I'm autistic (possible ADHD too), and this is why I love talking to people with ADHD. They follow me when I suddenly branch off mid-conversation, and I follow them when they do it. It makes the conversation feel so...alive. And a lot of people with ADHD speak at x1.5 speed, which is great!
Agreed! When you have a friendship with someone who speaks in circles & you can both follow thoughts & drop thoughts left & right, but then jump right back to the ones you dropped 2 days later, it's just awesome! The people around you look at you like you're nuts. But when someone communicates like you, then you don't have to worry about if they are thinking you're interrupting too much, or why you changes the subject... its just great!
I told my grandson recently that the reason why we take medication for ADHD is because attention is like the water from a garden hose. When we're unmedicated, it's like having your thumb over the end -- the water goes all over the place. When we take our meds, we remove the thumb and then we can direct the flow to where we want it to go.
Yep, so much misinformation about hyperfocus as a ‘superpower’ when it’s really just hoping the hose will go where you want just because the wind is slightly blowing that way
One of the weirdest things about getting a late diagnosis of adhd is realizing that most other people don’t think like this… and revisiting the many moments in my life where people have looked at me like I was an alien and finally understanding why I got that reaction. It wasn’t in my head. And my fear of being rejected for being weird or annoying or flaky or over-the-top isn’t actually irrational social anxiety- it is a reasonable, learned response to living with frequent social rejection and/or being misunderstood.
Hah. YES! The shock of realising why others don't think like we do! I have a high IQ so I assumed everyone else was too stupid to notice the bird (or whatever other thing was distracting me) -- "they're so mediocre that they can only focus on what the teacher is saying but I notice every time my neighbour clears her throat or the bird outside... must be thanks to my superior brain." Well, now I know it's "thanks to" my ADHD disability. Still, in many (not all) ways, I quite like how my brain works; at least I'm never, ever bored.
You absolutely nailed it with your comment. It could have been written by me (I was diagnosed at 58). I remember a boss once laughing at me in a business meeting. I wasn’t trying to be funny. I asked why he was laughing, and he said “Just the way you think about things. It’s so different.”
@@legiontheatregroup I also recognize that I have been fortunate over the years to find lots of people who appreciate my different way of looking at things, and I am so grateful for them!
Yes indeed, I think it's common with late diagnosis to develop layers of anxious self-defensive masks to cover up or explain away our weirdness, or go the other way and be fully scatterbrain joker so nobody expects much. After decades of confusion as to why you can't meet others ( or your own) expectations it's a challenge to lower your defences
I was having so much suicidal thoughts 10 years ago as a teenage, also suffered severe anxiety and mental disorder. I got diagnosed with ADHD, spent my whole life fighting ADHD. Not until my wife recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment changed my life for better. I can proudly say i'm totally clean for 6 years and still counting. Always look to nature for solution to tough problems, Shrooms are phenomenal.
Hey mates! Can you help with the source? I suffer severe anxiety, panic and depression and I usually take prescription medicine, but they don't always help. Where can I find those psilocybin mushrooms? I'm really interested in treating my mental health without Rxs. I live in Australia don't know much about these. I'm so glad they helped you. I can't wait to get them too. Really need a reliable source 🙏
YES sure of mycologist Pedroshrooms. I have the same experience with anxiety, addiction. Mushrooms definitely made a huge huge difference to why am clean today.
I'm so very happy for you mate, Psilocybin is absolutely amazing, the way it shows you things, the way it teaches you things. I can not believe our world and our people shows less interest about it's helpfulness to humanity. It's love. The mushrooms heals people by showing the truth, it would be so beneficial for so many people, especially politicians and the rich who have lost their way and every other persons out there.
I think ADHD is also prevalent in comedians because it lets you quickly make associations in your mind that turn into jokes. For most of us they are just intrusive thoughts that distract us, but for comedians they can be developed into material.
The ADHD thing isn't what makes me one of the more funny people in my social groups, but it helps. Half the time I get a laugh when I didn't intend to, and I've had to learn that that isn't always ideal, but I used to just act as though I intended it to be funny, and might even forget that I didn't. But the more narrow or sometimes nonexistent working memory can often lead to saying things that seem hilarious because they are ignorant of some contextualization of the situation. That can definitely be harnessed for comedic material, and I imagine writing things down would be really important.
ADhD (inattentive) has always made it easier for me to be silly, goofy, creative and to improvize. However, there's a lot more to it. Being sensitive made me susceptible to bullying. Bullying leads to anxiety. Anxiety leads to more issues. Then again, I couldn't even get into drama school. My grades weren't even that bad, but I had no planning or support. Really sad to realize how many years I've lost, while also looking at everyone doing comedy and entertainment successfully. I don't want to be bitter. It just happens. I wish I could just go out and try something but the past few years of my life had so many negative events, that I reached a new low of fatigue. It feels hopeless.
@@norsefrog I think it's important to understand that having supports around you that help you get past road blocks and understand your challenges are going to be key to any successful strategy or case study of successful ADHD people. A person can overcome a lot of it through discipline, but to be successful with ADHD without supports, is going to require a lot more effort and discipline than for someone without these types of dysfunctions. I'm so grateful to have finally gotten around to watching Many of Dr. Barkley's lectures a few years ago, because it has completely transformed my understanding of this disability that I didn't even accept as a disability until I watched his lecture of normal executive function development compared to the ADHD experience, and it really drove home how much of a disadvantage I've been at for over 40 years. Finding supports when you have none isn't impossible, I went without for some 15 years, but i've learned it's almost always as simple as asking, and accepting that it is only yourself who can change your outcomes, so you're leaning on your supports for encouragement, a sounding board, an emotional dump etc, and then it will still fall to you to take the action when you are ready. I don't want this to get too big, but if I can offer some encouragement, it's that you aren't alone in your experience, i've spoiled an absolutely insurmountable amount of potential, and there is no going back. And I've got a couple of rock bottoms in my past that forced me to look harder at myself, which I'm also grateful for. I'm not going to tell you that things will magically get better by raising your eyebrow, but what I will say is that if you invest in yourself, and you invest in your relationships with no expectations other than to do right by yourself and your relationships, to be true to who you want to be, that the dividends are priceless. And only the choices and actions that you make will be what reflects on you, not your mistakes, not your difficulties, everyone has those in varying levels. What defines us is how we stand up and respond to them. i'm not sure how to direct people to support resources, but I would suggest the ADHD subreddit, lots of posts you can look at historically/search, and lots of strong support and empathy or frank constructive feedback, available via making a self post. last pro tip, sometimes I pretend that I'm backed into a corner, ride or die, life or death situation, because I operate best in high stress, high pressure conditions. I enter a flow state very easily under certain types of high stress.
I'm a 911 dispatcher. I don't think I'm better at my job than people without ADHD. But ADHD is less of an impairment in an environment that forces me to focus and where impulsivity looks like quick decision making. All I have to do is show up on time to work - that's the hardest part. And then the rest of it is so interesting, novel, dynamic, that it flies by without me realizing I've missed a lunch sometimes. I don't have to plan ahead, everything is happening RIGHT NOW, or 30 seconds from now. No organizing - just typing what's happening, really, and being fast on computers is easy because of the computer addiction I've had for over a decade. That said I'm fortunate enough to have ADHD without anxiety/OCD/depression. Other common comorbidities might make the job quite hard. Might be a decent career to look into for the ADHD women especially. I know I could never do a physical job like a policeman, fireman, etc, I'm too short and small and not strong enough. Pays substantially more in urban environments, try to find a department where the dispatchers are included in the cop union, better benefits.
Great interview. I wish more people talked about the lack of sense of continuity with ADHD. Going to the gym, making life changes, resolutions of any kind, really. The impermanence of will and sentiment... It's hard because the Me that so badly wanted to make X change or do Y thing simply disappears to time, and im left simply with the unticked boxes that remain on the to-do list of that thing and those unticked boxes alone can lead to self-torture. This resonate with anyone else?
Completely. I never thought of it as a lack of continuity but that is what it feels like. I feel committed to this plan... 8 months later...(or far less) ..that was a terrible plan what was I thinking? this is what I want...8 months later... yeah that is my life. A series of inspirations that run out of fuel and become weights that I didn't/may never finish. Everything is a phase, what is the point? whatever I do I will end up hating it. Bad day today. My day off too, I suppose if you're going to melt down, your only day of rest is the day to do it. :/
100%. I can only really hold focus on things which are mechanical, or tactile... Even so, nearly all of my personal interest projects have gone unfinished. Some of which were started in the late 1990's. Every few years I might work on one of them for a few weeks. Then as soon as some obstacle pops up. I lose momentum, and pivot to doing something for someone else. I'm either urgently "putting out fires" for someone. Or getting absolutely nothing accomplished. The self inflicted shame that has come with the to-do list of the un-ticked boxes has often times been overwhelming, and debilitating.
Every person I knew at Uni (especially girls) with a shopping list of mental illness diagnoses like anxiety, depression, OCD, bipolar type 2, BPD, eating disorders eventually went on to get diagnosed with ADHD. Getting medicated for ADHD completely turned all their lives around in terms of functioning and mood.
I absolutely hate background music in restaurants and shops and public spaces because I cannot tune out from it, so I'm trying to converse or shop while I'm also fully listening to the music. Same for having a radio going or trying to speak to someone while there is a conversation happening close to you. Hello from South Africa Trevor!
Oh funny, I'm the opposite! I constantly have to have background music on. The best way I can explain it, is that one half of my brain needs to focus on what I'm doing, so the other half needs to be distracted by the music or show so that it isn't constantly interrupting my focused half with side quests😂
Yup. If there is external-source speech (in music-singing or in regular speaking) that my brain hears/discerns, I CANNOT prevent myself from switching over to that external source. Whether it’s reading, trying to speak, or listening to someone, other speech interferes 100%. Other noise & movement categories also are distracting, but if reasonable, they may not distract my brain 100%.
It’s doctors like Russell Barkley that illuminated ADHD for me. I had a lifetime of behavioral problems in school, always disruptive behavior, combined with learning issues, I was not in a great place come high school. I focused on sports in high school, got a scholarship to college, and when college came around I was diagnosed with adhd. My sport ended up getting dropped by the college, and this combined with the diagnosis was such a powerful thing for me that I felt I could do a “hard” major even though I was so behind due to ADHD… 10 years and a disregard for difficult things later I have a PhD in theoretical physics. Folks that didn’t know me back then have no idea…
@@calisongbird before the physics path (high school and before) I had no adhd medications. I got a 3.1 gpa in high school (mind you I tried very hard). Once I got to college, I took medication =O this definitely played a very important role in my success in college. I graduated with a 3.83, and a 3.91 in physics courses. I got somewhere between 70-80th percentile on the physics GRE, and went to a top 30 graduate school for theoretical quantum physics. I stopped taking the medication in graduate school and still managed to pass the comprehensive exam (50% of my cohort failed out due to this exam). The reason I stopped was because I was experiencing extreme public speaking anxiety while I was taking it while teaching. I had to teach a lot, so I just stopped taking it. I believe that some permanent neural pathways developed from my usage of the medication during college and that carried on graduate school and now, so I still carry some of the benefits from the medication even though I don’t take it still.
