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.

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