hard to figure out how your brain works when you’re still inside of it! You can’t see anything objectively. Lists have helped me! :)
Lately I've had a few people both with and without ADHD, listen to stuff I'm frustrated about in myself and tell me they think i have ADHD. I have yet to actually go and talk to a professional about it but having read up about it, it's a definite possibility. I definitely feel like all of my mental capacity is directed towards the little amount of uni I actually manage to get done so there's little left for me to do anything creative I want to do, which I had originally blamed on depression, but it feels like less of a loss of interest, but more an inability to sit down and actually do it. I definitely also feel like I've just stopped and I've reached my mental capacity pretty much constantly.
I've always felt better when I've had a job and no kind of educational commitments because once the workday is done, I don't have to think about it until the next shift. Essentially there's no mental load, which at uni there is. The work always follows you home and never leaves your mind and it's exhausting.
Thank you for sharing. I feel like it's given me a lot to think about and it's nice that there's a better explanation than me just being scatterbrained and bad at prioritising :)
Haha fucking hell, I think I must’ve been about 14 when I started watching your videos and I just came across this, I have recently had my mind blown by the possibility of me having ADHD so when i saw the title of this vid, i went mental. Typical kid with potential whose grades kept slipping, all my stuff has been stored in ikea bags for ages because i never get around to sorting it out, i bought a car two years ago because I thought it would motivate me to learn to drive but it’s still sat there now, i’ve had about 5 lessons in that time. I work as a manager in a petrol station and i am so disorganised, that it has become a running joke among staff. I’m at the start of a 14 month waiting list to see a specialist but i will be showing this video to so many people in the meantime, you’ve explained everything so well! Thanks Kim, you’re the best!
I've been thinking about writing a comment for an hour now.
I have executive function issues and you verbalised this so perfectly. Thank you.
I’m a parent to a toddler and it adds a whole layer of difficulty!
Oh shit, Kim. I have dyspraxia and this hits home REAL hard.
Post-it note rain is the best description ever - there's always something new and things like applying for my Master's lies in the same sad pile as 'buy more ketchup'.
Thanks so much for putting this so well. It all feels like such a first-world problem when you try to share it with someone who doesn't experience this - and it's especially hard given how cool and relatable procrastination culture is right now.
I've only ever really seen the two ends of the stereotypical ADHD spectrum and it's so refreshing to see that people exist in the middle, being successful and intelligent but also maybe only just keeping their head above water.
Glad to hear you've come far with this (and to see your face on youtube)
Welcome back Kim, this was so informative and has cleared my understanding of adhd a lot! Hope you continue to organise and get better with coping, and don’t feel bad about the gaps in videos you are always a delightful surprise when your name pops up ❤️
thanks claire. i'm glad it cleared things up a bit! i'll get there gradually, but i really appreciate the genuine support. thank you. x
Jesus christ this hits home, HARD.
Especially the part about getting worse and worse grades, giving up on a higher education, the part about not being able to get up, make that tea, do the laundry or dress up because i need to go to work. I've been late for work countless times simply because i was doing something and i couldnt get a hold of the time, one more round in this game should be fine, one more video, one more cup of tea, im still in my payama's. I need to leave in 2 hours right? WAIT I SHOULD'VE LEFT 5 MINUTES AGO WHAT HAPPENED.
i never knew what it was or why my brain works in the way that you describe way too accurately. it feels like you are peering into my brain.
I should go to a medical professional and see what they think so maybe i can get the help i might need for this.
I will do it in 18 months.
Massive support for you Kim. I'm even more amazed at how good your videos are considering the effort it requires you to make them
thank you so much for this, ive been coming to the realisation over the pastt year or so that ADHD is something I probably have and each video i see like this helps me understand more and more. thank you, im really glad that you're back, this was very much needed tonight
I remember when this video first came out, and how much I resonated with what you were saying. It got me thinking about all the half-written songs recorded on various devices that I never finished, all the short stories that ended mid sentence because I had moved on to something else (which in turn, would be abandoned). I recently got my ADHD diagnosis (along with Dyspraxia) through Uni. It's weird - getting that diagnosis really knocked me on my arse while simultaneously being the least surprising news I've ever received. I'm sad about all the relationships I lost, all the potential wasted due to what I now understand to be a neurodivergent condition. But yeah, at 21 years old, with the help of my Uni's fantastic learning support team, I'm finally getting help and beginning to understand why I tick the way I do.
