Hello, I know I am quite late but I just want to say that you have no idea how far my eyes widened as I watched this video. All my life I was able to get through school with zero attention, study, or effort until 11th grade where I fell completely flat due to learning no work habits. All my life it seemed that my intellect masked my ADHD, and my ADHD masked my intellect, putting me in a position where I was undiagnosed in both. The "Complex vs simple" thing describes me so perfectly. I am able to write full essays on complex topics such as politics, world issues, history, debate, and psychology on a complete whim, and I can play very complex games well such as card games and strategy video games, but I always have trouble with very simple games and very easy assignments or homework (For example, I can understand a complicated math equation, but I will often screw up a simple addition part.)

Watched this one in addition to reading The Gifted Adult by Mary-Elaine Jacobsen and really related to another video on this channel called “But I’m not really that smart”. This is a topic that’s been… complicated to internalize. I’d been seeing a psychologist since 2016, because I was dry heaving into my toilet for weeks due to Stress/Anxiety. I’ve spent a lot of time working through a lot of my struggles/issues over the years. I have C-PTSD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Depression, ADHD and have been told I’m Gifted by my Psychologist. Getting to this point, however, was honestly a nightmare given how complex my psychological profile was. The topic of ADHD wasn’t even brought up because I graduated with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics with little effort and was told I’m too smart to have ADHD, yet the issues associated with ADHD (Constantly forgetting where I placed things, daydreaming almost all the time, forgetting what I’m saying mid-sentence and trailing off, Hyperfocus, etc.) never really went away even with all the work I put into mitigating all the other struggles I had with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, etc. and due to being told I was too smart to have ADHD and never really being placed in a gifted program or doing great in school, I ruled out the possibility of me being smart as well. So I would have all the associated psychological characteristics of someone who had ADHD and was Gifted, yet attributed those characteristics to manifestations of Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, etc. Even when I was finally told I have ADHD (Combined Type) there was a long process of internalizing/denial and any manifestations of my Giftedness now just had another avenue to be explained to some other Psychological Characteristic I had (ADHD, PTSD, Anxiety, Trauma, Depression, etc.) Even with me trying to convince myself that I was “smart” rarely did me much at all, because despite the evidence I had no achievements to claim and the people I considered Geniuses were eons ahead of me in terms of intellect and no amount of rationalizing of my accomplishments was able to convince me. It took me reading “The Gifted Adult” by Mary-Elaine Jacobsen to really… take another look at myself. Reading that book was similar to reading an autobiography on my thought process, it was so eerie to me to have accounts and thought processes’/experiences so similar to my own that it became harder and harder for me to dismiss the possibility that this may be something I could attribute to myself. Still a work in progress even today and I still struggle with Depression, but I’m in a far better spot now than I was 7 years ago when I first started Therapy.

@EmbracingIntensity

11 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing! I'm glad that you have found things that have resonated and helped bring clarity! We are all definitely works in progress!

@jcm5171

7 ай бұрын

I sure can relate to what you are describing so well. Thank you for sharing. If I may, please remember, ADHD and Giftedness are the result of how our brain is wired : because the immense majority of humans is wired very differently and knows nothing of what it feels and means to be neuro-atypical, we neuro-atypical "specimen" experience an extreme amount of STRESS on a daily basis and existentially. Huge, unending stress that seems to find no relief. Worse, no-one, including ourselves seems to really understand why we are so stressed and what to do about it. Most think we could easily adjust our ways and voilà, all would be well. Ha !!! Expectations, judgments and advice imposed upon us are necessarily OFF. To top it all off, we end up making them ours since that is all that we get. It isn't anyone's fault, really, how could it be different ?! Fortunately, science and psychology have made some progress recently, shedding some light on the situation. Stress induces illnesses like depression and anxiety. They are consequences, ways we react and cope. CPTSD is the same. It is caused by the accumulation of psychologically abusive behavior at the hands of other people, one way or the other. In my case, a narcissistic parent and a clueless entourage. To put it simply, what you have experienced is an incredible amount of stress because of your differences. Given the fact that you and others could not understand who you really were and why and the fact that you had to deal with the concrete, daily and often intense difficulties these differences have brought into your life, it is no wonder you have experienced such "injuries." I find you heroic in the way you have fought this and survived. Depression, anxiety, doubt, self-doubt are only very logical reactions to your situation and if you have been able to make it so far, I say BRAVA, you are doing terrific !!!