Wow! This is very inspiring and is giving me hope. Question, did you not struggle to find the right medication since there's such a variety of pills available and they provide different "lengths" of "better concentration". I'm in college and I've been recently diagnosed with both Depression and ADHD and my struggle right now is finding the right combo of pills that is both effective and within my budget. Also; are there any other Doctors/youtubers you would suggest I watch to better understand and manage this whole thing?
@@sikelelafaku297 I think the best thing beyond UA-cam is actually a real psychiatrist. I took SSRIs in high school (prior to adhd diagnosis). This helped with my depression, but the root cause of the depression was weight cutting for high school wrestling. When I got to college, I ate whatever I wanted, stopped with anti-depressants, and started taking adderall (as prescribed by my psychiatrist). Before adderall, my psychiatrist and I made sure I was okay going off the anti-depressants. I felt some dizzying side effects, but no depressive episodes. I started in smaller doses with adderall (10mg, no extended release), and I eventually experimented with how larger and larger doses and extended release felt (all within the guidelines of the psychiatrist). I ended up taking max prescribable dosage of adderall XR (extended release) for my college years (I believe it was 30mg). Nowadays, you have vivance and all these other types. I think you can experiment with them, but start with small doses, and make sure to go through a psychiatrist. These things can really make you feel bad if you go rogue. If you want someone to listen to, Russell Barkley is good, and Andrew Huberman’s UA-cam videos about adhd medication is also very good.
The biggest blessing with being diagnosed is being able to advocate for yourself when you run into people who want to belittle/disrespect you. You don’t want to be treated like you’re special because you have ADHD but you want to be understood and be treated with respect just like others expect to.
I loved the explanation that it’s not a lack of attention, it’s an inability to control where your attention goes. I often get lost in thought during a conversation. The most embarrassing thing is when I ask the person a question, and they start with a long, rambling answer, and my wanders so that I don’t even hear the answer when they finally get to it. What distracts me the most is my phone. I may go to my phone to check the weather report, but I get distracted by something else, and after 15 minutes I put the phone down, walk into another room, and then realize I still haven’t looked up the weather. Sometimes it takes 3 tries to get the weather!
Similar…watching a program on tv and find myself rewinding several times to catch a moment in the show I missed. Crazy thing to me is that it is always at the same point of the show. And when I finally realize what I’m doing I laugh at myself. At times I’m my own comedian.
@@vspartnerI did that last night, trying to pay closer attention to a particular moment in a short video that went too fast. It was toward the beginning, and by the time I restarted the video, I had already lost sight of my intention, and three times the moment passed AGAIN without my attention to that particular image. I gave up at that point.
Yes, I really enjoy that well known people with ADHD are speaking more openly about it--helps to shed all the confusion, myths and misapprehensions about how someone with ADHD struggles. Knowing is so damn important and when I was diagnosed at age 43 in Dec 2022 it was the most cathartic experience of my life--to finally understand why my anxiety and depression of 30 years wasn't properly treated despite me seeing psychologist and psychiatrists off and on since I was in high school. It ALL started to make sense, all the screw ups all the abandonment, feeling out of place, etc. It sucks to have lost a lot of years buried under a million unfinished projects and damaged relationships, but now that I know and can contend with my distractions in a better way, I haven't really been depressed in almost 2 years.
I’m in tears. 60 years old, undiagnosed and untreated unknowingly, struggling my whole life. I excelled only because of my intelligence, but had to struggle twice as hard. Trevor is so intelligent and so spot on it made me cry. I always feel like nobody understands. I need help. I don’t know where to get it. 😥
So true the bit where they say we are lazy drive me insane we are working twice as hard as them allllllllll day . Also constantly second guessing people reaction to us.
There is a USA group who print a newsletter I think it’s called CHADD I am 61 but I was diagnosed with in my fourties’.my mother was subsequently diagnosed with ADHD. So my sons diagnosed first then me then my mother.
It’s very disturbing that many doctors don’t BELIEVE in ADHD as though it’s a choice ADHA has more data than many other conditions. You wouldn’t deprive a diabetic of insulin. I believe ADHD should have a name change to reduced dopamine disorder as that’s the problem are synapses are not connecting as we don’t have as much dopamine as others. I am Australian and the highest medal you can get is a Victoria cross only given to soilders for extreme bravery,while at the war memorial in Canberra I read the actions taken by VC winners .they all had adhd for example one was rushing into a fox hole with only a knife and a gun and disarming a machine gun and 7 Germans.nobody with out impulsivity would do that.
Not surprising from Trevor at all. This is his standard MO. Intelligent, honest, humble authentic sharing of his life experience and ongoing learning life journey. I encourage everyone to listen to this interview in its entirety. Anytime he speaks, he is simply a gifted communicator
I realized I have ADHD in my 40s. I can look back and see how it has affected literally my whole life. The best thing the diagnosis has done for me is that I no longer have the self-loathing I used to have. I have compassion for myself.
You've got this!!!! I was born and raised in Eastern Europe where ADHD isn't even an option for diagnosis in adults. I moved to Canada and got a diagnosis of AuDHD at 35. It has changed my life. After literal decades of being ping-ponged between shrinks who'd straight up tell me "stop complaining, you're fine" I am finally feeling good. Turns out, I didn't have mood disorders or generalized anxiety, I just have a neuro-spicy mind. After decades on the wrong treatments, I've come to find that all I needed was 5mg of Vyvanse in the morning. They don't even make such low doses, I have to split my capsule lol. It feels so rewarding, after a lifetime of desperately trying to advocate for myself, to come across a fabulous psychiatrist. For the first time in my life, I'm ok with myself and am even starting to like myself. Which is something I'd never get to say and actually mean it. You've got this, stranger!
When I was at school I ended up with depression because I simply could not piece together how much effort I felt I was putting into organisation and just failing. School teachers would tell me I was lazy because I didn't do homework, while I was one of the most enthusiastic students in class. They would say "just write it in your diary", which I forgot every single day, and I forgot that I should check when I got home. I was devastated, but would somehow manage to pass by freaking out right before exams. I was the only teenager buying books about organisation, and it just was not happening. That plus the emotional disregulation meant I had suicidal ideation every time I forgot my keys for the house. The only way I managed to make life work was by using anxiety and shame. It's so obvious to me how depression and anxiety become co occurring conditions with ADHD. The world is scary and distressing when your brain is so unreliable for no apparent reason. The diagnosis gives me an explanation - it's a massive help.
THIS. The sheer effort I put into organisation. How much I had to actively try, and even then, fail pretty badly. The disappointment I was to parents, teachers, people around me. The speed at which I picked up on larger concepts, branching ideas, my knack for improvisation and critical thinking and seeing connections. Useless because the education system I was in prioritised rote learning and fixed memorisation of large swathes of content to be regurgitated, that I had no patience for, despite me KNOWING that I wasn't stupid. The years it took for me to realise that working the way society wanted me to work wasn't working, and I would have to figure out an alternative FAST or I'd fail so hard I'd end up homeless or depressed (which I was close to being, badly). The knowledge that there were people like me, that there might be an explanation for how and why I felt so alienated growing up is massive, just like Trevor said. It changes and shifts everything into perspective.
Thank you. I'm a 68yr old female and just diagnosed with ADHD. I'm so good at masking after over 60 years I don't actually know when the symptoms are present and actually I don't know who I really am anymore as my whole life feels like its been one big lie. So watching videos like yours is really helpful to my learning journey into me,
Im a woman and i just got diagnosed about 3 weeks ago. Ive been diagnosed with depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and (i dont think its an official diagnosis) have had trauma induced severe depressive episodes. I notice so many things about myself that i thought were just things i mess up because i suck. Turns out my depressive episodes are really adhd burnout. Theyre a lot shorter now that i know how to care for myself properly and that theres actually a way out other than waiting to feel better
My husband and I have been married for ten years. He was diagnosed with ADHD two years ago at the age of 69 after a year of marriage counseling going nowhere. He takes aderall which helps but it’s still very frustrating for both of us. I don’t know how he managed all this time or if our marriage will work out, but hearing Trevor talk about it helps me understand that I can’t take his distractions personally. It’s just so hard to have a simple conversation with him, let alone an important one. Thank you for this video. For all of you who have children that show signs of ADHD, have them tested so they can start treatment at a young age. I think that may help them not to suffer in adulthood the way my husband and the ppl who love him have. ✌🏽🙏🏽
I'm so glad ADHD is being talked about more. I had it for decades and did a lot of reading about it, but nothing described what it was really like to have it. It wasn't until I happened across Jessica McCabe's YT channel, "How to ADHD," that I started to understand how it had affected me all my life. My life makes SENSE now - what a relief! Keep talking and sharing, people. You're making a real difference!
You making reaction videos to other folks who discuss adhd is very helpful. Celebrities often have such a large reach and often are the only time people hear about adhd. It would be great to have a someone analyse their advice.
Hope you do more videos like this. It really helps illustrate your knowledge of ADHD in light of what people experience with ADHD. I find content is in either academic/speaking event format, or someone with ADHD sharing their experience. This one brought it together well. Thanks
One person I have always been fascinated with and I’m sure has ADHD (although he’s never said so) is Jackie Chan. I read his 1990s autobiography and how he described constantly being in trouble at school and how the Chinese martial arts school he went to was a better fit, and I thought “yes! Schools need to have much more activity!” In his 2nd autobiography, Chan details how that “school” was more akin to a decade of abuse and slavery. Reading about his career as a martial though, I can still see the ADHD. He talks about one time when his cast and crew insisted on taking a rest day, while he suffered from the boredom. I still think that Rick Riordan gets it right when he says ADHD evolved to create the sentinels and warriors of the human race. We needed people who are alert and “distracted” by a noise that could mean danger. I like to think of ADHD now not as a disorder but as evolutionary mismatch because of our overly sedentary lives.
I kinda think of it as we are supposed to have a night watch for the tribes. They would stay up late, need to be alerted to noises and anything out of the ordinary, they may need to fight at a moment's notice. They could go on hunts for days and would return and have to clean the animals and have them cooked. Now we force those people to get up early when they're wired to stay up very late, be sedentary at a glowing screen for 8 hours just so they can get food and housing, and this leaves those people chronically tired, depressed, and feeling out of place because it's "easy" for everyone else to do those things.
@@aurograce2983 Oh absolutely! And it's not just humans. Noise pollution in the oceans is hurting animals, light pollution is messing up birds' navigation. I think ADHDers are maybe more "in tune" with needing to be outside in the wild? I remember I'd been tutoring English in Japan, setting my own hours, walking a LOT. Then I moved back to the US and got an office job and it was TORTURE. I felt like a tiger trapped in a cage! It's like--have you read Prince Harry's book Spare? He's so ADHD, although the royal family would never let him get tested. He talks about being out in the bush in Africa, and you can just hear him come alive.
I love how I was prescribed an anti-depressant and later, SSRI with no one picking up on the underlying cause. Took a Tinder date with a clinical psychologist who fortunately picked up on it to finally receive an accurate diagnosis Cray!
Thanks for the share. That is so interesting. Id love to hear how the conversation went ... If you're willing to disclose? Do you still talk to them now?