Thank you so much for making this video. This video's been on my mind a lot since getting the diagnosis, so glad I finally got round to re-watching it! It's nice to feel seen sometimes haha :)
Finding the will to do things is so so difficult. I’ll wash my laundry but won’t fold it or put it away. Go to do the dishes but only get as far as putting the ones that were already clean up. I’m 24 and I have a drivers permit but I won’t get a proper license cause I don’t trust myself to be able to focus long enough to not cause an accident. I know there is something wrong with my brain and I keep putting off going to a doctor to figure out what it is. But a thing that I’ve taken to saying all the time is “Baby steps are still steps”. Even if what gets done feels like it’s not enough, it’s still something.
YES. I have crippling ADHD and it had made my life...interesting....but also incredibly frustrating. People think it's just 'la la la I'm distracted." But it's so. much. more.
I appreciate you, I appreciate your efforts (especially so because I know how hard and exhausting those efforts can be sometimes. 💕💕💕)
THANK YOU! You talked about things I experience that I never attributed to my ADHD. It makes me feel like I’m not completely alone in this. I want to share this video with EVERYONE !!!
Watching this clip while drawing, apping, wondering what I would eat for breakfast tomorrow, not knowing if I have the groceries for that, tossing a sock in the basket, reading a message on my telephone and only noticing now that this is a clip from a year ago.
I stared with your lateness video and then moved onto this one. There are a lot of great videos on shared ADHD experiences on you tube, but your 2 videos are by far my favourite! I hope you make more, not only do you speak with clarity and insight, but you are super charming and eloquent. I think you would make an amazing TV presenter, or basically any profession involving public speaking.
I had started a bunch of videos on ADHD, and many other topics, they have been sitting around unfinished, some even half edited for about 2 yrs. A bunch of half written blog post ideas and i think like, 6 journals worth of unfinished stories and forgotten ideas, a box of unfinished whittling projects … and two even bigger boxes piled up with the wood and sticks i keep collecting for said hobby. Countless unfinished drawings and paintings. A half done shelf i was making, has been sitting around since beginning of last year.
However these days, making my bed is a natural habit! It took me about a year of focusing on building this one specific habit… and now its a consistently, consistent routine! I cant begin to tell you how proud I feel about it. Progress is progress! :)
oh wow hey! i also got diagnosed with adhd very recently!! im honestly still trying to make sense of things knowing this information about myself now, at 23, and its becoming increasingly more clear how this has affected me my whole life. absolutely wild that nobody ever noticed it about me. anyway, its really cool that you're talking about this stuff!
This video meant so much to me. I always identified with you, Kim, but I never realized in how many ways. I shut my grade school experience with how I was treated for ADHD away in my head and haven’t told anyone about the diagnosis in years, no one who knows me now has ever heard a word of it. But working full time at a good job I never feel fast or organized enough at has made me worried that it’s still part of me, and how that makes me feel. Just today, I finally told my boyfriend, after three years, and mentioned this video. Talking about it, for me, will be a huge part of moving forward and managing it.
It’s taken me several minutes in to realise that the speed of talking feels so normal to me because I’m also adhd. I love it, feels like the speed at which I process and this is bizarrely validating.
Came from the Evan-Connie collab, stayed for the harmonica 👌
One of my best friends is in the process of being diagnosed with adhd, this makes so much more sense than anything I've ever heard about it, hopefully I'll understand her better now, thanks for this.
that is so so great to hear! thank you for watching, i hope this helps both of you understand a little more x
And 2 years later, I find your channel. You are spot on.
The right medication can help but when coming to this as an adult, there’s a lot of catch-up to do.
Years of not thinking linearly and putting together a hodgepodge of coping tools (many unhealthy) requires both learning a new, healthy language and UN-learning the language we taught ourselves, with all of its unhealthy aspects.
It’s a constant process.
Thank you for this video and this channel.
I'm always around! Just take a while to post a video. I'm glad this video made you feel understood. You're right, medication can help to a point but the most important bit is learning to understand yourself and accepting what you've been missing. x
This is such a good explanation ... You seem to be queen of mundane but weirdly accurate analogies also
It's honestly a huge relief to know that I'm not to only one whose brain works like that, knowing and WANTING to perform a task but then all the minor steps just clump up together and it just becomes an impossible thing to do so I just sit there trying to undo all those knots and before you know it an hour has gone by
Can't believe I've not found this until now. I'm always waiting for the latest Kim video!
