[0:24] Sometimes people with ADHD can find decision making particularly challenging. So sometimes we can be impulsive. But sometimes we were too overloaded with options. And the difficulties in weighing them all out appropriately, that we can become overwhelmed and then just not being able to make any decisions.
[0:41] Hello, I'm Ian Anderson Gray, and this is the smart ADHD podcast.
[0:56] Now if you're a smart, creative entrepreneur or business owner navigating your life with ADHD, This is the podcast for you. Now, I'm no ADHD expert, but I'm eager to share my story on what I've learned by talking with experts, as well as digging into the personal ADHD stories of successful creatives and entrepreneurs.
[1:19] I was diagnosed at age 46, and it answered so many questions in my life. But of course, that was in many ways, only the start of my journey. So let's learn together. Smart stories, smart strategies, smart ADHD.
[1:46] Hello, welcome back to another Smart ADHD Traits episode. This is part three. We're going through lots of traits when it comes to ADHD. And this has been an interesting journey for me because I didn't realize that a lot of the symptoms that I've struggled with were to do with ADHD, because we think of the typical ones as being hyperactivity or forgetfulness, or I don't know, that kind of thing.
[2:11] But there are so many others. And I hope you're finding this series interesting and helpful because this is a lot of the stuff that I've learned over the years since I was diagnosed at age 46. Now, I'm no expert, so of course, if I've highlighted anything in here that you are concerned about, please do see a medical professional about this, an ADHD expert.
[2:32] I am going to be bringing ADHD experts onto the show in future episodes. Do stick with me on that one.
[2:38] But let's focus in on the first kind of category of this episode, which is organizational traits, disorganization, or even the opposite hyper organization for certain things. A lot of people think that people with ADHD are just disorganized, they're messy.
[2:57] And that can be the case, but sometimes it's the flip side is that we can be hyper organized and that can be us trying to compensate or perhaps overcompensate for things and I find that I need things to be organized. It makes me feel a lot more relaxed and less anxious. Looking around my office at the moment, my desk table is a little bit too messy for my liking.
[3:22] But behind me, I've got a really good system. I became hyper fixated or hyper organized on my setup. So I've now got all of my cables, all of my gear categorized, and I've got the whole Notion database for all the stuff that I own. And that kind of came about basically because I was so frustrated about losing things and being disorganized that I went down that route.
[3:46] So yeah, people with ADHD tend to exhibit inconsistent. I think that's the word inconsistent organizational skills. Due to fluctuations in our attention and executive functioning. Some people may struggle with this organization because they find it hard to create and maintain systems of order due to difficulties with planning, prioritizing, sustaining attention.
[4:11] And that last one is an interesting one because I find cleaning my table, tidying up my table is probably going to take me 20 - 30 seconds, but in my head, I think it's like the most complicated thing ever and I just have no concept of the time there. So yeah, and prioritizing as well.
[4:29] But conversely, Hyperorganization can occur as a compensate, I can't even say this word, compensational compens, compensatory, that's the word, compensatory strategy. It's overcompensating, isn't it? In an effort to control our chaotic environment and experiences. So we might actually overcompensate by focusing intensely on organizing certain areas of our lives.
[4:56] And that's certainly been the case with my studio set up and all the stuff behind me because I've been so frustrated about that in the past. So yeah, we can spend an excessive amount of time on that. Now I have to come clean on this because I actually hired a declutterer, an organizer to help me categorize all of this.
[5:18] It's not something that I personally could do on my own. But I do find with my work, I'm hyper organized in certain areas. For example, when I do live video production for clients, I'm hyper organized in everything because I want everything to go really well. I want it to go perfectly. So I have systems in place.
[5:37] I use tools to help me. I spend a huge amount of time. This show, for example, I'm using Notion of you've got tasks and sub tasks. All of these things because it just saves a lot of time and I have probably gone into a lot of hyper focus there. So I'd be interested with you. Is it, are you hyper focused?
[5:56] I'm not hyper focused. Why are you hyper focused on organization? Are you disorganized? Which areas of your life are you finding that?