My diagnosis was crucial for me. I suspected and self diagnosed but I needed a professional to tell me. It cost me a fortune but it was worth every cent. Now things make sense and so does most of my life. I'm still grieving and trying to find my way but at least I can now see the path
omg the algorithm also deigned to show this to me yesterday, great to hear your chiming in on the effectiveness and ease with which trevor communicates his struggles
When I was in school I thought I was dumb. I couldn’t remember the assignment and either lost my homework. I just accepted that. Luckily someone convinced me that I must be an artist of some sort since I don’t use the other part of my brain much so I became a hairstylist and a very good one. At the height of my career and had clients lined up to get in for weeks. I had an appointment book and would look at it everyday in the morning to know who I was doing that day. I was so good at cut and color that my clients put up with so many cancellations and I was always running late which made my clients think that I was fabulous! When I was too distracted and messed up a color they would say how brilliant I was at whipping up a new color. For some reason I could remember formulas I used on clients. I remembered every color without writing it down. I’m 64 and I’m just starting to realize that my depression and anxiety has come from having ADHD and OCD. The only reason I’m finding this out is because I’m a grandmother of 3 and my daughter said she doesn’t want to be the mom I was, always late, never following through. The shame and quilt I put on myself made me try to make up for it by over promising things that I wanted to do but just couldn’t! So I would drink to numb the pain. I was always the happy funny talented mom hairstylist, always had great stories. Now I have to figure out how to not do that to my grandchildren. This is such a sad disease. The good news is that I don’t drink anymore and I’m educating myself on how to move forward in the third part of my life.❤️
I saw the Noah interview when it came out and it stuck with me. So happy to see you covering it, not only to validate what he said and my takeaways, but so that I could hear it again and retain it better. I’d love more of these videos, collecting interviews with successful people talking about their ADHD. It makes me feel better about having ADHD because I have extremely high aspirations for myself.
Rory Bremner's documentary ADHD and Me switched me on in 2017. comedians, being great communicators and thinkers, and so often ADHDAF, are the perfect means of insight ..
Once you take ownership of any purported illness, then you actually believe you have it. i think adhd is bunk. I might have it according to my latest husband and my doctors and ex bosses, but i refuse to believe I have anything except what I need to have a good life, and guess what, I do have success and I can deal. . I struggle with noticing everything, blurting out my thoughts during conversations and in meetings at inappropriate times, get anxious at weird smells, can't stand loud music in stores, yet love live concerts, have hyperfocus and exceptional detail oriented skills. I do start things and rarely finish crafts and hobbies, but at work and school I always finish first, finish well, and finish ahead. if I like something I read or hear or see I learn everything about it. I ace ever single exam I take. always. these things have made me successful. at age 64, semi retired, if this is adhd, then I say it is what made me a success and a super smart person!
He also has an uncle who is bipolar. When Ye was being vilified for some things he’d said in an interview, Trevor did a very thoughtful segment on The Daily Show about bipolar individuals and how people interact with them and regard them. It’s probably still somewhere on UA-cam.
Neurodiversity is almost always genetic. Real travesty that society doesn't help take measures for boomers (or anyone really, ofc) to get tested and treated. We still have a LONG way to go. Just a few decades ago we were so, so far behind in psychology and more.
I just think it's so wonderful that he feels comfortable enough with himself to share something so personal. I didn't know until recently that he was divergent. Throughout his career I've considered him to be one of the best comedians I've ever seen, having master control over an audience and being able to stay connected to the present moment. Would never have known that he had trouble concentrating. I still think he's a brilliant mind and a great entertainer. Kudos to you, Trevor.
The two times in my life when ADHD was really unbearable was when it was paired with panic disorder and under eating on a keto diet. When I had panic disorder, my ADHD caused me to be hyper aware of my bodily sensations and feelings, which caused me to think that every odd feeling was a panic attack coming on. Which caused a panic attack. And when I was on keto for 3 years, I became hyper focused on my heart beat for 2 months. I thought I’d go crazy. Couldn’t sleep. Every waking moment I focused on my heart beat. Which made me control my breathing. Which made my heart rate speed up because we tend to over compensate the breathing. Which then caused anxiety because my heart rate was going up. As soon as I ate a mango, it all went away like magic. Instantly. ADHD can be a super power, but also your nemesis.
I also recall reading that ADHD brains require more sugar than nuerotypical brains, so the keto diet may have been denying your brain really needed glucose!!
Cognitive reframing and getting deeply in touch with your ANS instead of being in an antagonistic relationship with it can help with these things, beyond controlling it via focus, just fyi for anybody suffering through this same extremely uncomfortable experience. Adrenaline and glucose are not the only methods your body has for fortifying focus, though your body has maybe forgotten the others due to years of dependence on these other substances, typically due to an 'atrophied' mind/body awareness. Yoga and tai chi are both extremely useful practices for those who suffer from this kind of 'othering' and dissonance with their own ANS; eg, try alternate nostril breathing and really interocepting through your nasal cavity and lungs and heart rate. You and your ANS should be very good buddies, looking out for each other... humans are such goofy animals, we forget that we're made outta stuff and components. Don't forget to be your *whole self* folks, all the time.
I suspect keto caused your anxiety that made you focus on your heartbeat and it wasn't the ADHD in particular that made it unbearable, although ADHD comes hand in hand with increased sensitivity. Keto is really unhealthy long term, as you now know, particularly for women, as it messes with your hormones, massively increasing stress hormones and therefore anxiety, leading to anxious behaviour such as obsessing with your heartbeat
I was diagnosed at 52… and it was bc I was seeing behavior in my 6yr old and my spidey sense was saying ‘ADHD?’ So, I started reading up and thought hmmm this feels familiar. My husband refused to consider our son could have it and accused me of “projecting “ …So I got myself tested and the results were striking… and undeniable. Getting that diagnosis lifted a curtain on so much self shaming and started to let the light in a bit. The diagnosis gave me the space to let in self compassion…I’m still wrestling with how to manage it …but a least now i understand what I’m dealing a bit better. I’m less at war with my brain and that has been a mighty big win.
Hey, I have come from the exactly same place. I am thankful to the psychologist at my child’s kindergarten that when discussing my child’s behavior had given me some good reads on neurodiversity. It completely changed my life in most positive way.
Man, my diagnosis saved my marriage too. We used to argue about me not doing things or forgetting things or “not caring” about things, not paying attention, being secretive because “I don’t know” when asked “what are you thinking about?” Now, it’s more or less a running joke in the house. “What are you thinking about?” *both together*: ”velociraptors”😂 Knowing and understanding is arguably the most important and most impactful aid to living a healthy ADHD life.
Glad you finally got the help you needed! I’m wondering if i have it as well. How did you realize you had it? How did it affect your life and what did treatment look like?
Trevor Noah sharing his struggle with ADHD openly made me realized I might have had ADHD my whole life, then I stumbled upon your speech and I checked off all the symptoms you mentioned in the powerpoint, then I decided to read your book and eventually got myself tested, now I am medicated and feeling there is hope in life. Thank you for what you do.
I suspect comedy works well for ADHDers because sudden and unexpected pivots are a big part of it. With regard to depression: there have been studied that show the link between learned helplessness and depression; in some respects they are the same. Learned helplessness can be induced by placing an animal in a situation where it is unable to deternine which course of action it needs to take to navigate a situation. Given that a big part of my own experience with ADHD involves the difficulty of sorting relevant information from irrelevant details, developing a sense of learned helplessness seems like a solid route to my own depressive issues.
@@sharonvaldez9059 I have no issue reading words. It’s understanding/retaining what I’ve read. It’s like I read the words but don’t seem to do it in like sentences or paragraphs… I also have trouble explaining things to people. I see thoughts/ideas more in a picture form. I’m a terrible speller. Numbers ugh don’t get me started. I see it know what it is, but when I try to say them out loud they are mixed up.
Thank you!!! From a mom of autistic son with severe ADHD. But also i think i may have it as well. I will watch the video of Trevor. Thank you again for your support, knowledge and helping us who are dealing with this traumatic situations.
Yes! I saw this video when it first came out and was so grateful that someone was able to verbalize what I too had experienced with depression. I just wish it had not taken more than twenty years to understand why the treatments for depression were not working sufficiently. I now understand how it has impacted the other (undiagnosed) individuals in my family...which has only added to my CPTSD. Unfortunately...very few people truly understood this disorder until the last second...and as you have suggested...most practitioners are still poorly informed. Thank you for continuing to provide insight and understanding to those of us who struggle with the challenges that arise as a result of our ADHD.
Great find Russ. It’s extremely difficult to explain ADHD in a concise way…especially in a way for others to understand. I could spend hours talking about what it is. but that’s not useful. This is a great example of useful.
I remember trying so hard in school and just didn’t get it. When it came to naming all of the NHL players on all six teams before expansion was mot a problem. Player stats, no issue.Noah was so bang on, thank you.
I'm glad you found this, Dr. B. Earlier this year, I sent the clip to several friends, my child's school head of SEND, other mums of ADHD kids because I thought it described the experience in an engaging, clear manner (although I didn't love Trevor's appreciation of Gabor Mate's book or of Ketamine). I'm far from a fan of Trevor Noah's American work but he is clearly bright and insightful so even the manner in which he describes his ADHD can help combat the stereotype of ADHD people being stupid or "not deep thinkers." I've always heard that many comedians are actually quite depressed in "real life" and now I wonder if that's actually because so many have depression-born-of-ADHD.
I was misdiagnosed with depression, when it was actually ADHD, sleep apnea, with a dash of autism thrown in. My metaphor for ADHD is: a room full of TVs on different channels at different volumes, medication gives you a remote control to turn some off or at least mute them. That goes along with synaptic pruning. When someone gets a TV, they get rid of the old one, the ADHD brain just collects more TVs without getting rid of any.
Medical field ADHD here. This condition helps me consistently when in the emergency department or when the ICU is crazy. I'm keeping minor attention to everything at once so I can respond quickly and effectively with that lower baseline dopamine so I actually enjoy it rather than getting stressed from all that dopamine becoming adrenaline!
Nearly 90 and through UA-cam like this video I am beginning to understand my ADHD self. The bird at the window sequence. Here's mine. I am nearly 15 and in a large multi school’s choir practice. Big town hall, multi level stage and I am on high level. We are stopped for the conductor to give instructions and I notice the orchestra packing their instruments away, fascinating. Suddenly I am brought back by a baton tapping conductor telling just me off for inattention. The whole choir had to stop singing because the packing up of cellos and violins had caught my attention. Red face time for me.
That example from Trevor about the water situation in LA - copper etc. is perfect. That is my life - up to and including today. Wow, can't believe how well that was demonstrated!!
This is VERY helpful. I miss parts of conversations in part due to hearing issues, but also am easily distracted. I see this in my wife as well who I sometimes have to ask to focus on the topic at hand when her thoughts wander away.
Thank you for these insights via Trevor. When he talked about going down the rabbit hole with the shower incident, well, that could’ve been me. This was an affirmation. Thanks again!
I love this so much! For some reason, it does provide a sense of relief to hear someone else describe their experience with ADHD and realize we are not alone in our attention span life challenges. 🎉
@@mdp_lady well there are some that do that as well and they're the ones I'm trying to bring different perspectives to. If I can use someone they like in entertainment to relate to myself it sometimes helps. Some will never understand and that's also okay, they just need to know the consequences of not respecting us as people like they also want.
