ADHD: Does a Diagnosis Actually Change Anything?

[00:00:00] Welcome to Event About It, the podcast all about events that drive actual business results. I'm your host, Megan Martin. And here you get the real event strategy, stories you can't make up, and a host with zero patience for the way we've always done it. So grab your lanyards, we're going backstage.

[00:00:20] Welcome to Event About It. I'm your event bestie host, Megan Martin. And a quick catch up in case you missed last week's episode, we had Maddie Morris on and she is helping us answer a question the entire industry's been grappling with and that is, do ADHD brains end up in events or does working in events give you ADHD symptoms? Where we landed with Maddie is that the answer is both. Maddie is a time and energy consultant who was diagnosed as an adult.

[00:00:50] She has never worked in event in her life, which is exactly why I wanted to talk to her. So here's the question I'm asking today and it's one I didn't exactly expect to land on after talking with Maddie. So does an official diagnosis change anything at all, especially getting diagnosed as an adult? Where I came to that is understanding how my brain works and building around it enough or am I missing something by skipping the official diagnosis?

[00:01:17] I started the process of getting diagnosed but have put it on pause as I continue to explore this topic and whether an official diagnosis would actually change anything for me. But in the episode with Maddie, I talked about how my niece's nursing school graduation card was sitting on my counter for two weeks, even though it took all of five minutes to actually mail it.

[00:01:38] I talked about how there's a notebook on my nightstand because a lot of times my brain has too much going on and the brain dump actually helps. And a lot of times my best ideas come to me late at night and I want to get them on paper because I know I'm not going to remember them in the morning. And I recently saw an Instagram post that kind of wrapped all of it together in a nice bow and really resonated because so many of the things that said are true.

[00:02:05] A couple of the things that got mentioned is you don't actually work best at the last minute. You finally have enough dopamine to start. The pile of work isn't the issue. The fact that your brain sees 47 separate tasks inside that work is the actual issue. There is a reason your friends think you are disorganized, but your work colleagues think you are an organized queen. The reason you interrupt people is because if you don't say it now, that thought is leaving forever.

[00:02:32] And these last two probably were the most close to how my brain functions. Out of sight, out of mind is hard coded to your DNA. Not everyone is able to turn every problem into a really good analogy to help others understand. So if I know how my brain works, I'm just not sure that's the whole story, which is why I asked Maddie straight, like what did the diagnosis change for her? And her answer have three parts.

[00:03:00] She talked about how it gave her a cheat sheet. So she found the common trip wires and that was a good starting point. She said it took the judgment out of the diagnosis and it brought relief and grace, not grief. I'm not sure I've ever had judgment, nor do I think a diagnosis would give me relief or grace. I don't really have any grief or any judgments around the fact that I have ADHD. It's just that my brain works a little bit different.

[00:03:26] But then I also walk the line of is ADHD the superpower without discrediting all the very, very hard day to day things that come with that diagnosis. And getting to her diagnosis was not an easy process either. Maddie talked about how it took psychotherapists, a psychiatrist, hours of interviews, talking to her husband, her family, her friends. And I just don't know if that's worth the effort for me, if nothing's going to change. So the question remains.

[00:03:54] So one more thing I found as I continue to do my research on this topic and where it fits into the event world. Something we've been talking about has a name, executive function. So Harvard Center on the Developing Child describes it as your brain's air traffic control system. It's what lets you hold information in your head, focus, filter out distractions and switch gears. And for us, think of it as a run a show for your brain.

[00:04:23] It has all the information and helps you switch back and forth and give you all the context you need. Researchers who study ADHD have linked problems with executive function to ADHD for decades. When we break it all down, it really comes down to executive dysfunction because our brain doesn't necessarily work in the same way a normal person's brain would when it comes to executive functioning. So here's the plain language version. This list is mine. It's not clinical. And I'm trying to give some event examples for context.

[00:04:52] So the trouble starting of 200 badge scans when you come home from a show, you write show follow-up. But show follow-up comes with 47 or more tasks. So you want to just start with one. Executive dysfunction is losing track of time. Losing the thread, meaning you're walking into a room forgetting why you were there, what needed to happen. Decision paralysis. Three vendors all quoting on the same thing.

[00:05:18] If you have more than three, a lot of times it becomes analysis paralysis or decision paralysis. And lastly, big reactions to small things. The venue emailing you at, you know, 4.55 on a Friday to tell you something's wrong or something happened or speakers canceling at the last second. Those are all normal things that happen in our world. But if you have problems with executive functioning, which a lot of times with ADHD you do, you can get big reactions from very small inconveniences.

[00:05:48] Now, this isn't necessarily part of a clinical diagnosis. And not everyone with ADHD has executive function problems. And people who have executive dysfunction doesn't necessarily mean you have ADHD. So it's not a one-size-fits-all, but there are commonalities between the two. All of this comes to where am I today? Honestly, I'm still learning, still discovering, and still leaning towards the systems rather than a diagnosis.

