Attention Deficit... Oh Look, A Podcast

On today’s episode, we’re diving headfirst into the wonderfully chaotic world of ADHD. We’ll break down the DSM criteria for ADHD—yeah, that big, clinical rulebook that makes it sound like you need a PhD just to diagnose yourself—and talk about how those “official” symptoms really play out in the real world. Spoiler alert: It’s a lot less neat and tidy than those bullet points suggest. But don’t worry, we’re not just reading from a textbook here. I'll probably pepper in some personal stories and unfiltered anecdotes to really paint the picture of what it’s like living with ADHD. Because, let’s face it, the DSM doesn’t capture that particular brand of chaos- you know, the one where you’re halfway through a task, forget what you were doing, then end up doomscrolling on TikTok for two hours. So grab your Adderall, and let’s get into it.

ADHD isn’t just about getting distracted by shiny things or bouncing off the walls like a caffeinated squirrel—it’s a full-blown neurodevelopmental disorder that messes with your ability to focus, regulate impulses, and generally function in a world that expects everyone to operate like a perfectly organized spreadsheet. Spoiler alert: ADHD brains don’t work like that. Instead, they operate more like a browser with 47 tabs open, half of them playing music, and nobody knows where the sound is coming from.

The DSM-5 breaks ADHD down into three subtypes based on how the chaos manifests: 

1. Predominantly Inattentive – This is for the daydreamers, the ones who lose their phone while they’re literally holding it, and the folks who read the same sentence five times because their brain decided to take an unscheduled vacation mid-paragraph.  

2. Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive – Picture someone who can’t sit still, blurts out answers before the question is finished, and impulsively buys 12 notebooks because they swear they’ll finally get organized (spoiler: they won’t).  

3. Combined – The ultimate ADHD experience, where you get the full buffet of both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. Congratulations, your brain is doing the most. 

But Wait! It’s Not Just “Being Distracted” 

Getting an ADHD diagnosis isn’t as simple as telling your doctor, “Hey, I lose my keys a lot.” The symptoms have to: 

Stick around for at least 6 months – Not just during finals week or that one time you were really tired. 

Be a total mismatch for your developmental level – Translation: it’s not just “being a kid” or “needing to try harder.” 

Wreak havoc on your daily life – If your grades, job, relationships, or basic ability to function are circling the drain, that’s a clue. 

Show up in multiple areas of life – ADHD doesn’t just clock in at school and clock out at home; it follows you everywhere like an unpaid intern. 

Not be explained by something else – Because yeah, other issues like anxiety, depression, or lack of sleep can also make your brain feel like a scrambled mess. 

Alright, let’s talk about the inattentive type—the part of ADHD that turns life into a never-ending game of Where Did I Put That Thing I Was Just Holding? To get an ADHD diagnosis, you don’t just get distracted sometimes—your brain has to consistently treat focus like an optional feature instead of a built-in function. And these symptoms aren’t just occasional oopsies; they’re frequent, disruptive, and make life significantly harder. 

Maybe you’re constantly making careless mistakes—not because you don’t know better, but because your brain just skims over details like an intern who’s already mentally checked out for the weekend. Holding attention? Ha! Good luck trying to finish a task before your brain decides to yeet itself into an unrelated daydream. And speaking of attention, if people are talking to you and you swear you’re listening, but somehow none of their words actually register? Yeah, that’s the ADHD brain buffering mid-conversation. 

Following instructions is another adventure—especially when your brain processes multi-step tasks like a glitchy GPS ("Wait, what was step three again?"). Organization? Forget it. Your workspace, backpack, or digital files probably look like a tornado blew through them, and your approach to time management is best described as “hope and vibes.” Long, mentally demanding tasks? Hard pass. You’ll do literally anything to avoid reading fine print or filling out forms—suddenly, cleaning your entire kitchen feels way more important. 

And let’s not forget the black hole of lost items. ADHD means your keys, phone, wallet, and anything important exist in a state of perpetual disappearance, only to reappear in places that make zero sense. Meanwhile, your brain is a magnet for distractions—whether it’s a noise across the room, an interesting thought, or just the sheer existence of the internet. Oh, and forgetfulness?That’s a lifestyle. Appointments, deadlines, returning texts—if it’s not written down and reminded about multiple times, it might as well not exist. 

Now let’s talk hyperactivity and impulsivity, aka the “I CANNOT and WILL NOT sit still, be quiet, or wait” edition of ADHD. This isn’t just an occasional case of the wiggles—it’s a constant state of motion, whether that means fidgeting like your body is rejecting stillness, bouncing out of your seat at inappropriate times, or, if you're an adult, feeling like you might actually combust if you have to sit through one more boring meeting. 

