I was diagnosed with ADHD officially only a few years ago. I lived AGES (decades) with it already. But the diagnosis is *NOTHING* compared to getting kicked out of 10+ schools, losing 20+ jobs throughout my life, and failing in relationships my entire life.
I have been recently diagnosed with ADHD as a 40 yr old female. I am on my third month of meds. I love how you described all that is going on inside of you. I realize that I also use these long drawn out analogies to describe to others how I am feeling and often feel like they are just exhausted listening to me. Like at the end they are thinking, "That was the absolute longest way to tell me you are burnt out." But I listen to your analogy and am thinking the whole time, "Yep, yep, yeah, totally agree, completely understand that, check, yes! Exactly!" In another video you made some silly sounds to describe how you felt. My husband was watching with me and giggled at the sounds. I said, "I speak that language. I know exactly what she meant by that." He kindly smiled and responded, "I know you do." I told him the other day that although my medicine is helping me to complete tasks easier, I realized that the amount of energy it takes to complete the tasks is the same as if I did all those tasks without the meds. The difference is I don't feel it as much so I keep going. However, when the meds wear off the exhaustion that has been accumulating is so intense. And of course that happens when I'm trying to put kids to bed, clean up and settle down.
You are getting off taliking crap about adhd constantly and brainwashing yourself the world is going nuts you all think you have adhd …your all doing mothers little helpers the stones did songs about it your all a joke
@@DisabilitysAREabilities That expression “Mother’s Little Helpers” is about Valium. It comes from a sociological era in Western society called, “Momism”. It was an era where women were medicalized and judged for their dissatisfaction with their displaced gender roles and lack of recognition for keeping farms, factories, and families running without their men during WW1 and WW2, and women were openly mocked and berated in pop culture. Many women were confused and depressed and there was no cultural awareness for what had happened, thus they couldn’t talk about it openly. When they had difficulty coping, a vast number of women were doped with Valium by their Doctors. No one knows this without a college courses that covered modern Western society and medicalization. It completely different from ADHD, but I see the cultural association, which is completely natural and innocent. Once you understand that whole sequence though, the innocence is lost! “Valley of The Dolls” came from this if you are interested. ❤
A lot of people say a late diagnosis brings you through the stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. It’s very common to stay in the loop and cycle through it a few times before reaching acceptance. To be honest acceptance is a life long journey lol. It’s okay and healthy to grief. Cry for your younger self that did not have the chance to. Your younger self deserves it. Also, you could try meeting other people with adhd, it’s hard to be compassionate towards yourself, but when your friend is just like you, it’s much easier. One more thing, self acceptance can be a lonely path, it is not about seeking validation or making others understand. Some people won’t understand or will judge you, but that’s because they are working on their own self esteem too. Like a tall person may feel good about being tall, while a short person doesn’t care about height but instead feels good about other things. Everyone has their own ruler to measure themselves and it’s actually healthy as it means most of us can focus and develop on what we are good at. Therefore when people don’t understand you, it’s often not about you, but about them. Someone who is always punctual will of course place more emphasis towards punctuality than someone that is often late, but it’s not really about right or wrong. There is no need to make others understand if they don’t. And there is no need to feel upset, unfair, or hate them. It’s difficult because no one likes to be judged, but detaching from the emotion and realizing everyone is just as insecure as you are, and are just trying to maintain their self-esteem really helps.
@@DisabilitysAREabilitiesYou believeing what some random guy online said doesn't make you smarter than someone believing what a doctor says. You're both doing the same thing, you're just being an edgy teen about it.
Well said... Im craving toast... Maybe a movie tonight? Maybe I should read some spiritually uplifting material?..... Take. Bath? Go to bed early? Can I do all these things in 1.5 hrs?................ Is that ADHD? I think I'll watch a few more episodes here instead 😂 aloha
Thank you so much for your explanation, it's so validating. I finally got diagnosed ~6 months ago at 24 with ADHD and autism and have been on Wellbutrin for ~5 months. Felt like such a breath of fresh air at first, I could do things without so much inner turmoil. I did things I needed to do and finally picked up hobbies that have been gathering dust for years. Still have a hard time going back to those and relaxing tho. I've heard ADHD described as feeling like a chronic game of catch-up or overwhelm and it's so true. When I'm finally doing things I hyperfocus and expect myself to get it all done in one go. I get so scared that I won't start again that I have a hard time stopping. Perfectionist so I don't stop until my brain deems it satisfactory. Also time blindness. I keep getting burnt out even though overall I'm doing much better. Just don't have upgraded infrastructure in place to keep up with my new pace. Really need to slow down and prioritize caring for myself. Hopeful but struggling to function, and it's triggering bc things feel so out of control/like they'll never actually improve. Thank you for sharing and helping people be kinder and more understanding with themselves 💖
I really appreciate your videos ❤️ my husband was diagnosed with adhd September 2022 and he's 37 . Your videos are helping me understand him and what he needs from me so much more as he doesn't talk about it . I realised the last few months all the things I was doing wrong that weren't helpful or that were making him feel so much worse . It's a learning curve for us all x
I just love listening to you talk because I am the same. I explain so much in very detailed metaphors 😆 I completely get what you're saying. For those who don't get it: 1: Pills don't teach skills. It helps with being a bit calmer, having more motivation and ability to stick with the tasks BUT it doesn't teach us organization, planning, or the ability to know how much we actually should or shouldn't do. This is why pills + coaching/practical therapy is very very important. 2: being late diagnosed throws you into an identity crisis that makes you question EVERYTHING about yourself and it's exhausting to process all of it. You're mourning the person you thought you could be, and learning to accept your disability all at the same time.
I am one month past diagnosis, and I haven't grasped that I am disabled yet at all. But I have to completely rethink 52 years. Why didn't anyone tell me?
I (32F) have been home for about 7 months now, burn-out. Fortunately I have great therapists that told me I might have ADHD, so now I'm in the process of getting a diagnosis. But I have been watching the how to adhd UA-cam channel and with the episodes of the wall of awful and the bridge of motivation (or something like that) I just cried, because I realised that 75-90% of my energy goes to fighting my ADHD. But now I know, at least I can adapt my life to my brain so I can feel better.
@@keldasinclair6827 yes, sometimes I have to stop watching as well. And some of them I have to rewatch because I was overwhelmed with emotions of how accurate it is and then I can't take out all the info I need. I will normally get my diagnosis end of February, but my doctor already gave me a light dose of medication today and I got to do so much of the things I usually can't.
Hang in there! The process to getting an official diagnosis can be long. For me it was 14 months. And the documents and intake forms required seemed so overwhelming. But stick with it! I am 45, ADHD inattentive. Took a failed marriage and then horrible divorce, and a lifetime of struggle in school, relationships, and parenting and a whole heap of misdiagnosis of depression, anxiety, ocd, cPSD…and meds and therapy that didn’t work for me to even consider I had ADHD. Now, I’m finally getting the right medication treatment and using the right tips and tools, and it’s been absolutely life changing for the better. Carry on towards the diagnosis, it is 100% worth the work. You can do it!!
@@sarahswanray9775 for me fortunately it isn't that bad (for now). I live in Belgium so healthcare is pretty good and I have great health insurance from my job. I need to have 4 appointments for tests (have had 3 already) so my next one is on Feb 7 and then they need 3 weeks to come to a conclusion. After that I will have to go to 1 more appointment, so that's the 28th of Feb. Here there are a lot of waiting lists, but I was able to go to a private practice so for me it was only a few months. Including the month of delay I had because I had to make an appointment and kept forgetting... In total it will probably cost me about 1000€, but I might get some of it back from the insurance (if I can get my administration done). So I really can't complain. So fortunate that I don't live in America and other countries without proper healthcare. The doctor told me that I could get the meds now for testing, but since I didn't have a diagnosis I would have to pay the full amount, it was 9€ for 20 pills. If I hear that in US it's 100's of dollars, I feel very happy to be in Belgium
@@sarahswanray9775 I'm sorry you had to go through all that. It must have been really hard on you, especially since a lot of the process is very adhd unfriendly
I'm feeling the same way, also got dxed in Sept. I don't have the capacity to articulate a full response rn but I want to say thanks so much for sharing your journey. It's a relief to hear someone going through what I am when otherwise I feel so alone in this.
I just found your videos. I’m on adderall 15 mg a day and it has done wonders. I would have to do my own videos to fully explain my experiences and results. I was diagnosed on my 50th birthday 5 years ago. It has answered almost all the questions at to why life has gone the way it has. Keep in mi d I’m from the generation that we were considered just to be “difficult child/person” and ADHD was never a thing. If my ADHD was caught in the early 89s my life would be completely different.
Just stumbled on one of your previous vids regarding adhd. Very well articulated and my brain tracked and understood. I’m undiagnosed as of now, but pretty much regard myself inattentive adhd and autistic. I’m 55, and raised 6 kids. Married for 37 years. At this point in my life, researching/discovering all this I am in a free-fall burnout from YEARS of ‘fixing’ myself and ‘doing the thing’ and I just feel done. I’m assuming menopause has brought much of this awareness to the surface {what you describe as your feeling of dread during PMS is pretty much my constant as all hormones have left the building at this point}. I was recently put back on Prozac for severe depression. It takes the edge off I suppose, but does nothing for executive function. I used to homeschool my 6 kids, volunteered as a musician, worked as a doula, highly creative, etc…. Nowadays I mostly sit on the couch and watch UA-cam videos. Lots of sleeping 😴 No friends. My brain looks like a lump of dried playdough…all the colors mushed together to a non-color, with bits beginning to crumble off. Any voice that breaks thru gets an immediate F*ck off from the only functioning brain cell I have left. Maybe I will finally go get a diagnosis, but insurance doesn’t cover it and the process feels too daunting.
I'm so sorry you've been experiencing this level of exhaustion. If you're in the US, you may be able to get an ADHD diagnosis from a primary care provider/pretty much any MD or NP. Of course some are better experienced in diagnosing ADHD in adults than others, but it's not required that you get a full psych eval, just that a provider can consider how the DSM criteria apply to you, and I think most insurance is more likely to cover a primary care visit like that. And a regular doctor can prescribe stimulants, if you're looking to try those - no matter what path you choose I wish you the best of luck.
@@ayeshasyed9158 Unfortunately those I’ve spoken to in my town who assess for adult adhd and asd do not take insurance. We have the money available in our medical savings, but just not sure I’m ready for the process.
@acottagegirl My PCP diagnosed me when I explained my constantly high levels of anxiety, horrible memory problems, no control over my ability to focus, etc. and prescribed me atemoxetine to try and see if it fixes my brain, I don’t know if it was my verging on melting down into tears over my built up emotions over how badly it has been effecting me in my work & relationship (I’ve had so many meltdowns privately that I was worried I’d lose it trying to explain my desperate need for help).. But he did and my insurance at least gives me a discount on medication. It’s only been a week but I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in my ability to focus and remember things, it’s not huge but I know it takes months for it to take full effect and I was so bad off that even a little improvement has given me hope. Plus I’ve gone from feeling horrible, stupid, & discouraged about myself every day with a constant ball of anxiety/discouragement in my gut to calm, positive, & I’m starting to get my brain back as the fog is lifting out of it. I know it doesn’t work for everyone but so far it seems to be for me & I’m actually starting to be able to remember things again.
Thanks for sharing with us! My mindscape looks like an ordered priority list that suddenly reorders it's self, often mid-task, perhaps when I entered a different room, or after seeing something shiny, moving, living or new.