43, and only recently realised I am not neurotypical. I am gifted and this has masked it. I have made a career out of creativity, which is a strength, but always beaten myself up cos I could have done anything... but didn't. I'm so glad I found this video xx

@EmbracingIntensity

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! I'm so glad it resonated. I hope you find more clarity!

Just knowing there are other people like myself out there is so comforting. I had never even heard of 2e until yesterday, but the revelation was mindblowing. I actually booked myself in for an ADHD diagnosis earlier today, so I'm excited to see what the possibilities could be. As you said, there aren't a lot of people talking about being 2e as adults, so thank you for making this video.

@EmbracingIntensity

3 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad it's helped, there really aren't enough people talking about it in adults!

@Trick1e

2 ай бұрын

can we have an update?

@TrickWithAKnife

2 ай бұрын

@@Trick1e Turns out I had severe anxiety and ADD. I use the past tense because after a year of medication I no longer suffer from anxiety. The ADD is still a challenge, but a challenge I'm able to manage with medication. My life has improved dramatically in the last 2 years.

It feels like you just described me. I can plan out huge projects and write complex essays in the moment. But I can't get myself to do the dishes or leave anywhere on time. I only recently stopped systematically forgetting all my belongings if they're not in sight (by looking behind me - not by, as my mother tells me, remembering a mental list of my stuff). Often the only way I get places when walking is by muscle memory, if someone is with me my brain doesn't think it's important to remember how to get back. As a child I wasn't hyperactive but would daydream constantly because I was so, so bored. Ended up skipping a grade and then I struggled not because I wasn't smart but because I didn't have the skills to bring my homework home and actually do work when it was put in front of me. I got amazing grades but my mother would come back in the morning 15 mins later and I'd be daydreaming in the exact same position with my underpants in my hand, still not dressed. I have been described as incredibly disorganized my entire life. *Why can't I do simple things when I'm at University studying in a competitive field??* I'm going to keep looking into this.

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

People have a hard time understanding why they can do complex things but simple things are difficult but they use different parts of the brain and simple things don't engage the brain the same way.

@aleece4

6 ай бұрын

If you haven’t been diagnosed with ADHD yet, I would definitely look into it! What you described sounds a LOT like inattentive ADHD. Sometimes people are hesitant to get diagnosed bc they don’t want to be labeled, but a proper diagnosis can lead to proper treatment, which can make a HUGE difference for people. At least, it did for me!

@butterbeer4582

6 ай бұрын

Hi@@aleece4, thanks for reminding me of this comment! So far I have had a very weird experience. I am in the field of biomedicine, and being interested in ADHD, I ended up in a short internship with a neuropsychologist who specializes in it, and observed and took the ACE evaluation and a new series if cognitive tests that I was doing statistical analysis on. They even suggested I be enrolled in the pilot study as a control since they didn't have enough (in hindsight highly unethical as their student and I should have refused to be tested in such a biased setting). So basically I observed a session (finding the patient's life completely normal and relating to basically everything they said apart from the hyperactivity) and then did it myself a few days later to "be in the patient's shoes" and yep, he essentially decided before I even filled in the test that I wasn't a control... lol. He then said that my intelligence compensated so I should be completely fine, good luck with your life. The other neuropsychologist who I'd been working much more closely with said they hadn't noticed any inattention from me and believed it was wrong. They were quite apologetic about their colleague. I consider that "diagnosis" extremely biased since I was very aware of the test and had talked to patients, meaning the possibility of "medical student's disease" is very high. I was also sleep deprived and had a desire for it to be positive as it would explain my struggles. Also my cognitive tests were within normal range apart from working memory which suggests that my sustained attention is fine at least during that kind of test. Genetically there might be a higher chance of me having it as I found out 2 of my family members on my father's side are diagnosed. So basically I seem not "bad enough" to warrant a diagnosis or treatment. Right now I've started seeing a therapist who doesn't focus on diagnoses so little chance of addressing those issues through that route.

