Four TED Talks for Professionals with ADHD, and One More.

For when you need a pep talk from trying to brain in the workplace.

There are a lot of TED talks about ADHD — enough to really have their own subcategories. I’ve gone through most of the “what is ADHD?” and “what is ADHD like?” talks, but last night I went down a “careers and ADHD” rabbit hole.

I pay the bills by working in nonprofit fundraising for a sexual violence resource center, so as you might imagine it’s easy to get discouraged. I’m on the recovery side of burnout (I hope) so I was looking for some reassurance that the difficulties we’ve faced this year weren’t my fault, because I took the job before I knew I had ADHD.

After a couple of hours and a few scribbled pages of notes, I didn’t exactly have an answer…but I did feel better. I felt I had learned some things, found some catchphrases, and once again felt less alone thanks to other people sharing their stories.

That’s the goal of the ADHD Open Space. I know we all share on the various socials; I’d like to create a space where we’re not having to jump through the hoops of technology, algorithms, and the entire rest of the internet.

But in the meantime, I wanted to share the talks that resonated the most, on the off chance you need a pep talk today (or any day). And if you know someone else who might need them, feel free to use the “share” button to send it along.

ADHD: Finding My Gold by Katie Friedman

This one particularly hit home because her key to coming to terms with her ADHD was to learn to be kind to herself. She explains the difficulty in that by citing a statistic that children with ADHD receive “…80% more criticism than the average child. There’s also a neat little nested-circle idea about the person you are, the persone you’re scared you might be, and the person you pretend to be for everyone else.

That one is going to take some unpacking…

Ain’t No Shame in my ADHD Brain by Torrian Timms

If I had to pick a favorite among these, this would be it. Aside from the fact that she related her ADHD to her obsession with de-cluttering books (if you’re interested in finding out how I became a Marie-Kondo-Certified Good Boyfriend, let me know) she also emphasizes the necessity for a “safe, shameless environment” which has been a big part of my journey this past year.

The Wisdom of ADHD with Katherine Ellison

I usually don’t like things that claim “wisdom” or “superpower”, but Ms. Ellison puts it into the very familiar post-lockdown framework where we found out that accommodations put in place for a few turned out to be really useful for the many.

She breaks it down into three things in particular:

1. Mistrust your sense of urgency.

2. Limit your chronophages (“your what?” You’ll have to watch the video).

3. Surround yourself with kindness — starting with how you treat yourself.

Not Just LIVING but THRIVING with ADHD - Angela Aguirre

Second favorite, because I’m a real sucker for good poetry, and Ms. Aguirre opens her speech with a poem that pretty much punched me in the gut in terms of feels. I can’t find the text of the poem online, but it’s well worth a listen, and the rest of her story is also inspiring and a good example of how the right teachers and counselors can pair with indomitable will to bring surprising success.

Bonus for Capitalism: John Torrens, “ADHD as an Entrepreneur’s Superpower”

Now, one thing I hate worse than the “ADHD is a superpower” trope is, well, capitalism (as you may have noticed by the pricing model of this newsletter). So I was skeptical to hear Mr. Torrens speak…but it’s actually pretty good and interesting. As a former serial entrepreneur myself, I wish I’d known this stuff back then — and I also understand better why some of my successes ended up being that way (read: I had a team that made up for my weaknesses). So it’s an interesting watch, if you don’t mind that the point is basically “here’s how we can make ADHD into a capitalist tool like everything else.”

Your turn.

Let’s face it, TED talks on ADHD are pretty common. What are your favorites? What have helped you? Put them in the comments, or reply and tell me, and I’ll put them together in a future post.

Also, tomorrow starts NaPodPoMo!

National Podcast Post Month starts November 1st, and that means for the next 30 days I’ll be releasing ADHD Open Space-relevant content one episode per day. Expect some articles, some interviews, some sad tales, some hilarity — and it’s an Open Space, so if you have things you’d like to contribute, send me a voice recording (that’s pretty easy these days!).

Or just email me, boomer, and let me know what you think. You can find the podcast at http://adhdos.substack.com/podcast or by clicking the button below.