The part where he said the diagnosis is more important than the treatment hit home. I’ve told people my monster has a name and a face and that makes it more real to deal with. It isn’t all in your head, you’re not an awful person. It was such a relief. I tell everyone who I get close with. My thoughts wander during discussions, but I find doing something during helps a lot. Eating is the top one so far, but having another task helps too. Playing very mindless games and letting them know I am paying attention sometimes works out (for me, not always them). My new one is cleaning. Whenever my mom vents to me, I tell her to follow me and just start cleaning something. Not only does she release this super stressful aura about her that winds me tight, but the cleaning gets that extra energy out as fast as it’s coming in 😂. Plus she’s body doubling for me at the same time. I’ve done it with friends on the phone too. Cleaning is just mindless enough for me to follow along, but requires just enough focus for me not to interrupt a lot and lets me listen. They feel better, I feel helpful and something I haven’t cleaned in months do to being over whelmed is taken care of 😂
This is so similar to my experience (and my own conclusions) that it's almost spooky. I could go on at great and tedious detail about how, and why. But I won't.
Thank you for the video Doc, Could you possibly share a video discussion where you discuss career options for adult ADHD? I’m an ObGyn and find I’m most attentive in theatre, doing surgical procedures. I find this environment where I thrive most from a concentration perspective, yet juggling various patient complaints in a clinic for example seems to be more of a challenge. Taking notes and external cues (and lisdexamphetamine) help a lot, but I think a discussion explaining the reason for the flow states and attention variation in an ADHD mind could be helpful to myself and many others managing their ADHD. Thanks again for your discussions, your videos are very helpful in understanding ADHD.
A good way to rephrase the "bird tapping on the classroom window" analogy would be to say that people with ADHD can't "turn off" or "lower the volume" of the ability to perceive distractions: Imagine you're driving. You are very intent on staying focused on the road and your environment, but you also have a toothache. And a terrible itch on your back. And a mosquito buzzing in your ear. And a hard lump in the seat that's digging into your bottom. And someone is calling your cellphone repeatedly. And any of these distractions might suddenly flare up at random, or even all at once. A neurotypical person might be able to ignore most or all of those distractions, many times unconsciously. But a person with ADHD is forced to perceive them at all times at nearly full capacity with no way to mute or mitigate them other by avoidance or medication. Hyperfocus is like rolling the dice to see which one of those perceptions is front and center for your brain in the moment. Perhaps not all distractions/tasks are weighted equally, but the fact that your brain rolls the dice every time a distraction comes up means we have to wrestle with ourselves every time, or we don't even recognize that we need to wrestle with ourselves and end up neglecting important distractions.
100% spot on. I have never been diagnosed with ADHD, heifer mommy 9 year old daughter has it. I feel like she got it from me, because I suffered all these scenarios of lack of concentration.
Dr. Barkley, Please, please, please have a sit down with Trevor Noah! The number of people who would benefit from watching a conversation between the two of you would be endless. 💙✌️
Many thanks Russell! Trevor Noah's remarks are extremely interesting. I was diagnosed with depression in my 20s, and ADHD in my 40s. My internal experience didn't disaggregate them into nosological categories of 'depression' and 'ADHD', all I experienced inside was "I feel bad". I've been working on trying to understand how ADHD has exacerbated and to some extent, instigated my depression; if I can conquer ADHD, then I think my depression would be greatly improved. In short, on a similar journey to Noah :-) Your videos have been a great help, on this journey.
I think sometimes ADHD people DO notice the bird more than other people, not just get distracted by it more... because they were less locked in in the first place. I've often been the only person in the group to notice an eagle or osprey or something else interesting overhead. Maybe I just like birds though.
I also like birds and the biggest danger is when I'm driving. My husband keeps having to remind me not to stare at birds and to look at the damn road 🤣
It’s not just the bird in the window, it’s the lawnmower engine running, the cars rolling by , the color, model of car, the make of car and the history of such maker and then you look around, you’re the only one left in class by yourself. That’s what ADHD does for someone who’s live with it! 😢
The part about diagnosis being just as, if not more, important than treatment is SOOO true. It transformed my perception of my difficulties from something diffuse I just thought I could improve if I tried hard enough, into something tangible that I could read up on how to wrestle with.
Always brought a recorder to class, because I would tune out for half of it. I am an expert at all the events that happened outside, birds, the trees, other people’s habits….I did have such little free time, because I had to “reattend “ my classes later. That was before I was diagnosed.
Thank you for drawing my attention to this interview. This ADHD part was impactful but the whole interview was great as well. i recommend anyone go watch the full video.
“I hope you enjoyed this video…” Dr. Barclay. I loved it kind Sir! Anytime a fellow ADHDer explains it, I want to hold on to the explanation for evidence to friends & fam who don’t truly understand its depth & impact. Having Dr. Barclay there, too, is huge. ❤
Ha! I got so distracted by his shirt, and how I love the vibrant colours, that I suddenly realized I'd missed a whole section of the video and had to replay it. 😂😂😂
OMG I'm so glad I found your channel. I saw a clip of your ADHD: Essential Ideas for Parents and it changed my life. Thank you so much for everything you do.
Great video and great outfit Dr B 🤩 much different than your earlier videos with the fancy suits but just as great 😊 I know you have heard/read this a million times and will continue to, what a national treasure you are to adhd advocacy, education, and research! You could be playing golf ⛳️ right now but you are educating and advocating for adhd knowledge and understanding 🤩 thank you 😊 But you are probably out the door after the video to play golf ⛳️😎
Glad someone pulled these comments out and highlighted them. They sounded valuable when I watched the full interview. I don't have ADHD, but I have it's "opposite". I have OCPD, characterized by more self-control/ impulse inhibition than most. So I don't relate to the nind wandering in the same way, but I relate intensely to feeling out of sync with most people, questioning yourself because of it, making effort to compensate until it gives you depression, and then getting huge relief from just getting a diagnosis and understanding the how your brain is particular from most.
This totally confirms what I’ve come to understand about myself and the way I described my brain functions. Totally needed this video and… it’s another reason why I love me some Trevor Noah!!! 😂❤🎉 Thank you for sharing.
Nice. I needed some positive (realistic) takes on ADHD. Just came from a podcast of a very popular I 'trusted' as a scientific course. Then turns out they did a podcast on ADHD and I couldn't even stomach 20 minutes. I like his focus on the Diagnosis being the best thing. For me it was the proper 'realization' of what ADHD is. I needed one of your lectures from that, as none of the diagnosis I had were sufficiently 'serious'. In hindsight, I do not quite understand why not. 🤔
My being diagnosed with ADHD helped me 𝘴𝘰 much. Because it happened in my 40s, I was previously misdiagnosed several times with things like BPD, but treating those never helped (and in some cases made things worse). Finding out that it was ADHD, though, helped to separate my symptoms into ADHD and depression, and since treating those as two separate things I have had a 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 easier time managing my daily life.
man. Doctor, after I read your book, my whole life made sense. I have diagnosis now, but at the time, going through your book, I had already begun reconstructing. Viewing my life through the analytical lens of ADHD everything finally made sense. That's when I knew that my anxiety and depression were both comorbidities of my adhd and that it was why nothing I had ever done to help my depression or anxiety ever worked. As soon as I started treating my ADHD every single aspect of my life improved. Trevor mentioned that ADHD is often misconstrued as borderline personality disorder. Before I got my diagnosis a doctor said "you probably have adhd but...." and tried to misdiagnose me with depression and borderline personality disorder and order me to do a year of therapy at their facility before they would allow the diagnosis. Going along with her diagnosis would have been the worst thing that ever happened to me. I would have spent that year getting angrier and angrier that no one was listening to me about what I knew was the root of the problems. Who knows what would have happened especially considering I was already self medicating my unbridled adhd symptoms with weed and caffeine. Anyway. What a poignant and relevant share. Trevor gives me hope and I owe you a lot Dr Barkley. Thank you!
I'm autistic (possible ADHD too), and this is why I love talking to people with ADHD. They follow me when I suddenly branch off mid-conversation, and I follow them when they do it. It makes the conversation feel so...alive. And a lot of people with ADHD speak at x1.5 speed, which is great!
Agreed! When you have a friendship with someone who speaks in circles & you can both follow thoughts & drop thoughts left & right, but then jump right back to the ones you dropped 2 days later, it's just awesome! The people around you look at you like you're nuts. But when someone communicates like you, then you don't have to worry about if they are thinking you're interrupting too much, or why you changes the subject... its just great!
Yes. AuDHD is its own special club!
Yes it's like having 5 conversations at once! It's so much fun! But it annoys neuro-typical people.
It's a real joy isn't it to meet those rate individuals who connect without effort or artifice.
@@desibellon3907yess!!!!!
I told my grandson recently that the reason why we take medication for ADHD is because attention is like the water from a garden hose. When we're unmedicated, it's like having your thumb over the end -- the water goes all over the place. When we take our meds, we remove the thumb and then we can direct the flow to where we want it to go.
Awesome grandma 🤩
Perfect analogy!
Yes, I feel like I can steer myself. Robert Sapolsky describes the prefrontal cortex as the part of the brain that helps people do “the hard thing.”
Yep, so much misinformation about hyperfocus as a ‘superpower’ when it’s really just hoping the hose will go where you want just because the wind is slightly blowing that way
@@JM-cf5yn Thanks! He's a good kid and I want to do my best to help him struggle less than his dad and I had to.
One of the weirdest things about getting a late diagnosis of adhd is realizing that most other people don’t think like this… and revisiting the many moments in my life where people have looked at me like I was an alien and finally understanding why I got that reaction. It wasn’t in my head. And my fear of being rejected for being weird or annoying or flaky or over-the-top isn’t actually irrational social anxiety- it is a reasonable, learned response to living with frequent social rejection and/or being misunderstood.
Hah. YES! The shock of realising why others don't think like we do! I have a high IQ so I assumed everyone else was too stupid to notice the bird (or whatever other thing was distracting me) -- "they're so mediocre that they can only focus on what the teacher is saying but I notice every time my neighbour clears her throat or the bird outside... must be thanks to my superior brain." Well, now I know it's "thanks to" my ADHD disability. Still, in many (not all) ways, I quite like how my brain works; at least I'm never, ever bored.
You absolutely nailed it with your comment. It could have been written by me (I was diagnosed at 58). I remember a boss once laughing at me in a business meeting. I wasn’t trying to be funny. I asked why he was laughing, and he said “Just the way you think about things. It’s so different.”
@@legiontheatregroup I also recognize that I have been fortunate over the years to find lots of people who appreciate my different way of looking at things, and I am so grateful for them!
Yes indeed, I think it's common with late diagnosis to develop layers of anxious self-defensive masks to cover up or explain away our weirdness, or go the other way and be fully scatterbrain joker so nobody expects much.
After decades of confusion as to why you can't meet others ( or your own) expectations it's a challenge to lower your defences
Yes!!!! Good point!