@Trick1e

2 ай бұрын

@@butterbeer4582 A lot of doctors don't even know about ADHD or they have a superficial knowledge about it. in seeking help (and you definitely should because the ADHD will always be there and you can have a better life!) you should only contact a specialized proffesional in ADHD! even if you have doubt about it, get your answers from a professional who can smell an ADHDer from miles and they will tell you for sure. takes time but don't give up! P.S if they think it's not bad enough they are simply uneducated on this topic.

I have hyper emotional-synesthesia (whatever it is called, at least I believe I do) and have experienced incredible amounts of childhood abuse, both at home and school. What helped me was to start medication for ADHD -> then through PAINFUL processes of untangling all of my mislearned bad / toxic habits -> which led to few months of severe depression and anxiety -> coming out of the other end, understanding that my home and the system failed me -> forgiving myself -> learning to FEEL and THINK at the SAME intensity simultaneously -> truly experiencing both mental and physical FREEDOM for the first time. I'm 29 M, grew up in India, you can imagine the amount of suppression I've had to endure. I'm now in the USA, with the love of my life, and trying to get better every day. By the way, I literally just realized most of what I wrote above in the past 2-3 days, with barely any sleep, but also feeling hyper-energetic. I cried, satiated ALL my senses, and irritations, and cravings (to a healthy degree). Basically DRAINED myself of all the ... not sure what to call it. Then I came searching for more info. Found this video. Thank you

@EmbracingIntensity

Жыл бұрын

I'm sorry to hear you had such a difficult childhood. I hope you've been able to find the support you need!

This is me. I tested very high on IQ tests, but was a mediocre to terrible student. I just got a ADHD diagnosis a month ago at 48. Better late than never.

@EmbracingIntensity

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! People so often confuse academic achievement with intelligence and they are not the same!

Oh my gosh, I'm autistic and an ADHDer, but why does this resonate with me so much! I might be twice-exceptional, or I highly suspect that I am after 2 days on researching it. I related to most of the things you mentioned from struggles and bad feelings to their reflecting positives, especially with the doing well with more challenges, and being the absolute deadly crash when not stimulated enough (I used to describe it as in, only doing extraordinary when I do my best, but otherwise, it's doing my worst, almost never in between, somehow. It might be mainly due to the fact that doing my best will prevent my issues from constantly swallowing or continually haunting me), as well as, to an extent, your experiences in all, elementary, middle, and high school. In elementary school, I used to ask so freaking many questions that teachers started shutting me up (it was harsh), and my classmates used to bully me for a lot of misinterpretations and misunderstandings, so I developed this kind of destructive, aggressive behavior towards others (I already had factors and issues which led me to outburst and be hostile on since the beginning, because of my sensitivity and ability to see beyond myself or what my at-the-time struggles masked). Even at home, things were and felt hard, and it just sucked. In middle school, I finally had developed a better interest in school and science/math subjects, because they were just starting to get interesting (dang it, I wish I had as many book back then as I do now, that would've increased my awareness and interests). Aspiration seems to be the setting factor, which goes back to necessity, in both importance and fascination, and I have to work with and manage myself balancing-ly and properly. I'm 17 now, and am in high school, and although I might write more maturely than I actually am, I'm also going through the perfectionist and "intense drive of shame" stage because of others being better than me at what I perceive to be almost everything, and mainly me not doing well towards what I see best, which I see will likely set me low. Things are a bit better than they were before, however, thankfully, and I'm going through the better, more interesting, and more important level, even though a lot of internal struggles might bring suffering, I say I'll have to endure and it's worth it. I just have to do better, and I can, and potentially the actual best, and I need to in the quickest period of time, in most efficiency, and within the highest and best abilities. I just watched half of the video, so I have to go back to continue the rest of it. Thanks for uploading and contributing to this kind of content! You're the best.

