Why I Can't Remember Things -- How ADHD Affects Working Memory
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- Опубликовано: 5 авг 2024
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Resource Links for "Why I Can't Remember Things -- How ADHD Affects Working Memory:"
dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2013.47A...
doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.121...
psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-5...
Barkley, R. A. (Ed.). (2015). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment (4th ed.). The Guilford Press.
Research Provided by: Farah Mahmud
Research Consultant(s): Patrick LaCount
Okay admittedly I went on way too long about Wondrium -- oops. I really love their rebrand 😂
Hey I found you from your Ted talk!
@@personoftheworld5364 Hi!! Welcome!
Found you on Ted talk, I realised I can't access medication for adhd from where I am. So I was wondering how you can recommend me going through your videos. My life is a mess
lol I laughed as you went into more detail about how liquids thicken while cooking during an ADHD video on working memory.
Classic! Thanks for your work. I can always relate!
Hey there! Do you recommend Wondrium....or? ;)
My most recurring working memory issue:
- need to google something
- pick up the phone and open google
- forget what i wanted to google
Exactly !! I always get distracted by the recommended articles 😅
The struggle is real
Bruh same
Yup!
SPOT ON! Same thing happens at work with using various computer programs... by the time I navigate to the right spot, I forget why I wanted to get to that spot in the first place. It seems to perplex my coworkers how it's even POSSIBLE for me to struggle with it as much as I do.... *sigh*
That's why I have 100 tabs open in my browser so I won't forget what I was looking for lol 😆
Lmao same, with multiple browser windows on each on.
Dunno if it will help yourself, but I've been kinda storing things on a personal discord server for myself. Not great at it as I have both an unorganized folder and multiple open tabs-windows still 😂
yeah i to, but then getting overwhelmed by the number of tabs and forget what i have open already and where and close everything and starts new :(
Yesssssss
Check out the Toby extension for chrome. Absolute life saver because you can name the group 😅
I use to do that till I realized...I never got back to 99% of them, once I hit around 50 or so I end up dragging like 1-5 tabs in their own window that I've actively been using and then nuke the rest without checking. xD
Honestly learning is exhausting with ADHD. I’m insanely curious all the time & I actually love learning. But with learning leading up to my inability to retain what I’ve learned, it’s honestly been..soul-crushing to say the least. I often ask myself what’s the point in learning/reading ANYTHING if I’m just doomed to forget it all the next day
I completely can relate to this. Makes taking test feel like doomsday.
Same here, I cant learn the same way the teachers want me to learn... Its not how I get good at things.
Omg, I can relate to this so much. I love learning new skills but it's so hard to focus on one..
I know I’m really late, but I wonder if you’d benefit/enjoy creating something like a second brain system?
@@meganfuentes3487please explain in detail about that system...
The more I watch things like this the more I realize just how much effort I’ve been putting into coping mechanisms for YEARS. No wonder everything is so exhausting!
MANNN!! Exactly!
"No wonder everything is so exhausting!" Oof, that hit hard and close to home.
Yes. 👍 Exactly!
I would like to reccomend u Elizabeth filips channel .Not any promotion 😊
@@Kingkids26 it takes me some effort and time to perform complex tasks, does this happen to you? please reply I want to know if I'm not alone?
Im on meds, but late night they just go off (of course). My wife was trying to tell me a story, I was so interested in the story but I just couldn't keep my mind on it, everytime she said something that reminded me of anything else, my mind went there and couldn't listen what she was saying, and I told her, and she said not to worry, and told me the story back from where i got lost... several times. I was really trying to focus, but trying to focus was also making me ignore everything and i was in Point A again, but she told me the story to the end. I love her 💕
Aww you both are lucky to have each other, god bless you 💙✨
I often have to stop a youtube video to let myself go to the end of the triggered thoughts otherwise I can't focus on the rest of the video.
I love that she had so much patience. I am secretly afraid people would get annoyed with me.
Fancy seeing you here! I'm glad you've got someone who loves and understands you like she does in your life, man. You're great, and you deserve awesome things.
You are a lucky man. She sounds lovely.
My boyfriend and I both read to each other. No official diagnosis for either of us (I'm going to seek help once I'm on my own health insurance, and he was told it was only borderline as a child) but both have the memory issue and I'm rather prone to getting distracted. He'll summarize whatever I miss and doesn't get mad about it! I also reread and clarify when he needs it.
I literally opened this straight away so I didn’t forget to watch it later
Same!
Haha ditto! 😆
Now I have to go back and watch it again because I skipped ahead to comments....
110% Me!!!
@@MrsJAC23 every damn time 🤣
I’ll put videos in “watch later” but always forget I put a neat video there and forget to look
I've never understood how people in action movies can remember so much detail about a robbery at a meeting. Like "Team 1 is going through the backdoor while Jim and me taking care of the front. Turn right at the entry, after 50 meters there will be 3 guards and blablablablablabla. Is everything clear?". And i like okay there will be doors, and... what?
I've always thought, if I enlisted in the military, even if by some miracle I get past basic training and deploy, I'd probably get my team killed in 5 minutes because I'd forget some crucial order.
ooo if you try to remember it as an image (map/movie scene etc) it might be able to help cuz then you’re only really remembering one thing in the end rather than separated bits of info!!
people can remember stuff like that?
@@user-uu5dc6wr6h I think to an extent it requires training but neurotypicals would definitely find it a lot easier lol
Me when someone explains a game to me. I just need to do or watch it to learn, explanations go in one ear and out the other...
I always get the, "Oh, you don't need to write this down." -.- I totally do. Even if I never look at the note again, it helps it get to my hard drive faster.
