Making ADHD your Superpower | George Cicci | TEDxWVU

Summary

In this inspiring speech, the speaker shares his personal journey with ADHD, defying the guidance counselor's prediction of not graduating high school to achieving success in his career and personal life. He discusses the genetic traits of ADHD, linking them to ancient survival mechanisms and modern-day challenges. The speaker emphasizes the importance of harnessing the impulsivity, risk-taking, and ingenuity of ADHD to overcome overwhelm and suggests practical strategies like brain dumping to manage and channel the ADHD mind's energy productively.

Takeaways

• 🎓 The speaker was told in seventh grade that they wouldn't go to college or even graduate high school due to their behavior, but they were determined to prove this prediction wrong.
• 👨‍👩‍👧 The speaker's uncle, who attended Duquesne University, was a significant influence, inspiring them to desire a college experience filled with learning and social activities.
• 🏠 The speaker's family members who didn't attend college but were successful in business and IT provided examples that college was not the only path to success.
• 🔍 The speaker was diagnosed with ADHD at 31, which explained their past struggles with focus and impulsivity, and sparked an interest in understanding the condition.
• 🧬 The script discusses the genetic basis of ADHD, linking it to the drd4 gene and a mutation that affects dopamine production, leading to a need for stimulation.
• 🌟 The speaker suggests that the traits associated with ADHD, such as impulsivity and risk-taking, were beneficial for survival in ancient times and are now seen as a 'superpower' in certain contexts.
• 💡 The concept of 'positively selected' traits is introduced, indicating that these behaviors were advantageous in our evolutionary history and thus passed on.
• 📝 The speaker recommends a technique called 'brain dump' to manage overwhelm and harness the energy of ADHD, by writing down thoughts and ideas as they come.
• 🛠 The importance of balance is highlighted, emphasizing the need for individuals with ADHD to know when to engage their fight-or-flight response and when to be impulsive.
• 🚀 The script concludes with a call to action for people with ADHD to master their skills and use their unique traits to address the challenges facing humanity today.
• 👏 The applause at the end signifies the positive reception of the speaker's message, indicating that the audience found the content relatable and inspiring.

Q & A

What was the guidance counselor's initial prediction about George's academic future?

The guidance counselor predicted that George would not go to college and would have a hard time getting out of high school.

How did George's family react to the counselor's prediction?

George's family, particularly his grandmother, served as an example that one could be successful without a college education.

What was George's motivation to go to college?

George was inspired by his uncle's college experiences and the idea of engaging in fun and meaningful activities like a dance-a-thon for charity.

What was the significance of the dorm room and college environment to George?

The dorm room and college environment represented a new world of independence and excitement for George, which he found appealing.

How did George's behavior in school lead to accusations of drug use?

George's hyperactivity and inability to sit still in class led the school principal to suspect that he was using drugs, specifically speed.

What was the irony in the principal's suspicion of George using speed?

The irony was that George was listening to a cassette tape from Minor Threat, a straight-edge band, which contradicts the idea of drug use.

What was the advice given to George by the guidance counselor and principal for academic success?

They advised George to sit down, shut up, and be quiet in order to succeed academically.

At what age was George diagnosed with ADHD?

George was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 31.

What are the three main traits of ADHD according to the script?

The three main traits of ADHD mentioned are impulsivity, risk-taking, and constant novelty-seeking.

How does the drd4 gene mutation relate to ADHD?

The drd4 gene mutation inhibits the production of dopamine, leading to a need for stimulation in individuals with ADHD to feel good.

What is the 'spear' metaphor used to describe in the context of ADHD?

The 'spear' metaphor refers to the action of engaging in the fight-or-flight response, which is a key aspect of how individuals with ADHD handle overwhelming situations.

What technique does George recommend for managing ADHD symptoms during moments of overwhelm?

George recommends a technique called a 'brain dump,' where one writes down all thoughts and ideas as they come to prevent shutdown.

What is the key skill that George believes individuals with ADHD need to master?

The key skill is learning to balance the fight-or-flight response, knowing when to engage it for productivity and when to allow impulsivity and risk-taking.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Overcoming ADHD to Achieve Academic and Personal Success

The speaker reflects on their journey with ADHD, from being told in seventh grade that they wouldn't graduate high school, let alone attend college, to having a successful career and family life. They recount their desire to go to college, inspired by their uncle's experiences and the vibrant college life he described. Despite the guidance counselor's low expectations, the speaker was determined to pursue higher education. They also touch on the stereotypes and misconceptions about ADHD, highlighting their own experiences and the importance of understanding and embracing one's unique abilities.

