“But you’re such a high achiever!” That was exactly the problem | ADHD Aha!

Comments · 22

• UN

  @UnderstoodOrg · 2 weeks ago · pinned

  Do you have a question for Laura about ADHD, evaluations, treatment, or managing symptoms day-to-day? Send us an email at ADHDAHA@<a href="http://understood.org/">Understood.org</a> for an upcoming mail bag episode.

• ST

  @Star_Rattler · 1 month ago

  every time I hear about a young/ middle aged woman who ends up late diagnosed with either adhd, autism, or both, I am always so amazed hearing she&apos;s a mother. these women are so strong and wonderful. I&apos;m not even capable of being a pet owner as a 28 yo auDHD woman, much less a mother. <br>I could never do it. you ND mothers are super heroes. you have to manage so much just for yourself and then you add a child or children into the mix and all I can think of is wow... they&apos;re so amazing. I see your struggles and im so glad you&apos;re getting help and understanding yourself better to live a better life, but what a tough cookie you&apos;ve been so far to make it to where you are. <br>I hope you&apos;re so proud of yourself because you should be! <br>videos like these are so important. I&apos;m sure so many people with adhd felt seen hearing from this experience.<br>❤

  16

• NA

  @NatouCBS · 1 month ago

  completed a PhD in ten years b/c i didn&apos;t know I had ADHD. I&apos;m really proud of myself for all the support structures I put into place (post its, colorful pens to separate notes from questions, always giving items a home -keys, etc). Mentally screaming at myself for being lazy while being relatively successful is slowly coming to a stop. I&apos;ve been medicated for 11 months now, and emotional regulation has been the biggest gift. Thank you for doing these interviews. It gives me hope that I&apos;ll actually complete my book &amp; earn tenure.

  6

• PA

  @paulacoyle5685 · 1 month ago

  What’s even worse is when you get with another high masker who also seems to be in denial that they have any contribution to the problem and don’t ever see your overwhelm. And they blame you entirely for yours. Or they just assume you’re the only one with the problem and they don’t contribute to it by their absent mindedness and hyper focus.

  1

• SA

  @Sarathewise158 · 1 month ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSy2R2hm-bY&amp;t=1002">16:42</a> &quot;Cried and panicked&quot; YUP... wait... I already have my ADHD diagnosis but I got it in college during the pandemic when all of my coping strategies fell apart and I not only failed a class for the first time ever but had to go on academic leave. Before that I cried my way though all my major papers and speedran them all last minute. Luckily I&apos;m a really good writer... and have a physical disability that I often believed was the reason I was having so much trouble hitting deadlines. It&apos;s funny to look back and see all the ways I was struggling with ADHD that was being masked by not being the &quot;typical&quot; population it&apos;s diagnosed in (black girl), being high-achieving, and having other co-comorbidities. It&apos;s still an issue I&apos;m having when it comes to working out the right medication/treatment for me.

  2

• RA

  @randiechapman6075 · 1 month ago

  This was absolutely amazing. You’ve got a subscriber out of me. Susie you literally took the words out of my mouth. Thank you thank you!

  3

• BR

  @BrandonSaiz-q4u · 1 month ago

  Another excellent episode. I think I have finally figured out why this quickly became one of my favorite podcasts. When i was late diagnosed, i finally found some grace for this really &quot;annoying&quot; thing i did where i would tangent my stories and forget where i started, or i would interrupt someone&apos;s story with some wile tangent. When i had my final session w the therapist that led me down the diagnosis path, she said she loved how my brain made &quot;beautiful connections&quot; that not everyone else could see.<br> <br>I love listening to Laura make beautiful connections, and it must often be an incredible strength in this field. She did it again at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSy2R2hm-bY&amp;t=1212">20:12</a> and Susie&apos;s response put a huge smile on my face.<br>Love your show &lt;3

  3

• NO

  @Not_the_name_game · 1 month ago

  awesome interview!

  2

• KA

  @Kat-V · 1 month ago

  She seems like a great person! Sounds like she might have AuDHD if I&apos;m honest

  1

• BL

  @BlerdSyrup · 1 month ago

  Fantastic episode!

  1

• FE

  @FeelGoodFixChannel · 1 month ago (edited)

  Evening, great episode once again. I would love to share my story and journey of discovery, with love from South Africa

• KA

  @kakonroy8826 · 1 month ago

  Susie, your openness about the internal struggle of being a &quot;high achiever&quot; with ADHD is incredibly validating. That image of the duck gliding on water while paddling furiously underneath is one of the most powerful analogies for ADHD masking I’ve ever heard. Thank you for showing that it’s okay to drop the &quot;perfect&quot; facade and create systems that actually work for your brain.<br><br>This is a deeply relatable and empowering conversation. For a 27-minute video, adding specific chapter markers (e.g., &quot;The &apos;High Achiever&apos; Masking Trap,&quot; &quot;Postpartum &amp; ADHD Confusion,&quot; &quot;The Hidden Exhaustion of Executive Function,&quot; &quot;The Breakthrough Moment,&quot; &quot;Overcoming the Shame of Asking for Help,&quot; &quot;Strategies That Actually Work for Your Brain&quot;) would be a great way to help others find your story.<br><br>I am a video editor and thumbnail designer, and I found your story of self-discovery so impactful that I went ahead and created a high-converting thumbnail along with a few visual pacing ideas for this video. I would love to share them with you. What would be the best way to get the design over to you?

  3