See also: “You don’t need to do this chore RIGHT NOW.” Except YES I DO
If I write it down than I miss everything else because I'm thinking how to write this down.
Best thing if a teacher or professor says/said that and then holds a verbal power point presentation you know he will put in the next text too. Like add this with generations who don't know how to shut the fu up you know you're screwed.
@@emilysmith2965 100%
"I think I know what I NEED to do"
When I first learned about working memory impairment in ADHD, I felt SO relieved. I honestly thought I was kinda dumb in some way because I couldn't even remember what page number I was told to flip to during class.
Finding out there was a tangible reason for my struggles was one of the first things that made me realize that maybe my ADHD brain does work differently in ways besides "having trouble paying attention."
I had the page number problem in church many times, when the preacher would say we would be in the book of so and so, chapter and verse. I would find myself getting to the book and the chapter, but that verse had shot off into the stratosphere, never to be seen again. I finally allowed myself to get to the parts i could, then ask the person next to me what verse. I found that people don't think any less of me for needing to ask for help.
@@mamasaidno1749 Yeah that exact kinda thing happened to me when a teacher would say what page to go to and what line # to look at (like for a literature class) and I'd start to forget exactly what the page # was after they said the line # and then while I'd be trying to remember the page #, I'd completely forget what line I needed.
And I'd sometimes miss song #s in church too, but I could usually get by looking at what # a family member had flipped to. 😅
This didn't really hit me until I got to this comment. I don't know why this one just basically smacked me upside the head, but now I'm kinda in tears.
@@RutabegaNG I was diagnosed as a kid and was lucky enough to (mostly) figure out what having ADHD really meant for me during college, and even I'VE had a lot to work through about how it's shaped my self image.
There's.. a lot of damage done by not understanding or knowing your ADHD. 😔
(That said, this channel is wonderful for existing and I point everyone I know who has ADHD or knows someone with ADHD here. The practical advice is great, but more than that, I hope it will help them understand themselves and possibly start to "heal" in the same way I did after I found this channel years ago.)
@@katetoolate234 I was diagnosed as an adult. Always through I was super dumb. In high school I self diagnosed myself with dyscalculia which also effects working memory that helped. Struggled a lot in uni had some non specific learning disabilities test done at uni showed I had terrible working memory, great comprehension but it was impacted by my processing speed😒. Ended up being told I had anxiety. Fast forward 15 years I have finally been diagnosed with adhd, high chance of also having dyslexia and if my country tested for dyscalculia I think ild get 100%. I think I’ve done well but it’s sad to think how different things might have been if only I knew what I was working against!!
Me as a kid: psh, Pokémon only being able to remember four moves at a time is unrealistic!
Me now: I wish I had room in my brain to remember four things at once. T-T
OMG I laughed so hard at this!!!
Man, y you gotta hurt me like this...
Well tbh if they'd been actively using the moves for awhile, seems more likely that they should actually keep forgetting the new move, then forgetting the move they knew so well?
Pffft.
me: MAGIKARP MAGIKARP KARP KARP
I took a writing class last semester and the professor just had us read our stories out loud to the rest of the class instead of sharing the actual writing documents. People finished reading their pieces and I was like, "Well. I think I liked it. Don't remember anything about it though."
ME. OMG writing class comments??
This is why i despise doing presentation without looking at the slides. Till to this day i still dont understand why my tutors doesnt let us look at our notes when presenting. Im good at presenting my ideas through writings rather than talking cos i have no idea what im trying to say
In my latest phone interview I had to read a pamphlet about the company's ideals to prepare for it and they asked me what I liked about it and I said, "I remember I identified with a lot of it, but I'll have to pull it up to get you specifics." I had read it, and I had identified with several things within it, much of it was a part of my very BEING, but for the life of me I could not bring to mind a single thing from the pamphlet.
oh my god, this is so true
Haha this happened to me
I've notice this year, that it helps a lot to have CC on when I'm watching something.
I focus more on what I'm watching instead of being distracted on thoughts and
missing parts of the story or information.
Agree. I do this every time I watch something.
I started doing this in the last year or so! I never noticed how much it helped me keep track until I was watching a programme and was struggling to keep track of what was being said! (I don’t have a diagnosis, but the more I’m watching this channel, the more I wonder!)
Oh so that's why I enjoy subtitles with whatever I'm watching 😯
Also helps a lot when the spun balance is bad… I’m looking at you, The Witcher.
it takes me some effort and time to perform complex tasks, does this happen to you? please reply I want to know if I'm not alone?
This is like when I'm trying to read a test question and am so focused on "I need to read this" that none of the information I read actually enters my brain
just had a test today i already practiced the question before but when i read something or think of something i forget a step in the middle ended up doing badly in test even though i understand the question
I didn't have this problem at school, but i do have it now.
I had to read this twice
Mood. Happened while I was talking with my boss and I couldn’t exactly stop her like “hey can I take notes while you talk?”
This is too relatable
I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten what I was going to say. And I’ll remember it later but then I’ve lost that opportunity to tell that person important information. It’s absolutely exhausting
Happens a lot with me at work plus I keep hiding the tools I need from the job
If you are short of AdderaII for your ADHD then get more at darkfax.com
No prescription is Required
….which is why I interrupt people and blurt out what I have to say (before I forget it)
Fr
@@cammie49 this!!
I guess everyone's working memory works differently, too. I can't hold onto a list of tasks to save my life, and I'll often have to ask someone to repeat a question so I can piece it back together, but I have no problem remembering my audiobooks. Even after a week, I just rewind a minute or two, and I can quickly catch up and remember what was going on.
Mental math, though? Forget it.
Also, don't read numbers off to me. I'll go into a stack overflow and reboot.