You're such an inspiration and I love how you're finding your way to deal with things. I hope your progress continues in a positive manner.
Can't wait to see some more of past Kim sometime 😊👍
Fab video, Kim. I was so happy when I saw your face in my subscriptions
omg i’m so glad you made this video. i’ve always struggled with executive dysfunction and thought I was the only one. thank you so much for talking about this I feel so much more understood ❤️
thank you so much, as someone who has been self medicating for years this was lovely to hear. please continue with the uploads as i will always enjoy them. thank you so much, a huge fan, cheers
This was super helpful, I have someone in my life with ADHD but I haven't found anything this useful for helping me understand it more
Thank you so much for this. I found you through a link a friend sent me for my 8 year old son who's just been diagnosed, but the more of your video I watched, the more I stopped going 'Oh - that's him' and started going 'Shit - that's me, too'. Not sure what to do with that, but the incessant creativity alongside complete inability to finish stuff makes so much more sense now. I'm 37. And I'm exhausted all the time just from normal shit.
Funnily enough, 'progress is progress' is something I say to myself, too. And keep on keeping on. So. Keep on keeping on, Kim. You're doing something valuable.
I never imagined that this would resonate with so many people. Every couple of days I get a notification here, and the stories are all the same. It's heartbreaking but also oddly reassuring that all of our experiences are so similar. I hope that you find resources that help you figure out how to work around your brain. I'm going to be doing more ADHD videos over the next year or so because it's becoming more and more clear that what's lacking isn't clinical descriptions, or advice on how to deal with / help children and spouses with ADHD, but concrete explanations and vocabulary for people to take with them, and use to find understanding in people they know. Any condition where most of the struggles are internal, and display as symptoms that LOOK like common issues that everyone struggles with is so hard to get people to empathise with. I want to try and help that.
I just have to say, your video is one of the best things I have ever gone across on the internet. A lot of things you said describe perfectly how I feel and how I proccess my decisions.
When I was younger some teachers told my parents I might have ADHD, but they didn't give much attention.
Several years later, I lost some opportunities and have been called lazy a lot of times in jobs, despite my effort to always do everything.
I'm going to look for some professional help. But knowing how to describe how I feel and think is alreayd helping me.
Thank you very much
The other night I spent two hours stuck on the couch, thinking about how I should have gone to the store earlier to get marinade for chicken that was about to go bad. And stressing that I wouldn't get it before it went bad. So I couldn't make the chicken. I was trying to distract myself with my phone, but it still took two hours to motivate myself to switch to another task.
I use podcasts a lot. If I listen to one in the shower, I'm more likely to take one. And if I listen at bedtime, I'll at least try to close my eyes and now stare at a screen.
You are a lovely person and I am happy you are making progress! I actually understand your explanations and parts of some friends lives are making more sense. I have moments or days of that unfocused feeling, but not all the time. Hang in there! 💙 🤗
I'm so glad this could help you understand some friends a little more! That's great :)
Thank you. x
Thank you so much for this video. I have struggled with ADHD since I was little, it gets harder and harder every day and the way you have explained it just put so much stuff that I haven’t been able to put into words click. This video made me tear up because it explains exactly how I feel on a daily basis I just haven’t been able to explain it to anyone. Anytime someone asks me what’s it’s like to have ADHD I am showing them this video. Thank you so much for posting this, it definitely helped me. And I’m so happy that I’m not alone in how I’m feeling. Thank you ❤️
This was great - a charming and informative insight into your personal struggles and your ways of coping with them. The end title was so beautiful too. ❤
thank you colin!! i love you x
I feel this! I'm an American and moved to the UK . Trying to start a podcast channel, but mental health can sometimes be hard to handle. Keep on rocking, Kim!
ADHD was something it took me ages to realise affected me. The way I describe my thought pattern is like a tsunami of thoughts; not a tide that flows in and out, a wall unending and constantly moving. How I deal with that is with a few personal sayings that may or may not sound contradictory. "Just do the thing" For when there's a thing you aren't doing but should be, just do the thing start somewhere anywhere just start doing it. "Just because you can doesn't mean you should" For when there's a thing you are very much about to do, specifically one that is going to impact your life negatively (Side not on this one it doesn't actually work but I told all my friends that if I'm saying this outloud they should take me away from the thing, this help has been instrumental in my stability) "Baby steps are still steps" For when I'm invariably doing 700 things at once and make only the tiniest bit of progress on them
I like watching your videos because you seem completely normal to me and that makes me feel more normal. You explain better than I ever could; adding "Executive Dysfunction" to my word-store, thank you.
