For most of her life, Jiyoung An believed her struggles came down to laziness or lack of effort. Even after her ADHD diagnosis less than a year ago, she questioned whether she was just making excuses and using ADHD “as a crutch.”

In this week’s episode, Jiyoung shares how her perspective has changed. She’s unlearning internalized shame and now sees her brain for what it truly is: different, not broken.

Related resources

• What is growth mindset?
• What does thriving with ADHD actually look like?

Timestamps

(00:00) Intro

(00:46) What was happening before Jiyoung sought out an ADHD evaluation this year?

(03:00) Jiyoung’s 3 different psychiatrists’ opinions

(04:24) Falling into hustle culture before diagnosis, and being hard on herself

(07:24) Jiyoung’s journey to accepting her ADHD label

(11:07) How frustrating it can be to not have solutions to all of her ADHD challenges

(13:08) Perfectionism and comparing yourself to others

(16:50) Jiyoung’s experience growing up with undiagnosed ADHD

(19:25) Noticing ADHD in her little sister

(21:22) What ADHD traits Jiyoung struggles with the most

(25:08) Credits

We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at adhdaha@understood.org or record a message for us here

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Explore Through My Eyes today. Step into the world of three kids with ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia — helping you see differently so you can act differently.

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