I wonder if events in books go to long term after a session? While I'm reading (especially if I'm only listening) I'll have to go back and re-read/listen occasionally, but once the session is over, the events are usually rock solid.
This hits so hard, I haven't been diagnosed but I recently started researching ADHD and so many things are resonating deeply, last year I worked as a seasonal waitress and I was made fun of and ridiculed for how bad my memory was when it came to orders, I would have panic attacks mid shift from the overwhelm of people asking me to remember five different orders at once, and they didn't understand why I couldn't do it.
I'm definitely going to see a doctor about it in the coming months, so many things in my life make so much sense through the lense of ADHD.
Hey how did it work out? Are you diagnosed now?
How did it go?
Hope you’re doing better.
Same situation for me, partners getting annoyed at me for not remembering every detail of their day and so on, i'm genuinely trying but its just not the way my brain works.
@@M_E_T_R_O__9 it takes me some effort and time to perform complex tasks, does this happen to you? please reply I want to know if I'm not alone?
Can’t remember how many times someone tells me their name and I forget it while talking to them. At this point I just call most new people dude or bro until I’m confident I know their name
Same here, bro. 😂😂😂
I never forget a face but names..? Plenty. I greet familiar faces I don't have names for with "Hey Stranger!" Which is a great way to chuckle internally at my poor memory, and seem friendly while being "ironic" about not remembering the person. It's been 13 years and the longer I go without learning the names of my church-mates the funnier it gets. I almost don't want to learn just to keep the joke up!
I usually give a disclaimer when meeting somebody that I will absolutely forget their name that way there's no expectation of me to remember it.
I learned a trick that works pretty well. Say that person's name three times as soon as you learn it. It can be hard to put their name in context immediately three times, but I also learned that just saying it three times in a row right away helps. It also helps if they have a good sense of humor, because saying "Lisa,Lisa,Lisa." shortly after being introduced can otherwise be really awkward.
@@Sypherz thanks man im gonna try this next time I meet someone new
The slot analogy of working memory with ADHD actually explains a lot. I always felt like I had to mentally squint just to try and get more information encoded into my head.
that's a good way of putting it, "mentally squinting"
very good one.. i'm like that with maths i always thought i just had dyscalculi but it seems it might just be an ADHD thing.. i defenitely mentally squint to try and do maths.. and even then i often end up losing count so i end up just giving up on the question and write a random number
Mentally squinting is my new favorite way to describe my head when I'm struggling
I almost spit out my milk
What does mentally squinting mean?
“Did anybody else need to rewind this video?” I did, several times...during this part of the video! I always do this with podcasts & videos, & feel like it’s just me much of the time.
I did because I was distracted by the pop-up suggestion. Had to go back and watch 3 times.
@@shuazu this happens to me quite a bit!
No, because I can hyper focus when I'm very interested.
it takes me some effort and time to perform complex tasks, does this happen to you? please reply I want to know if I'm not alone?
@@marisad292 it takes me some effort and time to perform complex tasks, does this happen to you? please reply I want to know if I'm not alone?
Oooh, it suddenly makes sense why I have always struggled with mental math. Doing problems in my head is a nightmare. I still count on my fingers. I feel less shame about this now. Thank you!
Ditto! I couldn't tell if I had dyscalculia or if it was a working memory issue from ADHD
it takes me some effort and time to perform complex tasks, does this happen to you? please reply I want to know if I'm not alone?
i legit just went into the kitchen and stared into the fridge for five minutes.
This can also be a result of how our brains compartmentalize. Our brains see doorways as separators, and a thought you had in one room can be erased by walking through a doorway, because your brain associated it with that room.
So that part isn't exclusively an ADHD effect.
I do that. I'm waiting for my brain to remind me why I opened it, or why I was in the kitchen, or why I stood up, or basically to recall anything from the past few minutes to which I can ascribe some sort of intent.
I just stood in the kitchen randomly in waiting mode because I had started the rice cooker and my brain got stuck. Mind you, the cooker goes for like 20 mins. I did nothing.
@@WhiteWolfDarkpaw I was thinking of that, too. It's really fascinating how it works. Pretty sure I learned about it through a youtube video. :)
thats good to know. i thought i was just weird haha. i often walk back to where i forgot and will remember works almost everytime.
'What did I forget?' it's my most common line!
Or… why did I come over here for
"What was i just thinking"
I most commonly use the phrase:"How did I already forget this she said it like 2 seconds ago"
Sometimes I say, "What did I just say?" lol
"I was doing something..."
Ahhh that feeling when you're listening to one of your favorite songs but you realize you got too distracted to enjoy it so you start it over and you get distracted again and you start it over again and you get distracted again...
Not sure if this was a working memory issue, but here's a fun ADHD story along those lines:
Once I was dating a guy who had two uncles that were not on speaking terms. They were a pretty close-knit family, so this was causing a lot of drama. After we had been dating for a few months, I asked him what had happened between the two uncles... flash forward 5-10 minutes and I realize I haven't processed a single word of what he's been saying. I really liked this guy and we'd only been dating a little while, and I was mortified to tell him I hadn't been listening to this very personal family story that I had literally *just* asked him about, so I just kind of nodded and went with the flow. We ended up dating for about two years, and this ongoing feud played a significant role in his family dynamics the whole time. ...And for two years I pretended I knew what it was about and I never had any idea.
I am going to send this to MY WHOLE OFFICE…i look organized because i need it to function.
Same!! Everyone at work tells my I look so organised with my lists, spreadsheets (EVERYWHERE) and the fact that I NEED to clear my desk every time someting is finished and cross the task of my list. They really don't understand that i need that to function because if I had to rely on my working memory with a desk full of unfinished tasks I would go cry in a corner and never ever come out..