I was having so much suicidal thoughts 10 years ago as a teenage, also suffered severe anxiety and mental disorder. I got diagnosed with ADHD, spent my whole life fighting ADHD. Not until my wife recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment changed my life for better. I can proudly say i'm totally clean for 6 years and still counting. Always look to nature for solution to tough problems, Shrooms are phenomenal.
Hey mates! Can you help with the source? I suffer severe anxiety, panic and depression and I usually take prescription medicine, but they don't always help. Where can I find those psilocybin mushrooms? I'm really interested in treating my mental health without Rxs. I live in Australia don't know much about these. I'm so glad they helped you. I can't wait to get them too. Really need a reliable source 🙏
YES sure of mycologist Pedroshrooms. I have the same experience with anxiety, addiction. Mushrooms definitely made a huge huge difference to why am clean today.
I'm so very happy for you mate, Psilocybin is absolutely amazing, the way it shows you things, the way it teaches you things. I can not believe our world and our people shows less interest about it's helpfulness to humanity. It's love. The mushrooms heals people by showing the truth, it would be so beneficial for so many people, especially politicians and the rich who have lost their way and every other persons out there.
Where do I reach this dude? If possible can I find him on Google
Yes he's Pedroshrooms. I know few friends who no longer suffer ptsd and anxiety with the help of shrooms. Never had to take shrooms after then.
I think ADHD is also prevalent in comedians because it lets you quickly make associations in your mind that turn into jokes. For most of us they are just intrusive thoughts that distract us, but for comedians they can be developed into material.
Perpetually bored.
The ADHD thing isn't what makes me one of the more funny people in my social groups, but it helps. Half the time I get a laugh when I didn't intend to, and I've had to learn that that isn't always ideal, but I used to just act as though I intended it to be funny, and might even forget that I didn't. But the more narrow or sometimes nonexistent working memory can often lead to saying things that seem hilarious because they are ignorant of some contextualization of the situation. That can definitely be harnessed for comedic material, and I imagine writing things down would be really important.
ADhD (inattentive) has always made it easier for me to be silly, goofy, creative and to improvize.
However, there's a lot more to it.
Being sensitive made me susceptible to bullying. Bullying leads to anxiety. Anxiety leads to more issues. Then again, I couldn't even get into drama school. My grades weren't even that bad, but I had no planning or support.
Really sad to realize how many years I've lost, while also looking at everyone doing comedy and entertainment successfully. I don't want to be bitter. It just happens. I wish I could just go out and try something but the past few years of my life had so many negative events, that I reached a new low of fatigue. It feels hopeless.
The IQ and propensity for lateral thinking would be factors too. There are so many super intelligent comedians!
@@norsefrog I think it's important to understand that having supports around you that help you get past road blocks and understand your challenges are going to be key to any successful strategy or case study of successful ADHD people.
A person can overcome a lot of it through discipline, but to be successful with ADHD without supports, is going to require a lot more effort and discipline than for someone without these types of dysfunctions.
I'm so grateful to have finally gotten around to watching Many of Dr. Barkley's lectures a few years ago, because it has completely transformed my understanding of this disability that I didn't even accept as a disability until I watched his lecture of normal executive function development compared to the ADHD experience, and it really drove home how much of a disadvantage I've been at for over 40 years.
Finding supports when you have none isn't impossible, I went without for some 15 years, but i've learned it's almost always as simple as asking, and accepting that it is only yourself who can change your outcomes, so you're leaning on your supports for encouragement, a sounding board, an emotional dump etc, and then it will still fall to you to take the action when you are ready.
I don't want this to get too big, but if I can offer some encouragement, it's that you aren't alone in your experience, i've spoiled an absolutely insurmountable amount of potential, and there is no going back. And I've got a couple of rock bottoms in my past that forced me to look harder at myself, which I'm also grateful for. I'm not going to tell you that things will magically get better by raising your eyebrow, but what I will say is that if you invest in yourself, and you invest in your relationships with no expectations other than to do right by yourself and your relationships, to be true to who you want to be, that the dividends are priceless. And only the choices and actions that you make will be what reflects on you, not your mistakes, not your difficulties, everyone has those in varying levels.
What defines us is how we stand up and respond to them.
i'm not sure how to direct people to support resources, but I would suggest the ADHD subreddit, lots of posts you can look at historically/search, and lots of strong support and empathy or frank constructive feedback, available via making a self post.
last pro tip, sometimes I pretend that I'm backed into a corner, ride or die, life or death situation, because I operate best in high stress, high pressure conditions. I enter a flow state very easily under certain types of high stress.
I'm a 911 dispatcher.
I don't think I'm better at my job than people without ADHD. But ADHD is less of an impairment in an environment that forces me to focus and where impulsivity looks like quick decision making. All I have to do is show up on time to work - that's the hardest part. And then the rest of it is so interesting, novel, dynamic, that it flies by without me realizing I've missed a lunch sometimes. I don't have to plan ahead, everything is happening RIGHT NOW, or 30 seconds from now. No organizing - just typing what's happening, really, and being fast on computers is easy because of the computer addiction I've had for over a decade.
That said I'm fortunate enough to have ADHD without anxiety/OCD/depression. Other common comorbidities might make the job quite hard.
Might be a decent career to look into for the ADHD women especially. I know I could never do a physical job like a policeman, fireman, etc, I'm too short and small and not strong enough. Pays substantially more in urban environments, try to find a department where the dispatchers are included in the cop union, better benefits.
Dope breakdown and well written. Thank you!!
I know an ER dr that would probably agree with your eloquence!
Great advice! And thank you for your service. I believe dispatchers save lives too
Thank you for the recommendation and detailed description. Seriously.
@@jamiejohnson5748 I would imagine pattern recognition could be quite helpful in this career as well.
When Russell said, “way to go Trevor”, it felt as though he was personally endorsing me and is exactly what I’ve been needing to hear☺️
Great interview.
I wish more people talked about the lack of sense of continuity with ADHD. Going to the gym, making life changes, resolutions of any kind, really. The impermanence of will and sentiment...
It's hard because the Me that so badly wanted to make X change or do Y thing simply disappears to time, and im left simply with the unticked boxes that remain on the to-do list of that thing and those unticked boxes alone can lead to self-torture.
This resonate with anyone else?
Completely. I never thought of it as a lack of continuity but that is what it feels like. I feel committed to this plan... 8 months later...(or far less) ..that was a terrible plan what was I thinking? this is what I want...8 months later... yeah that is my life. A series of inspirations that run out of fuel and become weights that I didn't/may never finish. Everything is a phase, what is the point? whatever I do I will end up hating it. Bad day today. My day off too, I suppose if you're going to melt down, your only day of rest is the day to do it. :/
@@FullCrit I tried Uni. - twice. Did manage to complete the first year of the second degree attempt. Then that was done. It sucks eh?
sure it does!
spot on
100%.
I can only really hold focus on things which are mechanical, or tactile...
Even so, nearly all of my personal interest projects have gone unfinished. Some of which were started in the late 1990's. Every few years I might work on one of them for a few weeks. Then as soon as some obstacle pops up. I lose momentum, and pivot to doing something for someone else.
I'm either urgently "putting out fires" for someone. Or getting absolutely nothing accomplished. The self inflicted shame that has come with the to-do list of the un-ticked boxes has often times been overwhelming, and debilitating.
Every person I knew at Uni (especially girls) with a shopping list of mental illness diagnoses like anxiety, depression, OCD, bipolar type 2, BPD, eating disorders eventually went on to get diagnosed with ADHD.
Getting medicated for ADHD completely turned all their lives around in terms of functioning and mood.
I absolutely hate background music in restaurants and shops and public spaces because I cannot tune out from it, so I'm trying to converse or shop while I'm also fully listening to the music. Same for having a radio going or trying to speak to someone while there is a conversation happening close to you.
Hello from South Africa Trevor!
I can't sit in places where the TV shows anything. I find it hard to concentrate on my friend speaking.
Oh funny, I'm the opposite! I constantly have to have background music on. The best way I can explain it, is that one half of my brain needs to focus on what I'm doing, so the other half needs to be distracted by the music or show so that it isn't constantly interrupting my focused half with side quests😂
I have to wear noise canceling AirPods or I can’t even follow a grocery list.
Yup. If there is external-source speech (in music-singing or in regular speaking) that my brain hears/discerns, I CANNOT prevent myself from switching over to that external source.
Whether it’s reading, trying to speak, or listening to someone, other speech interferes 100%.
Other noise & movement categories also are distracting, but if reasonable, they may not distract my brain 100%.
@@desibellon3907 same!😂😂😂
It’s doctors like Russell Barkley that illuminated ADHD for me. I had a lifetime of behavioral problems in school, always disruptive behavior, combined with learning issues, I was not in a great place come high school.
I focused on sports in high school, got a scholarship to college, and when college came around I was diagnosed with adhd. My sport ended up getting dropped by the college, and this combined with the diagnosis was such a powerful thing for me that I felt I could do a “hard” major even though I was so behind due to ADHD…
10 years and a disregard for difficult things later I have a PhD in theoretical physics. Folks that didn’t know me back then have no idea…
Waouw that is amazing and so inspiring ! Look at you! You are awesome !!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Wow!!! Did you get medicated for ADHD before starting down the physics path? Or are you medication-free? I’m dying to know!
@@calisongbird before the physics path (high school and before) I had no adhd medications. I got a 3.1 gpa in high school (mind you I tried very hard).
Once I got to college, I took medication =O this definitely played a very important role in my success in college. I graduated with a 3.83, and a 3.91 in physics courses. I got somewhere between 70-80th percentile on the physics GRE, and went to a top 30 graduate school for theoretical quantum physics.
I stopped taking the medication in graduate school and still managed to pass the comprehensive exam (50% of my cohort failed out due to this exam). The reason I stopped was because I was experiencing extreme public speaking anxiety while I was taking it while teaching. I had to teach a lot, so I just stopped taking it.
I believe that some permanent neural pathways developed from my usage of the medication during college and that carried on graduate school and now, so I still carry some of the benefits from the medication even though I don’t take it still.
Wow! This is very inspiring and is giving me hope. Question, did you not struggle to find the right medication since there's such a variety of pills available and they provide different "lengths" of "better concentration". I'm in college and I've been recently diagnosed with both Depression and ADHD and my struggle right now is finding the right combo of pills that is both effective and within my budget.
Also; are there any other Doctors/youtubers you would suggest I watch to better understand and manage this whole thing?
@@sikelelafaku297 I think the best thing beyond UA-cam is actually a real psychiatrist.
I took SSRIs in high school (prior to adhd diagnosis). This helped with my depression, but the root cause of the depression was weight cutting for high school wrestling. When I got to college, I ate whatever I wanted, stopped with anti-depressants, and started taking adderall (as prescribed by my psychiatrist). Before adderall, my psychiatrist and I made sure I was okay going off the anti-depressants. I felt some dizzying side effects, but no depressive episodes.
I started in smaller doses with adderall (10mg, no extended release), and I eventually experimented with how larger and larger doses and extended release felt (all within the guidelines of the psychiatrist).
I ended up taking max prescribable dosage of adderall XR (extended release) for my college years (I believe it was 30mg).
Nowadays, you have vivance and all these other types. I think you can experiment with them, but start with small doses, and make sure to go through a psychiatrist. These things can really make you feel bad if you go rogue.