@EmbracingIntensity

8 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for sharing your journey! I'm so glad you've found it helpful!

I suspect I may be 2e. I was identified as gifted around the age of 7 and I was skipped a grade. I always viewed it as a curse because once I hit high school I began to struggle a lot more. Of course people weaponize the giftedness as even when I dont tell them about it they always figure out that I am a lot smarter than I let on. "He would do a lot better if he just applied himself" was a very common phrase during parent teacher conferences. The worst part is I will likely have to seek out a diagnosis on my own because I am going to encounter resistance from my family on it. But this is something I have researched for the better half of a year and I am all but convinced that ADHD is the culprit.

Thank you for this video. I’m 36 years old and after an adult life of absolute turmoil I’ve finally realised I have 2E ADHD. What a rabbit hole the last few days have been.

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

I'm glad it's been helpful!

Thank you. Just diagnosed at 53. So nice to hear that there are others with a similar experience. I would add to your description a phenomena that relates to ADHD. I think the fact that attention jumps quickly between points of focus enables a special kind of pattern recognition. I've described it as having a bunch of windows open at the same time (like on a computer) and being able to see the kinks between them sometimes faster than others. This I think contributes to the 'problem solving' talents that many with ADHD seem to have.

One brilliant example of me going with my flow, is the struggle of "losing things", especially in the home. Cause my hands manipulate items I've been holding but my brain is not always putting the "mind" sort of attention on them. Just earlier, I was searching my hairbrush, actually. At some point, I figured out this really curious thing about myself. When I try to use my thinking to remember where something was, it just doesn't work. It's like I have memory of the thing and then the tracks go cold and it's "vanished" from existence. And logical backtracking fails to help, cause my hands do not place those objects down in "logical" manner, but rather "intuitively" :'D But then I noticed, that I can actually remember the SENSORY information. I can remember with my body, how the brush feels in my hand. And then I can sometimes remember, when that feeling was gone from my hand. And then, I can remember how I felt, maybe what thoughts I was busy with at the time and I can sometimes recall physical sensory information like: - the brush handle feeling from my hand was gone, but then there was another sensation, wood! That's what the knob of the drawer feels like! It must be in the drawer - last time I felt the brush handle, the floor under my feet was cool, I was standing(!) on the wooden floor(!) part of my room then and I remember the room temperature and sometimes even where the light came from. And from these things, I started to become able to find objects again, that I struggled before, even if they were in "silly" places, like, literally, the fridge :'D I stopped trying to solve my struggle the way I heard others do. I paid actual attention to what my body was able to tell me about what sort of knowledge it retains. Similar things for ppl. Can't remember names, dates, people's faces or forget them fast over time. But I can remember their voice tones and speech patterns, the themes of our conversations, sensory input on them (smells, quality of grip) and the vibe of their body language. Can you picture me trying to tell my coworker which customer in the tea shop ordered that 1 kg of tea and I forgot to ask their name and can't say what they look like, but "their body is this big and they move like this and they always talk about that topic when they come! Yes, yes, that topic! They talked to you last week. Um...I guess it's them but I can't confirm their hair colour or name, I can't remember those ....." And that prior to knowing I had ADHD (even though I had a distant memory of having a childhood diagnosis, which I indeed had, with no follow-up!). I got myself my adult-re-diagnosis last year, age 34 It's hilarious and just difficult, to not be observing ppl in the same manner as peers X'D

“What has helped me learn to go with the flow instead of pushing against my weaknesses?” I love this question. My therapist encouraged me to start a creative journey one year ago- that’s how I learned about my resistance. I noticed perfectionism and procrastination, thinking I didn’t have the right skills or materials, seeing I was able to paint at a 5 year old level, then meeting myself there. I have a couple of videos of the watercolor zendalas I love to make now, my jam! In addition to analyzing my patterns in the creative process, my adrenals quit making enough cortisol to dampen epinephrine, so my body forced me to slow down unfortunately like you mentioned with chronic pain windup and altered stress response. Celebrating 3 year anniversary of audhd diagnosis next month, still not back to any form of work but planning on a return in a new environment with all this new knowledge about my needs and preferences.