@@feliciaschoenfeld5177 The adaptability is great, sometimes even a super power! However, could it wait until I finish pairing the socks just one time?!
I relate to this WHOLE analogy on EVERY level. But I especially relate to Debra. Love Debra. Thank you for sharing your light with us again ❤ you’re making me feel sane
I'm 28 and was diagnosed with ADHD yesterday. I am blown away because until now, I've never felt represented in content I watched. I felt ashamed and abnormal, thinking, what's wrong with me and why am I worlds away from all these content creators I admire. Now I'm watching your videos and see someone who likes sharing their thoughts like I do (I often make video journal entries to myself, and I feel like our speech patterns are pretty similar) and it would probably take me a lot of time to figure out how to precisely describe why I'm so happy to watch your videos- but I just want you to know that I admire you and am in awe of how your mind describes your experience in such an artistic analogy/metaphor. I'm becoming more appreciative of how creative/intuitive the ADHD brain can be and that has been a good feeling to balance a lot of the confusion I have with this new diagnosis. I really hope you're doing better and I look forward to supporting your channel in the future! Thank you for persisting and sharing your story!
Thank you soooo much! Honestly, it's just as validating for me to hear this too. Excited to share more in future, i've just quit my job so I can ADHD Coach and UA-cam full time so more to coooooome 🥳 Thanks for being here!
Hi and thanks. It is fantastically validating to listen to your conversations to camera; conversations I (and others) may only have internally. Your bravery in exposing your vulnerability is a much appreciated gift. I’ll be sharing your channel with my recently diagnosed daughter and look forward to hearing her thoughts about the issues she may not even have known were issues. Good luck with your journey.
I burnt out in the second half of 2021 in university. I saw it coming & had scheduled a mental health appointment several months prior. Got my adult adhd diagnosis as a woman in my mid-late 30's. Still feeling the effects of the burnout, taking a reduced course load and it still feels overwhelming. You're definitely not alone.
I dont usually coment on youtube videos, but; I am exactly the same age as you, also got my diagnose in september 2022, also being a woman, aaalso studying to become a psychologist (not that you are, but I looked up your page, and we are dipping our toes in to the same fields here). I've struggled a little bit with the feeling of being completely alone and having no one to talk to that can fully understand what I'm going through (hello youtube). So thank you very much for sharing such relatable content. The numbing thaught of "how can anyone like someone with ADHD" has not been a healthy one, but you are a perfect example of Very Likeable Person. So I hope you keep sharing, and thank you again.
Thanks for these vids. Really helpful for my processing 2 months into meds. Like you said in your first medication vlogs vid, I love my diagnosis and my medication, and like you show us here, I just hit my first postmeds energy wall/miniburnout last week. Hearing your eloquent description of your mind and the contextualization of your own extensive processing is really helpful. The analogy has so much detail too it and, like many people here, every aspect resonates. I've been experimenting with intentionally 'unmasking' (at safe times) so I particularly loved 'the zoo animals being in charge of the fireworks and that being where everyone wants to be coz it's awesome' so much true there. And. It's. Exhausting. Keep taking care of yourself ❤️
I was at 37 in 2020 and one of the first things I went through was wondering what a personality actually is. I was really confused by it since so much of my ADHD was considered a personality trait. So I totally relate.
Yah, but our symptoms are traits, even if we share them with our neurodivergent brothers and sisters. Or that's how I think about it at the moment anyway. Lots of my behaviour and peculiarities are connected to ADHD I realise, wasn't aware of that before I started watching videos like this. But it's fine. The tricky thing for me is to sort out what I want to keep because 'it's me' and makes life worthwhile and what perhaps needs to change because it's invariably connected to poor outcomes and grief.
Ummm. Thank you for sharing. I really appreciate your transparency and hope you feel better soon but also that you don’t feel too much pressure to “get on with it” so you can truly recalibrate and begin again with a fresh perspective and renewed hope.
I got diagnosed a short while back after more than 40 years of complete chaos, still digesting the diagnosis, waiting for meds getting cleared and ruminating if and how things are gonna change. Your videos have been extremely helpful to put my experience in a wider perspective. Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I know it can't be easy, but watching your videos has been incredibly validating for me. I have had a very similar experience having been on stimulant medication for approaching 2 years. Experiencing burnout at the moment, and hearing that maybe it's not just my being a failure gives me hope.
that used to happen when I was a kid. as with many families in the mid-90s, we only had 1 TV, and my brother ALWAYS had the remote. He enjoyed seeing what ELSE was on besides what we were supposed to be watching
Your blogs crack me up. I'm 41 and have just been diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD as well. Am currently jumping through the relevant hoops before getting some medication. Your insights are awesome and ring true on many counts.
I totally feel where you are coming from. I completely underestimated how difficult this process would be and unlearning coping strategies that I’ve had for my whole life (35yrs) is so incredibly difficult. I’m also just exhausted, but like you I’m also hopeful. Good luck 😘
Just watched part of that first video. (I'm 58, diagnosed aged 56. Just approaching the end of my second month on Elv@nse (which has helped a lot, unlike the other types which just gave me a headache and made no difference). Even if, as it was for me, the diagnosis is just a confirmation of what you already knew, it still turns everything upside down. A common remark seems to be, "since your diagnosis you've definitely got worse" - no, I haven't, I've just learned what masking is and how much I was doing it and now am learning not to. From the outside this looks very much like "getting worse". There are some great support groups on Facebook. Knowing that there other people out there with brains as useless, malfunctioning and weird as mine: that so many of these odd things I've experienced are common amongst other people with the same condition, has made a lot of difference. Now hoping that the wearing off of the benefits from the currently lowest possible dose of Elv@nse is down to the dose being too low rather than me building up a tolerance to it.
It's the dosage. From experience with same meds, at same age. I don't know anyone in my increasing circle of fellow adhd superhumans, for whom 30mg was a sustainable dose. It gives your brain/dopamine processing pathway a chance to "adjust and recallibrate" - but after 2 months, you probably need a titration. JUST my opinion, obviously. The next dosage is usually 50mg and you'll feel the difference. I now have the full 70mg prescribed, but the consultant psychiatric pharmacist taught me how to self-titrate my dosage to match my needs on a given day, with 70mg being maximum. Good luck - keep going. It's SOOO worth it. X
It's been 9 months since my ADHD diagnosis. I feel all this. Burnt out. Tired. It was actually the burn out that made me seek my diagnosis. Rest. Rest. Be kind to yourself and prioritise rest for as long as you need to.
Thank you so much for this video, and the previous one about your journey on your medication. As soon as you said the words "green grass", an amusement park with fireworks and attractions popped up in my own mind for my own analogy, until fractions of seconds later you talked about your fairground. I haven no diagnosis, but your videos have been helpful so far in helping me understand that I'm not alone and weird in my own head. Everything you've talked about has been spot on for me, down to the pre-menstral depressive period and IBS!!! I am really really hoping I will find a solution.
Thank you for this. I realise now that my burnouts are more severe now because Im still all the things I was before the meds plus all the new things ive become and its too much to manage 100% of the time! I rebuilt a motorbike yesterday, today ive had a migraine and ate biscuits. My mind would look like a pitch black room full of boxes, videos, and documents that reveal themselves when i bump into them, like a magic 8 ball
Watched this and sobbed those deep deep tears of feeling less totally alone. Diagnosed 3 months ago ish and medicated shortly after. 34F. I love the amount of color and imagination you’ve brought to this depiction of your brain. Thank you for making this video and helping me feel understood.
I absolutely love the fairgrounds analogy, and your way with words in general. There were several moments in the first Concerta video that I related to so precisely (after being on a different ADHD medication for all of three days) thanks to the brilliance of your word choice. As I've started to experience both the magic and the absolute exhaustion that comes from altering my brain chemistry, it's been really helpful to picture these workers in my brain trying to adapt to a new way of doing things. Makes it easier to deal with not being as thrilled all the time as I imagined I'd be before I started the meds. Thank you for sharing so much of your experience with us.
5:34 Thanks for sharing! ❤ And to take a needed break when the brain or the body says NO ENOUGH! Be kind to your self. Remember in a airplane when the oxygen tubes comes down, you are told to put your breath mask on before even helping your child. If you don't take care of yourself, you can't help or do! So take the needed break! You can't do things, when you need a break. If you force yourself through without the need break the crash will be bigger, longer and recovery harder. So let your self heal!
In a burnout myself, so thanks and to be kind to yourself for needing a break and time to heal are hard. If it was a broken leg or similar would you be as hard on yourself? Sorry for unasked for questions. A bit of a special interest by necessity for me at the moment.
This video was extremely interesting. I enjoy how you express yourself and your reality. All this new stuff sounds difficult and I hope that things will come together in a way that makes sense out of your situation . Hope you're feeling a bit better. Oh to answer your question, I think my brain would be like a garden to sit in, sunny, with flowers and benches and water and a desire for peace. Then in one corner of the property would be a dark scary area of goobledegoock with an invisible lines of anxiety stretching toward the garden asking to be seen.
Thanks for this video ❤️ The difference between an analogy and a methaphor is that the metaphor is an implicit analogy. My brain is a messy library. From a distance it looks pretty tidy up but close up it doesn't make any sense...
Thank you for sharing this. I've tried adderall on occasion to see if it would be worth pursuing a diagnosis and medication and I think this experience is something I've been very afraid of and has put me off going through with it. I've been through so many cycles of feeling excited and energised for a period, wanting to throw myself into everything and anything, and then getting totally burnt out, dropping it all, and feeling completely uselesss, and I've been so afraid that I would basically repeat the cycle with adhd medication, perhaps with added placebo effect, but your explanation of what's happened is so helpful for dealing with this fear. When you feel so frustrated and incapable so much of the time, of course when you get that fuel to move forward you're going to want to go as far as you can as fast as you can and while processing all these huge ideas and changes at the same time, of course it's going to lead to overwhelm and burnout at some points, and with so much experience of feeling like a failure those time can hit really hard. But you know you have access to that fuel, it's less of a mystery, so you can sit in those moments where you need rest and recovery with hope and trust in the future. That's what I want for myself and this video helped me feel like I can get it, so thank you so much
I'm about to start taking vyvanse and was curious how it would feel to be on stimulants. This is a cool format since I've not heard anyone go into it like that and it makes enough sense. My thoughts feel kind of everywhere and it sucks because there are a lot of moments that feel incoherent. It's hard to keep my mind in the same place. It's so normal to catch myself wondering what the fuck I'm doing or talking about because it seems like I switch thinking about things so much that a lot doesn't get taken in. It's mainly the not having enough order and memory stuff. It's like if I was writing a sentence and then I forgot what the sentence was about because I can only see the last three words I wrote, like I've got multiple word documents open that I keep switching between. Other than that, it's pretty relatable to what you were saying. I do have expectations and hope to be a lot more productive, mainly just cause I like things and want to feel more capable mentally when starting anything.
Thanks for this! I was diagnosed last year at over 50. Ok, that's a surprise but glad to know I have it and there is help. However I quickly felt criticised and pressured (by the well meaning friend who picked it) to 'get it together', yesterday, else I wasn't trying hard enough. That old chestnut 😐 I could see that the practical organisation ideas she offered are helpful for her as a mum caring for a child. I may call on some, those I hadn't already worked out myself pre-diagnosis. Its different being older, having it yourself, and having worked most days and years of my life to do better. Lovely having you share your mental and emotional experience of your journey. I'll keep watching 👀 🙂
An analogy is like a group of metaphors to express a complex idea. Like how you used all the themepark similies and metaphors to get across the concept of your lived experience and how your brain feels. I think...