As someone who is only now at 26 getting diagnosed with ADHD, and might finally be somewhat starting to begin figuring out my brain a little bit maybe, this was great! The validation you mention definitely helps.
You are so wonderful and every video you put out is marvelous (serious and comedic stuff alike). No matter the upload consistencies, I will always get a leap of joy when I see a video appear in my box. Keep on keeping, Kim. You are enough.
I’m yet to receive an official diagnosis but I’ve been reading and thinking about ADHD for over a year now, comparing it to my CPTSD and other issues and I keep coming back to the conclusion that I have it. Am in the process of seeking diagnosis but honestly videos like this make me profoundly emotional because it feels like looking into a mirror and that gives me a strange sort of hope. Thank you for sharing this and helping me feel one step closer to not viewing myself as an enemy.
An awful lot of that resonates, which is why I do my best work in the form of random comments online, where I can bring thoughts together that have been accumulating and percolating. In the grand sheme of things, it's pretty futile, as well as unpaid, but I have to hope and believe that by writing things down, even if it is just on youtube videos, I can somehow influence the world a little bit. I've come to the conclusion that things just take as long as they're going to take, and if I press on, and keep trying, stuff does get achieved. Especially when it comes to learning, I've found that things eventually cohere, and I have a more broad-based and wholistic understanding of things, because I don't have single-minded focus, and I'm interested in a wide variety of things, and being good with words always helps. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, except to say thank you, and I admire your bravery and honesty very much, as well as your creativity and use of English. Thanks, and I'm so glad you exist.
I like the way you describe that unpleasent feeling towards taking "the first step" in completing a task. I haven't heard anyone mention it before. I've figured out that for me that usually means the task is still too big. Even when the first step is "opening a word document". It feels silly, but opening a word document means I'll have to get up get my laptop ignore the 500 tabs I still have opened and ignoring that video I wanted to watch and that buzzfeed quiz I need to take and that thing I want to google and that MUST go wrong so I'll just lay here and think about it instead. Sometimes I literally write down "Move bag to chair. Open bag. Get laptop out. Log in. Open word." and cross everything off one by one. I'll know the steps are small enough when I feel good about them. If only I had a year or 200 extra to complete all the things I have to/want to do :)
I deal with consistant intrusive thoughts and it is horrible so I’m with you there, and that’s just a fraction of the shit adhd sufferers deal with. you’ve really enlightened me about a condition I new barely anything about and I hope I can be a better, more supportive person to anyone dealing with this that I may encounter.
I was diagnosed at 6, took medicines that screwed me up until I started taking basic Adderall since I was 8, any other meds end up making me angry all the time to the point I've hurt people I love and broken up relationships that should have lasted years. I could never explain what was going on in my brain... until this video.... It was like looking in a mirror. This is exsactly what is happening to me right now, and I thought it was just because I am always piling one thing on after another, but now I kinda realize its more than that. This video made me feel more welcome then I've felt in a long time. Thank you.
Skyler Ricketts
You may want to look at videos or books by psychologist Dr. Daniel Amen. He has done scans of brains and found areas of the brain in ADD and ADHD that have low activity. He has found certain nutritional supplements improve the activity of brains which improves symptoms without the side effects medications can have.
This video has also really helped me because although I haven't been diagnosed, me and my family are pretty sure I have ADHD and it is really nice for someone to explain it all. Thank you Kim
I think I have thanked you for this before, but thank you again. I have cried each time I have watched this for describing my brain so perfectly and have shared it with so many people for putting into words how my brain works 1000% better than I can.
Inconsistency isnt the only consistent thing. Creativity and humour and interesting run on sentences are just as consistent. You are,as ever, excellent. I hope the mountain gets more managable and you get... better walking boots.... metaphors.
eYY - I also enjoy these things. Including the ADHD.
Also - just for clarificaiton ,this is perhaps the best description and relation of executive dysfunction that I have heard.
Thanks for making this and sharing!
Thank you for this video! I have ADHD and to manage it, you do have to be really aware of yourself. I really appreciate listening to others and their experiences. It reminds me that I am not alone in this.
I’ve recently realised I have ADHD, my entire life has just made sense! My almost 13 year old son is on the fabulous(!) 26 month waiting list for diagnosis, after being so badly failed by mainstream schooling. It’s gruelling. But, everything makes sense now & I’ve got a renewed sense of fight for both of us!
