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 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!!
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.
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.
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
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.
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’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.
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
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 😂
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 💖
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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 :)
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! :)
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 ^^
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 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 :)
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.
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
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 !!!
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)
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! :)
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.
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!
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.
Good video Kim. Of course, I switched to different tabs about five times during the video (because fuck my brain), but I got there in the end and learned much about executive dysfunction.
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
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
Wow, and here I thought having depression sucked. I can't even imagine living with ADHD. I have so much respect for you. Being able to go through all of the struggles that come with day to day life and still find the time and ambition to maintain a RUclips channel.
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 ❤️
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.
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!
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
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
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 ❤️
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 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.
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
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.
10:05 That's it exactly. That is why we treat patients (& children, but...that is a slightly different topic). But it is also why a lot of the things you mention are missed: their is still an education pairing contextualization for the diagnosis. And even clinicians forget about it beyond that, quite often. I'd like to hear more about why medications did not work in the end? Maybe for the 2023 vid? 💜✨🌹
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.
This actually makes a lot of sense for me... Didn't click until you said late all the time and projects never finished. I've got four novels all missing the last few chapters on my computer... Turns out this may be something I have to look into. Thanks Kim, this was something I really needed to see. Good luck with the buzzing in your head... I think of mine as feathers, I get distracted by the different thoughts stroking past my brain, turns me into a general whirlwind of chaos.
I actually shed some tears watching this. I have many of these symptoms. I just wanna congratulate you on getting through your driving test all those years ago, and passing because my brain just can't cope with the overloading sensory info. Age 36 now and I've quit learning (after 5 years of trying SO hard). I sat with your sis recently in a pub and we spoke about dyspraxia, dyslexia and adhd. I think I'm a complete mash up of these things. This video is frikken brilliant and I'm sure it will help so many people on a lot of levels. X x
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. 💕💕💕)
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.
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 😊👍
Too be honest, I was just wondering why this video popped up in my feed. But then I remembered I've seen you once in one of Evan's videos. What I wasn't ware anymore is, that there is actually a person that can talk faster than Evan :-) But I'm proud of myself that I understood everything (English is a foreign language for me) and my brain is now fully alive and thrilled :-)
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.
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 ❤️
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.
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.
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
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.
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 remember watching your videos when you were starting out. In my opinion, it was during the golden age of vlogging. Watching this I was teleported back to being a teenager. I particularly remember the strong sense of community at that time and how positive it felt to be witness to and participate in. When YT wasn't just about plugging merch and collaborations weren't an excuse for YTubers to stir up drama or shit on people. It felt like the highest subbed people were true role models and their content was fresh and inspiring. But then we get older and our heroes have either moved on to other things or they're not heroes anymore. It's strange to think back and realise how much of a mark RUclips left on my teen years, and I know that there is still amazing content being produced on RUclips (evidenced on your channel). I watched this video, smiled, and now I feel sad.
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.
Have missed your videos but who new you’d come back with such a banger. Well worth the wait. This has been the one explanation I’ve ever seen that fits the jumble of junk in my life. Hope you’re doing good and keep doing good!
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.
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’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.
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 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
hello kim! i've suspected that i've been struggling w adhd/executive dysfunction but i couldn't quite understand it. your analogy really helped me and i totes cried a couple times watching this!! I don't know if this would help/if you've tried it, but after a workout I find my brain is always quieter and i feel like i'm closer to what a "normal" brain would feel like, and that's a good space to be doing writing and boring work! (although i'm using that rare window of calm to write this comment. ) i've been watching you since your sarcaschicks days. i've always loved how creative and witty you are, you felt leaps and bounds ahead of me despite us being the same age. it's good to see you back, though take all the time off you need. i wish you the best! :)
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 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.
I’m sending this to a friend I’ve tried to explain ADHD to and write “I dare you to watch this”.
Thank you!
look at u popping up in my subscriptions. what is this 2011?
Hearing someone else talk about the same symptoms I've had for so long
.. is like poetry.
At 5:04 is the perfect analogy for this. We literally have no proper filter to help sort this stuff out.
Gotta love that hyperfocus! Always useful at the most random times for the most obscure task.
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.
The shock of recognition just made me cry. Thank you.
OML it's Kim. She be living, and not just on twitter
😂😂😂 At a glance i read "FML" haha
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
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.
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’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.
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
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 😂
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 :)
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.
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
Gosh. This video made me cry. It hit the nail on the head.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
So Informative! Thank you! You’re an inspiration, keep on keepin on🤩
:)
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
The most relatable video I have ever watched, thanks for describing a lot of the things most people ignore about our ADHD!