I rewind videos by 10-30 seconds ALL the time! I feel like I miss stuff a lot or I don't remember how one thing they said a few seconds ago connects to what they're saying now.
I tell my students on day one that I process auditory info slowly and I struggle to retain it. I've been really lucky to have a lot of kids who are very forgiving of my ADHD struggles!❤️
Some times i sign out 2 times at my job as i am confused if i signed out or not becausei dont remember ! Doese this happen to anyone else please share your thoughts if this happens to you , do one thing twice cause you dont remember the first time ?
For me when I get Distracted in the middle of a conversation I zone out and completely miss what is being said. It’s like I turn my hearing off for a sec and can only hear my thoughts until I realize I’m getting distracted. Then I come back to the conversation but by then I already missed a lot.
Working memory is the memory that works while we’re working on working memory work.
I don't have enough working memory to read this sentence 😂
Lol
I love seeing your channel 😁 I get excited when both you amd how to adhd post
@@HowtoADHD I don’t wanna brag but I didn’t use any brain power to write that sentence.
@@jewels3846 I like hanging around in How to ADHD video comments. More people here to chat with. I don’t get lots o’ people commenting on my videos… yet.
When I'm stressed or tired, I lose even more memory slots. Which means I sometimes literally cannot remember the beginning of my own sentences by the time I get to the end, or my brain effectively gives up on trying to understand speech. It's one of the most obvious symptoms of my ADHD. My solution has been to keep a notebook on hand where I write down any important thought, idea, task, ANYTHING as soon as I can. It's not a perfect solution, but taking notes does convert auditory memories into visual ones.
It's also a huge relief to know that this IS an ADHD symptom. I had a professor once use this tendency as an example for why I should quit teaching - as I was a fifth year senior in his final education classes. I guess I was supposed to drop out and not inflict my weird problems on anyone else? We didn't know I had ADHD, but he was supposed to be one of the people teaching me how to teach a diverse range of students. Cute.
Some times i sign out 2 times at my job as i am confused if i signed out or not becausei dont remember ! Doese this happen to anyone else please share your thoughts if this happens to you , do one thing twice cause you dont remember the first time ?
Having an EXPLANATION for this is SO helpful, and also helps me recognize the coping mechanisms I used in school, for example; writing down a cue word for the question, immediately ignoring answers I knew were wrong, and going with my gut in 99% of cases. (This didnt ALWAYS work out - I often answered a question that was similar but not identical to the one asked - but it, well, let me pass as neurotypical.)
My memory was bad enough in school that I ended up consistent low level depression since it made homework and learning so hard and even harder when I tried college. Still at 24 I'm often frustrated with my working memory 🙃
mine's pretty terrible too. Makes studying incredibly frustrating...
Between poor Working Memory and poor impulse control to find something more entertaining to do..... studying sucks :B
I’m going through this exact same thing, honestly considering dropping out of Uni because my ADHD is so severe
If you are short of AdderaII for your ADHD then get more at darkfax.com
No prescription is Required
@@HowtoADHD This particular comment helped me a lot because I always feel incredibly guilty about having such a hard time studying when I'm supposedly quite smart. I read one line on a textbook and immediately forget how it started. It's so draining!
Oh, so this is why my brain thinks filling in two-factor authentication codes is a difficult task
This one hit me extremely hard. I have a meltdown and reagequit nearly every time...then have to come back 30 min later once I've relaxed. I cannot stand that sh*%
I am loathe to hand over biodata to companies in general, but the one-touch unlocking feature on the new MacBooks seriously changed my life. I guess we don't usually think about things that are "merely frustrating" as accessibility issues...but the more I reflect on my experiences with technology, they totally are. (I think about how stressful continually-new-fangled security protocols can be for older people with less general comfort with technology, as well...)
@@MarquisOfHartington On the subject of biodata, it's frustrating how many accessibility solutions come with massive breaches of privacy. Alexa and similar technologies also come to mind. I find the lack of privacy laws around that alarming anyways, but it's truly disgusting how disproportionately that affects disabled people.
@@kirathulhu 100%--I have had this same thought many times.
Enter the 4 Digit code here: 5 8 ..... 8am! oh shoot I forgot I have an 8am appointment! I need to call and cancel...cancel..oh no! I forgot to cancel that trial subscription to that website... website? Oh yeah I need to enter the passcode to this website! Here we go....
*Your passcode has expired click here to send another one*
I LITERALLY cant do those! I cant remember the codes long enough to enter them >_
I wish videos like this existed when I was growing up. But even starting at the age of 32, your videos have done more for me understanding and managing my ADHD than anything else, even more than Dr. Daniel Amen's books. You've been able to put into words so much of what I have always experienced and felt, and you know how to hold our attention.
Not only that, your sponsors are very ADHD friendly as well. I'm saving this video so I can come back and try out your sponsor after work (as I have already forgotten their name 😅)
I use my working memory in this way, and it works for me:
If applicable, I refer to the 3 first characters, then check them on what I've typed, then cover those characters with my finger. I then repeat for the next 3 characters, and so on until I've checked the entire number or character string.
Working memory is an important thing that I’ll have to work on. If I remember
Totally! I mean... What was I going to say? What were you just saying?
Id take some omega 3s to see if it helps my memory if I could remember.
This reminds me when I was in highschool and My friend said " youre the only person i know with a disorganized organizer"
Disorganized organizer. That’s me. I’m not tidy but I know where everything is.
I’m also an “imperfect perfectionist”.