I feel a good way to describe my brain would be like that game crossy road. Every step forward into a new lane is like diverting my mind to a new interest but I can only stand there for so long before I get hit by a moving car, so I keep moving from one idea to next. It’s exhilarating while the score counter is climbing but when it’s game over the burn out is real.
I'm 52 and awaiting an ADHD assessment. Your videos are brilliant. I love the way you describe things and I feel less scared of what the future might hold with medication, both good and bad, because of you.
@@DisabilitysAREabilities my daughter was diagnosed with autism 3 years ago and that raised awareness in our family on neuro diversity. When I first did an ADHD assessment online I did it to find out how someone without adhd would score but I scored very high which surprised me. That was until I looked into how it presents in women and girls. I was always the kid at school who was late despite living in fear of being told off, forget their home work, lose concentration and focus all the time, had the messiest bag, and had a nose that twitched and was always fidgeting. I've suffered with anxiety all my life and find life very difficult in ways I won't go into here. Adhd is a very real condition and only ignorant people would suggest otherwise. I hope you get the help you need not to be such a sad horrible person trolling strangers on the Internet. Good luck.
@@michelleryan1771 I’ve been on meds for 30 years but don’t need do make UA-cam videos about what meds I’m on…that’s the sad position we’re in..you people making hard for people with real conditions you idiot
45 years old here, originally misdiagnosed wirh aspbergers and now diagnosed with adhd. Afraid to begin to embrace what i might have incase its another misdiagnosis. Psychologists were supposed to update my dr medical records with what was going on within 2 weeks. 8 months later this still hasnt happened. ( i cant cope or function trying to chase these things up so thats why its been left for so long). So 8 months down the line and i get told it could be more than 2 years on nhs waiting list to start getting seen to. Maybe some day after 30 years of hurt il find peace!!
An analogy is comparing two things to help with clarification of an idea, ex. 'my brain is like a fairground - theres a bunch of things running at the same time and it can get overwhelming'
This was absolutely hilarious. I don’t mean that in a bad way though, just fun to watch someone else like me go massively round the houses getting to a point. I hope you are doing well now and are rested. This video has really helped set my expectations for my own treatment journey. Thanks 🙏
I somewhat wonder if using visualizations and analogies/metaphors/etc. to express our complex thoughts is a default for those of us with ADHD. We practically process via tangential associations and work ourselves in circles when we do have momentum. I feel like the circular part, say taking passes at a segment of progress on a chore, then returning to it when something else leads up back there two hours later, is what causes us to burn out. We get stimulated and want to work on all the things. Or maybe it's just me?
I relate to this on every level. I've always been terrible at remembering facts/details/info and I think it's because i think in story and visuals - so when I go to retrieve a fact I can't see it - so it's not there. Wondering if I should try that memory palace technique 😋
Omg, i used to describe my brain to my friends with merry go round carousal example, 1st time heard someone using the same analogy 😭. I also got diagnosed 3 months ago. Your videos make me feel like this is so me ❤
I get to talk to my Dr about all this next Thursday and I really feel like I need time off work till I can figure this all out… but I’ve just been promoted… and it's not the time to be missing work. I hope your time off helps to settle your mind & refreshes you. Thank you for sharing! 😊❤
I think an analogy is when you compare 2 things and use one to explain the other. A metaphor is a specific type of analogy where you say one thing is another thing and then use story, imagery, and emotion to make your point and allow someone else to reach understanding. With metaphors the subjects can be entirely unrelated except for some metaphysical/abstract concept that you are making up with your explanation to describe that concept itself, anaolgies on the other hand, the subjects tend to be more linked or similar and it makes logical sense to compare them. For example you can use a metaphor of the rabbit and the hair to explain the importance of patience and consistency as a moral concept. You might use an analogy to explain how part of a car works by comparing it to a bicycle. I could probably come up with better examples but that's all I got lol. The short version is analogies tend to be more clinical and logical, metaphors tend to be based in story, but both are kind of the same thing.
I left a different comment without even realized you also were using the theme park analogy, lol. Basically exactly the same! I personally ended up not staying on meds because of physiological issues (Heart rate, etc) mixed with what you say here. Basically it really hit my self esteem to see what I was capable of... but the cost it took to attain that level of performance was rapidly annihilating the parts of my and my life that I actually, yanno, STAY ALIVE for. Maybe if I had more therapy I could be medicated and not want to basically attack myself for not being good or productive enough but for now, I don't think that's possible. I did learn a lot about myself and my wife and I communicate more clearly than ever, but I just feel that I have to accept I am not a high achiever. Or at least I can't be while still being what I consider to be 'myself'.
I'm glad I took a few months before replying to this comment because after more time on meds and reflecting, I completely understand this feeling of not wanting to compromise on the aspects of yourself that you stay alive for! I've reduced the amount of days I take them now - it's a balance but I don't want to sacrifice my happiness for 'productivity' - whatever that even really means!
Got diagnosed with adhd 5 months ago at 38. They strongly recommended I go for an autism diagnosis too. My meds and adhd therapy are helping greatly but I'm still burned out a lot. So happy I went for a diagnosis though!
Your analogy of the park is hilarious and makes so much sense lol The state park is all of sudden it’s acting like a serious working facility, except for the running animals lol and Barbara needs a raise, poor lady is not ready for this type of workload. She’s used to painting her nails and crocheting lol I love thisssss
haha I love soooo much that you get this! Barbara has had a bit of a break recently, thank goodness - she quit totally for a while but she's back half crocheting, half adminning 🤣
I swear with each video, it feels like you're describing my own mind. I think I've found things difficult to process and compare because I work self employed in an industry that has no constant structure. Not in a bad way, I love it because every day is different, but at the same time, it has made it hard for me to pin point any changes / development ect. What is normal work chaos and what is ADHD? That on top of all the points you've explained yourself. I think your videos are helping me see a bit more clearly in my own process. Thankyou, again. ❤️
I just came up with the perfect image to describe my brain the other day. It's like a swarm of insects. When I do find my focus or inspiration, it's like worker bees bringing in the pollen and nectar and building an awesome hive. Most of the time it's a random number of different insects that all fly or crawl in different directions and try to do different things at the same time, interrupting each other. Sometimes it's like a regular fly that tries to fly through the window pane because it knows it needs to be on the other side but has no concept of how to get there.
Thanks for sharing! Hope you're doing well! I'm doing a bit research myself to figure all of this out. Andrew Huberman gives some good tips on helping ADHD naturally, but also, breathing exercises, and some other practices that increase neuroplasticity should be able to ease the shift from the ADHD brain into a normal functioning brain - I mean that's my speculation and a specialist needs to be advised (let me know what they say if anyone asks).
What a lovely, honest and vivid explanation. I accidentally stumbled across your channel and so glad I did. I just started Ritalin today and seeing your journey has given me hope. You’re doing a wonderful job and if it’s ok to say, you’re so cute as well.
Since I haven't seen a comment here explaining it: I believe metaphor is what you used for what your brain looks like; in particular, it is extended metaphor. It is saying that a thing IS something else with similar characteristics. A similie, in contrast, is saying that a thing is "like" something. If you had said that your brain was "like" or "similar to" a fairground, it would have been a similie. Maybe you did actually say that, but I'm leaning toward calling it extended metaphor because I can see your brain (and mine as well to a degree) working that way, and some implicit connections had to be made between how you described it and what the actual thoughts and emotions were. Now, "analogy" is apparently an umbrella term that includes similies and metaphors. Essentially, if you are comparing two things and call attention to some shared characteristic of those things, that's an analogy. I don't know if that cleared anything up, but the way I remember it is this. Metaphor: this IS that Similie: this is like (or "similar to") that Similar, similie Haven't made a comment on your videos yet, but I'm kinda binge watching them and, while I think my (presumed, undiagnosed for now) ADHD may be a bit more mild, I'm finding a lot of connections between how you describe your brain and what happens in mine. So I just wanted to say thank you for making these, and good luck to you as you continue on your journey through life!
I’ve been on meds for about ~3 years. I thought I was a high functioning anxious & depressed overachiever with forceful optimism and curiosity to carry me thru life. Turns out that’s not “normal” but it’s also not unique to me. I super relate to you so hard. Anyone that ever looks at any of my todo lists gets overwhelmed cuz I need different colors that only I associate with priority and theme or category of tasks. Like “wash bedsheets” but also “sort mail” but that’s because I’ve piled the mail onto my bed as a meek attempt at forcing myself to do a hard menial task before getting to an equally menial bare minimum maintenance task of having clean sheets which provides much more reward than the fricking mail ughhh but both are important right? And yes that’s how my brain works - wtf are the wild animals doing performing a pyrotechnic show and how tf did they get past Deborah? Or does she have to re-do the whole budget now that these unexpected guests have taken over the fairgrounds? Or do they work for free? LABOR AND ENTERTAINMENT? who would’ve thought that’s what my ADHD THRIVES on? High functioning well executed performance? Or BARELY functioning chaos falling apart behind the scenes? I’m always both 🙃 and that’s acceptance, atleast for tonight
I think the difference between an analogy and a metaphor is the length? An analogy is a metaphor explained. I also use analogies constantly. I don’t know if the adhd or the autism or both but I feel compelled to explain things to people with them
You just vocalized my experience. Like word for word. Thank you!! If I had a nickel for every time I heard “buck up” and just do it, I’d be a millionaire. I never understood why I could write to do lists and never actually start or finish the tasks. Now with my ADHD inattentive diagnosis and the right medication treatment at age 45, it’s well…been so amazing. To answer your question about what my thoughts would look like…when I am off the meds my thoughts are like a whole bowl of spaghetti, with each thought a noodle intertwining simultaneously with each other, covered by a hot mess of sauce from the outside world. When I’m on my meds, I’m too focused on accomplishing my goals to think about drawing a mind map. 😂
👋 for the past 18 years or so, I have described my hubby and my brain in this manner My hubby’s brain is like a falling cabinet, with everything neatly filed away, while my brain is like a filing cabinet that exploded Now that I have been diagnosed ( also in my 40’s) I understand a bit better why I have felt that way
My brain is like, imagine there’s a deck of cards that has been spread out in a haphazard manner. These cards are my thoughts and feelings. I’d love to describe them to you but I can’t really make out the pictures very well and I can’t pick one to focus on, instead my attention is trying to figure out what’s on five of them simultaneously. At any moment I might start to have the feeling that one card is Very Important. Now that’s the only card that matters and if you want me to talk about a different card I’m going to get annoyed… or I won’t even hear you asking me about it. Once my brain has decided the card is no longer important good luck trying to get me to focus on it again!
Love this description! The bit that hit me the hardest was 'if you want me to talk about a different card I'll get annoyed'. I'm often seen as stubborn but the way you describe it there makes me go 'yeah this makes sense I'm not trying to be awkward, it's kinda outside of my control!'
If I had to describe my brain, it's like that "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" meme where Charlie has that conspiracy investigation board. I'm at the center, and there are connections running wild and getting tangled on themselves. Those are all of my tasks and life aspirations, gettiing linked to each other by a piece of yarn. Problem is that I have too many points on the board, and not enough yarn to make the connections. Some aspirations/goals/thoughts sit just out of reach, completely unable to be brought into the fold.
hi, thanks allot for your explanations on adhd. I am in the proses of getting diagnosed, and I am very nervous in what they will come up whit. But something is not right whit my head. I have turned 50 years no so it is about time. But my biggest problem is to ekspress my self probably and make me understandably and hope they don't give up on me. I guess I have to be patiently with me self and that's the hardest part.