Over the last year or so, I’ve been contemplating whether or not I have some form of ADHD (in no small part due to a friend of mine who has pretty severe ADHD, who I’ll be throwing this video at). In my case, it seems not very severe, especially compared to other people. But then I think about how I’m 26 and have yet to get a job, how I’ve wanted to be an author since I was a wee lad and yet hardly ever sit down to write, even as new story prompts pop into my head regularly, and how I sat in my chair watching twitch and RUclips for at least 3 hours before I got up and showered like I knew I should’ve. Or the fact that I’ve thought that I should find a therapist for a few years now and haven’t done much in the way of that yet.
And while there are other factors that contribute to those things, it’s still good to watch a video and be like “Oh. Yeah. That. That makes sense.”
So thanks for making this video, and hopefully the both of us (as well as everybody else dealing with it) will get to a place where we’re more able to sort things out.
being on meds when they worked felt like my thoughts were suddenly a calm rippling stream going in one direction as opposed to the usual traffic in ho chi minh city situation
Yes, even after all this time public knowledge on ADHD is still so minimal, even slimmer when it comes to it beyond childhood. Thanks for making this video. It's important info to put out there.
thank you again! like the music one this one was really important for me to make but also nerve wracking. But the response has been so so valuable. Thanks for watching :)
This video was really helpful, glad I'm not the only one who experiences this type of thing. The thing with the thinking about making a cup of tea without being able to get out of bed I found really relatable, might not be ADHD, but something like that in my case.
I love Kim. Like I honestly don't know how anyone could have a negative opinion about her.
You know, I've been a fan of you for a while, but unsure why. But this is a very educated and British explanation of my life. Thank you for this, putting into words the grief and challenges makes it a lot easier knowing you're not alone with it. Thank you for the video. I'm excited for whatever you post whenever you post it. I have the same mantra lately, baby steps, the little victories, progress, that's the goal. You know you're capable of it, it's just a matter of figuring out how to (what essentially feels like) "tricking" yourself into doing it.
I really wish this video wasn't as relatable as it is. I never got diagnosed as a kid but looking back, knowing what ADHD is, I see all the symptoms in younger me.
I have these "buffer moments" a lot and when I started to analyse my behaviour in my early teens it scared me so much.
Every Day my mom said: "When you go downstairs bring your dishes and your dirty laundry." and I never seemed to be able to do that and for the longest time I just thought I was a failure but no, it's just ADHD.
I find myself at the end of the month needing to catch up on about 15 reports but instead cleaning the radiators at work.... because my priorities get muddled.
Glad to see you back on my Screen kim
:)
I was diagnosed with autism a while ago, so I'm definitely not neurotypical. However my lack of concentration and inattentiveness is insanely frustrating and tbh I'm getting sick of trying to approach it normally. It might be possible I have ADHD (based partly on executive dysfunction and also a few habits that might suggest that I have it) but tbh I can't trust any judgements I make rn since I have been prone to confirmation bias in the past. But my brother has ADHD and he's getting sent a questionnaire that supposedly tests how severe it is, so he's agreed to let me try it. If I score highly I'll probably try and look into it further, since I'm still quite young I'm hoping I can uncover anything that might significantly affect my life early on so I can work around them. Also, discovered your channel a while ago, genuinely one of my favourites now. You make great content, even if it's inconsistent. Cymru am byth, from a fellow welshperson who used to speak welsh but sadly doesn't any more :(
Oh boy, this right here? This is why I’ve been subbed for 7 years, with notifications turned on. Thanks for this video, Kim. It’s kinda funny, I’ve been dealing with a lot of the same stuff through my life, and I’m at the point right now that you mentioned of just getting rid of a ton of stuff I’ve just sort of carried with me for most of my life, and it’s been helping. I hope things continue to get better for you, but if you stumble here and there, it’s ok! We’re humans, and we’re humans with post it note rain, and the more we realize it and learn about how it works, hopefully we’ll be able to take control of it a little better.
Hi Kim, I just wanted to say thank you. I saw your videos a few years ago and about 18 months ago finally got around to finding out if I had ADHD. Last month well in to my thirties I was diagnosed and the chaos that had been my life started to make much more sense. Anyway, it was your videos and started to ring that bell that I should at least find out.
For the first time in a long time, I feel positive about the future and I am working on addressing the issues and getting the right support.
Thank you.
