We often talk about the "internal" struggles of ADHD, the messy desks and the forgotten appointments, but we don't always talk about how the outside world reacts to those traits. I’m joined by Brooke Schnittman, an ADHD coach and the best-selling author of Activate Your ADHD Potential. Brooke has worked with thousands of individuals to help them develop sustainable systems for focus and emotional regulation, but today, she’s here to talk about a global study she conducted on the link between ADHD and bullying.

So in today’s episode, we’re talking about how this study was conducted and what we can garner from that data. We also discuss the "invisible disability" penalty, where our symptoms are misinterpreted as character flaws, and how "masking" can actually prevent us from progressing because we’re too busy being chameleons. And we also cover some practical ways to identify safe people and build a "reciprocal" support system that helps buffer against the impact of chronic criticism.

In physics, there’s a concept called "static friction"—it’s the friction that exists between a stationary object and the surface on which it’s resting. It’s actually harder to get something moving than it is to keep it moving once it’s already in motion. I think about this a lot when I’m staring at a pile of mail or a sink full of dishes. We often feel like we need a massive internal explosion to overcome that static friction, like we have to "hulk smash" our way into productivity just to get off the couch.

In the mythology of the Trojan War, after a 10-year stalemate, the Greeks built a massive, wooden horse and seemingly left it behind as a gift for the Trojans. Hidden inside the horse were Greek soldiers, waiting for the dead of night to creep out, kill the sentries, and open the city gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had quietly sailed back under the cover of darkness.

It’s a story of letting the enemy in the gates. It's about perceiving a threat as something safe and then paying the price. 

And I’ve been thinking about how this same story can play out in how we choose to spend our time during the day. What are the things that seem innocuous that are going to throw us off. Sure, checking social media seems like it's going to be a nice little break, and it certainly isn't going to let in a horde of Greeks that will slaughter all of our defenders, but perhaps there are some downsides that we're not thinking about.

While AI has become a buzzword that has lost much meaning, there are still many use cases that can help with our ADHD. One of the places that I have been enjoying exploring is how I can outsource some of my executive functions to these applications so that I can save my brain for the important stuff.