I'm a mental health counselor and drug and alcohol with ADHD (Saw your TEDx talk about how you finally got your career started at 32--mine took until I was 37. I cried with you at the end of that talk.) I recommend your videos to SO many of my clients. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your hard work. These are astoundingly good. Very well researched, structured, well put together, everything. You are making a difference that I get to watch with various clients. It's amazing how helpful it is for people to understand these things about themselves, and find that self worth and validation of how they are and who they are. Thank you so much.
I just recently found your channel and knowing that there are people out there who share similar experiences or difficulties is very comforting. Thanks for your informative videos!
A lot of store seems to be placed on the ability to "multitask" these days, something I've never been strong at and often, I think, an attempt to off load more work onto people. What you are describing here seems really relevant to this and the so-called super power of hyper focus in ADHD.
Nicely put together and, as ever, a clear practical focus. You do such a great job!
I think you are totally right... I was just thinking yesterday how amazing it would be if more workplaces invested in providing administrative assistance for a great diversity of roles (not that it would ever happen between corporate greed and gov't "austerity"). I have known some brilliant teachers, for instance, who absolutely struggle with organisation; it makes their job so much more stressful than it has to be, and chronic disorganisation sadly does have an impact on students, as well. Imagine if there were people around at every school whose job it was just to collect forms, coordinate field trips, take stock of classroom supplies that need to be refilled, etc...
Wouldn't that be great? But the more that schools are forced to cut back to create "value for money" the less likely this is.
@@MarquisOfHartington My reality. I have always felt I needed an assistant to handle the administrative tasks. That would definitely take a way a whole lot of stress! But yeah...
You are right that more tasks are given so that less staff need to be hired. I've been working for 32 years and there has been such change. It's a combination of technology reducing jobs, higher wages costing businesses, the higher costs of rental/purchases of business space, and amalgamation into large corporations.
I straight off told my boss that I'm not a multitasker. I get confused and fail to distribute time properly when I have more than two tasks to do on a same day, if they're not properly time-boxed.
Hey brains - wear your helmets when riding bikes. If you think having ADHD alone sucks you won't want a TBI because trust me limited working memory sucks but having virtually none is worse. 🤣😭🤣
I was wearing a helmet and still got a TBI :(
For real, when I got a concussion it was so scary because I would forget where I was, what I was doing, what I was thinking....and this was a mild concussion!
Protect those brains, brains!
This exactly where I'm at!!! Are you taking any meds (adderall) for this? I know I have it ADHD but I could get by some what but now I don't know, feel like I need a push.
@@toobossforchuck yeah for sure, after mine I'd find myself putting something in the microwave, setting the time for several minutes, and then the thing would beep, meanwhile I'd be left thinking 'what was I just thinking about for those several minutes?'
What TBI????
Edit: nvm it's traumatic brain injury
I can't tell you how good it feels to finally understand WHY I always forget everything. I'll forget what I'm talking about in seconds if my thoughts are interrupted in any way, I always just thought I was overly-sensitive. I've never felt so understood :)
Just watched your first Ted Talk, I've been struggling with a lot lately and the more research I do the more I think I might have ADHD. Thank you for what you do and I'm sorry for the struggles youve had along the way!
There so many similarities between ADHD and brain injury impairments, it's kind of crazy
So I have a friend who has adhd and got a serious brain injury from a car accident. It took years to recover and she said that thankfully many of the brain injury coping methods were similar to her adhd coping methods.
I always think of the ways that brain injured people get frustrated easily and get angry as being so similar to myself.
@@djackio It's so great that your friend already had those coping mechanisms in place! Learning them from scratch is a bit of a nightmare
Did you know ADHD used to be called *Minimal Brain Damage?*
It actually makes a lot more sense *to me* to consider it a type of brain injury, rather than a purely "psychological/psychiatric" problem, as it's often treated.
I don't even usually tell people I have ADHD because it seems like everyone and their dog is suddenly an expert on how to "fix" my ADHD when I do tell them.
Instead I explain I have some permanent brain damage from childhood and they usually leave that alone.
Dr Nadine Burke Harris does some interesting talks on Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale and trauma (especially chronic exposure) as it relates to ADHD. Very interesting stuff!!
Trauma can be induced physically (injury, chemical exposures etc) and psychologically (abuse, neglect, etc).
Chronic exposure to trauma can wire the brain to constantly be scanning our surroundings for threats (very much like PTSD, if not a manifestation of it), which causes us to be constantly "distracted" from the non threatening things we're supposed to be doing.
I've had a lot of therapy over the years for the anxiety that comes along with ADHD, but trauma-specific therapies have been the most helpful.
I'm still extremely ADHD, but my quality of life is much better just by having the understanding of trauma how to deal with it in general.
Sorry for rambling. Not really...lol
@@MrsJAC23 I've found your comment very interesting! 🙏
@@MrsJAC23 Also found it interesting! Thanks !
oh my goodness, i really felt the "can you read me this number while i type it in?" line !! it's one of those things that takes me way too long unless i have a friend around, tbh. having to switch between finding the number on the card, reading a few, switching to typing, remember the numbers, type them in, and then find the number AGAIN, remember what number i left off on and where i need to pick up -- over and over -- and occassionally messing up and having to re-do the entire process. [womp womp noise plays]
that's actually the example i've given in the past when talking about this kind of thing, because it seems so small and simple on a surface level, when in reality it has So Many small, tedious, frustrating steps !
anyways !!! this is such an important channel, it adds so much to so many people's lives. also, i loved the ad :>
Yes!! That one simple thing has saved me SO much frustration.
This is the good part of knowing your keybord by heart, I can just type the numbers while looking straight at the card the whole time, not looking at the screen or my hands.
I still read it out loud as I go half the time though.
@@martelraykin MANY years ago I worked at a Hotel Switchboard & the numbers on the switchboard were in exact opposite as they are on a "regular" phone ! Challenging!
