ADHD Explained in 60 SECONDS.

Your brain isn’t broken. It’s doing what it learned to survive.

Speaker: Gabor Maté

#adhdawareness #neurodiversity #healingtrauma

[satmedown]

Gabor Maté is one of the most amazing humans on the planet. Totally changed my life.

[russyeatman]

Joe Rogan: It is not flight or fight". Is flight, fight or FREEZE. When kid cannot flee or fight kid's brain FREEZE. Best explanation of ADHD I have ever heard

[arkieologist]

I'm so grateful for Gabor Maté... 💛🙏🏻💛 What a tender soul he is...

[Deepblueseas-sl]

Ehat a beautiful calm voice Dr Gabor has. I have never heard such a peaceful voice. He is really special.

[Florence]

I agree so much. Got diagnosed with ADHD but now that i've been doing trauma therapy, i'm not distracted anymore. I can regulate my emotions too, plan stuff, etc. I honestly believe that within a few decades we'll be talking more and more about trauma and less about diagnoses. Trauma is the root of it all. Wish i had found this video sooner. I thought i had an incurable mental health condition but turns out no, all was due to the environment i grew up in. Thanks again for this video ❤️

[numazi]

I like to think of it as a survival mechanism. Those with ADHD actually tend to have hyper focus/fixation on certain things in our environment. When channeled it can be an icredible tool. Left unchecked, it can be like having a bird's nest of thoughts in your head. In my experience, passion drives focus. If I'm not passionate about something I tend to tune out. But if the passion's there, the focus becomes addicting and nourishing to my mind.

[jacobdarling]

This explains so much. My parents were always fighting. I learned later in life that they only stayed together because my mom got pregnant with my twin and I unexpectedly. So I was born into that stress and learned to tune out. I would be like the Secret Life of Walter Mitty just having elaborate daydreams living a separate life in my head. It made school hard. If a subject like math stressed me out I would spend class disassociating rather than learning anything. But as I grew up I learned to harness that daydreaming into creating stories and became a writer. I turned my adhd from a liability into a super power.

[MJ.]

This is why struggle is a gift, if you get this tuning out right, you turn into a person that the world so desperately needs

[dudemcgee]

My dad was an officer in the military. Don't get me wrong, he was a great man. But I remember being very young, 5 years old or younger and getting dressed down like a soldier. This could last 5 minutes to an hour or two depending on how stubborn I was being. I got really good at holding eye contact and tuning out. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 7. Now I'm nearly 40 and have severe ADHD and it's kind of ruined my life. Meds don't help, I've been reading books and trying everything I can to cope, but it doesn't help. My phone is constantly going off with alarms of things I'm supposed to do, but the timing is never right and I'm always busy and I always have so much to do. I lose things constantly, I either throw them away or set them down in the craziest places. Keys and wallet in the fridge or trash. It's like I have no control over my body at times and it goes into auto pilot and my brain has no memory of any of it. Then I get angry with myself for being so stupid and wasting so much time. Time doesn't exist, I have no concept of direction. Yet I have a very high IQ and learn things i'm interested at a blinding speed. Because of that society has no patience for me. Because I'm good at things, I should be able to deal with it. But the thing is unless I'm genuinely obsessed (which I have no control over what that might be) I have no motivation to do anything. Whew that's a lot of BS, but maybe somebody will read this and feel seen or validated and find comfort in the fact that they aren't alone in their struggle. I see you and understand.

[sarebear]

OMG THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS!!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏
I love mischievous distracted, busy kids. They were my besties all through school and When you really engage with them and get them talking about their real interests, my goodness they are inspirationally intelligent! They will explain EXACTLY WHY THEY DO WHAT THEY DO TO RILE UP TEACHERS AND ADULTS! AND THEY ALWAYS TRY TO EXPLAIN THEIR INTENTIONS TO THEM BEFORE THEY REBELAND IT ALWAYS FALLS ON DEAF EARS SO IT BECOMES A GAME TO THEM!! And it exhausts them!! Its very sad!
These children do NOT deserve to be ostracised and dosed on medications JUST TO APPEASE THE ADULTS! ITS CRIMINAL!!

[Anthony-vz]

No. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and have dealt with it my entire life—it’s not just a lack of discipline or a coping issue. I had a great loving and supportive family. When I was young, they wanted to place me in special education because I couldn’t complete tasks. But my mom knew I wasn’t slow, so I got my IQ tested—it was in the 130s. I grew up envying people who could sit down and just do things. I believed it was a discipline problem, so much so that I joined the Marine Corps to try and fix it. It didn’t help—I still struggled.