I just wanted to say thank you because this video was very helpful for me. A lot of my friends in the past year or so have speculated as to whether I have ADHD and for the most part I've been dismissing them. My brother grew up with quite severe ADHD and as a result I think my own perception of it has been altered, especially as I've found out that ADHD presents differently in males and females some of the time. This breakdown of your own journey with it has brought a lot to light for me, especially in how I see similarities in the symptoms you've expressed, and although I may not be formally diagnosed or looking to be diagnosed, I appreciate how you've helped me consider the reasons behind how my brain might work differently to others :)
I'm in my 50s... I have just watched this video... The last job offer I received was £225k p.a. and I turned it down as I had that decided I wanted to live on a below minimum wage... Analysis of the moment is key. I can still recite Astronomical facts and data (to 10 decimal places) that I learned when I was 8yrs old (n.b. I scored the highest 'Eleven Plus' score for a boy in the London Borough of Sutton in 1978), but I 'faff' and thus I might well forget why I need to put out a fire in front of me.
I have been married twice. The first marriage lasted 3 months....and the 2nd lasted 6 months. I am apparently hard work as logic trumps emotion.
I have never had, in the last 28yrs of driving, so much as a 'near-miss', (I drive FAST constantly, despite driving above-average miles per-year have not had a speeding fine for 26yrs.... I am HYPER aware of everything around me so NEVER get stopped, followed or 'snapped' by a camera).
I dropped out of the rat-race and c.4yrs ago, after working for myself (some would say 'destructively' for far below minimum wage...100Hrs a week for no discernible income...and, sometimes, on a liter of vodka a day), I decided to get a job again working for someone esle...
Despite having lived and experienced so much more than others (e.g. By some bizarre quirk of fate I've been on the receiving end of 5 armed robberies and have always fought back...and thus received 3 official rewards and 'certificates for bravery' which in the docile UK is statistically unusual to say the least!!), I was obsessed with applying for a job that was minimum wage. I saw a job and was taken on, there and then, at the interview. Within 8 months was promoted by the owners to become the most senior employee and to fully manage their business and represent them as "when I speak it is the same as when they speak" . Beforehand I had no experience of the nature of their business, nor did I have anything to do with the skills required in their line of work. However, after 8 months I was promoted above 'Heads of Department' that had been in the job for >15yrs. Why???
I have no idea why this happens to me. When 17yrs old I started at the entry level of a major UK brand, employing more than 100,000s employees and eventually resigned, after many years, as their top Principal Analyst. I had no more than 5 'O' levels and yet managed a team where he minimal entry level was 'Educated to at least BA level'... I ran a team of consultants, all with MBAs, and was QAing their work despite most of them being on £2k a day, (...and this was c.15yrs ago!).
I look at my fellow Humans and invariably all I see are bits of flesh that are pre-programed to respond as 'Any Fule Kno'.
It is a lonely life. I have nothing in common with anyone. As a consequence I have never coped with any more than a single social interaction at any time.
However... I 'see' and I 'experience' life on an acutely intense (albeit non-emotional) level.
Care? I don't know the meaning of it. I think I should. And I do fulfill the role of 'Caring'.... &, as always, my level of care is measurably more intense and productively caring than any 'normal' person might hope to muster (despite wearing their heart on their sleeve and claiming to be/being perceived by others to be "caring").
ADHD? Who knows? I am a (genuinely, without bragging) very high achiever that has always, and still, tries, tries, tries, to 'dumb it down' (constantly) in order to try and survive and fit-in/(cope?)...and it IS a difficult path to have to follow....
EDITED UPDATE:
Oh... In case the above suggests I can prioritise... I can do (for a while) if I employed to do so, as that is what I supposed to do, so that is the 'kick start'... As regards my own life...I've had no hot water in my house for >8yrs. It may be a simple button I need to press on my combi-boiler, though I think I have tried this. My last car had a battery that died within 40mins if I didn't disconnect it...so for 7yrs every time I stopped anywhere I lifted the bonnet and disconnected it...then reconnected it when I wanted to drive away.... Life is all 'tasks'. As mentioned I was a 'Principal Business Analyst' and was paid to break down a task into it's most efficient, logical, steps and in doing so saved organisations millions of pounds... But I can't 'decide' to sharpen a pencil that I'm using when it snaps in front of me and will sit there and make every excuse under the sun to get round just sharpening it... and yet I'll sack anyone around me for not sharpening their own pencil.
Thank you, I feel less alone. You described my life too.