We use landline phones at work, and you get like 2 or 3 seconds to keep dialing before it announces to you that that isn't a real phone number. Our customer data puts phone numbers in a sea of data 🤯
I've been wondering about dyscalculia for a while. Numbers immediately leave my memory. What helps me is to say the number out loud. I remember the sound of my own voice saying numbers way more than the image of them. The order gets jambled in my mind.
I'm so happy that I found you channel. Watching you telling your story it's like feeling that someone finally could understand me. I had so much difficult back in school. I used to love math, but at some point, around 12 years old, I just couldn't quite understand math anymore as I used to do. I as lucky to have 3 great teachers (biology, arts and spanish teachers) that told me that they belived in my potencial and made me belive more in myself. Now, I'm a engineering and I'm so proud of my self and very happy about it. However, I still struggle with ADHD, but you give me hope and motivation. Tank you so much, from the bottom of my heart.
This has been me for the past year+ specifically in my new job, and it explains a LOT about how my attention is held. Thank you so much for laying it out in a relatable way
I literally forgot that I ate breakfast this morning and poured cereal then remembered wait I already ate breakfast
recently i made a coffee, drank half of it while doing stuff... then went & made another one - came back to my desk - forgetting i already had one 😑
@@Celeste-in-Oz oh no but Atleast u got 2 times the energy
this is me i am this
Lol I just get another bowl on purpose
I’ll do that with showers. I will take a shower then a few hours later I can’t remember if I took a shower today or not. Some days I take two showers.
Could u make a video about sensory issues in ADHD
The more videos I watch, the more I feel this may be the issue I’ve been struggling with. A LOT of the things mentioned as ways to cope and help work around issues (like working memory, putting doors in the wall of awful, etc) are things that I have been doing and figuring out for myself. Its been trial by fire, especially given the state of my house (😅) but its actually nice to see that even if I don’t have adhd (never been diagnosed) that these constant every day issues really aren’t personal shortcomings as much as they’re just extra roadblocks. Thank you. I’m going to keep watching and keep figuring out how to make life less hard.
I'm crying at how simple you make this explanation and how long I've been trying to find the right words to convey it to people. Thank you!!
THIS makes so much sense. Everytime I watch your videos I feel like my whole life makes so much more sense. Thank you for inspiring me to look into an ADHD diagnosis.
I am really relieved to hear that this happens to other people as well.
I’ve been binging your videos and I just wanna say thank you I’ve cried multiple times at them and you do a great job at relieving the pressure that’s been built for many years. I grew up being scrutinized for my adhd and I thought it was me too. Now that I’m in college I realized for myself that I have adhd and my appointment for medication is tomorrow! Thank you again for teaching me so much about what I’m going through!
Hey Jessica! my name is Leo and I wanted to give you thanks for your work, I just saw your TEDx talk about ADHD and I’m so related to your feelings and way of talk that I’m still in tears.
I got diagnosed with ADHD a couple a years ago, but I think that the feeling of not being understood and fear of getting hooked up on stimulants keep me out
from treatment. Right now I’m still a little scared, but my struggles doing my dissertation face me again with the condition at a point that I will be irresponsible not look for help, so tomorrow I’m going to the doctor 😁
Thanks, because your videos bring me peace in what to expect. I hope you keep shining bright always.
I don't think my working memory is impaired. I'd say it's actually probably pretty good, the problem is I think to much and to fast and push out important info >.
Yeah, and that's why in my previous career I was a successful simultaneous interpreter. Your brain needs to switch back and forth at an incredible speed, it's exciting, it's stressful so I enter hyper focus mode, and those constant switches are exactly at the speed of my brain, so my working memory gets filled -- and dumped -- real quick
Yes the hyper focus is a strong advantage for the right job and terribly miss understood by those who don't experience it. My job is heavily cad centered and i use music and youtube to limit distraction and encourage hyper focus. My boss was initially skeptical that they help me, but has 'caught' me hyper focused many times and coworkers have told me that he's watched me several minutes shocked that I was obvious to anything around me. He has since told me he doesn't understand how I do that.... my response was me neither 🙃 ...but I can tear through a drawing fast when it does 😉
@@alexlail7481 Wait, what's your job :O? Are you an artist?
One thing resonated about your comment is that I doodle, highlight, underline, circle, and write notes/comments on my work orders prompting my boss to ask why.... answer: because there's too much running through my head then later he'd ask why'd you do it that way?.... answer: I don't remember but it's important 🙂..... he says well change it to '____' .... okay, a couple hours later he comes in .... change it back to what you had that previous change doesn't work 🙃😉
@@alexlail7481 how do you avoid using RUclips for procrastination?
Man, every upload is like a calming and understanding hug. This was a really nice way to explain this issue. Rewatching to take some notes. Thanks for it! Great quality as usual.
Something I started doing to help when I lost track of what I am looking for or why I entered a room, as soon as I realize I forgot something, I stop and say out loud, "Where am I at? What am I doing?" It flips some switch in my brain that almost always works to remember what I was doing or what I was looking for.
I realized I forgot to apply for my exam tomorrow that I actually studied hard for, and it left me devastated (by no means is this the only time that it had happened), but seeing your video in my feed about working memory - I felt heard, Jessica. I want you to know that when I'm feeling utterly alone, angry at myself, not understood by my family, friends, or partner ... I go and rewatch your videos. I listen to the Fish Song and I scroll through your videos until I find the topic that I struggle with. And I get to feel like it's okay. I want you to know, that your channel has been one of the few things that has kept me clinging on. Thank you, Jessica, and the wonderful team behind How to ADHD.