College was the same story until I finally listened to some audiobooks on ADHD and tried Adderall. I take just 5–10mg, and it’s changed my life—along with years of building better habits. I earned my bachelor’s with a 4.0 and now I’m working on my master’s. I’ve never been able to function like this before.

Call it what you want, but people like me share common traits, and we identify it as ADHD. Something is different about us. Discipline and therapy alone weren’t enough—I had to learn how to work with my brain.

[TusharKapila]

ADHD isn't just a tuning out coping mechanism, but "tuning out" (also called dissociation, daydreaming, or mental drifting) can be a coping response in people with ADHD — especially when overwhelmed, bored, or overstimulated.

Here's how it connects:

Neurological basis: ADHD is rooted in differences in brain structure and neurotransmitter activity, particularly dopamine. It's not something people choose or develop purely as a response to stress.

Coping aspect: Some behaviors linked to ADHD — like zoning out or hyperfocusing — can become coping strategies. For instance, when a task is too hard or boring, the brain may "tune out" to avoid discomfort. This can look like avoidance, but it's often involuntary.

Overlap with trauma: In some cases, especially in childhood, trauma or chronic stress can lead to ADHD-like symptoms or worsen ADHD. In such cases, tuning out may serve as a coping mechanism layered on top of existing ADHD.


So — ADHD itself isn’t a coping mechanism, but the way someone with ADHD responds to their environment can involve coping behaviors like tuning out. Want to explore the trauma connection or the brain side of this more?

[shaun]

I like Gabor, the way he explains things calmly. Unlike myself. I still get overexcited. I'm a man of 62. I was diagnosed with ADHD 5 years ago at The Maudsley Hospital London. Life has been difficult because of it. Concentration. Impulsive behaviours. Unmanagabilty. Alcoholism. 30 years sober in AA. But the ADHD was an underlying problem. I feel fantastic relief just knowing what it is. Thank you, Dr. Russel Barkley. 👍🇬🇧

[jase]

He so beautifully articulates it,
I literally teared up.
This explains a lot of my life.

[annettemoolman]

Dr Gabor Mate is a true genius. Love his way of explaining and insight ❤❤❤❤❤

[NG-swfi]

This is the first time adhd has been explained in a such a way that helps me understand that i will need some therapy to deal with my tuning out that i cant seem to shut off.

[speedyboi]

Hey guys something that can help with your ADHD is adapting minimalist ways of living. I’m currently medicated and that does help a lot But on top of it I decided to literally get rid of anything that I don’t use or have no real reason to keep. I cleaned out my whole apartment and simplified my wardrobe. I got rid of gifts that people got me that I never used, decorations that were cheap and not being used daily, got rid of blankets and cleaning supplies from my closet, stupid little things that I always thought I’d need and then never used, etc. I used to have all different kinds of mix matched cloths and now I have my main outfit which is black T-shirt’s and khaki pants. I have 5 simple, comfy, black shirts and 3 pairs of simple, comfy khaki pants. I then have flannels and 2 nice dress shirts in different colors. I also have two nice jackets and 3 nice hoodies. I then have two sets of work cloths and then obviously other things like underwear, socks, belt, and hats. But that’s it. With having adhd and having to worry about everything at once it really helps to simplify any aspect of your life. My girlfriend who isn’t even adhd also went through all her stuff and we donated like 8 garbage bags of cloths and a crab ton of little furniture items and those blankets I mentioned. Now with all the space freed up I can put my attention twords my hobbie which she always been motorcycles. All the money I save by not buying more junk I can put twords my hobbie or save. We don’t buy anything unless me or my girlfriend need it and if it is a want it’s usually a food item or something that won’t sit around and has purpose. Idk I kinda ranted but seriously just start going through your house or apartment and just start getting rid of things that just sit. You will start to snowball and will hyper focus and become productive! Atleast that did it for me!

[nedcramdon]

"no concept of direction" "society has no patience for me" That hit home. I try to work on dozens of tasks at the same time. That's what really is the worst for me.

[sufyanmir]

Thank god someone can actually admit and explain things like adhd is not a disease but a coping mechanism. Same with depression and anxiety its all just ur brain trying to cope or try to survive the situation

[TheGorgeramirez]

This just spoke to me more than I could've imagined