Jan 31
After being diagnosed with ADHD at age twelve, Jessica McCabe struggled with a brain she didn’t understand. Determined to understand her challenges, Jessica reached out to experts, read articles, and decided to share her findings with others. This determination and curiosity set her on the incredible path she’s on today.
Jessica is now the founder and host of the award-winning YouTube channel, How to ADHD, where she has built a community of millions who follow along as she uses up-to-date research, consultations with mental health professionals, and her own personal experiences to create fun educational content to help people better understand their unique brains. She is also the author of a brand new book, How To ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working With Your Brain (Not Against It).
The ADHD world isn't pie, there’s plenty to go around for everyone. The more of us that are talking about ADHD, the more likely that we’ll actually change more lives, which is why I’m inviting you to join my conversation with Jessica and learn more about her new book and all the wonderful work she does helping ADHDers to live their most fulfilling lives.
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"I think it's really important for people to understand that sometimes our strengths aren't pure strengths. Sometimes those strengths come out of an area of insecurity or out of an area of weakness. The things that we do to cope with that end up making us really good at what we do."
- Jessica McCabe
"We can lean into these strengths, many of which are because of the ADHD, but many of which we've developed as a result of having ADHD. I got so good at cold reading because I couldn't memorize lines, but now I'm really good at it. And so when left to our own devices, I feel like we're really good at finding the ways to get the thing done."
- Jessica McCabe
"The empathy is such an interesting thing with ADHD because sometimes we can struggle with empathy in certain ways, but then some people are so empathic that it actually can get in the way."
- Jessica McCabe
"It's such a common thing that we deal with as women with ADHD, feeling like we're capable of doing this, so why aren't we doing it more? Why aren't we doing it consistently? And it took me a long time to realize that that inconsistency, that doesn't mean that we don't have ADHD. It doesn't mean that we don't struggle. It is the struggle."
- Jessica McCabe
- Jessica shares her journey with ADHD, advocating for neurodiversity and inspiring millions through her YouTube channel and TED talk.
- Jessica found success in using an outline to structure her videos, which helped her stay on track and provide valuable information.
- Jessica was diagnosed with ADHD at 12 years old after her aunt, who was also diagnosed with ADHD, was evaluated and diagnosed.
[17:27 - 32:28] Self-care, disability, and mother-daughter relationship
- Jessica shares a personal story about raising ducklings in high school, including her excitement and creativity in completing an English assignment.
- Jessica's mom was supportive of her venture, even though it made no sense to others, demonstrating a nurturing and encouraging parenting style.
- Jessica struggles with working memory, leading to difficulties memorizing lines and performing in front of a camera.
- Jessica expresses frustration with not being able to keep up with her union dues and health insurance, despite her best efforts.
- Jessica reflects on her past struggles with piano lessons due to small hands and lack of enjoyment, realizing the importance of doing things for personal enjoyment rather than solely for impressing others.
- Jessica shares her personal journey with ADHD, writing a book to help others work with their brains, not against them.