Ever seen a kid sprint through the grocery store like they’re training for the Olympics? Or an adult who looks physically painedsitting in a waiting room? That’s the "runs or climbs excessively" vibe. But if you think hyperactivity is just about movement, think again—it also applies to not being able to do anything quietly. Reading? Out loud. Watching a movie? Commentating like a sports announcer. Sitting in a silent room? Absolutely not.

Then there’s the "always on the go" feeling, like someone wound you up and forgot to turn you off. Relaxing? Only if by “relaxing” you mean doing 15 things at once while your brain plays five different internal monologues. And when it comes to talking, well, you either dominate the conversation or accidentally say things at an alarming speed, because your thoughts refuse to wait their turn. 

Speaking of waiting, you don’t. Lines? Torture. Letting someone finish their sentence? A Herculean task. Blurting things out before a question is even done? A daily struggle. And if there’s a conversation happening nearby, your brain hears it as an open invitation to jump in, whether or not you were actually invited. Boundaries? We don’t know them. 

Alright, now let’s talk about the fine print—the technicalities that make ADHD more than just “being a little quirky” or “bad at paying attention.” 

First up, age of onset. ADHD doesn’t just show up one day when you’re 25 and struggling with work deadlines—it’s been there since childhood, even if no one put a name to it. The DSM-5 says symptoms must have been present before age 12, which means you weren’t just a “distracted kid” or “high-energy” for no reason. If you were bouncing off the walls, losing your homework every single day, or staring out the window while your teacher called your name for the third time, congratulations—this might not be a phase, it might be ADHD. 

Next, symptoms in multiple settings. This isn’t a case of “only struggles at school but is fine everywhere else.” Nope. ADHD is an equal-opportunity disruptor—it follows you everywhere: home, school, work, social settings. If you were only inattentive at work but totally focused at home and in hobbies, then ADHD might not be the culprit. But if you were the kid who got in trouble for not paying attention at school, then got home and still forgot to do chores, then became the adult who zones out in meetings and loses their phone in their own house? That’s more like it. 

Then we have significant impairment—a fancy way of saying ADHD isn’t just a mild inconvenience; it actually messes with your life. It affects school, work, relationships, and everyday functioning. It’s not just forgetting an assignment once or zoning out in one meeting—it’s a pattern of struggling to keep up, stay organized, and function the way the world expects you to. If your grades, job performance, or friendships have taken hits because your brain refuses to cooperate, that’s the impairment piece. 

Finally, not better explained by another disorder. Because, let’s be real, a lot of things can look like ADHD—anxiety can make you restless, depression can drain your focus, and sleep deprivation can make anyone scatterbrained. This rule makes sure ADHD isn’t just a side effect of something else going on. If your symptoms aren’t due to anxiety, mood disorders, substance use, or medical conditions (like a thyroid issue), then it’s more likely actual ADHD rather than just a bad reaction to life being life; because ADHD isn’t a random phase, a one-environment issue, or an occasional inconvenience—it’s a persistent, life-interfering, multi-setting condition that’s been around since childhood.

ADHD isn’t some mythical curse that dooms you to a lifetime of missed deadlines, lost keys, and half-finished projects—it’s totally treatable with the right mix of therapy, meds, and lifestyle tweaks. Think of it like upgrading from trying to swim through molasses to finally getting a jet ski.

If you suspect you have ADHD, get evaluated—seriously. So many adults spend their lives thinking they’re just lazy, flaky, or “bad at adulting,” when really, their brain is just running on a different operating system. And guess what? That system works way better once you actually know how to use it.

Left unchecked, ADHD can wreak havoc on your job, relationships, and self-esteem. But with the right treatment, you stop white-knuckling through life and start working with your brain instead of against it. Translation? Less chaos, fewer “oops, I forgot” moments, and a much smoother ride through life.

And let's not forget ADHD in the media – the wild west of mental health representations. It's like the filmmakers took a handful of ADHD traits, threw them in a blender, and hit "blend" without bothering to look at the recipe. The result? A loud, shiny mess of stereotypes with a cherry on top.

First off, the portrayal of ADHD is often as if every person with it is just a walking, talking tornado of chaos. In movies, the ADHD person is usually that hyperactive, messy friend who can't sit still for two seconds and has an obsession with shiny things, like a raccoon that found a pile of glitter. There’s no nuance – it's like media forgot that ADHD is a spectrum, and we're all just some fun mix of distractible, forgetful, and sometimes just really into a niche hobby that no one else gets.