If you want someone to listen to, Russell Barkley is good, and Andrew Huberman’s UA-cam videos about adhd medication is also very good.
The biggest blessing with being diagnosed is being able to advocate for yourself when you run into people who want to belittle/disrespect you. You don’t want to be treated like you’re special because you have ADHD but you want to be understood and be treated with respect just like others expect to.
I loved the explanation that it’s not a lack of attention, it’s an inability to control where your attention goes. I often get lost in thought during a conversation. The most embarrassing thing is when I ask the person a question, and they start with a long, rambling answer, and my wanders so that I don’t even hear the answer when they finally get to it. What distracts me the most is my phone. I may go to my phone to check the weather report, but I get distracted by something else, and after 15 minutes I put the phone down, walk into another room, and then realize I still haven’t looked up the weather. Sometimes it takes 3 tries to get the weather!
I’m there with you.
Similar…watching a program on tv and find myself rewinding several times to catch a moment in the show I missed. Crazy thing to me is that it is always at the same point of the show. And when I finally realize what I’m doing I laugh at myself. At times I’m my own comedian.
@@vspartnerI did that last night, trying to pay closer attention to a particular moment in a short video that went too fast. It was toward the beginning, and by the time I restarted the video, I had already lost sight of my intention, and three times the moment passed AGAIN without my attention to that particular image. I gave up at that point.
Attention Dysregulate Hyperactivity Disorder
Yes, I really enjoy that well known people with ADHD are speaking more openly about it--helps to shed all the confusion, myths and misapprehensions about how someone with ADHD struggles. Knowing is so damn important and when I was diagnosed at age 43 in Dec 2022 it was the most cathartic experience of my life--to finally understand why my anxiety and depression of 30 years wasn't properly treated despite me seeing psychologist and psychiatrists off and on since I was in high school. It ALL started to make sense, all the screw ups all the abandonment, feeling out of place, etc. It sucks to have lost a lot of years buried under a million unfinished projects and damaged relationships, but now that I know and can contend with my distractions in a better way, I haven't really been depressed in almost 2 years.
@@zackersquackers so happy for you 🤗me too, life changing 🙏
Did you take any medications?
I’m in tears. 60 years old, undiagnosed and untreated unknowingly, struggling my whole life. I excelled only because of my intelligence, but had to struggle twice as hard. Trevor is so intelligent and so spot on it made me cry. I always feel like nobody understands. I need help. I don’t know where to get it. 😥
So true the bit where they say we are lazy drive me insane we are working twice as hard as them allllllllll day .
Also constantly second guessing people reaction to us.
There is a USA group who print a newsletter I think it’s called CHADD I am 61 but I was diagnosed with in my fourties’.my mother was subsequently diagnosed with ADHD.
So my sons diagnosed first then me then my mother.
Go to your family doctor to start the process.
It’s very disturbing that many doctors don’t BELIEVE in ADHD as though it’s a choice ADHA has more data than many other conditions.
You wouldn’t deprive a diabetic of insulin.
I believe ADHD should have a name change to reduced dopamine disorder as that’s the problem are synapses are not connecting as we don’t have as much dopamine as others.
I am Australian and the highest medal you can get is a Victoria cross only given to soilders for extreme bravery,while at the war memorial in Canberra I read the actions taken by VC winners .they all had adhd for example one was rushing into a fox hole with only a knife and a gun and disarming a machine gun and 7 Germans.nobody with out impulsivity would do that.
Don’t dispare as Trevor says 80% is knowing you have a reason for your Quirks.
Not surprising from Trevor at all. This is his standard MO. Intelligent, honest, humble authentic sharing of his life experience and ongoing learning life journey.
I encourage everyone to listen to this interview in its entirety. Anytime he speaks, he is simply a gifted communicator
I realized I have ADHD in my 40s. I can look back and see how it has affected literally my whole life.
The best thing the diagnosis has done for me is that I no longer have the self-loathing I used to have. I have compassion for myself.
I’m happy for you. What was the treatment you ended up getting? How’s that going?
No a lot of compassion but more than before...
You've got this!!!! I was born and raised in Eastern Europe where ADHD isn't even an option for diagnosis in adults. I moved to Canada and got a diagnosis of AuDHD at 35.
It has changed my life. After literal decades of being ping-ponged between shrinks who'd straight up tell me "stop complaining, you're fine" I am finally feeling good.
Turns out, I didn't have mood disorders or generalized anxiety, I just have a neuro-spicy mind. After decades on the wrong treatments, I've come to find that all I needed was 5mg of Vyvanse in the morning. They don't even make such low doses, I have to split my capsule lol.
It feels so rewarding, after a lifetime of desperately trying to advocate for myself, to come across a fabulous psychiatrist.
For the first time in my life, I'm ok with myself and am even starting to like myself. Which is something I'd never get to say and actually mean it.
You've got this, stranger!
@@MarcusWarcus40 I’m not taking any meds specifically for the ADHD. I am taking an antidepressant.
@@anamakesthings 💙💜🩷
When I was at school I ended up with depression because I simply could not piece together how much effort I felt I was putting into organisation and just failing. School teachers would tell me I was lazy because I didn't do homework, while I was one of the most enthusiastic students in class. They would say "just write it in your diary", which I forgot every single day, and I forgot that I should check when I got home. I was devastated, but would somehow manage to pass by freaking out right before exams.
I was the only teenager buying books about organisation, and it just was not happening. That plus the emotional disregulation meant I had suicidal ideation every time I forgot my keys for the house.
The only way I managed to make life work was by using anxiety and shame. It's so obvious to me how depression and anxiety become co occurring conditions with ADHD. The world is scary and distressing when your brain is so unreliable for no apparent reason. The diagnosis gives me an explanation - it's a massive help.
THIS. The sheer effort I put into organisation. How much I had to actively try, and even then, fail pretty badly. The disappointment I was to parents, teachers, people around me.
The speed at which I picked up on larger concepts, branching ideas, my knack for improvisation and critical thinking and seeing connections. Useless because the education system I was in prioritised rote learning and fixed memorisation of large swathes of content to be regurgitated, that I had no patience for, despite me KNOWING that I wasn't stupid.
The years it took for me to realise that working the way society wanted me to work wasn't working, and I would have to figure out an alternative FAST or I'd fail so hard I'd end up homeless or depressed (which I was close to being, badly).
The knowledge that there were people like me, that there might be an explanation for how and why I felt so alienated growing up is massive, just like Trevor said. It changes and shifts everything into perspective.
You needed more help and support.
Thank you. I'm a 68yr old female and just diagnosed with ADHD. I'm so good at masking after over 60 years I don't actually know when the symptoms are present and actually I don't know who I really am anymore as my whole life feels like its been one big lie. So watching videos like yours is really helpful to my learning journey into me,
Im a woman and i just got diagnosed about 3 weeks ago. Ive been diagnosed with depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and (i dont think its an official diagnosis) have had trauma induced severe depressive episodes. I notice so many things about myself that i thought were just things i mess up because i suck. Turns out my depressive episodes are really adhd burnout. Theyre a lot shorter now that i know how to care for myself properly and that theres actually a way out other than waiting to feel better
My husband and I have been married for ten years. He was diagnosed with ADHD two years ago at the age of 69 after a year of marriage counseling going nowhere. He takes aderall which helps but it’s still very frustrating for both of us. I don’t know how he managed all this time or if our marriage will work out, but hearing Trevor talk about it helps me understand that I can’t take his distractions personally. It’s just so hard to have a simple conversation with him, let alone an important one. Thank you for this video. For all of you who have children that show signs of ADHD, have them tested so they can start treatment at a young age. I think that may help them not to suffer in adulthood the way my husband and the ppl who love him have. ✌🏽🙏🏽
I'm so glad ADHD is being talked about more. I had it for decades and did a lot of reading about it, but nothing described what it was really like to have it. It wasn't until I happened across Jessica McCabe's YT channel, "How to ADHD," that I started to understand how it had affected me all my life. My life makes SENSE now - what a relief! Keep talking and sharing, people. You're making a real difference!
Amazing how celebrities are becoming more open and educated about their ADHD. Love to see it. Thanks for highlighting Dr. Barkley!
Tears... to be brief , thanks
You making reaction videos to other folks who discuss adhd is very helpful. Celebrities often have such a large reach and often are the only time people hear about adhd. It would be great to have a someone analyse their advice.
Awesome comment 🤩
Hope you do more videos like this. It really helps illustrate your knowledge of ADHD in light of what people experience with ADHD. I find content is in either academic/speaking event format, or someone with ADHD sharing their experience. This one brought it together well. Thanks
Love this, thank you. You're like my internet ADHD squirrel, collecting the good bits for us and sharing!
One person I have always been fascinated with and I’m sure has ADHD (although he’s never said so) is Jackie Chan. I read his 1990s autobiography and how he described constantly being in trouble at school and how the Chinese martial arts school he went to was a better fit, and I thought “yes! Schools need to have much more activity!” In his 2nd autobiography, Chan details how that “school” was more akin to a decade of abuse and slavery. Reading about his career as a martial though, I can still see the ADHD. He talks about one time when his cast and crew insisted on taking a rest day, while he suffered from the boredom. I still think that Rick Riordan gets it right when he says ADHD evolved to create the sentinels and warriors of the human race. We needed people who are alert and “distracted” by a noise that could mean danger. I like to think of ADHD now not as a disorder but as evolutionary mismatch because of our overly sedentary lives.
I kinda think of it as we are supposed to have a night watch for the tribes. They would stay up late, need to be alerted to noises and anything out of the ordinary, they may need to fight at a moment's notice. They could go on hunts for days and would return and have to clean the animals and have them cooked. Now we force those people to get up early when they're wired to stay up very late, be sedentary at a glowing screen for 8 hours just so they can get food and housing, and this leaves those people chronically tired, depressed, and feeling out of place because it's "easy" for everyone else to do those things.
@@aurograce2983 Oh absolutely! And it's not just humans. Noise pollution in the oceans is hurting animals, light pollution is messing up birds' navigation. I think ADHDers are maybe more "in tune" with needing to be outside in the wild? I remember I'd been tutoring English in Japan, setting my own hours, walking a LOT. Then I moved back to the US and got an office job and it was TORTURE. I felt like a tiger trapped in a cage! It's like--have you read Prince Harry's book Spare? He's so ADHD, although the royal family would never let him get tested. He talks about being out in the bush in Africa, and you can just hear him come alive.
I agree. ADHD is a superpower. Our school systems and corporate job structures and expectations are tge problem. Also our diet.
@@aurograce2983 yes
@@sarahlongstaff5101 I always say I feel like a tiger in a cage when I'm doing office work. I just can't
I love how I was prescribed an anti-depressant and later, SSRI with no one picking up on the underlying cause.
Took a Tinder date with a clinical psychologist who fortunately picked up on it to finally receive an accurate diagnosis
Cray!
Thanks for the share. That is so interesting. Id love to hear how the conversation went ... If you're willing to disclose? Do you still talk to them now?
‘’future directed attention” is the perfect way to describe it!!
