Check out the full YouTube video about this comic on Day 1 of my new series (ADHD Understanding Month)!
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“ADHD Storytelling” is my first ADHD comic, and it’s not just relatable. It’s the wiring of my ADHD brain, and its difficulty prioritizing what topics are important and what topics aren’t.
A detail that a lot of people miss from this comic actually is that the same squares, the same topics, are in the non-ADHD storytelling part of the graphic, but they’re small and they get skipped because they’re not that relevant. And in the ADHD storytelling one, they’re all the same size. And I know that this resonated with people even if they couldn’t articulate all of the reasons.
Because prioritization doesn’t just apply to tasks. It applies to other things. It applies to communication and other shit too.
Why the story ends with “apologize”
At the end, it doesn’t just end with “end story.” It ends with “apologize.” And so that’s doing some work beyond just the relatable bit of, oh, this storytelling graphic makes me feel seen, and I totally do that. I totally go off on tangents and semi-related side stories. I give a pre-story prologue.
But it doesn’t just end with “end of story.” The apologize part is important, because it helps people with ADHD feel understood and seen. People may not realize how much we feel the need to apologize for taking up space. For wasting people’s time. For feeling like others are getting bored of us, or we can kind of tell that they’re checking out.
In the storytelling comic, the ADHD storytelling takes up more visual space. It is genuinely taking up more space. But we feel so bad about it afterwards, often. Especially if you’re even slightly self-aware. It can make us really insecure even if what we’re saying is interesting.
And it’s hard, because I’m getting so much excitement from expressing myself, from storytelling, from whatever it is. And after a while that does take hits on your self-esteem, so much that I do feel the need to say “thank you for coming to my TED Talk” every time I’ve gone off on a rant for a little bit without realizing it.
And it’s so funny, ’cause so many of us also have difficulty tolerating other people going on rambles if it’s not something we’re deeply invested in. So there’s a little bit of, and then I feel a way about that hypocrisy, ’cause I don’t do well with that in most settings.
It’s not self-centered, it’s relating
People assume that we’re talking so much about ourselves, or that we turn the conversation to ourselves, because we’re selfish, or narcissistic. Like we only want to talk if we’re talking about ourselves. And the reality is, so much of that is like, no, I relate. I relate to you. And I want to tell you a story that reminded me of this, or has the same general notes as this.
It’s why we overexplain. It’s why my answers are longer than they need to be. You ask me one question, I’m gonna give you five answers, because my brain keeps coming up with ideas before it finishes verbalizing the last one. And this new idea feels better than the other idea, but I feel the need to wrap up that other idea, so I might try to finish that one. And in the middle of that, again, I’ll find another idea, and I’ve abandoned this one over here, but I’m having this one over here, and you’re discovering what you think while you talk.
For me, at least, there’s not this “I think, and then I figure out exactly what I should say, and then I say that thing out loud.” It’s just reactive. It’s just brain to mouth. Takes like, yeah, 0.3 seconds.
But not everyone with ADHD is like that.
What all those stories are really asking for
I wish that people understood that when we are talking to you and telling stories about ourselves, or speaking quickly, or explaining a lot, that’s us trying to relate. That’s us trying to be understood. And hoping that you find this as interesting as we do. We’re not always right. I’m not saying that just because somebody’s got ADHD, that means they have unlimited access to all of your time just because they have something to say. Right? We want to find ways to be respectful, to notice things, like when we’re interrupting people.
I think that’s another thing with ADHDers and wanting to feel understood, is that we want to just get straight to the good stuff. Sometimes small talk can be really boring, so we overshare, can misjudge how close relationships are, and be really vulnerable really fast with people. ‘Cause I think we just bond really quickly, especially if someone makes us feel understood.
If I’m talking to someone and I can see in their eyes that they’re interested in what I’m talking about, that they’re nodding along and they’re asking questions… god, is there any better feeling than talking about something and someone asking clarifying questions because they want to understand more? No. It’s great, because being understood is awesome.
From awareness to understanding
It’s October, and I’d really like to change the name of ADHD Awareness Month, at least for some of us, to ADHD Understanding Month.
I know people are aware of ADHD now. It’s 2026. Not everybody, obviously, but people don’t understand it. Still.
We deserve to be understood. Because it’s so easy to judge us. If you’re judging us by neurotypical standards, it’s easy to be like, no, you need to work harder. No, you’re not pulling your weight. No, you’re not keeping up. And it’s like, if you had to run a 5K just to get to the starting line, and you’re running the same race as everybody else, but you got no shoes. The whole thing is much more painful. And also, do you know how much work it was for me to just show up?