@EmbracingIntensity

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing! I'm exploring this myself as I come out of a pretty deep burnout!

@SideB1984

Жыл бұрын

@@EmbracingIntensity great to hear you are coming out of it now. Really appreciate you sharing as well, raising awareness and teaching others about 2E. 🌷✨

I was Today Years Old when I discovered First that this topic exists (Gifted + ADHD-PI = 2e) and Second that there are other people with the same struggles and challenges🤯😄 thank you so much for sharing this🙏🏼

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad you found it helpful!!!

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I recently discovered that I likely have ADHD and am waiting for the results of the diagnosis. I often felt bored and understimulated in school and my grades were mostly good, but depended highly on whether I was interested in a subject or not. It's been an emotional rollercoaster and I've been doubting a lot, since objectively I have achieved quite a lot in my life (I'm 33 years old) because I managed to get a job in a field that actually interests me. Still, I suffer from my inability to do any work without external pressure, such as urgency and deadlines. This leads to loads of stress, feeling inadquate/imposter syndrome because I always procrastinate and rely on my ability to get lots of stuff done last minute in hyperfocus mode.

@NoahLoftier

8 ай бұрын

Damn it, man! It feels like a glitch learning about myself and finding people I relate to at my age; I guess internet has certainly been a blessing curse, after all. That's literally me! Necessity is my drive (either my best or my worst, I seem to mostly perform at), and I often do things at the last moment and do about what others will likely do at a span of a week (or a semester, but likely they underestimate their abilities to study or do that little in that width of a period, but even then!) or so! I would really like to get to know you (but I'm bad at getting to know individuals, sometimes even those who I kind of relate to, mainly because of my Autism). Shame that I have a physics final exam tomorrow and I have not studied much of it the whole term despite being highly interested in the topic and considering it a path of my career (I like more advanced physics theories, concepts, and studies), and I'll have to study it at the final hours in that hyperfocus mode you mentioned.

I struggle so hard with imposter syndrome. But I relate to almost everything you've mentioned. I think my imposter syndrome is worse because I never got identified as gifted or adhd because I didn't exhibit hyperactivity by the time I got to school.

@EmbracingIntensity

Жыл бұрын

I get that! They missed me for several years and I probably wouldn't have gotten identified gifted if I hadn't kept taking the test, but if I hadn't had the evidence, I would have struggled to believe I was as smart as the high achievers!

I just found your channel and have saved almost every video I’ve watched.

I was talking to someone recently who works in helping diagnose at treat neurodivergent people and she's suggested that I get assessed for ADHD and giftedness. I feel like I don't have enough traits of either, however, have always felt like my brain doesn't work properly and always felt different to other people and like I don't fit in anywhere, despite the fact that I do have good friends. My concentration is atrocious, but I've somehow managed to get to a point where I'm currently doing a PhD in Clinical Psychology. I have an uncle and cousin who have both been diagnosed with ADHD and are both members of Mensa. I've only just made an enquiry for a ADHD evaluation, and kind of hope that I have it so that I can get treated and hopefully gain full access to my brain 🙏

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

The overlap can definitely be confusing since one can influence or mask the other. Hopefully anyone looking at ADHD has enough knowledge of giftedness to understand that achievement doesn't rule out ADHD!

