Painful everyday realities of ADHD and executive dysfunction (KC Davis’ story)

KC Davis, counselor, author, and host of Struggle Care, talks about the everyday realities of ADHD and executive dysfunction: messiness, boredom, and keeping up with household tasks like laundry. She shares how caring for a newborn and a 2-year-old during the COVID shutdown pushed her coping strategies to the breaking point — “I lost my mind,” she says — and ultimately changed the way she understood herself.

KC reflects on ADHD signs that showed up throughout her life, from forgetting to turn in homework to biting her tongue until it bled to stop herself from interrupting people. She also discusses working memory, addiction, and the years she spent fighting for radical acceptance in therapy — and why understanding her ADHD sooner might have made that journey much easier.

For more on this topic 

• Listen: Managing expectations in relationships with ADHD (interview with KC Davis)
• Read: ADHD and boredom
• Watch: Why ADHD makes everything so hard (executive dysfunction explained)

For a transcript and more resources, visit ADHD Aha! on Understood.org. You can also email us at adhdaha@understood.org.

As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

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