Very funny Analogy which makes perfect sense to me at least. Mines like the film inside out where there are the various characters pushing buttons and pulling levers. Most times they make it through the day without to many mishaps but the firey head (mr grumpy) usually puts in an appearance when it’s all gets a bit overwhelming and he calls time out. Hang on in there. Small steps are forward steps.
I got diagnosed aug 1st and I’m am sooooo over life .. and this is something I really hope will help . So it’s killing me that my doc to call me to prescribe my pills.
In one of your videos you said you only thought that you might have ADHD about 1 month before you were diagnosed. How did you get diagnosed so quickly? Did you have to pay to go private? If so, can you talk about how much the diagnostic process and your meds are costing you? I'm waiting for an assessment but I've heard the waiting list is 5 years! so I'm thinking of going private. I desperately want the transformation you've had with meds x
To start with im waiting for my ASD assessments. So an autistic most likely not ADHD mind. I don't have one image of my mind I have several for different purposes. One when trying to accept my emotions are a huge library in marble surfaces (so unpractical) with a desk for checking out or more like in books. Every emotion are a boom and I scan it in put it on the cart for going to the right shelf... so this is a anger book or this is a happy book. When it comes to knowledge especially of a social nature but well every type of knowledge i see a big dark empty space where I put my new in put and wait for other connections to come like a new puzzle piece but it multidimensional becomes like a galaxy when connected to other things. Because I have learned that if I try to connect things to early or forcefully I will most likely misunderstand and end up in a this don't fit I can't handle the contradictions but every person and most subjects are multidimensional and complex. At this time i more feel like my mind is a big swirling bingo bowl and I'm just one of the balls in that bowl waiting to see how I will come out when I'm whole. Sometimes it's chaotic more like you're amusement park and for me that is so sensory overload centre. Other times it's like a stormy sea. Some times like a wild forest. Well it's more like my emotional stats than anything else. And some times it's like an old school archive and that has it limits because if you open a box you only get access to the information card in that box maybe links to a few other cards or boxes. But if someone ask me a big question either I will answer with like reading out a long thread of Wikipedia articles often jumping to the next like to the next like often one of these the have a word early on that has a page but not even close to what was the original subject like a psychology theory from the 1980s might have a link to 1980s and than might end up on 1980s fashions... hoping to have answered the original question that might have been what do you think of CBT therapy (not good for ASD apparently good for ADHD?) and instead long monologue on 80s hairstyles... most often a simple question will have a complicated long winded answer. And a complex questions might get an simple almost yes or no question. At the moment it's a big network of wires that someone thought was good to reorganise using an eggbeater and a few rodents have nibbled on and might also have had a tree hit by lightning fallen in to that wire nest.
Been there with the burnout. If someone had told me in advance how long it would take and how different the new normal would be I would have been terrified. Hindsight me sees how it all turned out ok and that it was always all going to turn out ok. It's difficult to explain but the fear was a result of the newness and some twisted thought patterns. The things I was scared about weren't really things that one should fear. They were boogeymen and ghosts that were, though petrifying, not real. So hello from the other side of it! Hang on and exist through the chaos, it will be ok even if you don't quite see how at the moment.
Ohhh this warmed my heart. Thanks so much. I'm out of the other side of the immediate, and feeling like myself again. But I know there's still a journey to go on. See you soon on the other side 👋
Here's an attempt to explain the difference between a metaphor and an analogy. In a metaphor, you have two elements, of which one is the thing you are talking about and the second one replaces a proper ideas that can be ascribed to that element. For example, "Your eyes are two sapphires". Element A = eyes, Element B = sapphires. The eyes are actually there, they are the thing we're talking about, but the element B is replacing ideas like "blue, beautiful, shiny", etc. So, Element A is present, element B is a replacement for ideas. In an analogy, both elements are replacements. For example, "Finding a good man is like finding a needle in a haystack". In that case, Element A = needle and element B = haystack, are replacing the proper things we're talking about. The needle presents the man and the haystack the world. So... yeah...
The "self-consciousness fairies" have been a real problem for me. I'm now experiencing so much anxiety while interacting with people and then I feel intense shame sometimes afterwards if I feel like I said the wrong thing. I'm wondering if this is the anxiety that was my PCP warned could happen w/ stimulants.
I understand, hang in there 💛 I'm 8 months on from this and it's not an issue in the same way at ALL anymore. After I had time off work, and settled into my diagnosis, I'd say it started getting a lot better about a month after I did this video.
I have add but I've been hesitant to take the meds for 2 reasons: 1. I'm concerned about long term heart damage. 2. I'm don't want the crash when meds wear off & one feels destroyed. I don't even like caffeine.
Researchers did a literacture review and found that out of 19 studies the overall concesus is that adhd meds do not cause long term damage to the heart so idk where people are getting this heart danger info from.
I was diagnosed almost 20 years ago in my 30’s and didn’t take my medication until going to grad school and not being able to keep up last year. Your doctor should order blood tests and an ekg to make sure it’s safe to start. Then you take this totally ineffective tiny dose and think, “why bother with this?” Then you increase in small increments until it becomes effective. This whole time, you should be taking your pulse and blood pressure. My pulse goes up about 10 bpm, but my blood pressure remained normal. My doctor said he often sees blood pressure rise in the beginning, then return to normal. A slight increase in pulse is normal and not dangerous. If you have high pulse or blood pressure to begin with, you should work on this first. I’ve lived a good life and I try to convince myself that I don’t regret not taking meds for the last 20 years, but I don’t have to dread tasks as much; I don’t have to power through mental blocks just to get started as often.
in my personal experience the feeling of ADHD stimulant meds is very different from the effect of caffeine - the latter always amps up my anxiety (even if it feels "happy" at first) whereas the ADHD meds make me feel calm. to the extent there is a crash, it's slower and more predictable, at least with the extended-release type I have taken, so I'm learning to schedule activities around that fluctuation.
Metaphor is a type of analogy, but where analogy is identifying two things as similar, a metaphor claims a comparison where there may not be one. It is then up to the listener to create meaning out of this comparison.
If you had the task of employing a new 'big boss' to replace the old one, what would he be like and what qualities would he have? What would you need from him?
Oh my goodness I completely relate. I’m only just beginning this journey to understand ADHD. It wasn’t until my daughter was diagnosed, that I started researching it. I burst into tears when I found videos that spoke about inattentive ADHD, because it summed up so much of who I am and how/why I struggle. Thank you, truly, thank you for sharing your experiences. It’s validating on so many levels ❤ You are making a difference. And no matter where this journey takes you, never doubt that you are a bright, beautiful, quirky ( in the best possible way) soul. You’ve got this
I'm crying laughing at this 🤣😭 Yes that's the first 12 months, I think it happens to everyone. Initiate omg, followed by wtf fairground and eventually proper understanding. Read the two books I recommended. ❤️
Congrats on finding out about your life and life stuff. There’s many add meds to try.Clonidine I’ve found can be super calming as going along with a stimulant and is dirt cheap generic to take the edge and chaos off a bit. Modafinil and dex can be smoother then Ritalin by a lot. I remember that told someone I was taking Ritalin and they’re like aren’t those crazy pills. Buddhism and meditation can be great to explore. They get to the point. Quieting your mind is good. Found the long drawn out analogy retarded have to say. Talking a lot is dumb. I liked how you didn’t talk for like eighteen days or something on your main vid when things were going well that was the best part. Was so happy for you. Yeah adhd can be a roller coaster. You will find the right meds combo and a good balance one of these days, and may life never be beyond your capacity to cope.
Your imagination is amazing. You might consider writing. You are obviously smart and when medicated, can string thoughts together that make sense. For the othet times, there's these great folks called editors that weed the extra stuff out.
chatGPT on the difference between a metaphor and an analogy: A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. For example, "the world is a stage" is a metaphor. An analogy is a comparison between two things to show their similarities. For example, "the brain is like a computer" is an analogy. In short, a metaphor is a direct comparison, while an analogy explains one thing by connecting it to something else.
My brain would be like... It's a park, and every time a person (thought) walks in, ten other people swarm them to analyse whether the person is legit or not, unzipping their coat, pockets, etc. Meanwhile the park itself is grassy, rich in nitrates, doing its thing, but the people in the park (thoughts) want it (the park) to go rock climbing - so they pull together and try to pull the park up by its grass to try to get it to want to go rock climbing. Which hurts the park, but doesn't make it move.
I was diagnosed with ADHD officially only a few years ago. I lived AGES (decades) with it already.
But the diagnosis is *NOTHING* compared to getting kicked out of 10+ schools, losing 20+ jobs throughout my life, and failing in relationships my entire life.
I have been recently diagnosed with ADHD as a 40 yr old female. I am on my third month of meds. I love how you described all that is going on inside of you. I realize that I also use these long drawn out analogies to describe to others how I am feeling and often feel like they are just exhausted listening to me. Like at the end they are thinking, "That was the absolute longest way to tell me you are burnt out." But I listen to your analogy and am thinking the whole time, "Yep, yep, yeah, totally agree, completely understand that, check, yes! Exactly!"
In another video you made some silly sounds to describe how you felt. My husband was watching with me and giggled at the sounds. I said, "I speak that language. I know exactly what she meant by that." He kindly smiled and responded, "I know you do."
I told him the other day that although my medicine is helping me to complete tasks easier, I realized that the amount of energy it takes to complete the tasks is the same as if I did all those tasks without the meds. The difference is I don't feel it as much so I keep going. However, when the meds wear off the exhaustion that has been accumulating is so intense. And of course that happens when I'm trying to put kids to bed, clean up and settle down.
You are getting off taliking crap about adhd constantly and brainwashing yourself the world is going nuts you all think you have adhd …your all doing mothers little helpers the stones did songs about it your all a joke
Mothers little helpers
I was just thinking the same thing about how the sounds and gestures explain so much!!
@@DisabilitysAREabilities That expression “Mother’s Little Helpers” is about Valium. It comes from a sociological era in Western society called, “Momism”. It was an era where women were medicalized and judged for their dissatisfaction with their displaced gender roles and lack of recognition for keeping farms, factories, and families running without their men during WW1 and WW2, and women were openly mocked and berated in pop culture. Many women were confused and depressed and there was no cultural awareness for what had happened, thus they couldn’t talk about it openly. When they had difficulty coping, a vast number of women were doped with Valium by their Doctors. No one knows this without a college courses that covered modern Western society and medicalization. It completely different from ADHD, but I see the cultural association, which is completely natural and innocent. Once you understand that whole sequence though, the innocence is lost! “Valley of The Dolls” came from this if you are interested. ❤
A lot of people say a late diagnosis brings you through the stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. It’s very common to stay in the loop and cycle through it a few times before reaching acceptance. To be honest acceptance is a life long journey lol. It’s okay and healthy to grief. Cry for your younger self that did not have the chance to. Your younger self deserves it. Also, you could try meeting other people with adhd, it’s hard to be compassionate towards yourself, but when your friend is just like you, it’s much easier. One more thing, self acceptance can be a lonely path, it is not about seeking validation or making others understand. Some people won’t understand or will judge you, but that’s because they are working on their own self esteem too. Like a tall person may feel good about being tall, while a short person doesn’t care about height but instead feels good about other things. Everyone has their own ruler to measure themselves and it’s actually healthy as it means most of us can focus and develop on what we are good at. Therefore when people don’t understand you, it’s often not about you, but about them. Someone who is always punctual will of course place more emphasis towards punctuality than someone that is often late, but it’s not really about right or wrong. There is no need to make others understand if they don’t. And there is no need to feel upset, unfair, or hate them. It’s difficult because no one likes to be judged, but detaching from the emotion and realizing everyone is just as insecure as you are, and are just trying to maintain their self-esteem really helps.