Let’s talk about how ADHD is treated as a "quirky" thing. Oh, great! Now it’s a lovable little problem, like your friend who can’t remember what day it is but somehow still manages to bake a perfect loaf of sourdough. It's the “oh, you just need to calm down a bit, and then everything will be fine” take. Media likes to make ADHD seem like it's just an overactive imagination – which, sure, ADHD can be creative, but that’s not why we’re all trying to juggle flaming torches while riding a unicycle on a tightrope.

Then, there's the flip side: ADHD as the ultimate villain in a psychological thriller. Suddenly, you're a ticking time bomb, incapable of making a rational decision, just waiting to screw things up royally. Oh, you can't pay attention to details? Better hope you don't accidentally ruin your entire life. Nice, right?

What’s often glossed over is how ADHD can look a lot more like low-key existential dread in real life. It's more “oh crap, I forgot that meeting” and “wait, where did I put my keys AGAIN?” rather than spontaneous dance parties in the middle of a workday. In reality, ADHD can be more like a constant fight between trying to focus and your brain being a radio constantly flipping through channels. One minute you're deeply interested in the best way to fold a towel, and the next, you're 3 hours deep down the rabbit hole researching glitches in the matrix and the parallel universes (ask me how I know).

Media doesn’t show the real ADHD struggle – the hours spent trying to make sense of disorganized thoughts, the endless to-do lists that never get completed, and the crushing guilt of forgetting an important deadline. But hey, who needs to show that when you can just slap on a "quirky" label and call it a day? ADHD in the media isn’t the real deal. It’s a fun house mirror that distorts and simplifies a very complex experience, making it look like a sitcom plotline rather than the multi-layered, often frustrating journey it truly is.

Let’s dive a little deeper into the classic media take on ADHD: the “quirky, lovable goofball” who can never quite get their life together but always has the best intentions. You know the character – usually a messy, hyperactive person who can’t stop talking, forgetting things, or getting distracted by the next shiny object. Sure, there’s a lot of charm in this portrayal, but it's as if the writers took a sledgehammer to ADHD and said, "Eh, good enough for TV!" This character is often portrayed as so full of potential that they might just accidentally invent the next big thing while trying to remember where they left their phone. So relatable, right? Except… not really. ADHD doesn’t come with a hidden genius waiting to emerge. It’s more like trying to finish a project while your brain starts a million other projects and forgets to check if any of them are remotely close to being completed.

The reality is that ADHD isn’t always a slapstick comedy where you’re constantly fumbling through life in the most entertaining way possible. In fact, the “quirky” portrayal often skips over the actual challenges. It’s not all funny, impulsive decisions and doodling on the back of your math notes. Sometimes, it’s more like staring blankly at a blank screen, knowing you have a deadline, but the thought of starting makes you want to set your computer on fire. Or spending hours trying to organize your space only for it to look like a post-apocalyptic thrift store by the time you give up.

Now, the opposite extreme – ADHD as the villainous disorder – let’s really talk about that. The media loves to crank up the drama, implying that ADHD turns you into a dangerous, unpredictable wildcard. You’ve got the character who can’t focus on anything, so naturally, that means they’re a ticking time bomb ready to make catastrophic decisions at any given moment. Maybe they’ll mess up a heist, forget to cover their tracks, or accidentally destroy something important. It’s all overblown for dramatic effect, but it completely ignores the fact that most people with ADHD are just trying to get their lives in order like everyone else. We're not out here wrecking havoc like a low-budget action hero – we’re mostly just trying to get our laundry folded without losing our socks in the process.

And don’t even get me started on how the media likes to treat ADHD as a “manic pixie dream disorder.” You know, the one where the ADHD character is a free spirit, too busy spinning through life to notice their trainwreck of responsibilities. They’ll swoop in and change everyone’s life with their spontaneous energy and colorful personality, while their actual issues get treated like charming little quirks. In reality, it's not about being a whimsical whirlwind – it’s about trying to survive in a world that wasn’t built to accommodate your brain’s tendency to wander off at the most inconvenient times. ADHD isn’t about adding glitter to your life; it’s about figuring out how to finish your to-do list without having a mental meltdown.

The reality of ADHD is the “invisible” struggle that no one sees on screen. It’s the struggle of spending 45 minutes deciding which type of pen to use before you can start a task (because there is a right choice). It’s the low-level anxiety of knowing you forgot something important, but you can’t remember what it was. It’s juggling multiple interests and hobbies that you can never fully dive into because your brain keeps telling you to try something else; or the alternative, throwing your entire body and soul into a single activity for a week (or month, etc), and then never touching it again. It’s spending hours researching something that you’ll never actually use, just because it felt like the right thing to do at the time.