This explains why I can't remember 10 new names when going out... people can get so upset when you don't remember their name after they told it once :(
I can relate! I have found that it helps repeating their name back to them, while I look at them. That way 1) it repeats the information, and it actually have to pass (somewhat) through the brain to do so 2) gives me a longer time to memorize the name and 3) has the added bonus of a change to get the name correct if I got it wrong.
That being said I still forget names sometimes even of friends. ... I lost my train of thought.. anyway I hope something useful can be found i what I already wrote :)
Openly admitting that you keep forgetting names and asking them again as soon (and as often) as is happens is a massive game changer. Give it a try.
I have trouble remembering one new name :/
For me, if there isn't subtitles with a video I'm less likely to remember what was said
Does anyone’s thoughts (obsessive or intrusive) impedes their ability to focus? Or is it just me?
Absolutely!
100% x
Yes
Yes, it's a "better living through chemistry" moment for me when that happens because if I really cannot focus I will take an anti-anxiety medication (prescribed to me). It really helps me cut out the extra "noise" in my head so I can focus.
As a high school teacher, this makes a lot of sense as part of why I have trouble keeping track of everything my students tell me and ask me! I just discovered this channel and I absolutely love the informative content you are giving us, thank you!
fk your timing was perfect. I swooshed out for atleast 20 seconds and then you talked about rewinding before I was going to rewind
How do you navigate group discussions? A "slot" of my working memory is focused on making appropriate eye contact with the person who currently speaks, another "slot" is being used to not jump into someone else speaking but start speaking soon enough when he stops (most of the time this is unsuccessful, how in the world do you get a chance to speak in a group of people when whenever the speaker stops, someone else starts??), and I CANNOT write things down because then I can't pay attention to what is being said while I'm writing.
Yup.
Thank you for writing down my biggest struggles. One on one I can talk like a champ. Any more and I can't find a way to make myself speak. I cannot comprehend their conversation fast enough to make and meaningful input on time. I end up standing their awkwardly and quietly.
Dunno if my brain's actually an ADHD brain, but it likes making multiple lists. Two's a good number. On one, you get down the input - things people are telling you, just the keywords. The other is for output - things you might want to say when you get the chance. It's okay to say, "Hang on, I missed that, can you repeat it?" Just be prepared: if you're taking notes, you might be asked to make them presentable and sharable later, which may take some extra work on top of what it took to get it into your head in the first place.
That’s the biggest mood.
@@DarkGloComics It's more like, if I try to make one list, I end up with (at least) two, but I understand if that still ends up useless... sorry for mouthing off so ignorantly.
I just found your channel and I’m literally tearing up… I’ve known I’ve had adhd for a long time (I always thought it was add because I didn’t think I was hyper) and literally every comment, every video, instantly explains and reinforces everything I’ve been trying to figure out and tell people about myself for so so so soooo long… I seriously have tears of joy right now
This channel is great. I keep learning about problems I always knew I had but had never put into words, at the same time as I get a possible solution or two.
this just happened to me when i walked in the kitchen still cant remember what i was supposed to get
Or we bring everything except the thing we were looking for
This can also be a result of how our brains compartmentalize. Our brains see doorways as separators, and a thought you had in one room can be erased by walking through a doorway, because your brain associated it with that room.
So that part isn't exclusively an ADHD effect.
If you are short of AdderaII for your ADHD then get more at darkfax.com
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Yeah, liminal spaces like doorways cause working memory issues even for NT's; what hope do we have? ;_;
@@iditrirajanI always have doubts that did i close the door or not , did i tap out in train station or not , some times my job requires that i count items on the pallet once i count, than immediately forget what was the count and than i count again .other times when i learn something new than i doubt myself am i doing it the right way? i immediately forget doese this one happen to you ?
I love this woman so much and how much knowledge she has! She changed me and made me understand my ADHD so much more ❤❤
I would love to see you collaborate with someone to talk about how childhood trauma affects attention and working memory. Disassociation is a real problem, and it crosses over with my working memory issues and ADHD symptoms.
People with ADHD are so creative and kind. Also your voice is very calming and you explain things very good. Thank you
This is me. I can really only remember a max of 4 numbers from a string of numbers and that's if I try really hard and the amount of times I set things down and immediately forget them....
it's wierd because i can't remember the important ones.. but the unimportant ones like wich specific bus i was on or what specific metro car i was on ( for example: metro car 5433 or metro car 5309) but when it comes to things i HAVE to remember i'll just forget.. another thing is maths.. i cannot do them for the life of me.. i even have to count out the simplest of questions on my fingers.. if you were to ask me what is 8+13 i'd have to go from 13 and then count that 8 up on my fingers otherwise i just won't know
@@litchtheshinigami8936 No I totally get that sometimes I remember super random and unimportant things easily
Also I really struggle with math as well
You are MY people! 🙌🏻
Nice! If you are taking requests, I have problems with organization, especially because I juggle too many things. 'How to Organize" is always nice, but 'How to Find Things You've Misplaced and Put Them Where They Can Be Located Again" would be even better. This goes for electronic files as well as physical stuff.
This is my biggest problem , It is really hard for me to just put everything in its place if i don't or i get distracted just follow my mess eventually you will find me
i feel like i got really lucky with this because my personal living space is really small. if it's an item i can see myself using within the next week/month, i put it generally somewhere where i can see/spot it. it's extremely messy, but at least i dont lose too many things
i love how working memory was something i was thinking about my ADHD and immediately watched this video when i had time 💜 thank you for this topic!