[00:06:14] Maddie's advice of know yourself and plan around it is really what's been working for me and what's in my head. But a lot of times I don't necessarily trust where I'm leaning because the systems can break. So some of the things I still can't answer so far in my research and digging deeper is what does the paper change at work? In a job that requires travel, deadlines, and people, will it actually change anything for me?

[00:06:41] Typically, a diagnosis comes with the access to medication. Is that enough? Is that something that I want? How do you tell ADHD from plain burnout in an industry that wears exhaustion like a badge? This one is going to be a topic I can't wait to uncover of is it ADHD or just burnout? Lastly, what does an evaluation add if my system's already working? I think I know a system isn't going to work forever, but if it's working right now, does a diagnosis change anything?

[00:07:09] We have a couple more experts coming on to help us answer these questions. So we've got a person coming from the events industry who had a late-life diagnosis, and we also have a physician coming on to answer all questions around diagnosis, how to get diagnosed, what the process looks like, and how do ADHD brains actually work? So if you have questions for either of them as we continue to explore this topic, please send them to me. You can send me a DM or submit your questions at eventaboutitpodcast.com.

[00:07:38] So in the meantime, here's some things that I've been working on that I stole from the conversation with Maddie. And the first one is make the next step very tiny. Writing show follow-up on a to-do list doesn't necessarily help. I start with one small task to get there, and then once that task is complete, generally that's the dopamine hit to keep going. I don't read or celebrate on anything that still have actions required.

[00:08:04] So if the deal comes in at 4 o'clock, I'm not celebrating until the contract is signed. If I'm reading something, I won't save the tab open to come back to it later, do something immediately with it, or don't do anything. Don't even read the article or start it at that time. I have a 24-hour re-entry period. So I take the day after.

[00:08:30] Traveling and going to events and producing events take a lot out of you. And so I try to take the next day coming home slower. So if I can schedule no meetings, I try to not take the meetings, have slower mornings, just ease back into it. Have a lot more flexibility in my time blocking. The time blocking helps, but it's hard when every week is different. There's no consistency in the schedule. So I have found I've tried to do the rigid schedule.

[00:09:00] It doesn't necessarily work. So I've tried to find flexibility in that on a week-to-week basis as opposed to a day-to-day. I also have accountability buddies now. So getting into a cave day, changing my work location, working with another person has definitely helped. And lastly, rebuilding trust with myself. I get lost sometimes and deciding what to follow up, what not to follow up on.

[00:09:27] A lot of times I just have to trust my systems and I have found things that work for me and I need to lean on them and trust them. One more thing that Maddie shared as we're wrapping up this episode. She shared an analogy that ADHD is like learning you're really bad at Mario Kart and then finding out you have more banana peels than everyone else. But at the same time, everybody's telling you that everyone slips on banana peels sometimes. Well, Maddie found a map of where her banana peels are.

[00:09:55] I'm still deciding if I want the map or is my toolkit to go around the bananas or managing the spin out from it enough for me. So pulling this all together, Maddie gave us the how. Make the next step tiny. Get it out of your head. Take the day after a show. Executive function gave us the word for why. But here's what we do know. You don't necessarily need a diagnosis or a paper to start managing executive function or executive dysfunctions.

[00:10:23] I've been building around my brain for years without a diagnosis or a paper. Maddie's tactics have been working for me. So the question remains, is that enough? Does the paper actually change anything? What does it add once your systems are working? Is what I'm calling a brain thing sometimes just burnout in a costume? So what is the difference between ADHD and actual burnout? Not sure we know the difference. So we're going to keep working and keep discovering and being curious.

[00:10:52] Those are the questions I'm exploring. More to come on all of that. We've got two more guests coming on to explore this topic. So again, if you have questions, DM me. Submit them at eventaboutitpodcast.com. While we continue to explore the topic of do people with ADHD thrive in the events industry? Or does working in events give you ADHD symptoms? Well, that's all the time for today. Until next time, keep laughing, keep growing, and keep eventing about it.

[00:11:22] Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Event About It. If today's episode made you think differently, be sure to like and subscribe so you never miss a new episode. And if you have a second, share it with a friend and leave us a review. It's the easiest way to support your event bestie. And do you have a burning question or a story to share? Send it to me at eventaboutitpodcast.com. And one more thing, really quickly, I want to work with you.

[00:11:50] I help companies get more out of their events. It starts with audience insights. Who's in the room? Who's not in the room? And what are they actually trying to tell you? And it ends with the strategy, the data, and the content that make the next event do more and prove even more. So if you're ready to get the most out of your events, let's talk. Contact me at msquareddynamics.com. The link is in the show notes. Until next time, keep it eventful.