My diagnosis was crucial for me. I suspected and self diagnosed but I needed a professional to tell me. It cost me a fortune but it was worth every cent. Now things make sense and so does most of my life. I'm still grieving and trying to find my way but at least I can now see the path
Exactly the same for me, eight years ago ❤️
omg the algorithm also deigned to show this to me yesterday, great to hear your chiming in on the effectiveness and ease with which trevor communicates his struggles
When I was in school I thought I was dumb. I couldn’t remember the assignment and either lost my homework. I just accepted that.
Luckily someone convinced me that I must be an artist of some sort since I don’t use the other part of my brain much so I became a hairstylist and a very good one. At the height of my career and had clients lined up to get in for weeks. I had an appointment book and would look at it everyday in the morning to know who I was doing that day.
I was so good at cut and color that my clients put up with so many cancellations and I was always running late which made my clients think that I was fabulous! When I was too distracted and messed up a color they would say how brilliant I was at whipping up a new color. For some reason I could remember formulas I used on clients. I remembered every color without writing it down. I’m 64 and I’m just starting to realize that my depression and anxiety has come from having ADHD and OCD.
The only reason I’m finding this out is because I’m a grandmother of 3 and my daughter said she doesn’t want to be the mom I was, always late, never following through. The shame and quilt I put on myself made me try to make up for it by over promising things that I wanted to do but just couldn’t!
So I would drink to numb the pain. I was always the happy funny talented mom hairstylist, always had great stories.
Now I have to figure out how to not do that to my grandchildren.
This is such a sad disease.
The good news is that I don’t drink anymore and I’m educating myself on how to move forward in the third part of my life.❤️
Wow yes he described what I experience so well. I am going to relax today on the deck and read your book Dr. Barkley. :) have a good day!
I saw the Noah interview when it came out and it stuck with me. So happy to see you covering it, not only to validate what he said and my takeaways, but so that I could hear it again and retain it better.
I’d love more of these videos, collecting interviews with successful people talking about their ADHD. It makes me feel better about having ADHD because I have extremely high aspirations for myself.
Rory Bremner's documentary ADHD and Me switched me on in 2017. comedians, being great communicators and thinkers, and so often ADHDAF, are the perfect means of insight ..
I agree that diagnosis is 80% about managing and owning it.
Once you take ownership of any purported illness, then you actually believe you have it. i think adhd is bunk. I might have it according to my latest husband and my doctors and ex bosses, but i refuse to believe I have anything except what I need to have a good life, and guess what, I do have success and I can deal. . I struggle with noticing everything, blurting out my thoughts during conversations and in meetings at inappropriate times, get anxious at weird smells, can't stand loud music in stores, yet love live concerts, have hyperfocus and exceptional detail oriented skills. I do start things and rarely finish crafts and hobbies, but at work and school I always finish first, finish well, and finish ahead. if I like something I read or hear or see I learn everything about it. I ace ever single exam I take. always. these things have made me successful. at age 64, semi retired, if this is adhd, then I say it is what made me a success and a super smart person!
@@loneranger7573 we may be the twins. Exactly…
I love Trevor Noah, if you read (or listen to!) his autobiography it's very clear his Mam is ADHD
I wonder when he was diagnosed. In the book he says he was assessed as a kid but ADHD was ruled out.
He also has an uncle who is bipolar. When Ye was being vilified for some things he’d said in an interview, Trevor did a very thoughtful segment on The Daily Show about bipolar individuals and how people interact with them and regard them. It’s probably still somewhere on UA-cam.
Neurodiversity is almost always genetic. Real travesty that society doesn't help take measures for boomers (or anyone really, ofc) to get tested and treated.
We still have a LONG way to go. Just a few decades ago we were so, so far behind in psychology and more.
I just think it's so wonderful that he feels comfortable enough with himself to share something so personal. I didn't know until recently that he was divergent. Throughout his career I've considered him to be one of the best comedians I've ever seen, having master control over an audience and being able to stay connected to the present moment. Would never have known that he had trouble concentrating. I still think he's a brilliant mind and a great entertainer. Kudos to you, Trevor.
Trevor is so talented and such a beautiful soul. 😘
The two times in my life when ADHD was really unbearable was when it was paired with panic disorder and under eating on a keto diet. When I had panic disorder, my ADHD caused me to be hyper aware of my bodily sensations and feelings, which caused me to think that every odd feeling was a panic attack coming on. Which caused a panic attack. And when I was on keto for 3 years, I became hyper focused on my heart beat for 2 months. I thought I’d go crazy. Couldn’t sleep. Every waking moment I focused on my heart beat. Which made me control my breathing. Which made my heart rate speed up because we tend to over compensate the breathing. Which then caused anxiety because my heart rate was going up. As soon as I ate a mango, it all went away like magic. Instantly. ADHD can be a super power, but also your nemesis.
I resonate with your comment so much!
I also recall reading that ADHD brains require more sugar than nuerotypical brains, so the keto diet may have been denying your brain really needed glucose!!
Cognitive reframing and getting deeply in touch with your ANS instead of being in an antagonistic relationship with it can help with these things, beyond controlling it via focus, just fyi for anybody suffering through this same extremely uncomfortable experience. Adrenaline and glucose are not the only methods your body has for fortifying focus, though your body has maybe forgotten the others due to years of dependence on these other substances, typically due to an 'atrophied' mind/body awareness. Yoga and tai chi are both extremely useful practices for those who suffer from this kind of 'othering' and dissonance with their own ANS; eg, try alternate nostril breathing and really interocepting through your nasal cavity and lungs and heart rate. You and your ANS should be very good buddies, looking out for each other... humans are such goofy animals, we forget that we're made outta stuff and components. Don't forget to be your *whole self* folks, all the time.
I suspect keto caused your anxiety that made you focus on your heartbeat and it wasn't the ADHD in particular that made it unbearable, although ADHD comes hand in hand with increased sensitivity. Keto is really unhealthy long term, as you now know, particularly for women, as it messes with your hormones, massively increasing stress hormones and therefore anxiety, leading to anxious behaviour such as obsessing with your heartbeat
Yeah, ADHD brains need food.
I was diagnosed at 52… and it was bc I was seeing behavior in my 6yr old and my spidey sense was saying ‘ADHD?’ So, I started reading up and thought hmmm this feels familiar.
My husband refused to consider our son could have it and accused me of “projecting “ …So I got myself tested and the results were striking… and undeniable. Getting that diagnosis lifted a curtain on so much self shaming and started to let the light in a bit.
The diagnosis gave me the space to let in self compassion…I’m still wrestling with how to manage it …but a least now i understand what I’m dealing a bit better.
I’m less at war with my brain and that has been a mighty big win.
Hey, I have come from the exactly same place. I am thankful to the psychologist at my child’s kindergarten that when discussing my child’s behavior had given me some good reads on neurodiversity. It completely changed my life in most positive way.
What Noah said about just knowing... Very much my experience.
Man, my diagnosis saved my marriage too. We used to argue about me not doing things or forgetting things or “not caring” about things, not paying attention, being secretive because “I don’t know” when asked “what are you thinking about?”
Now, it’s more or less a running joke in the house. “What are you thinking about?”
*both together*: ”velociraptors”😂
Knowing and understanding is arguably the most important and most impactful aid to living a healthy ADHD life.
This was me for 45 years. I was diagnosed September 2023. Thank you for your work.
Glad you finally got the help you needed! I’m wondering if i have it as well. How did you realize you had it? How did it affect your life and what did treatment look like?
Trevor Noah sharing his struggle with ADHD openly made me realized I might have had ADHD my whole life, then I stumbled upon your speech and I checked off all the symptoms you mentioned in the powerpoint, then I decided to read your book and eventually got myself tested, now I am medicated and feeling there is hope in life. Thank you for what you do.
I suspect comedy works well for ADHDers because sudden and unexpected pivots are a big part of it.
With regard to depression: there have been studied that show the link between learned helplessness and depression; in some respects they are the same. Learned helplessness can be induced by placing an animal in a situation where it is unable to deternine which course of action it needs to take to navigate a situation. Given that a big part of my own experience with ADHD involves the difficulty of sorting relevant information from irrelevant details, developing a sense of learned helplessness seems like a solid route to my own depressive issues.
I knew there was a concrete reason why I love Trevor Noah
I was dx at age 58 with adhd and dyslexia. I have been treated for depression since my early 20’s. 62 still struggling with depression and anxiety
Same. How does your dyslexia affect you?
@@sharonvaldez9059 I have no issue reading words. It’s understanding/retaining what I’ve read. It’s like I read the words but don’t seem to do it in like sentences or paragraphs… I also have trouble explaining things to people. I see thoughts/ideas more in a picture form. I’m a terrible speller. Numbers ugh don’t get me started. I see it know what it is, but when I try to say them out loud they are mixed up.
Thank you!!! From a mom of autistic son with severe ADHD. But also i think i may have it as well. I will watch the video of Trevor. Thank you again for your support, knowledge and helping us who are dealing with this traumatic situations.
Yes! I saw this video when it first came out and was so grateful that someone was able to verbalize what I too had experienced with depression. I just wish it had not taken more than twenty years to understand why the treatments for depression were not working sufficiently. I now understand how it has impacted the other (undiagnosed) individuals in my family...which has only added to my CPTSD. Unfortunately...very few people truly understood this disorder until the last second...and as you have suggested...most practitioners are still poorly informed. Thank you for continuing to provide insight and understanding to those of us who struggle with the challenges that arise as a result of our ADHD.
Great find Russ. It’s extremely difficult to explain ADHD in a concise way…especially in a way for others to understand.
I could spend hours talking about what it is. but that’s not useful. This is a great example of useful.
I remember trying so hard in school and just didn’t get it. When it came to naming all of the NHL players on all six teams before expansion was mot a problem. Player stats, no issue.Noah was so bang on, thank you.
I'm glad you found this, Dr. B. Earlier this year, I sent the clip to several friends, my child's school head of SEND, other mums of ADHD kids because I thought it described the experience in an engaging, clear manner (although I didn't love Trevor's appreciation of Gabor Mate's book or of Ketamine). I'm far from a fan of Trevor Noah's American work but he is clearly bright and insightful so even the manner in which he describes his ADHD can help combat the stereotype of ADHD people being stupid or "not deep thinkers." I've always heard that many comedians are actually quite depressed in "real life" and now I wonder if that's actually because so many have depression-born-of-ADHD.
I was misdiagnosed with depression, when it was actually ADHD, sleep apnea, with a dash of autism thrown in.
My metaphor for ADHD is: a room full of TVs on different channels at different volumes, medication gives you a remote control to turn some off or at least mute them.
That goes along with synaptic pruning. When someone gets a TV, they get rid of the old one, the ADHD brain just collects more TVs without getting rid of any.
Brilliant analogy!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️.
Medical field ADHD here. This condition helps me consistently when in the emergency department or when the ICU is crazy. I'm keeping minor attention to everything at once so I can respond quickly and effectively with that lower baseline dopamine so I actually enjoy it rather than getting stressed from all that dopamine becoming adrenaline!
Honestly looking to get into the medical field after 11 years working desk jobs.
I really enjoyed this video! I hope you do more of these "video reactions" in the future!