05:01

🧬 The Genetic Basis of ADHD and Its Evolutionary Advantages

This paragraph delves into the genetic aspects of ADHD, focusing on the drd4 gene mutation that is linked to the main traits of impulsivity, risk-taking, and novelty-seeking. The speaker explains how these traits, once crucial for survival in prehistoric times, are now seen as disadvantages in a modern context. However, they argue that these traits have been positively selected throughout human history because they increased the chances of survival and reproduction. The speaker also discusses the importance of finding the right balance between the fight-or-flight response and impulsivity to harness the potential of ADHD in today's world.

10:02

🛠 Managing ADHD Through the Fight-or-Flight Response and Brain Dump Technique

The speaker introduces a strategy for managing ADHD by engaging the fight-or-flight response at moments of overwhelm. They describe the brain dump technique, which involves writing down thoughts and ideas as quickly as they come to prevent shutdown. This method allows individuals with ADHD to categorize and prioritize their thoughts, turning them into actionable items. The speaker emphasizes the importance of mastering the balance between impulsivity and the ability to focus, which is crucial for both personal and professional success in the face of contemporary challenges.

Keywords

💡ADHD

ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. In the video, the speaker reveals his own diagnosis of ADHD, which has been a significant part of his life. He talks about the challenges he faced in school due to his symptoms and how it was not diagnosed until he was 31. The video's theme revolves around overcoming the limitations associated with ADHD and leveraging its traits for success.

💡Guidance Counselor

A guidance counselor is a professional who assists students with their educational and career planning. In the script, the guidance counselor plays a pivotal role in the speaker's early educational experience by advising his parents that he would not go to college and would struggle to graduate from high school. This moment is a turning point for the speaker, as it contradicts his aspirations and foreshadows the challenges he faces due to his ADHD.

💡College Aspirations

College aspirations refer to the ambitions and desires to attend higher education institutions. The speaker in the video had a strong desire to go to college, inspired by his uncle's college experiences and the sense of achievement and social life associated with it. His aspirations are tied to the broader theme of overcoming adversity and pursuing one's dreams despite setbacks.

💡Impulsivity

Impulsivity is the tendency to act suddenly without forethought, and it is one of the key traits of ADHD. The speaker discusses how impulsivity is a part of his genetic makeup and relates it to the need for stimulation to feel good. In the context of the video, impulsivity is portrayed as both a challenge and a potential strength that can be harnessed for success.

💡Risk-Taking

Risk-taking is the willingness to take chances or engage in activities that may have uncertain outcomes. The speaker associates risk-taking with the traits of ADHD and explains how individuals with ADHD may seek out risky behaviors to stimulate their dopamine production. The video suggests that risk-taking can be a positive attribute when channeled appropriately.

💡Novelty Seeking

Novelty seeking is the pursuit of new experiences or the desire for change and variety. The speaker identifies this as a core trait of ADHD, where individuals are constantly seeking new ways to do things or starting new projects. In the video, novelty seeking is presented as a driving force behind creativity and innovation.

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with the brain's reward system and the experience of pleasure. The speaker explains that a genetic mutation related to ADHD inhibits dopamine production, which is why individuals with ADHD seek stimulation to feel good. Dopamine is central to understanding the behavior and needs of people with ADHD as discussed in the video.

💡Fight-or-Flight Response

The fight-or-flight response is a physiological reaction to a perceived threat, which prepares the body to either confront or escape the situation. The speaker relates this response to the hyperactive state of individuals with ADHD, suggesting that they are primed to react to challenges and thrive under pressure. The video uses this concept to explain how ADHD traits can be advantageous in certain situations.

💡Brain Dump

A brain dump is a technique for managing overwhelm by quickly writing down all thoughts and ideas as they come to mind. The speaker describes using this method to cope with the rapid flow of thoughts characteristic of ADHD. The brain dump is presented as a tool for harnessing the chaotic energy into something productive, which ties into the video's theme of turning ADHD traits into strengths.

💡Overwhelm

Overwhelm is a state of being excessively burdened or stressed to the point of feeling unable to cope. The speaker discusses how individuals with ADHD experience overwhelm frequently due to their fast-paced brains and high energy levels. The video emphasizes the importance of recognizing and managing overwhelm as a key to leveraging ADHD traits effectively.

💡Genetic Mutation

A genetic mutation refers to a change in the DNA sequence that can affect an individual's traits or characteristics. The speaker mentions a specific mutation on the DRD4 gene that is associated with ADHD and the inhibition of dopamine production. Understanding this genetic link provides insight into the biological basis of ADHD and its related traits, which is a key point in the video's exploration of the condition.

Highlights

George wasn't supposed to be successful according to his guidance counselor, but he proved them wrong.