[6:03] Let's move on to the next one, which is, yeah, this is a big one for me. Overwhelm when there are too many things going on. That's interesting, like those of us with ADHD in certain situations perhaps there might be stressful situations, like there's an emergency. Often we can be really clear headed then and we know exactly what to do. But I find if there are lots and lots of things going on, I get overwhelmed. And this trait is closely linked to difficulties with, guess what, that executive function thing again, particularly task switching, prioritization, maintaining focus at amidst distractions and I've mentioned this in previous episodes about starting tasks and finishing tasks the whole switching thing. I find really painful I find it once i've started I find it very difficult to stop and I think also this is to do with this overwhelm of too much stimulation So I find this with social media which is kind of part of what I do in my job, and it's a bit tricky.
[7:11] So with all the social networks out there, Facebook, LinkedIn YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, I could go on, all of those. And then of course, we've got other messaging platforms like WhatsApp and iMessage and text messages and voicemails and all this kind of stuff. And I find that very overwhelming. I have found ways to help, certainly having an assistant helps there.
[7:33] There's a great tool called Texts, which is a unified messaging app, but even still with all of those things, I find that it's very overwhelming with all of these things. When multiple demands are present, the ability to manage and allocate attention effectively becomes compromised. And this leads to overwhelm.
[7:53] And this is exacerbated by the ADHD brain's tendency to either underreact or, and this happens a lot to me, overreact to stimuli, making it hard to remain composed and efficiently process that information when situations become too complex or demanding. Yeah, I think this can be. This can be a big issue.
[8:17] I think a lot of people think that those with ADHD we're all over the place and we love to toggle between lots of different platforms. Yes and no. I think that can cause overwhelm. I'd love to know what you think, because again, as I've said before, there are as many types of ADHD as there are people with ADHD.
[8:36] Let's move on to the next category, which is cognitive and intuitive traits. I've covered this already, and this is hyperfocus,
[8:47] And uh, this is a biggie, you know, while it might seem counterintuitive, given the common perception of ADHD is involving a deficit of attention, and let's be frank about this, it is called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, so you would be, forgiven for thinking that, but that phrase is I think so wrong because it's not attention deficit.
[9:10] It's attention dysregulation perhaps, because one minute we can be like all over the place and not being able to concentrate. My reports at school, sometimes I would get the report and gets easily distracted, but sometimes I'm just so hyper focused that I forget what's happening around me.
[9:29] Hyperfocus is a condition where individuals with ADHD become deeply engrossed in activities that interest us. I think that's the key. Sometimes we can just get totally down the rabbit hole, hyperfocused on things. I've been hyper focused recently in the whole world of AI and creating these new tools that you're going to help me and I hope help other people. This is a really interesting thing for me in my business because I although hyperactive hyper focus is not generally a good thing. It can be a good thing. And it's actually, when I've gone down that route of hyper focusing, I've created some of my best work. I think it's a case of managing that, managing that in a positive way, which is not always the case. So there's definitely something that interests them.
[10:17] And I've always found that following my curiosity is really important, but the issue can be in the fact that it's to the exclusion of almost everything else. And in extreme cases, some people with ADHD can forget the family around them. They're just so hyper focused and that's not really a good thing.
[10:35] So you, it's, there's a balance here. Now, apparently this is due to the way the ADHD brain processes rewards and motivation. And I think, the whole, dopamine thing comes into this. The brain's reward system can be activated intensely by engaging activities, leading to those prolonged periods of intense concentration.
[10:56] But this comes at a cost of neglecting other important tasks and responsibilities, which may seem less stimulating or rewarding. So just bear that in mind. It's not always a good thing, but it can be.
[11:10] Now this is, this next one is fascinating because I never thought about this as a, an ADHD trait. But I've always found that I'm quite an intuitive person. Sometimes I've doubted that, but when I found out that many individuals who have ADHD are highly intuitive, that really made me think, why? And when I was doing some research into this, I found some reports that, that say that this may stem from our ability to rapidly process disparate pieces of sensory and perceptual information unconsciously, perhaps because our brains are constantly scanning the environment.
[11:47] And I think this is because I think I'm I'm a very sensitive person, very empathetic. I'm always on the lookout for reading those signs. If I want somebody to feel comfortable and happy. And so I'm very, I've learned to be intuitive, reading the signs of somebody who's listening to me. Are they interested in what I'm saying?
[12:09] If not, I want to change what I'm doing and it also I think it's this whole thing of trusting our gut. If there is a situation that isn't quite right and we can't quite work out why but we feel this There's this intuition there nine out of ten times that I felt like that I wish I'd, I'd listened to that gut feeling because I'm always right, or I'm pretty much always right.