This is so comforting :( I was recently diagnosed so i’m still discovering what is within adhd besides what we’re told, i always struggled with my memory and thought it was my fault! so yeah still learning on how to navigate in this new world and information :)
I once read a question, and then went to write the answer, and realised I forgot the question.
it takes me some effort and time to perform complex tasks, does this happen to you? please reply I want to know if I'm not alone?
Finally! Someone made a video on this ❤️
Thank you for not putting the Wondrium ad in the middle, that would have made this painful to go through.
Thank you so much for putting in the time and effort to create this channel revolving around ADHD! For a long time I refuted what doctors said to me about me having adhd. I thought it was just a convenient excuse for me being lazy, undriven or potentially just to not smart enough. But thankfully I've recently recognized that it is indeed a true thing and that there are ways to deal with ADHD to make it less of a problem for day to day life.
I can easily say that you now have an additional permanent subscriber and a frequent watcher of your videos (cause imma need to watch these numerous times to get the full message 😜)
This is the hardest thing for me, I've got like half a byte of ram in my brain
What a perfect timing to upload this video! I am studying biology futhermore specifically about the brain and its components. I am struggling to remeber al the terms and information. Perfect timing to remind me I am not dumb
Since I started to watch your channel (and some other ADHD youtubers' video) I am feeling like this is what I always needed from adult people, like, real adult people, who figured out how to deal with adult life and can explain how things work and what can help if I fail to overcome certain problem, not like " you just should reach this result".
And also the explanation of what is happening and why makes it so much easier to come to the solution of the way how to do something I was failing to do
Thank you so much for what you are doing
And thank you so much for saying "you are not the failed version of normal, you are different, and you are beautiful". These words makes me cry.
(sorry for the mistakes, I am not English speaker)
I’ve been recently diagnosed and your videos have helped me SO MUCH in understanding and identifying a lot of what I’m struggling with. So many responses to the “A Peer Asks” posts have made me find so many great tips and tricks that have improved my quality of life in such a short time after the diagnosis. The graphics are awesome and really keep my attention😂 thank you!!!
Welcome to the ADHD Club!
Telling your audience to turn off notifications in a video on RUclips takes some real integrity.
It’s so easy explained and a great help for us to understand - thank you for your work!
I appreciate you making videos like this so much it helps a lot
Thanks for this. Very easy to understand and well presented.
Also, heads up people who have ovaries, when your estrogen drops later in life it makes working memory worse. I had to get on birth control to make my ADHD meds work better.
This is so true for me! I’m fast approaching menopause and my short term memory has been going downhill for several years and now my working memory feels like it’s made of Swiss cheese. Thanks for the BC tip; I’m going to look into it!
Estrogen drop day is the worst day of my month. I can physically FEEL the serotonin come back once my Estrogen starts building back up. Fingers crossed the birth control I'm on will help with that 🤞
@@malaineeward5249 it did for me, I don’t take the sugar pills though, just skip the “period” entirely since there is no medical reason to have one.
@@desereetouchet9294 mine doesn't even come with placebos. Just 3 weeks of real pills and instructions to skip a week of pills to have a period if you want.
4:30 - That's how "roux" or "rous", pronounced "roo" (it's French) works. It is a base for the Mother Sauces. Italian tomato sauce is water evaporating. But yeah. Roux is awesome.
This was an eye opener... thank you. I've been very stubborn on using list or incorrectly use journaling as
a distraction. Or incorrectly... and just felt insecure or guess jealous how everyone around me can remember and why cant I... still struggling even my list are all over the place. Anxiety hits and I feel frozen. The CPU metaphor was spot on.. Thank you again, its step forward to handle my lost mind. Its comforting feeling I'm not alone
I greatly appreciated this video, as it explains A LOT about my "issues". Following conversations is difficult for me, with some free-flowing dialog. It's been a missing ingredient in my research. THANK YOU!!! It's, obvious that some of us (of the entire population) have more working memory slots than others. I am curious (maybe another "symptom") about how the realm of any balancing of working and more permanent storage works. Keep up the GREAT WORK!
As a kid I had simultaneously the worst and beat memory. I was always the only kid in psych class who could recall everything in the previous lesson, and I was always the first person to memorise their script in drama. But remembering something like my keys or what my mum wanted at the shops was the hardest thing. It was so confusing to me as a kid
Thank you so much for this video. I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2016. As I have been getting a bit older, I have been worrying that my increasingly poor memory was an early sign that I'm getting Dementia in my 30s. I'm so relieved that this is common in ADHD brains.
Thank you so much for this video. I was diagnosed with ..... oh, wait ... sorry, I already said that.
it takes me some effort and time to perform complex tasks, does this happen to you? please reply I want to know if I'm not alone? i also think i will develop dementia
Hi there thank you for making these videos. You have helped me beyond what I thought. I am a disabled Veteran now a musician trying yo make my way with my crazy brain, Thank you
I just want to say you and your videos have made a difference for me. Thank you.
Although I am not ADHD diagnosed (I'll be visiting a therapist soon - thanks to your channel), I tend to forget things a lot. And I have tried keeping journals and planners but I keep losing them because I forget where I kept them. Please help!
I don't know what I'd do without this channel!
I have to take notes as I read or draw pictures that illustrate the dense stuff. Synthesizing the information or putting it my own words or even just figuring out which lines are most important to highlight on a page of dense info really helped me in college. My other trick was to create a couple test questions for each page…so basically manipulating the info into a multiple choice question or true/false question etc can be the fast route into long-term memory storage.
This is one of the most helpful videos from you I've seen...and I've watched a lot of your videos!
Switching my focus to ADHD as an executive function issue (I think there are 8 of them?) demystifies it dramatically.
The best thing I've done it's to watch your videos it really help me to identify my ADHD problem that soon I'll treat.. thanks you so much and I wish you success. Thanks again !