Thank you for the last advice. It's true. We need to nurture and focus on our strengths, their attributes, and the necessities in the aligning path we choose, and stop always putting ourselves against the wall of limitation or setback of what we think we should do (we should work with and mange what we have, best done in the best, meaningfully), and when we focus on the positives and put our energies into them, the negatives could turn into positives. As for the personal question you proposed, regarding what helped me going with the flow of my strengths instead of pushing against my weaknesses, I'd say that making work fun and meaningful has immensely increased my performance and acknowledged me how to best work with myself. I found that when I connect an important task, but don't really have an interest in doing it (like what you explained, "loves challenges but doesn't like the classic feeling of working"), with my strengths, fascinations, or necessities, I can work towards that task incredibly efficiently.

When I was in 3rd grade I scored on a 2nd grade reading level & was nearly on an 8th grade math level. 99th percentile. My teacher made fun of me in front of the whole class for my 2nd grade reading level because everyone thought I was bright and I made good grades. I didn't get diagnosed with ADHD until senior year of high school when I couldn't finish the ACT. By the time I got diagnosed it was after the scholarship deadline, and I had already made it into where I wanted to go. I took it six times without accommodations. The highest I scored on the math was a 29 while bubbling B for like ten or 15 remaining problems. My batteries were dead once and I made a 26 on the math. Now I'm an engineer and have an autism diagnosis too.

@EmbracingIntensity

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! That's so disheartening to hear how teachers can make such a negative impression when they have the power to be a positive influence. I'm glad you've found some clarity!

I was tested as gifted at 38. The traits of 2E ADHD was a dead ringer for my experiences, but my counselor didn’t think that I had ADHD because I wasn’t “hyperactive.” Now I am thinking about going to a 2E specialized psychologist, in case it was really a misdiagnosis. As for strengths, I have tunnel vision, which recently helped my employer with a fraudulent case and clapping back at a lawyer who accused us of negligence. I am incredibly weak in organization and anger management, but the coping mechanisms have worked very well. Thank you for doing a podcast that covers a topic that gets often overlooked.

@EmbracingIntensity

11 ай бұрын

I feel like it's always good to find someone familiar with 2E for clarity! I feel like gifted ADHD folks have their ADHD overlooked more often than it gets misdiagnosed, but that's more anecdotal.

Thank you for this video. I have a 12 year old son who is 2e (ADHD) and I'm really trying to understand him. Your experience and sharing of knowledge was so helpful.

@EmbracingIntensity

3 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad he has a great advocate!

I'm learning so much about 2e and it's like so many people talking about it have some sort of window into my life and my childhood. I was diagnosed with Asperger's at age 12, my ADHD wasn't diagnosed until adulthood, and I had childhood trauma from abusive/ emotionally unavailable parents at home. Even though I was reading when I was 2 and everything from kindergarten through 3rd grade was simply review for me and I found myself bored in class, my social skills were what prevented me from skipping a grade. I was placed in remedial English in 5th grade because in fourth grade, the exam was so boring to me that I just filled in random bubbles so I could be done with it. I went from being in honor's classes in 6-7th grade to almost flunking 8th grade when I actually had to study for the first time and had no idea how to put any effort into things that didn't interest me. Nowadays, I'm in my mid 20s, I study historical linguistics, languages, history and demographics for fun while struggling to make it past intermediate algebra. I've always had extremely high writing and critical thinking skills that make any class involving those things very easy for me, but I have weaknesses that put me behind my peers in other areas.

I am so confused, a couple of weeks ago I found out that I have ADHD. I always thought I wasn’t smart because I failed at math, writing and reading, but I like puzzles and sudoku, and I have good reading comprehension, and I enjoy solving fun math problems like those that are represented by drawings instead of numbers. I feel so frustrated that I haven’t been able to graduate from college. But I feel that all is making sense.

@EmbracingIntensity

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! I hope you've been able to find some clarity! People often confuse academic achievement and intelligence, and they are definitely not the same thing!