Nearly 90 and through UA-cam like this video I am beginning to understand my ADHD self. The bird at the window sequence. Here's mine. I am nearly 15 and in a large multi school’s choir practice. Big town hall, multi level stage and I am on high level. We are stopped for the conductor to give instructions and I notice the orchestra packing their instruments away, fascinating. Suddenly I am brought back by a baton tapping conductor telling just me off for inattention. The whole choir had to stop singing because the packing up of cellos and violins had caught my attention. Red face time for me.
That example from Trevor about the water situation in LA - copper etc. is perfect. That is my life - up to and including today. Wow, can't believe how well that was demonstrated!!
Thank you for sharing this.
Wow, thank you both so much. Still awaiting an Asperger’s.
Loved the ADHD comments. So relatable.
This is VERY helpful. I miss parts of conversations in part due to hearing issues, but also am easily distracted. I see this in my wife as well who I sometimes have to ask to focus on the topic at hand when her thoughts wander away.
ADHD and OCD are both super common among comedians and indeed often linked to the depression that is also common in comedians. Great video!
I saw this interview recently and it reminded me why I love Trevor Noah so much. He is such a lovely, thoughtful, kind and genuine human being.
Thank you for these insights via Trevor. When he talked about going down the rabbit hole with the shower incident, well, that could’ve been me. This was an affirmation. Thanks again!
The tuning out happens to me and it impacts my relationships for sure.
I love this so much! For some reason, it does provide a sense of relief to hear someone else describe their experience with ADHD and realize we are not alone in our attention span life challenges. 🎉
You and him Dr Barkley - 2 of my favourite people!!!! My goodness I would love to see you two have a chat!
Yes! Me too!!!!
This will likely help my family and friends understand me far better so I appreciate this alot.
@@mdp_lady well there are some that do that as well and they're the ones I'm trying to bring different perspectives to. If I can use someone they like in entertainment to relate to myself it sometimes helps.
Some will never understand and that's also okay, they just need to know the consequences of not respecting us as people like they also want.
The part where he said the diagnosis is more important than the treatment hit home. I’ve told people my monster has a name and a face and that makes it more real to deal with. It isn’t all in your head, you’re not an awful person. It was such a relief. I tell everyone who I get close with. My thoughts wander during discussions, but I find doing something during helps a lot. Eating is the top one so far, but having another task helps too. Playing very mindless games and letting them know I am paying attention sometimes works out (for me, not always them). My new one is cleaning. Whenever my mom vents to me, I tell her to follow me and just start cleaning something. Not only does she release this super stressful aura about her that winds me tight, but the cleaning gets that extra energy out as fast as it’s coming in 😂. Plus she’s body doubling for me at the same time. I’ve done it with friends on the phone too. Cleaning is just mindless enough for me to follow along, but requires just enough focus for me not to interrupt a lot and lets me listen. They feel better, I feel helpful and something I haven’t cleaned in months do to being over whelmed is taken care of 😂
This is so similar to my experience (and my own conclusions) that it's almost spooky. I could go on at great and tedious detail about how, and why. But I won't.
Thank you for the video Doc,
Could you possibly share a video discussion where you discuss career options for adult ADHD? I’m an ObGyn and find I’m most attentive in theatre, doing surgical procedures. I find this environment where I thrive most from a concentration perspective, yet juggling various patient complaints in a clinic for example seems to be more of a challenge. Taking notes and external cues (and lisdexamphetamine) help a lot, but I think a discussion explaining the reason for the flow states and attention variation in an ADHD mind could be helpful to myself and many others managing their ADHD.
Thanks again for your discussions, your videos are very helpful in understanding ADHD.
A good way to rephrase the "bird tapping on the classroom window" analogy would be to say that people with ADHD can't "turn off" or "lower the volume" of the ability to perceive distractions:
Imagine you're driving. You are very intent on staying focused on the road and your environment, but you also have a toothache. And a terrible itch on your back. And a mosquito buzzing in your ear. And a hard lump in the seat that's digging into your bottom. And someone is calling your cellphone repeatedly. And any of these distractions might suddenly flare up at random, or even all at once. A neurotypical person might be able to ignore most or all of those distractions, many times unconsciously. But a person with ADHD is forced to perceive them at all times at nearly full capacity with no way to mute or mitigate them other by avoidance or medication.
Hyperfocus is like rolling the dice to see which one of those perceptions is front and center for your brain in the moment. Perhaps not all distractions/tasks are weighted equally, but the fact that your brain rolls the dice every time a distraction comes up means we have to wrestle with ourselves every time, or we don't even recognize that we need to wrestle with ourselves and end up neglecting important distractions.
100% spot on. I have never been diagnosed with ADHD, heifer mommy 9 year old daughter has it. I feel like she got it from me, because I suffered all these scenarios of lack of concentration.
Dr. Barkley,
Please, please, please have a sit down with Trevor Noah!
The number of people who would benefit from watching a conversation between the two of you would be endless.
💙✌️
This would be so great!
Dr. B. is fully retired and so no longer does interviews.
Many thanks Russell! Trevor Noah's remarks are extremely interesting. I was diagnosed with depression in my 20s, and ADHD in my 40s. My internal experience didn't disaggregate them into nosological categories of 'depression' and 'ADHD', all I experienced inside was "I feel bad". I've been working on trying to understand how ADHD has exacerbated and to some extent, instigated my depression; if I can conquer ADHD, then I think my depression would be greatly improved. In short, on a similar journey to Noah :-) Your videos have been a great help, on this journey.
I just watched the interview yesterday! I like the way Trevor talks about ADHD. He has a really good podcast I listen to.
I think sometimes ADHD people DO notice the bird more than other people, not just get distracted by it more... because they were less locked in in the first place. I've often been the only person in the group to notice an eagle or osprey or something else interesting overhead. Maybe I just like birds though.
I also like birds and the biggest danger is when I'm driving. My husband keeps having to remind me not to stare at birds and to look at the damn road 🤣
It’s not just the bird in the window, it’s the lawnmower engine running, the cars rolling by , the color, model of car, the make of car and the history of such maker and then you look around, you’re the only one left in class by yourself. That’s what ADHD does for someone who’s live with it! 😢
@@87advil watching a bird or any of nature - compared to algebra? Chemistry?mean girls😂
I love birds and animals too. I’m rarely fully paying attention to what I’m supposed to be focusing on.
The part about diagnosis being just as, if not more, important than treatment is SOOO true. It transformed my perception of my difficulties from something diffuse I just thought I could improve if I tried hard enough, into something tangible that I could read up on how to wrestle with.
Always brought a recorder to class, because I would tune out for half of it. I am an expert at all the events that happened outside, birds, the trees, other people’s habits….I did have such little free time, because I had to “reattend “ my classes later. That was before I was diagnosed.
Thank you for drawing my attention to this interview. This ADHD part was impactful but the whole interview was great as well. i recommend anyone go watch the full video.
“I hope you enjoyed this video…” Dr. Barclay. I loved it kind Sir! Anytime a fellow ADHDer explains it, I want to hold on to the explanation for evidence to friends & fam who don’t truly understand its depth & impact. Having Dr. Barclay there, too, is huge. ❤
Yes I saw this! I thought the same. It's really well put.
Thank you for the video...great smiles and self hugs
A really profound and helpful analysis of ADHD. Thank you.
That's so inspiring, that gives us hope that we can do well in life too. Dr. Barkley please bring us more such stories. ❤❤❤
He’s so right about diagnosis. Just knowing that I have it and not using it as an excuse or making it up is helpful. Allows me to notice my mask more
Agree. It’s an explanation, not an excuse.
Love the blouse Dr! Made it hard to keep me focused
Ha! I got so distracted by his shirt, and how I love the vibrant colours, that I suddenly realized I'd missed a whole section of the video and had to replay it. 😂😂😂
Thank you for sharing this video. Not sure how many times I said to myself ‘that’s me’. Thank you.
OMG I'm so glad I found your channel. I saw a clip of your ADHD: Essential Ideas for Parents and it changed my life. Thank you so much for everything you do.
I can use this video with my clients. I remember this interview. Thank you for making this video.
Great video and great outfit Dr B 🤩 much different than your earlier videos with the fancy suits but just as great 😊 I know you have heard/read this a million times and will continue to, what a national treasure you are to adhd advocacy, education, and research! You could be playing golf ⛳️ right now but you are educating and advocating for adhd knowledge and understanding 🤩 thank you 😊 But you are probably out the door after the video to play golf ⛳️😎
Glad someone pulled these comments out and highlighted them. They sounded valuable when I watched the full interview.
I don't have ADHD, but I have it's "opposite". I have OCPD, characterized by more self-control/ impulse inhibition than most. So I don't relate to the nind wandering in the same way, but I relate intensely to feeling out of sync with most people, questioning yourself because of it, making effort to compensate until it gives you depression, and then getting huge relief from just getting a diagnosis and understanding the how your brain is particular from most.
This totally confirms what I’ve come to understand about myself and the way I described my brain functions. Totally needed this video and… it’s another reason why I love me some Trevor Noah!!! 😂❤🎉 Thank you for sharing.
Dr. Barkley. Just, thank you. Thank you.
Diagnosed at 58. So glad I can name and work with my way of being in the world. Finally. I call adhd my superpower!
Nice. I needed some positive (realistic) takes on ADHD. Just came from a podcast of a very popular I 'trusted' as a scientific course. Then turns out they did a podcast on ADHD and I couldn't even stomach 20 minutes.
I like his focus on the Diagnosis being the best thing. For me it was the proper 'realization' of what ADHD is. I needed one of your lectures from that, as none of the diagnosis I had were sufficiently 'serious'. In hindsight, I do not quite understand why not. 🤔
My being diagnosed with ADHD helped me 𝘴𝘰 much. Because it happened in my 40s, I was previously misdiagnosed several times with things like BPD, but treating those never helped (and in some cases made things worse). Finding out that it was ADHD, though, helped to separate my symptoms into ADHD and depression, and since treating those as two separate things I have had a 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 easier time managing my daily life.
I saw this the other day , Love these two Men And this video. Your recap is wonderful as well ! Thanks 🩵✨️🩵
man. Doctor, after I read your book, my whole life made sense. I have diagnosis now, but at the time, going through your book, I had already begun reconstructing. Viewing my life through the analytical lens of ADHD everything finally made sense. That's when I knew that my anxiety and depression were both comorbidities of my adhd and that it was why nothing I had ever done to help my depression or anxiety ever worked. As soon as I started treating my ADHD every single aspect of my life improved.
Trevor mentioned that ADHD is often misconstrued as borderline personality disorder. Before I got my diagnosis a doctor said "you probably have adhd but...." and tried to misdiagnose me with depression and borderline personality disorder and order me to do a year of therapy at their facility before they would allow the diagnosis.
Going along with her diagnosis would have been the worst thing that ever happened to me. I would have spent that year getting angrier and angrier that no one was listening to me about what I knew was the root of the problems. Who knows what would have happened especially considering I was already self medicating my unbridled adhd symptoms with weed and caffeine.
Anyway. What a poignant and relevant share. Trevor gives me hope and I owe you a lot Dr Barkley. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing. Great examples and explanation.
Thank you…. to Dr. Barkley and to Noah Trevor. 🙏 This is important work, educating people about ADHD.