It’s brainwashing La La dude
I'm 65 and still in shock really.
@@DisabilitysAREabilitiesYou believeing what some random guy online said doesn't make you smarter than someone believing what a doctor says. You're both doing the same thing, you're just being an edgy teen about it.
@dgxdcoder8791
You described exactly what I am going through right now and the realisations I am coming up with...
Well said...
Im craving toast...
Maybe a movie tonight?
Maybe I should read some spiritually uplifting material?.....
Take. Bath?
Go to bed early?
Can I do all these things in 1.5 hrs?................
Is that ADHD?
I think I'll watch a few more episodes here instead 😂 aloha
Thank you so much for your explanation, it's so validating. I finally got diagnosed ~6 months ago at 24 with ADHD and autism and have been on Wellbutrin for ~5 months. Felt like such a breath of fresh air at first, I could do things without so much inner turmoil. I did things I needed to do and finally picked up hobbies that have been gathering dust for years. Still have a hard time going back to those and relaxing tho. I've heard ADHD described as feeling like a chronic game of catch-up or overwhelm and it's so true. When I'm finally doing things I hyperfocus and expect myself to get it all done in one go. I get so scared that I won't start again that I have a hard time stopping. Perfectionist so I don't stop until my brain deems it satisfactory. Also time blindness. I keep getting burnt out even though overall I'm doing much better. Just don't have upgraded infrastructure in place to keep up with my new pace. Really need to slow down and prioritize caring for myself. Hopeful but struggling to function, and it's triggering bc things feel so out of control/like they'll never actually improve. Thank you for sharing and helping people be kinder and more understanding with themselves 💖
I really appreciate your videos ❤️ my husband was diagnosed with adhd September 2022 and he's 37 . Your videos are helping me understand him and what he needs from me so much more as he doesn't talk about it . I realised the last few months all the things I was doing wrong that weren't helpful or that were making him feel so much worse . It's a learning curve for us all x
Thanks for sharing Shona, it definitely is a learning curve for all. Great that you are taking the time to find out more, appreciate you watching 💛
I just love listening to you talk because I am the same. I explain so much in very detailed metaphors 😆 I completely get what you're saying. For those who don't get it:
1: Pills don't teach skills. It helps with being a bit calmer, having more motivation and ability to stick with the tasks BUT it doesn't teach us organization, planning, or the ability to know how much we actually should or shouldn't do. This is why pills + coaching/practical therapy is very very important.
2: being late diagnosed throws you into an identity crisis that makes you question EVERYTHING about yourself and it's exhausting to process all of it. You're mourning the person you thought you could be, and learning to accept your disability all at the same time.
I am one month past diagnosis, and I haven't grasped that I am disabled yet at all. But I have to completely rethink 52 years. Why didn't anyone tell me?
💕
Ooof this was way too relatable. Also! That would make the most marvellous children’s book! I saw it all fully illustrated in my mind 🤩
yes!!! I saw it clearly in my mind too. I wish I could draw well enough to re-create the picture in my head
Me too and I also wish I could draw well enough to re-create exactly what I see in my head 🤣 Maybe I need to team up with an illustrator
I (32F) have been home for about 7 months now, burn-out. Fortunately I have great therapists that told me I might have ADHD, so now I'm in the process of getting a diagnosis. But I have been watching the how to adhd UA-cam channel and with the episodes of the wall of awful and the bridge of motivation (or something like that) I just cried, because I realised that 75-90% of my energy goes to fighting my ADHD. But now I know, at least I can adapt my life to my brain so I can feel better.
I watch that channel too, and in ways it helps. But sometimes it is also overwhelming when the tips are too much and I can't yet.
@@keldasinclair6827 yes, sometimes I have to stop watching as well. And some of them I have to rewatch because I was overwhelmed with emotions of how accurate it is and then I can't take out all the info I need.
I will normally get my diagnosis end of February, but my doctor already gave me a light dose of medication today and I got to do so much of the things I usually can't.
Hang in there! The process to getting an official diagnosis can be long. For me it was 14 months. And the documents and intake forms required seemed so overwhelming. But stick with it! I am 45, ADHD inattentive. Took a failed marriage and then horrible divorce, and a lifetime of struggle in school, relationships, and parenting and a whole heap of misdiagnosis of depression, anxiety, ocd, cPSD…and meds and therapy that didn’t work for me to even consider I had ADHD. Now, I’m finally getting the right medication treatment and using the right tips and tools, and it’s been absolutely life changing for the better. Carry on towards the diagnosis, it is 100% worth the work. You can do it!!
@@sarahswanray9775 for me fortunately it isn't that bad (for now). I live in Belgium so healthcare is pretty good and I have great health insurance from my job. I need to have 4 appointments for tests (have had 3 already) so my next one is on Feb 7 and then they need 3 weeks to come to a conclusion. After that I will have to go to 1 more appointment, so that's the 28th of Feb. Here there are a lot of waiting lists, but I was able to go to a private practice so for me it was only a few months. Including the month of delay I had because I had to make an appointment and kept forgetting... In total it will probably cost me about 1000€, but I might get some of it back from the insurance (if I can get my administration done). So I really can't complain. So fortunate that I don't live in America and other countries without proper healthcare. The doctor told me that I could get the meds now for testing, but since I didn't have a diagnosis I would have to pay the full amount, it was 9€ for 20 pills. If I hear that in US it's 100's of dollars, I feel very happy to be in Belgium
@@sarahswanray9775 I'm sorry you had to go through all that. It must have been really hard on you, especially since a lot of the process is very adhd unfriendly
I'm feeling the same way, also got dxed in Sept. I don't have the capacity to articulate a full response rn but I want to say thanks so much for sharing your journey. It's a relief to hear someone going through what I am when otherwise I feel so alone in this.
Thanks Katie - I hope you get what you need as you continue on this journey 💛
I just found your videos. I’m on adderall 15 mg a day and it has done wonders. I would have to do my own videos to fully explain my experiences and results. I was diagnosed on my 50th birthday 5 years ago. It has answered almost all the questions at to why life has gone the way it has. Keep in mi d I’m from the generation that we were considered just to be “difficult child/person” and ADHD was never a thing. If my ADHD was caught in the early 89s my life would be completely different.
No don’t make content
Regarding bei
G on meds
Watch Rick Green on UA-cam.
@@feliciaschoenfeld5177 I don’t need to watch no fool I’ve been on meds for 30 years…it’s oh so Fing trendy yo
Just stumbled on one of your previous vids regarding adhd. Very well articulated and my brain tracked and understood. I’m undiagnosed as of now, but pretty much regard myself inattentive adhd and autistic. I’m 55, and raised 6 kids. Married for 37 years. At this point in my life, researching/discovering all this I am in a free-fall burnout from YEARS of ‘fixing’ myself and ‘doing the thing’ and I just feel done. I’m assuming menopause has brought much of this awareness to the surface {what you describe as your feeling of dread during PMS is pretty much my constant as all hormones have left the building at this point}. I was recently put back on Prozac for severe depression. It takes the edge off I suppose, but does nothing for executive function. I used to homeschool my 6 kids, volunteered as a musician, worked as a doula, highly creative, etc…. Nowadays I mostly sit on the couch and watch UA-cam videos. Lots of sleeping 😴 No friends. My brain looks like a lump of dried playdough…all the colors mushed together to a non-color, with bits beginning to crumble off. Any voice that breaks thru gets an immediate F*ck off from the only functioning brain cell I have left. Maybe I will finally go get a diagnosis, but insurance doesn’t cover it and the process feels too daunting.
I'm so sorry you've been experiencing this level of exhaustion. If you're in the US, you may be able to get an ADHD diagnosis from a primary care provider/pretty much any MD or NP. Of course some are better experienced in diagnosing ADHD in adults than others, but it's not required that you get a full psych eval, just that a provider can consider how the DSM criteria apply to you, and I think most insurance is more likely to cover a primary care visit like that. And a regular doctor can prescribe stimulants, if you're looking to try those - no matter what path you choose I wish you the best of luck.
insurance covers it
@@ayeshasyed9158 Unfortunately those I’ve spoken to in my town who assess for adult adhd and asd do not take insurance. We have the money available in our medical savings, but just not sure I’m ready for the process.
@acottagegirl My PCP diagnosed me when I explained my constantly high levels of anxiety, horrible memory problems, no control over my ability to focus, etc. and prescribed me atemoxetine to try and see if it fixes my brain, I don’t know if it was my verging on melting down into tears over my built up emotions over how badly it has been effecting me in my work & relationship (I’ve had so many meltdowns privately that I was worried I’d lose it trying to explain my desperate need for help).. But he did and my insurance at least gives me a discount on medication.
It’s only been a week but I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in my ability to focus and remember things, it’s not huge but I know it takes months for it to take full effect and I was so bad off that even a little improvement has given me hope. Plus I’ve gone from feeling horrible, stupid, & discouraged about myself every day with a constant ball of anxiety/discouragement in my gut to calm, positive, & I’m starting to get my brain back as the fog is lifting out of it. I know it doesn’t work for everyone but so far it seems to be for me & I’m actually starting to be able to remember things again.
Thanks for sharing with us! My mindscape looks like an ordered priority list that suddenly reorders it's self, often mid-task, perhaps when I entered a different room, or after seeing something shiny, moving, living or new.
Actually theories generally say that priorities !Should shift all the time. So how can we ever manage these lists?!
@@feliciaschoenfeld5177 The adaptability is great, sometimes even a super power! However, could it wait until I finish pairing the socks just one time?!
I would say 100% true for me… except the list isn’t ever in order!
fixing the ferris wheel and all the sounds you make just make so much sense to my visual brain lol
I relate to this WHOLE analogy on EVERY level. But I especially relate to Debra. Love Debra.
Thank you for sharing your light with us again ❤ you’re making me feel sane
Debra - what a babe 😋 Thanks Georgia - I appreciate you!
I'm 28 and was diagnosed with ADHD yesterday. I am blown away because until now, I've never felt represented in content I watched. I felt ashamed and abnormal, thinking, what's wrong with me and why am I worlds away from all these content creators I admire. Now I'm watching your videos and see someone who likes sharing their thoughts like I do (I often make video journal entries to myself, and I feel like our speech patterns are pretty similar) and it would probably take me a lot of time to figure out how to precisely describe why I'm so happy to watch your videos- but I just want you to know that I admire you and am in awe of how your mind describes your experience in such an artistic analogy/metaphor. I'm becoming more appreciative of how creative/intuitive the ADHD brain can be and that has been a good feeling to balance a lot of the confusion I have with this new diagnosis. I really hope you're doing better and I look forward to supporting your channel in the future! Thank you for persisting and sharing your story!
Thank you soooo much! Honestly, it's just as validating for me to hear this too. Excited to share more in future, i've just quit my job so I can ADHD Coach and UA-cam full time so more to coooooome 🥳 Thanks for being here!
Hi and thanks. It is fantastically validating to listen to your conversations to camera; conversations I (and others) may only have internally. Your bravery in exposing your vulnerability is a much appreciated gift.