In seventh grade, George's guidance counselor advised his parents to put him in basic level classes and said he wouldn't go to college.

George was inspired to go to college by his uncle, who attended Duquesne University and shared exciting stories about college life.

In eighth grade, George was accused of being on drugs due to his hyperactive behavior, but his father defended him.

George was diagnosed with ADHD at 31, which explained his lifelong challenges with hyperactivity and focus.

ADHD traits include impulsivity, risk-taking, and novelty seeking, which are linked to a genetic mutation on the DRD4 gene.

People with ADHD need stimulation to feel good due to inhibited dopamine production.

Historically, ADHD traits were positively selected for survival, aiding in hunting and protection.

Modern success for people with ADHD involves harnessing the fight-or-flight response at moments of overwhelm.

George uses a 'brain dump' exercise to manage overwhelm by writing down thoughts rapidly.

The brain dump technique helps categorize and prioritize ideas, turning chaos into creativity.

ADHD can be a superpower when the balance between impulsivity and control is mastered.

ADHD traits like impulsivity, risk-taking, and ingenuity are crucial for solving modern problems.

George emphasizes the importance of embracing ADHD traits to make significant contributions to society.

He concludes by encouraging people with ADHD to master their unique skills for personal and societal benefit.

Transcripts

[Music]

when people meet me and they find out

that I've got a loving wife and a loving

daughter and an amazing career working

with some really big brands and that I

have ADHD they're often surprised and so

am I because I wasn't supposed to be

here you see in seventh grade I was

taken down to the guidance counselor's

office to schedule my eighth grade

classes and there were my mom and dad in

the guidance counselor's office and I

wasn't expecting that the guidance

counselor was going on about how George

shouldn't be in the academic level

classes next year he should be in the

basic level classes there something I

wasn't really paying attention but my

ears did perk up when she said to my

parents mr. and mrs. CC your son is not

going to go to college as a matter of

fact he's gonna have a hard time getting

out of high school now I knew this

wasn't the case I have friends and

family it didn't go to college my

grandmother didn't go to college and she

founded an empire of a business within

the dance industry my best friend didn't

finish college and he is the head of IT

for a massive national corporation but

the thing is I wanted to go to college

you see I have this uncle who's just 10

years older than me he was going to

Duquesne University and when he would

come home from college for any family

occasions like Thanksgiving or Christmas

or anything like that it was an event

the family would swarm him and ask him

all these questions how is college going

what are you doing for fun what classes

are you taking

and he would talk about these exotic

subjects I've never heard of before and

for fun I remember this one time he said

that he and his friends stayed up 24

hours in a row at a dance-a-thon to

raise money for a Children's Hospital

and I said that's what I want I want

that I want to be able to stay up 24

hours in a row with my friends at a

dance-a-thon doing good things for good

people but also I want this experience

of coming home from somewhere and having

people be like hey it's George how have

you been

and I idolized him I've begged my

parents let me go to college with him

they relented I went for about half a

day and I went to Duquesne University

and he took me around just me and him

and some of his friends

and I got to see his dorm room and it

was so cool once again this is the 80s

like remember he had this Devo poster

and he had the tiny mini fridge that's

the first time I had seen that I don't

I'm loving it I'm like this is this is

it I need this in my life and then he

shows me where the rest of his classes

are and they're not all in one building

we walked between buildings to get to

his classrooms this is getting better by

the moment the piece de resistance is I

had to go to class with him there was

one he couldn't get away from and so we

sat in the back and he took notes and I

doodled and ate the microwave popcorn we

cooked out in the hallway I'm in I want

to go to college but there wasn't 7th

grade being told you're not gonna have

any of that you're not gonna have the

homecoming is you are not going anywhere

you sure as hell aren't could eat

microwave popcorn in the back of a

lecture hall in eighth grade I was

pulled down to the principal's office

this time because I was bouncing all

over the place in gym class acting like

a crazy person

my dad was called away from the company

he runs to come up and talk to the

principal I said mr. CC we think your

son's own drugs possibly speed my dad

vehemently defended me and said he's

just enthusiastic and energetic and

you're lucky to have him as a student

and what I learned that day from my

guidance counselor was also pulled in

because I might have been on speed the

great irony here is that in my Walkman

was a cassette tape from Minor Threat

look the band up the irony would just

slay their straightedge band okay that's

the punch line for that but the guidance

counselor in the principal basically

that day said to me if you want to

succeed in eighth grade like that's a

goal and get to ninth grade like that's

a goal you need to sit down shut up and

be quiet here's the thing I'm

genetically incapable of sitting down

shutting up and being quiet nobody with

ADHD is genetically capable of sitting

down shutting up and being quiet I

didn't know that at the time I only