Great last question. (Addendum, self taught english learner here) One of my strenghts is to solve problems. I could stay days or months looking for an authentic issue solution nobody else was able to fix until then. So I learned software engineering by myself and now I can focus and fixing really complex issues even I don't know how, after a while. But I struggle a lot with basic things that I feel boring, for example finishing an easy one-day-a-week short-term College on Software Engineering while I was learning advanced Android native programming by myself in a few days in order to develop the new and better-usage app for the company I was already working with.

@EmbracingIntensity

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! It can be hard for people to understand how the "simpler" things can often be the most difficult!

Thank you for making this video. I am 2 e and have a difficulty Ike explaining to family. I have always felt out of place and misunderstood. Will share this with my family as you explain 2 e so succinctly!

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad it was helpful!

Oh! I was so good at speaking backwards 😆 I'm great with languages (speak a ton) n music (inventing songs or creating tunes n seconds voices for existing songs). And so so get it... the challenge part and the difficult tasks 😅

This video is wonderful. I’m 34 and just now piecing together that I’m very likely 2e. 😊 Late diagnosed Aspergers + ADHD, with many 2e traits. It’s wonderful to hear your knowledge on this topic… it helps me understand myself better. Thank you.

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I'm glad it's been helpful!

Understanding my ‘weaknesses’ were complimented with unique strengths was incredibly empowering. My journey to recovery is far from over, but I’ve learned a great deal about myself and my ADHD mind over the past decade since I was diagnosed with ADHD in my early 40’s.

@EmbracingIntensity

11 ай бұрын

This is something I still find challenging myself even after years of focusing on it!

@rgfs71

11 ай бұрын

And what a cruel challenge. My strengths are things that come easy to me, so as I struggled with things others found easy I naturally assumed the things that came easy to me were also easy for everyone else. As I came to understand my ADHD and the ways in which everyone’s minds differ, I came to understand the true nature of my ‘gifts’. However, I still find it hard to value the easy things for me relative to others. This is where it really helps to have people in your life or at your work who will be truly open and honest about the strengths they see in you. And especially those who won’t heed your dismissal and continue to remind you of your value. Years of self-doubt and shame will tie your mind into knots which don’t disentangle easily.

@EmbracingIntensity

11 ай бұрын

Someone once said to me we tend to undervalue what we are good at and over value what we are not and it really hit home!@@rgfs71

Just started my journey to find out if I have ADHD or not, this afternoon. I've been watching some videos about 2e and to be honest, I think it's a possibility I am too. The problem is where I'm from I've never heard anyone talking about 2e, so it might be hard for me to get a specialist in that too. But we'll see... Great video!!

@EmbracingIntensity

11 ай бұрын

It can definitely be hard to find professionals who get it, but at least one who can acknowledge that you can be extremely smart and even successful, and have ADHD is the biggest factor!

My Psychiatrist told me I have this & I said "where?" Cause I didnt do great in school. I had a teacher tell me that I should stop math while I'm behind & just to spite her, I achieved a higher math lvl than her in the end... Im that kinda petty😂

Aurora thank you for what you do. I'm 2e (gifted and inattentive ADHD, plus slow processing; my giftedness, school setting, love of learning and strong long-term memory masked my inattentive ADHD, until I crumbled at uni and had ADHD first identified at 20yo, then diagnosed at 23), and a provisionally registered psychologist working with adolescents and young adults. I'm so glad there are people like you out there helping students that really needed support like I did, but whose targeted struggles were looked over compared to their appearances of high functioning. I was just looking up 2e and relationships, after feeling pretty despairing about my love life, and it's true there is almost nothing about 2e adults, and absolutely nothing about relationships!

@EmbracingIntensity

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing! Dr. Melanie Hayes did a great talk on 2E relationships for my podcast/community - I'd love to expand on it further as I develop capacity in burnout recovery!

Hi, thank you so much for making this video. I've been diagnosed with ADD for almost 10 years now and only a few days ago started doubting if I might be 2e. My son of 20 months shows signs of giftedness. I then realised my husband is definitely gifted, but founds that statistcly there would be a good chance I am too. I would have never thought this about myself, but seeing your video I do recognise myself in being 2e. Not sure what to do with this 'maybe' information yet though...