I’ll be sharing your channel with my recently diagnosed daughter and look forward to hearing her thoughts about the issues she may not even have known were issues.
Good luck with your journey.
I burnt out in the second half of 2021 in university. I saw it coming & had scheduled a mental health appointment several months prior. Got my adult adhd diagnosis as a woman in my mid-late 30's. Still feeling the effects of the burnout, taking a reduced course load and it still feels overwhelming. You're definitely not alone.
Thanks for sharing Dawn - it's a comfort to not feel alone in all this!
I dont usually coment on youtube videos, but; I am exactly the same age as you, also got my diagnose in september 2022, also being a woman, aaalso studying to become a psychologist (not that you are, but I looked up your page, and we are dipping our toes in to the same fields here). I've struggled a little bit with the feeling of being completely alone and having no one to talk to that can fully understand what I'm going through (hello youtube). So thank you very much for sharing such relatable content. The numbing thaught of "how can anyone like someone with ADHD" has not been a healthy one, but you are a perfect example of Very Likeable Person. So I hope you keep sharing, and thank you again.
Thanks so much 💛 There's so many of us out there - here's to feeling less alone!
Thanks for these vids. Really helpful for my processing 2 months into meds. Like you said in your first medication vlogs vid, I love my diagnosis and my medication, and like you show us here, I just hit my first postmeds energy wall/miniburnout last week. Hearing your eloquent description of your mind and the contextualization of your own extensive processing is really helpful. The analogy has so much detail too it and, like many people here, every aspect resonates. I've been experimenting with intentionally 'unmasking' (at safe times) so I particularly loved 'the zoo animals being in charge of the fireworks and that being where everyone wants to be coz it's awesome' so much true there. And. It's. Exhausting.
Keep taking care of yourself ❤️
I was at 37 in 2020 and one of the first things I went through was wondering what a personality actually is. I was really confused by it since so much of my ADHD was considered a personality trait. So I totally relate.
OH my God I am seriously in that mode. Where is me and where is ADHD? Who am I if EVERY PERSONALITY TRAIT matches symptoms?
Kind of spiraling.
Yah, but our symptoms are traits, even if we share them with our neurodivergent brothers and sisters. Or that's how I think about it at the moment anyway. Lots of my behaviour and peculiarities are connected to ADHD I realise, wasn't aware of that before I started watching videos like this. But it's fine. The tricky thing for me is to sort out what I want to keep because 'it's me' and makes life worthwhile and what perhaps needs to change because it's invariably connected to poor outcomes and grief.
Ummm. Thank you for sharing. I really appreciate your transparency and hope you feel better soon but also that you don’t feel too much pressure to “get on with it” so you can truly recalibrate and begin again with a fresh perspective and renewed hope.
Thank you for these kind and supportive words! I ended up having 6 weeks off work, and it helped immensely.
I got diagnosed a short while back after more than 40 years of complete chaos, still digesting the diagnosis, waiting for meds getting cleared and ruminating if and how things are gonna change. Your videos have been extremely helpful to put my experience in a wider perspective. Thank you!
Thanks for being here 💛
Thank you so much for sharing this. I know it can't be easy, but watching your videos has been incredibly validating for me. I have had a very similar experience having been on stimulant medication for approaching 2 years. Experiencing burnout at the moment, and hearing that maybe it's not just my being a failure gives me hope.
An analogy I've heard and am using for myself: ADHD is like sitting in front of a TV and somebody else has the Remote and switches channels randomly.
that used to happen when I was a kid. as with many families in the mid-90s, we only had 1 TV, and my brother ALWAYS had the remote. He enjoyed seeing what ELSE was on besides what we were supposed to be watching
Your blogs crack me up. I'm 41 and have just been diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD as well. Am currently jumping through the relevant hoops before getting some medication. Your insights are awesome and ring true on many counts.
Thanks Ash!
I totally feel where you are coming from. I completely underestimated how difficult this process would be and unlearning coping strategies that I’ve had for my whole life (35yrs) is so incredibly difficult. I’m also just exhausted, but like you I’m also hopeful. Good luck 😘
Thanks for watching and commenting Jennifer - good luck to you too 💛
Curious to know what kind of coping strategies you mean? Would you mind giving an example? I'm in the same place.
Just watched part of that first video. (I'm 58, diagnosed aged 56. Just approaching the end of my second month on Elv@nse (which has helped a lot, unlike the other types which just gave me a headache and made no difference).
Even if, as it was for me, the diagnosis is just a confirmation of what you already knew, it still turns everything upside down. A common remark seems to be, "since your diagnosis you've definitely got worse" - no, I haven't, I've just learned what masking is and how much I was doing it and now am learning not to. From the outside this looks very much like "getting worse".
There are some great support groups on Facebook. Knowing that there other people out there with brains as useless, malfunctioning and weird as mine: that so many of these odd things I've experienced are common amongst other people with the same condition, has made a lot of difference.
Now hoping that the wearing off of the benefits from the currently lowest possible dose of Elv@nse is down to the dose being too low rather than me building up a tolerance to it.
It's the dosage. From experience with same meds, at same age. I don't know anyone in my increasing circle of fellow adhd superhumans, for whom 30mg was a sustainable dose. It gives your brain/dopamine processing pathway a chance to "adjust and recallibrate" - but after 2 months, you probably need a titration. JUST my opinion, obviously. The next dosage is usually 50mg and you'll feel the difference. I now have the full 70mg prescribed, but the consultant psychiatric pharmacist taught me how to self-titrate my dosage to match my needs on a given day, with 70mg being maximum. Good luck - keep going. It's SOOO worth it. X
It's been 9 months since my ADHD diagnosis. I feel all this. Burnt out. Tired. It was actually the burn out that made me seek my diagnosis. Rest. Rest. Be kind to yourself and prioritise rest for as long as you need to.
Thanks Stella - I had 6 weeks off work, and the rest has made such a difference. Hope you are getting the rest you need too 💛
You are amazing Rach. One of the best I’ve ever worked with/had the pleasure of getting to know. You’re helping so many people and I adore you!
Hollyyyyyyy! Thanks so much 💛
Thank you so much for this video, and the previous one about your journey on your medication. As soon as you said the words "green grass", an amusement park with fireworks and attractions popped up in my own mind for my own analogy, until fractions of seconds later you talked about your fairground. I haven no diagnosis, but your videos have been helpful so far in helping me understand that I'm not alone and weird in my own head. Everything you've talked about has been spot on for me, down to the pre-menstral depressive period and IBS!!! I am really really hoping I will find a solution.
Thank you for this. I realise now that my burnouts are more severe now because Im still all the things I was before the meds plus all the new things ive become and its too much to manage 100% of the time!
I rebuilt a motorbike yesterday, today ive had a migraine and ate biscuits.
My mind would look like a pitch black room full of boxes, videos, and documents that reveal themselves when i bump into them, like a magic 8 ball
Watched this and sobbed those deep deep tears of feeling less totally alone. Diagnosed 3 months ago ish and medicated shortly after. 34F. I love the amount of color and imagination you’ve brought to this depiction of your brain. Thank you for making this video and helping me feel understood.
Thank you for being here watching and commenting 💖
I absolutely love the fairgrounds analogy, and your way with words in general. There were several moments in the first Concerta video that I related to so precisely (after being on a different ADHD medication for all of three days) thanks to the brilliance of your word choice. As I've started to experience both the magic and the absolute exhaustion that comes from altering my brain chemistry, it's been really helpful to picture these workers in my brain trying to adapt to a new way of doing things. Makes it easier to deal with not being as thrilled all the time as I imagined I'd be before I started the meds. Thank you for sharing so much of your experience with us.
Thank you for being here 💛
6:00 Bold of you to assume I did not put the video on 1.5x speed from the beginning :P
haha excellent!
5:34 Thanks for sharing! ❤
And to take a needed break when the brain or the body says NO ENOUGH!
Be kind to your self.
Remember in a airplane when the oxygen tubes comes down, you are told to put your breath mask on before even helping your child. If you don't take care of yourself, you can't help or do! So take the needed break! You can't do things, when you need a break. If you force yourself through without the need break the crash will be bigger, longer and recovery harder.
So let your self heal!
In a burnout myself, so thanks and to be kind to yourself for needing a break and time to heal are hard.
If it was a broken leg or similar would you be as hard on yourself? Sorry for unasked for questions. A bit of a special interest by necessity for me at the moment.
Thank you for sharing these kind and supportive words 💛 Permission to self heal is soooo important.
This video was extremely interesting. I enjoy how you express yourself and your reality. All this new stuff sounds difficult and I hope that things will come together in a way that makes sense out of your situation . Hope you're feeling a bit better. Oh to answer your question, I think my brain would be like a garden to sit in, sunny, with flowers and benches and water and a desire for peace. Then in one corner of the property would be a dark scary area of goobledegoock with an invisible lines of anxiety stretching toward the garden asking to be seen.
Thanks for this video ❤️
The difference between an analogy and a methaphor is that the metaphor is an implicit analogy.
My brain is a messy library. From a distance it looks pretty tidy up but close up it doesn't make any sense...
Thank you for sharing this. I've tried adderall on occasion to see if it would be worth pursuing a diagnosis and medication and I think this experience is something I've been very afraid of and has put me off going through with it. I've been through so many cycles of feeling excited and energised for a period, wanting to throw myself into everything and anything, and then getting totally burnt out, dropping it all, and feeling completely uselesss, and I've been so afraid that I would basically repeat the cycle with adhd medication, perhaps with added placebo effect, but your explanation of what's happened is so helpful for dealing with this fear. When you feel so frustrated and incapable so much of the time, of course when you get that fuel to move forward you're going to want to go as far as you can as fast as you can and while processing all these huge ideas and changes at the same time, of course it's going to lead to overwhelm and burnout at some points, and with so much experience of feeling like a failure those time can hit really hard. But you know you have access to that fuel, it's less of a mystery, so you can sit in those moments where you need rest and recovery with hope and trust in the future. That's what I want for myself and this video helped me feel like I can get it, so thank you so much
I'm about to start taking vyvanse and was curious how it would feel to be on stimulants. This is a cool format since I've not heard anyone go into it like that and it makes enough sense. My thoughts feel kind of everywhere and it sucks because there are a lot of moments that feel incoherent. It's hard to keep my mind in the same place. It's so normal to catch myself wondering what the fuck I'm doing or talking about because it seems like I switch thinking about things so much that a lot doesn't get taken in. It's mainly the not having enough order and memory stuff. It's like if I was writing a sentence and then I forgot what the sentence was about because I can only see the last three words I wrote, like I've got multiple word documents open that I keep switching between. Other than that, it's pretty relatable to what you were saying. I do have expectations and hope to be a lot more productive, mainly just cause I like things and want to feel more capable mentally when starting anything.
The way you express your inner mono blows my mind. It's me.
Thanks for this! I was diagnosed last year at over 50. Ok, that's a surprise but glad to know I have it and there is help. However I quickly felt criticised and pressured (by the well meaning friend who picked it) to 'get it together', yesterday, else I wasn't trying hard enough. That old chestnut 😐 I could see that the practical organisation ideas she offered are helpful for her as a mum caring for a child. I may call on some, those I hadn't already worked out myself pre-diagnosis. Its different being older, having it yourself, and having worked most days and years of my life to do better. Lovely having you share your mental and emotional experience of your journey. I'll keep watching 👀 🙂
An analogy is like a group of metaphors to express a complex idea. Like how you used all the themepark similies and metaphors to get across the concept of your lived experience and how your brain feels.
