CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 0:06
Post-diagnosis feeling: “My ADHD got worse”
Alex opens with a common concern: symptoms seeming to intensify right after receiving an ADHD diagnosis. He frames it as a normal experience many people report.
- •Diagnosis can coincide with a perceived spike in symptoms
- •This reaction is common and worth normalizing
- •Sets up an explanation rather than assuming true symptom worsening
- 0:06 – 0:16
Why it can feel worse: selective attention and heightened awareness
He explains that once you’re made aware of something—like ADHD traits—your attention naturally locks onto it more. The diagnostic process increases salience, so you notice symptoms more often and more intensely.
- •Selective attention makes newly recognized patterns stand out
- •Diagnosis makes ADHD traits feel more salient in daily life
- •Increased awareness can mimic “worsening”
- 0:16 – 0:26
Diagnosis requires identifying real-life impairments and distress
Alex notes that getting diagnosed involves reviewing areas where life is difficult and providing evidence of struggles. This deep focus on problems can amplify awareness of them immediately afterward.
- •Diagnosis involves examining distress/difficulty in multiple areas
- •You must recall and articulate impairments to clinicians
- •Focusing on problems primes you to spot them more afterward
- 0:26 – 0:36
Common ADHD difficulties people enumerate during assessment
He runs through a broad list of symptoms many people describe in evaluations. Listing them all at once can create a sudden “spotlight effect,” making the traits feel omnipresent.
- •Forgetfulness and losing items (e.g., keys)
- •Organization and time-management struggles
- •Difficulty finishing tasks and listening
- •Restlessness/fidgeting and over-talking
- •Impulsivity and impatience
- 0:36 – 0:53
Reframe: likely not worse—just more noticeable
Alex concludes that symptoms often haven’t objectively worsened; the main change is awareness. Because you’re tuned in, you catch behaviors you previously overlooked or dismissed.
- •Perception of worsening can be an awareness effect
- •Noticing increases because the topic is now highly salient
- •The shift is in attention/interpretation, not necessarily symptom severity