found this out after I was diagnosed at

31 years old the behest of many good

friends and a loving wife and a daughter

who was

tired of me losing my keys and I

couldn't drive her anywhere when I was

able after treatment have a slower mind

and read my first books from cover to

cover and 31 years old I became obsessed

with who I was

ADHD I don't have it I am and I found

some amazing things out there are these

study these scientists who have studied

genetics and they found out that the

three main traits of ADHD impulsivity

risk-taking and constant novelty seeking

you know finding new ways to do

something when you don't need to find

new ways to do something as stopping

projects to start new projects because

they're more exciting or call it

ingenuity those same three traits are

tied to a genetic mutation on the drd4

gene this genetic mutation inhibits the

production of dopamine the feel-good

chemical so in order for people with

ADHD to feel good we need stimulation

and if we don't find stimulation out

there we will cause the stimulation we

will fight we will draw extremely long

penalties and hockey games we will

escape or buell snowboard we will go to

punk rock concerts in the dangerous

parts of Pittsburgh every Friday and

Saturday night for six years in a row

just to feel normal and quote normal our

normal not your normal but to feel good

the same scientists also found out that

this gene mutation has been positively

selected since time immemorial now if

you're like me you had to look up what

positively selected men that means that

whenever somebody of our caveman

brothers or sisters exhibited those same

three traits impulsivity risk-taking

ingenuity they got to make more often

this is usually the point when people

with ADHD in the crowd kind of sit up a

little more proud you'll less ashamed

but why is that what do these three

traits have to do with passing on a gene

think about it we're in the same

tribe or clan of cave people it's night

time we're sitting out in front of the

cave we have a little fire going and out

beyond the edge of that fire beyond what

we can see there is a very slight snap

of a twig now there's about a hundred of

us here right now that means between

five and seven of us are often in the

night with Spears and we sink them into

whatever made that sound saber-tooth

Tiger bear wolf

whatever it was we return to the tribe

we saved and we mate with your partners

and this is phenomenal if we're being

hunted down by saber-tooth Tigers but

how do we take a survival mechanism in

the Stone Age and turn it into a success

mechanism in the 21st century you do it

by purposefully engaging the

fight-or-flight response see people with

ADHD we are the fight-or-flight response

our nervous system is primed to live

with our heads on a swivel and

constantly look for that saber-toothed

tiger because we are ready and when it

happens we are at our best when things

they are worst we do better so how do we

bring this fight-or-flight response

about a better question is when do we

bring this fight-or-flight response

about we bring it about at the moment of

overwhelm everybody experiences

overwhelm at some point in their life

people with ADHD experience overwhelm

multiple times a day because our brains

work so fast and you have all these

ideas going a billion ideas flowing at

once and you have immense physical

energy and you have all this going on

and you're trying to do all these things

at once except there aren't enough

outlets for all the energy and all of a

sudden you shut down shut down is what

kills careers for people with ADHD

there's that moment before the shutdown

though or it feels like the world is

collapsing in on you and you want to run

away from whatever it is you're doing

that's overwhelmed that's when we pick

up the spear now the spear in this case

is a pen and you do a very simple

exercise called a brain dump I keep this

notebook with me and one just like it

with me everywhere I've gone through

about 70 80 90 the things in a second

you start to feel it's tightening your

chest you feel like the world's

collapsing around you you crack open the

notebook and put pen to paper and you

start writing it doesn't need to be

legible to anybody but you doesn't even

need to be legible to you it doesn't

need to be grammatically correct it

could be thoughts

it could be words it could be entire

sentence it could be doodles it could be

whatever as fast as it comes into your

head onto the page into your head onto

the page into your head onto the page

over and over and over again front page

back page front paid back page for as

long as you can and something amazing is

gonna happen it's just gonna stop and

it's just gonna stop because you have

been impulsive you have allowed yourself

to do this you have engaged fight or

flight you have jumped into the darkness

sunk the head of the spear into the

saber-tooth Tiger this feeling is what

we get after we get in a fight after we

disrupt a class it allows you to take

all those ideas you had before that

we're swirling and coming at you at

light speed and categorize them to

prioritize them to do things with to

create the real superpower with ADHD is

learning the balance the two sides of

this gift it's knowing when to go into

fight or flight so you can use these

ideas and work with people and do

mundane things like balance books and

knowing when you need to take your hands

off the wheel and be impulsive and be a

little reckless and take risks and have

that flight of ideas everybody with ADHD

needs to master this skill it's not good

enough that we save the human race

we got us to here because the human race

is facing a lot of big problems right

now and the only way out of it is going

to be with impulsivity risk-taking and

ingenuity thank you

[Applause]