I think...
I feel a good way to describe my brain would be like that game crossy road. Every step forward into a new lane is like diverting my mind to a new interest but I can only stand there for so long before I get hit by a moving car, so I keep moving from one idea to next. It’s exhilarating while the score counter is climbing but when it’s game over the burn out is real.
I feel a lot like my Debora left the building quite some time ago.
I think my Debora has now gone on a permanent vacation 😅
I'm 52 and awaiting an ADHD assessment. Your videos are brilliant. I love the way you describe things and I feel less scared of what the future might hold with medication, both good and bad, because of you.
Let me guess during the pandemic you brainwashed yourself
Into thi king you have it like everyone else
@@DisabilitysAREabilities my daughter was diagnosed with autism 3 years ago and that raised awareness in our family on neuro diversity. When I first did an ADHD assessment online I did it to find out how someone without adhd would score but I scored very high which surprised me. That was until I looked into how it presents in women and girls. I was always the kid at school who was late despite living in fear of being told off, forget their home work, lose concentration and focus all the time, had the messiest bag, and had a nose that twitched and was always fidgeting. I've suffered with anxiety all my life and find life very difficult in ways I won't go into here. Adhd is a very real condition and only ignorant people would suggest otherwise. I hope you get the help you need not to be such a sad horrible person trolling strangers on the Internet. Good luck.
@@michelleryan1771 I’ve been on meds for 30 years but don’t need do make UA-cam videos about what meds I’m on…that’s the sad position we’re in..you people making hard for people with real conditions you idiot
@@michelleryan1771 messeys bag omg
@@michelleryan1771 you need to go to proper psychs to get diagnosed you computer fill out forms
45 years old here, originally misdiagnosed wirh aspbergers and now diagnosed with adhd. Afraid to begin to embrace what i might have incase its another misdiagnosis.
Psychologists were supposed to update my dr medical records with what was going on within 2 weeks. 8 months later this still hasnt happened. ( i cant cope or function trying to chase these things up so thats why its been left for so long). So 8 months down the line and i get told it could be more than 2 years on nhs waiting list to start getting seen to. Maybe some day after 30 years of hurt il find peace!!
An analogy is comparing two things to help with clarification of an idea, ex. 'my brain is like a fairground - theres a bunch of things running at the same time and it can get overwhelming'
This was absolutely hilarious. I don’t mean that in a bad way though, just fun to watch someone else like me go massively round the houses getting to a point. I hope you are doing well now and are rested. This video has really helped set my expectations for my own treatment journey. Thanks 🙏
Thanks Tom! Glad it has helped - and I'm glad you found it funny, means there are other people out there that totally get it 😁
Thank you so much for sharing this. Its one of the most familiar daily feelings lol. Exhausted. I appreciate you.
I appreciate you for watching and commenting 💛
I somewhat wonder if using visualizations and analogies/metaphors/etc. to express our complex thoughts is a default for those of us with ADHD. We practically process via tangential associations and work ourselves in circles when we do have momentum. I feel like the circular part, say taking passes at a segment of progress on a chore, then returning to it when something else leads up back there two hours later, is what causes us to burn out. We get stimulated and want to work on all the things.
Or maybe it's just me?
I relate to this on every level. I've always been terrible at remembering facts/details/info and I think it's because i think in story and visuals - so when I go to retrieve a fact I can't see it - so it's not there. Wondering if I should try that memory palace technique 😋
Omg, i used to describe my brain to my friends with merry go round carousal example, 1st time heard someone using the same analogy 😭. I also got diagnosed 3 months ago. Your videos make me feel like this is so me ❤
A FELLOW CAROUSAL PAL, hello 👋😁
I get to talk to my Dr about all this next Thursday and I really feel like I need time off work till I can figure this all out… but I’ve just been promoted… and it's not the time to be missing work. I hope your time off helps to settle your mind & refreshes you. Thank you for sharing! 😊❤
I love the analogies/metaphors that you used. Especially about the zoo. Reminds me an insanity of my own brain. 😂
Thank you so much, that was a beautiful beautiful analogy for your mind!!
Thank you for watching 💛
I think an analogy is when you compare 2 things and use one to explain the other. A metaphor is a specific type of analogy where you say one thing is another thing and then use story, imagery, and emotion to make your point and allow someone else to reach understanding. With metaphors the subjects can be entirely unrelated except for some metaphysical/abstract concept that you are making up with your explanation to describe that concept itself, anaolgies on the other hand, the subjects tend to be more linked or similar and it makes logical sense to compare them. For example you can use a metaphor of the rabbit and the hair to explain the importance of patience and consistency as a moral concept. You might use an analogy to explain how part of a car works by comparing it to a bicycle. I could probably come up with better examples but that's all I got lol.
The short version is analogies tend to be more clinical and logical, metaphors tend to be based in story, but both are kind of the same thing.
I just want to give you a hug girl. I'm tired too.
I left a different comment without even realized you also were using the theme park analogy, lol. Basically exactly the same! I personally ended up not staying on meds because of physiological issues (Heart rate, etc) mixed with what you say here. Basically it really hit my self esteem to see what I was capable of... but the cost it took to attain that level of performance was rapidly annihilating the parts of my and my life that I actually, yanno, STAY ALIVE for. Maybe if I had more therapy I could be medicated and not want to basically attack myself for not being good or productive enough but for now, I don't think that's possible. I did learn a lot about myself and my wife and I communicate more clearly than ever, but I just feel that I have to accept I am not a high achiever. Or at least I can't be while still being what I consider to be 'myself'.
I'm glad I took a few months before replying to this comment because after more time on meds and reflecting, I completely understand this feeling of not wanting to compromise on the aspects of yourself that you stay alive for! I've reduced the amount of days I take them now - it's a balance but I don't want to sacrifice my happiness for 'productivity' - whatever that even really means!
Got diagnosed with adhd 5 months ago at 38. They strongly recommended I go for an autism diagnosis too. My meds and adhd therapy are helping greatly but I'm still burned out a lot. So happy I went for a diagnosis though!
Your analogy of the park is hilarious and makes so much sense lol The state park is all of sudden it’s acting like a serious working facility, except for the running animals lol and Barbara needs a raise, poor lady is not ready for this type of workload. She’s used to painting her nails and crocheting lol I love thisssss
haha I love soooo much that you get this! Barbara has had a bit of a break recently, thank goodness - she quit totally for a while but she's back half crocheting, half adminning 🤣
I swear with each video, it feels like you're describing my own mind. I think I've found things difficult to process and compare because I work self employed in an industry that has no constant structure. Not in a bad way, I love it because every day is different, but at the same time, it has made it hard for me to pin point any changes / development ect. What is normal work chaos and what is ADHD? That on top of all the points you've explained yourself. I think your videos are helping me see a bit more clearly in my own process. Thankyou, again. ❤️
Oh my god…get a grip mothers little helper
Thank you 💛 If you have any questions, or things you want to hear more about - leave me a comment and I'll talk about in a future video 😊
I love your videos Rachel! Did your first burnout happened after 4 months of meds? Stay strong as you truly and obviously are!
I just came up with the perfect image to describe my brain the other day. It's like a swarm of insects. When I do find my focus or inspiration, it's like worker bees bringing in the pollen and nectar and building an awesome hive. Most of the time it's a random number of different insects that all fly or crawl in different directions and try to do different things at the same time, interrupting each other. Sometimes it's like a regular fly that tries to fly through the window pane because it knows it needs to be on the other side but has no concept of how to get there.
Ohh I can really imagine this. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing! Hope you're doing well! I'm doing a bit research myself to figure all of this out. Andrew Huberman gives some good tips on helping ADHD naturally, but also, breathing exercises, and some other practices that increase neuroplasticity should be able to ease the shift from the ADHD brain into a normal functioning brain - I mean that's my speculation and a specialist needs to be advised (let me know what they say if anyone asks).
What a lovely, honest and vivid explanation. I accidentally stumbled across your channel and so glad I did. I just started Ritalin today and seeing your journey has given me hope. You’re doing a wonderful job and if it’s ok to say, you’re so cute as well.
Since I haven't seen a comment here explaining it:
I believe metaphor is what you used for what your brain looks like; in particular, it is extended metaphor. It is saying that a thing IS something else with similar characteristics.
A similie, in contrast, is saying that a thing is "like" something. If you had said that your brain was "like" or "similar to" a fairground, it would have been a similie. Maybe you did actually say that, but I'm leaning toward calling it extended metaphor because I can see your brain (and mine as well to a degree) working that way, and some implicit connections had to be made between how you described it and what the actual thoughts and emotions were.
Now, "analogy" is apparently an umbrella term that includes similies and metaphors. Essentially, if you are comparing two things and call attention to some shared characteristic of those things, that's an analogy.
I don't know if that cleared anything up, but the way I remember it is this.
Metaphor: this IS that
Similie: this is like (or "similar to") that
Similar, similie
Haven't made a comment on your videos yet, but I'm kinda binge watching them and, while I think my (presumed, undiagnosed for now) ADHD may be a bit more mild, I'm finding a lot of connections between how you describe your brain and what happens in mine. So I just wanted to say thank you for making these, and good luck to you as you continue on your journey through life!
I’ve been on meds for about ~3 years. I thought I was a high functioning anxious & depressed overachiever with forceful optimism and curiosity to carry me thru life. Turns out that’s not “normal” but it’s also not unique to me. I super relate to you so hard.
Anyone that ever looks at any of my todo lists gets overwhelmed cuz I need different colors that only I associate with priority and theme or category of tasks. Like “wash bedsheets” but also “sort mail” but that’s because I’ve piled the mail onto my bed as a meek attempt at forcing myself to do a hard menial task before getting to an equally menial bare minimum maintenance task of having clean sheets which provides much more reward than the fricking mail ughhh but both are important right?
And yes that’s how my brain works - wtf are the wild animals doing performing a pyrotechnic show and how tf did they get past Deborah? Or does she have to re-do the whole budget now that these unexpected guests have taken over the fairgrounds? Or do they work for free? LABOR AND ENTERTAINMENT? who would’ve thought that’s what my ADHD THRIVES on? High functioning well executed performance? Or BARELY functioning chaos falling apart behind the scenes? I’m always both 🙃 and that’s acceptance, atleast for tonight
i felt like you're taking about me i finally reaching to diagnosis after graduating school it appeared so fast when i begin working
I can totally relate! Thanks so much for sharing!
I think the difference between an analogy and a metaphor is the length? An analogy is a metaphor explained. I also use analogies constantly. I don’t know if the adhd or the autism or both but I feel compelled to explain things to people with them
I think using analogies is such a superpower!
My brain is similar but based in Las Vegas with all the neon lights and noise and something new to discover at every turn!
Love that analogy!
I feel like this and I'm not on meds yet. Now I'm a bit hesitant 🤪
You just vocalized my experience. Like word for word. Thank you!! If I had a nickel for every time I heard “buck up” and just do it, I’d be a millionaire. I never understood why I could write to do lists and never actually start or finish the tasks. Now with my ADHD inattentive diagnosis and the right medication treatment at age 45, it’s well…been so amazing.