And here’s the kicker: ADHD is often treated as a joke in sitcoms and rom-coms, but in real life, it's not funny. It’s not a punchline. It’s not just a disorder of being “extra.” It’s about navigating a world that demands structure, focus, and organization when your brain is just trying to keep up with the tornado inside your head. When the media simplifies ADHD into something easy to digest or laugh at, it erases the complexity of living with it every single day. The impact on relationships, work, and self-esteem gets overlooked because it’s easier to make it a quirky trait of the lovable character.

In the end, ADHD in the media is like a caricature – exaggerated, unrealistic, and disconnected from the real lived experience of the people who have it. It's a misfit puzzle piece that somehow doesn’t quite fit the picture, but the media insists it’s supposed to. Because, hey, complex stories are hard, and it’s much easier to just slap on a disorder and make it into something cute, quirky, or scary.

Now, I obviously can't speak for everyone with an ADHD brain, and I would never want to, but here's where I can share some of my personal experience. I recently came up with a really good analogy, actually- you remember the kids' book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?" You know, the one that starts out with "If you give a mouse a cookie, he's probably going to want a glass of milk…" and as you go on in the story, midway through each thing you hand the mouse or do with the mouse, he wants or wants to do something more or different? That's kind of what my brain is like all the time. Halfway through folding laundry in my bedroom, I touch a towel that needs to go in the bathroom, so I walk to the bathroom, and then I realize that the bathroom needs to be cleaned, so I start cleaning that. Then I'll get a text message, so I pick up my phone and suddenly realize what time it is, and oh shoot, I never pulled anything out for dinner, so I have to run into the kitchen to figure out dinner; and while I'm in the kitchen, I think "it's been a while since I went through the cabinets, I really should go ahead and do that." So I climb up on the counter and start pulling things out of the cabinet… You can see where this is going. Suddenly, it's 9pm, my bed is covered with laundry, the bathroom is half clean (if that), there's no dinner (thank god for leftovers), and my kitchen is torn apart… And I have to go to sleep at some point- I can't just jump in and finish all of those things at once. And then? Then the overwhelm hits. Because now everything is too much. And that's something that so few people talk about, and there's such a shame surrounding it- the overwhelm.

There's a lot of shame that comes with the feeling of "why can’t I just act normal" too. You always feel like you're part of the group, and yet, you never quite fit in. You're always just a little too loud, share a little too much, go a little too hard, or conversely, you're a little too quiet, don't share enough, and you're just not doing quite as much as everyone else. The anxiety that comes with ADHD can be crippling.

But it's not all doom and gloom, because there's glitter here too. ADHD brain? Phenomenal in a crisis (I won't go into the full science behind it here, but it has to do with the amount of dopamine and adrenaline balancing in your brain); while everyone else is panicking, we'll be completely calm and find the solution. Oh, and speaking of that dopamine? Since we're always chasing it, we get led to some pretty wild places, and learning a lot of really interesting things… that you're going to hear all about… probably whether you want to or not. Our brains are a vast cavern system of fun facts, random trivia, horrifying history, and surprisingly useful practical knowledge. Oh, and if we don’t already know the information you're looking for? Rest assured, we'll hyperfixate on finding it quickly for you; because hyperfixation is another core tenant of ADHD, right? When you couple the hyperfixation with the fact that our brains are moving at lightning speed, you'll find that we problem solve and get tasks done faster than your average bear, which makes us amazing in fast paced and high stress environments- we really do thrive on the chaos.

,Well, that’s a wrap on today’s episode—thanks for sticking with us through this ADHD rollercoaster. We’ve peeled back the layers of the DSM criteria, but as you probably figured out, ADHD in real life doesn’t exactly follow the textbook. It’s not about ticking off symptoms or fitting into a neat little box. It's a part of a much bigger, messier, and at times beautifully chaotic picture. Whether you have ADHD or just want to better understand what it’s like to live with it, I hope today’s episode gave you a little more clarity—maybe a little more compassion, too. It's messy, it’s unpredictable, and yet, there’s something kind of beautiful about the chaos.

The truth is, we all navigate the world in our own unique ways, and ADHD is just one of those ways. It doesn’t make someone broken or less capable; it’s just a different wiring of the brain, and that’s okay. So, if you found something relatable here, or maybe even had a lightbulb moment about your own experience, remember—you’re not alone in this. Life’s messy, complicated, and sometimes downright frustrating, but we’re all figuring it out together.