[12:35] 9 out of 10. Though, sometimes I get things wrong with this. Yeah I think this is fascinating because I think we have this ability to make connections between seemingly unrelated concepts, that can come from, this constant broad focus and reliance on that rapid associative thinking rather than a methodical linear process.
[12:59] And this is again the divergent thinking thing that we do. I think this trait can make us with ADHD particularly adept to, creative tasks, problem solving tasks, and having insights that other people might miss. And I think it's also, this is a blessing and a curse because I think sometimes I'm quite good at reading people if something's not quite right with somebody then often I will see that other people won't and that can make me feel a little bit guarded about somebody.
[13:29] But I'm always aware I could be wrong as well. So fascinating stuff. Intuition. What do you think about that?
[13:36] Okay. What are we on to next? Okay. I've mentioned executive function a lot. So these are all to do with executive function, functioning challenges. The first one is task initiation and completion.
[13:51] Talked about this before, but I think this is important to talk about in relation to all the other stuff that I've talked about. So this challenge is rooted in the difficulties with executive functions such as planning, organization, prioritizing, which are kind of impaired in those of us with ADHD. You know, Starting a task requires a clear mental pathway and often like my, I've got brain fog.
[14:17] My, my brain is not, it's not clear exactly how I start a task. And often the only way I can start a task is with an emotional, So I'll feel excited about something. That's usually the way I start. So you need to kind of have that clear mental pathway of what needs to be done and what you're in what order, which can seem like daunting or just almost impossible.
[14:41] You need to break it down into micro steps because of our executive functions are compromised and similarly on the other ends. I'm sometimes very good at starting certain tasks, but finishing them and that requires finishing tasks requires. Sustained attention and the ability to follow through, which can be disrupted by, of course, described this I can never say this word distractability.
[15:05] No, there we go. A loss of interest. So I can sometimes be very interested and then I lose interest or maybe there's something else that's more stimulated and exciting that comes into my mind. And so this cycle of it being difficult in both initiating and completing tasks can definitely impact our productivity and is a core element, of course, in that lovely part of ADHD, which is procrastination, because it's just difficult.
[15:34] The whole thing is it takes a huge amount of effort just to get started and just to finish a task. And there are definite ways that we can help here. I'm going to be bringing on some experts to talk about this in the future.
[15:50] Decision making challenges. Now this is interesting because one of the typical traits of ADHD is the fact that we just what's the word I'm looking for.
[16:02] I always forget this word. We just get on with we just make those impulsive decisions. Impulsivity. Yeah, that's the word. But sometimes people with ADHD can find decision making particularly challenging. So sometimes we can be impulsive. But sometimes we were too overloaded with options. And the difficulties in weighing them all out appropriately, that we can become overwhelmed and then just not being able to make any decisions.
[16:28] It's really interesting because there are definite extremes here, I think. this is a common issue stemming from impaired executive functioning again, of course, as well. So I've written down, here there could be a tendency to overthink potential outcomes. I don't think this is something that all people with ADHD struggle with, but I think particularly smart individuals, smart ADHDers, we are often chronic overthinkers.
[16:55] We, we overthink potential outcomes. So I start, my brain will start to cycle through almost catastrophizing things, catastrophizing the situation. And that can lead to paralyzing the decision making process. so we got that on one side and then across the other trait can be impulsivity, which is which can lead to quick decisions without fully considering the consequences resulting in a cycle of rushed and often regretted choices.
[17:23] So you got the both extremes there. And sometimes I can think about those times when I've made those kind of impulsive decisions. And then that pushes me in the opposite direction. Yeah it's a problem I think for a lot of us. So impulsivity on one end and then that kind of, overwhelmed with decision making and almost becoming numb and not being able to do anything. It's a problem.
[17:46] So there we go. That is part three. We do have a part four. I can't believe that we actually had to split this into four parts, but I am trying to make these episodes nice and short. I hope you found that helpful. As I said if anything in this episode has struck you, don't struggle don't suffer alone.
[18:04] By all means you can get in contact with us. We love to hear from you Do you comment below on the youtube video or get in touch with me? My email is [email protected], but of course don't struggle in silence, you know do speak to a professional when it comes to this I'm no professional when it comes to ADHD, so do make sure you do that as well, but that's it for this week.
[18:24] And until next time, I encourage you to be smart with your ADHD. See you soon. Bye.
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