To answer your question about what my thoughts would look like…when I am off the meds my thoughts are like a whole bowl of spaghetti, with each thought a noodle intertwining simultaneously with each other, covered by a hot mess of sauce from the outside world. When I’m on my meds, I’m too focused on accomplishing my goals to think about drawing a mind map. 😂
👋 for the past 18 years or so, I have described my hubby and my brain in this manner
My hubby’s brain is like a falling cabinet, with everything neatly filed away, while my brain is like a filing cabinet that exploded
Now that I have been diagnosed ( also in my 40’s) I understand a bit better why I have felt that way
My brain is like, imagine there’s a deck of cards that has been spread out in a haphazard manner. These cards are my thoughts and feelings. I’d love to describe them to you but I can’t really make out the pictures very well and I can’t pick one to focus on, instead my attention is trying to figure out what’s on five of them simultaneously. At any moment I might start to have the feeling that one card is Very Important. Now that’s the only card that matters and if you want me to talk about a different card I’m going to get annoyed… or I won’t even hear you asking me about it. Once my brain has decided the card is no longer important good luck trying to get me to focus on it again!
Love this description! The bit that hit me the hardest was 'if you want me to talk about a different card I'll get annoyed'. I'm often seen as stubborn but the way you describe it there makes me go 'yeah this makes sense I'm not trying to be awkward, it's kinda outside of my control!'
If I had to describe my brain, it's like that "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" meme where Charlie has that conspiracy investigation board. I'm at the center, and there are connections running wild and getting tangled on themselves. Those are all of my tasks and life aspirations, gettiing linked to each other by a piece of yarn. Problem is that I have too many points on the board, and not enough yarn to make the connections. Some aspirations/goals/thoughts sit just out of reach, completely unable to be brought into the fold.
hi, thanks allot for your explanations on adhd. I am in the proses of getting diagnosed, and I am very nervous in what they will come up whit. But something is not right whit my head. I have turned 50 years no so it is about time. But my biggest problem is to ekspress my self probably and make me understandably and hope they don't give up on me. I guess I have to be patiently with me self and that's the hardest part.
Very funny Analogy which makes perfect sense to me at least. Mines like the film inside out where there are the various characters pushing buttons and pulling levers. Most times they make it through the day without to many mishaps but the firey head (mr grumpy) usually puts in an appearance when it’s all gets a bit overwhelming and he calls time out. Hang on in there. Small steps are forward steps.
Inside Out is the BEST film. Love that. Thanks Dave 💛
I got diagnosed aug 1st and I’m am sooooo over life .. and this is something I really hope will help . So it’s killing me that my doc to call me to prescribe my pills.
In one of your videos you said you only thought that you might have ADHD about 1 month before you were diagnosed. How did you get diagnosed so quickly? Did you have to pay to go private? If so, can you talk about how much the diagnostic process and your meds are costing you? I'm waiting for an assessment but I've heard the waiting list is 5 years! so I'm thinking of going private. I desperately want the transformation you've had with meds x
Hi Jenna - thanks for watching and commenting. I paid for a private psychiatrist. I'll go through my diagnostic process in a future video :)
Love your mind! A slapstick movie! And I fully relate.
haha love it - the best kinda movies! 😋
To start with im waiting for my ASD assessments. So an autistic most likely not ADHD mind.
I don't have one image of my mind I have several for different purposes. One when trying to accept my emotions are a huge library in marble surfaces (so unpractical) with a desk for checking out or more like in books. Every emotion are a boom and I scan it in put it on the cart for going to the right shelf... so this is a anger book or this is a happy book.
When it comes to knowledge especially of a social nature but well every type of knowledge i see a big dark empty space where I put my new in put and wait for other connections to come like a new puzzle piece but it multidimensional becomes like a galaxy when connected to other things. Because I have learned that if I try to connect things to early or forcefully I will most likely misunderstand and end up in a this don't fit I can't handle the contradictions but every person and most subjects are multidimensional and complex.
At this time i more feel like my mind is a big swirling bingo bowl and I'm just one of the balls in that bowl waiting to see how I will come out when I'm whole.
Sometimes it's chaotic more like you're amusement park and for me that is so sensory overload centre. Other times it's like a stormy sea.
Some times like a wild forest. Well it's more like my emotional stats than anything else. And some times it's like an old school archive and that has it limits because if you open a box you only get access to the information card in that box maybe links to a few other cards or boxes. But if someone ask me a big question either I will answer with like reading out a long thread of Wikipedia articles often jumping to the next like to the next like often one of these the have a word early on that has a page but not even close to what was the original subject like a psychology theory from the 1980s might have a link to 1980s and than might end up on 1980s fashions... hoping to have answered the original question that might have been what do you think of CBT therapy (not good for ASD apparently good for ADHD?) and instead long monologue on 80s hairstyles...
most often a simple question will have a complicated long winded answer. And a complex questions might get an simple almost yes or no question.
At the moment it's a big network of wires that someone thought was good to reorganise using an eggbeater and a few rodents have nibbled on and might also have had a tree hit by lightning fallen in to that wire nest.
Wonderful video's. I'm a big fan of Jessica McCabe from HowToAdhd, but your metaphores and British sense of humour are a great consolation (solace?).
ha ha glad to hear it
Been there with the burnout. If someone had told me in advance how long it would take and how different the new normal would be I would have been terrified. Hindsight me sees how it all turned out ok and that it was always all going to turn out ok. It's difficult to explain but the fear was a result of the newness and some twisted thought patterns. The things I was scared about weren't really things that one should fear. They were boogeymen and ghosts that were, though petrifying, not real. So hello from the other side of it! Hang on and exist through the chaos, it will be ok even if you don't quite see how at the moment.
Ohhh this warmed my heart. Thanks so much. I'm out of the other side of the immediate, and feeling like myself again. But I know there's still a journey to go on. See you soon on the other side 👋
good on you for realizing your needs
Here's an attempt to explain the difference between a metaphor and an analogy. In a metaphor, you have two elements, of which one is the thing you are talking about and the second one replaces a proper ideas that can be ascribed to that element. For example, "Your eyes are two sapphires". Element A = eyes, Element B = sapphires. The eyes are actually there, they are the thing we're talking about, but the element B is replacing ideas like "blue, beautiful, shiny", etc. So, Element A is present, element B is a replacement for ideas.
In an analogy, both elements are replacements. For example, "Finding a good man is like finding a needle in a haystack". In that case, Element A = needle and element B = haystack, are replacing the proper things we're talking about. The needle presents the man and the haystack the world. So... yeah...
The "self-consciousness fairies" have been a real problem for me. I'm now experiencing so much anxiety while interacting with people and then I feel intense shame sometimes afterwards if I feel like I said the wrong thing.
I'm wondering if this is the anxiety that was my PCP warned could happen w/ stimulants.
I understand, hang in there 💛 I'm 8 months on from this and it's not an issue in the same way at ALL anymore. After I had time off work, and settled into my diagnosis, I'd say it started getting a lot better about a month after I did this video.
I have add but I've been hesitant to take the meds for 2 reasons:
1. I'm concerned about long term heart damage.
2. I'm don't want the crash when meds wear off & one feels destroyed. I don't even like caffeine.
I'm in the same boat. The meds have been sitting in my room for 2 weeks now.
Researchers did a literacture review and found that out of 19 studies the overall concesus is that adhd meds do not cause long term damage to the heart so idk where people are getting this heart danger info from.
I was diagnosed almost 20 years ago in my 30’s and didn’t take my medication until going to grad school and not being able to keep up last year. Your doctor should order blood tests and an ekg to make sure it’s safe to start. Then you take this totally ineffective tiny dose and think, “why bother with this?” Then you increase in small increments until it becomes effective. This whole time, you should be taking your pulse and blood pressure. My pulse goes up about 10 bpm, but my blood pressure remained normal. My doctor said he often sees blood pressure rise in the beginning, then return to normal. A slight increase in pulse is normal and not dangerous. If you have high pulse or blood pressure to begin with, you should work on this first. I’ve lived a good life and I try to convince myself that I don’t regret not taking meds for the last 20 years, but I don’t have to dread tasks as much; I don’t have to power through mental blocks just to get started as often.
@@revdr363 thanks for sharing!
in my personal experience the feeling of ADHD stimulant meds is very different from the effect of caffeine - the latter always amps up my anxiety (even if it feels "happy" at first) whereas the ADHD meds make me feel calm. to the extent there is a crash, it's slower and more predictable, at least with the extended-release type I have taken, so I'm learning to schedule activities around that fluctuation.
Metaphor is a type of analogy, but where analogy is identifying two things as similar, a metaphor claims a comparison where there may not be one. It is then up to the listener to create meaning out of this comparison.
If you had the task of employing a new 'big boss' to replace the old one, what would he be like and what qualities would he have? What would you need from him?
This is a FABULOUS question. I'm gonna do some journalling on it! Perhaps one to report back on in a later video 😊
Oh my goodness I completely relate. I’m only just beginning this journey to understand ADHD. It wasn’t until my daughter was diagnosed, that I started researching it. I burst into tears when I found videos that spoke about inattentive ADHD, because it summed up so much of who I am and how/why I struggle.
Thank you, truly, thank you for sharing your experiences. It’s validating on so many levels ❤
You are making a difference. And no matter where this journey takes you, never doubt that you are a bright, beautiful, quirky ( in the best possible way) soul. You’ve got this
Mothers little helper syndrome
I'm crying laughing at this 🤣😭 Yes that's the first 12 months, I think it happens to everyone. Initiate omg, followed by wtf fairground and eventually proper understanding. Read the two books I recommended. ❤️
Congrats on finding out about your life and life stuff. There’s many add meds to try.Clonidine I’ve found can be super calming as going along with a stimulant and is dirt cheap generic to take the edge and chaos off a bit. Modafinil and dex can be smoother then Ritalin by a lot. I remember that told someone I was taking Ritalin and they’re like aren’t those crazy pills.
Buddhism and meditation can be great to explore. They get to the point. Quieting your mind is good. Found the long drawn out analogy retarded have to say. Talking a lot is dumb. I liked how you didn’t talk for like eighteen days or something on your main vid when things were going well that was the best part. Was so happy for you. Yeah adhd can be a roller coaster. You will find the right meds combo and a good balance one of these days, and may life never be beyond your capacity to cope.
Your imagination is amazing. You might consider writing. You are obviously smart and when medicated, can string thoughts together that make sense. For the othet times, there's these great folks called editors that weed the extra stuff out.
How long did it take you to get diagnosed on the NHS? I get the feeling that I’d be wasting my time.
I paid for a private psychiatrist and had my assessment a week later
@@rachdoesyoutube Thanks for letting me know👍
"I feel ya." - %100.
chatGPT on the difference between a metaphor and an analogy: A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. For example, "the world is a stage" is a metaphor.
An analogy is a comparison between two things to show their similarities. For example, "the brain is like a computer" is an analogy.
In short, a metaphor is a direct comparison, while an analogy explains one thing by connecting it to something else.
My brain would be like... It's a park, and every time a person (thought) walks in, ten other people swarm them to analyse whether the person is legit or not, unzipping their coat, pockets, etc.
Meanwhile the park itself is grassy, rich in nitrates, doing its thing, but the people in the park (thoughts) want it (the park) to go rock climbing - so they pull together and try to pull the park up by its grass to try to get it to want to go rock climbing. Which hurts the park, but doesn't make it move.
Thanks for sharing Lizzie 💛 I don't know what it was, but this hit me in the feels!!
Some things you may want to investigate:
OCD
Meditation
Celebration
BTW, do NOT get a therapist who specializes in ADHD and usually HAS ADHD. Seriously, you cant get a word in edgewise.
i thought you got meds and were doing good, what went wrong?
Meds help with executive functions, focus etc. but none of the emotional stuff.
❤️💖🔥💖❤️