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
Ive been watching you for so long and the inconsistency is normal like we all know this
Thanks for taking the time to talk, its always good to here from ya- doesnt matter how long its been
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 :)
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! :)
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
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!
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 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 :)
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
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.
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
Thank you so much for this. Sometimes you just need to hear you're not alone
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 !!!
« I'm not lazy, I'm just drowning all the time » on a sweatshirt please.
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)
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! :)
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.
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!
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.
Good video Kim. Of course, I switched to different tabs about five times during the video (because fuck my brain), but I got there in the end and learned much about executive dysfunction.
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
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
Wow, and here I thought having depression sucked. I can't even imagine living with ADHD. I have so much respect for you. Being able to go through all of the struggles that come with day to day life and still find the time and ambition to maintain a RUclips channel.
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 ❤️
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.
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!
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
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 is such a good explanation ... You seem to be queen of mundane but weirdly accurate analogies also
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
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 ❤️
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 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.
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
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.
10:05 That's it exactly. That is why we treat patients (& children, but...that is a slightly different topic). But it is also why a lot of the things you mention are missed: their is still an education pairing contextualization for the diagnosis. And even clinicians forget about it beyond that, quite often.
I'd like to hear more about why medications did not work in the end? Maybe for the 2023 vid? 💜✨🌹
Fab video, Kim. I was so happy when I saw your face in my subscriptions
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.
This actually makes a lot of sense for me... Didn't click until you said late all the time and projects never finished. I've got four novels all missing the last few chapters on my computer... Turns out this may be something I have to look into. Thanks Kim, this was something I really needed to see. Good luck with the buzzing in your head... I think of mine as feathers, I get distracted by the different thoughts stroking past my brain, turns me into a general whirlwind of chaos.
I actually shed some tears watching this. I have many of these symptoms. I just wanna congratulate you on getting through your driving test all those years ago, and passing because my brain just can't cope with the overloading sensory info. Age 36 now and I've quit learning (after 5 years of trying SO hard).
I sat with your sis recently in a pub and we spoke about dyspraxia, dyslexia and adhd. I think I'm a complete mash up of these things. This video is frikken brilliant and I'm sure it will help so many people on a lot of levels. X x
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. 💕💕💕)
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
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 😊👍
Too be honest, I was just wondering why this video popped up in my feed. But then I remembered I've seen you once in one of Evan's videos. What I wasn't ware anymore is, that there is actually a person that can talk faster than Evan :-) But I'm proud of myself that I understood everything (English is a foreign language for me) and my brain is now fully alive and thrilled :-)
I love Kim. Like I honestly don't know how anyone could have a negative opinion about her.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
This video is amazing. Not only is the message brilliantly constructed, the frenetic nature of the delivery adds to the insight into your world.
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.
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 remember watching your videos when you were starting out. In my opinion, it was during the golden age of vlogging. Watching this I was teleported back to being a teenager. I particularly remember the strong sense of community at that time and how positive it felt to be witness to and participate in. When YT wasn't just about plugging merch and collaborations weren't an excuse for YTubers to stir up drama or shit on people.
It felt like the highest subbed people were true role models and their content was fresh and inspiring. But then we get older and our heroes have either moved on to other things or they're not heroes anymore. It's strange to think back and realise how much of a mark RUclips left on my teen years, and I know that there is still amazing content being produced on RUclips (evidenced on your channel).
I watched this video, smiled, and now I feel sad.
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.
Have missed your videos but who new you’d come back with such a banger. Well worth the wait. This has been the one explanation I’ve ever seen that fits the jumble of junk in my life. Hope you’re doing good and keep doing good!
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.
Its great to see kim again there videos always make smile and dont for get to "maybe make more videos in december" everyone
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’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.
This video is fucking amazing - the best description of ADHD I’ve ever seen. 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 :)
So entertaining AND educational. I really did not have any clue what ADHD really meant other than what it stood for, so thanks Kim! Keep trucking on!
so proud of u u beautiful human
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
:)
hello kim! i've suspected that i've been struggling w adhd/executive dysfunction but i couldn't quite understand it. your analogy really helped me and i totes cried a couple times watching this!! I don't know if this would help/if you've tried it, but after a workout I find my brain is always quieter and i feel like i'm closer to what a "normal" brain would feel like, and that's a good space to be doing writing and boring work! (although i'm using that rare window of calm to write this comment. )
i've been watching you since your sarcaschicks days. i've always loved how creative and witty you are, you felt leaps and bounds ahead of me despite us being the same age. it's good to see you back, though take all the time off you need. i wish you the best! :)