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

I'm not sure I would have really identified as gifted if I hadn't been identified in school, but now knowing the signs I can see my whole family is! It's about way more than academic achievement!

omg... this hit me

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

Glad it's relatable!

@blacbamboo284

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmbracingIntensity It is incredibly relatable. Thank you for posting this! Having this information I feel like there's a bigger chance I'll actually be believed & diagnosed.

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

@@blacbamboo284 I hope you have a positive experience! I wrote a post called "but you're too smart to have ADHD" that goes into more detail to differentiate between the two! (auroraremember.com for now, but switching soon to embracingintensity.com)

I try to find systems for things that are hard. If there's a flow from a to b like work to martial arts gym then I can settle into that system. I don't have these in all areas yet and it shows because inconsistent results but working on it. Crave freedom but need some boundaries because I'll wander into random or hyperfocus on whatever I'm interested in at the moment.

@EmbracingIntensity

Жыл бұрын

Always a tricky balance!

I am 37 and I always hear that I never achieved my full potential. Ongoing test this days that I probably have 2e... I am really struggling very hard to write my master thesis wright now at the end of my master course, after receiving the best project in an international competition last year! I've abandoned the firt engineer graduation after some years of struggling, then entered in a new course and ended it suffering. Started my master two and a half years ago, and couldn't finish on time and I was about to abandon it just because it is really hard to write everything down 😢.

@EmbracingIntensity

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing! I hope you find ways to make it work for you!

I switched from grade 1 to grade 2 in the winter break because I was bored out my mind, I think it helped me immensely

@EmbracingIntensity

3 жыл бұрын

That's great when it helps! So often if we have additional executive functioning challenges it can make it difficult, but I was quite young for my grade and I do think it worked more to my advantage than not.

I just watched a video on 2e and the woman said 2e kids will use bigger words and one of their favorite word is “Actually”. I couldn’t help but notice how much you use the word “Actually”. Interesting.

@EmbracingIntensity

3 жыл бұрын

Ha! I have not noticed that. When I think of 2E kids and the word "actually" I think of it as a counter to correct something someone else said. I guess in my case it's more of a presenting another side or perspective.

@angiegracie6954

3 жыл бұрын

@@EmbracingIntensity I just thought it was funny. I’m not making any assumptions. My son is 2e.

@sarahhartnett5629

Жыл бұрын

Hee hee, my eight year old tried to give up saying “actually” for Lent one year. 😂

I agree 👍 💯 me too

@EmbracingIntensity

9 ай бұрын

Glad it resonated!

The answer to your last question, for me, is/was therapy.

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

That can definitely be a crucial piece!

WORD...and WORD!🙂TY.

That is exactly the case of my son.

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

Glad he has a parent who understands!

I love your video! I just don't like that you called adhd a disability - it isn't.

@travelografa

2 жыл бұрын

For me, at least 😇

@EmbracingIntensity

2 жыл бұрын

That topic is highly debated, but it does fall under a disability on the DSM V and there are those who require accommodations for it so without the disability label they would not have access to those. There are definitely strengths and following disability rights activists rather than avoiding the term disability, they would prefer that we destigmatize the term disability so people can access what they need without the stigma.

@dnclvr

2 жыл бұрын

It can be very disabling. Disabled doesn't have anything to do with intelligence.

@adrianopper9472

Жыл бұрын

It's recognized as a disability by the ADA.

I tested very high on IQ tests/in gifted range. My adhd was mainly masked by intelligence and got through school and post grad with only some negative feedback from teachers about lack of organisation,talking too much, asking too many questions. Becoming a parent actually made my adhd more of a problem as there was less structure to my life. I have time blindness and love the big conceptual ideas and get bored with writing conventions/work place style guides. I find it so painful and boring. Writing out stuff that I have already worked through in my mind but being told I have to spell it out step by step.

@EmbracingIntensity

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing! It's amazing what we learn about ourselves when we have kids!