Many people with ADHD can feel alone. At Ahead, we know that it can be difficult for our patients when they don’t have people in their life who can empathize with the challenges they are facing. Even when they're receiving quality care, it can be helpful to have peers who understand. Patients often find comfort through ADHD content and communities online. We thought we’d introduce you to some of our favorites. These influencers may be able to help you find a community and better accept yourself for who you are.
Jessica McCabe, @HowToADHD
Diagnosed with ADHD as a child, Jessica McCabe has been grappling with her symptoms for most of her life. In her own words, dealing with ADHD growing up was like “your brain is switching channels and someone else has the remote.” She fell into a negative mindset, thinking, “I have potential but I am failing, so it must be my fault. All my fault.” She even decided to drop out of college due to her symptoms. This was a major blow for Jessica and became the motivation for her to research how to better manage her ADHD. Jessica decided to turn her research into content for people with brains like hers.Now, Jessica McCabe makes digestible videos about all things ADHD. Her YouTube channel How To ADHD is a toolkit for people with ADHD with videos that can help you better navigate your condition. We love how her channel feels like a safe space, as Jessica starts each video with a friendly, “Hello brains!” How to ADHD is also an educational space for anyone who wants to learn about ADHD. With 100+ videos, How To ADHD has become a treasure trove of information. Jessica curates videos to help you find helpful content. Her videos have created a community of nearly 1 million viewers. Whether you're struggling with your relationships, work, or time management, Jessica will have an insightful video for you. You can also follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok for different types of content.
Jak, @AuthenticallyADHD
Authentically ADHD is run by Jak, who was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. Yet, she didn’t find effective treatment until her symptoms became overwhelming. While she was in law school, her untreated ADHD led to anxiety and depression. With treatment, she was able to complete law school. That’s when she decided she wanted to help connect other people with ADHD to the resources they need.
While Jak welcomes anyone with ADHD into her community, she focuses on women with ADHD. Resources around ADHD can skew towards men and children. Jak wants to help change that by raising awareness around this topic, especially since ADHD in women often goes underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed.
You can follow Jak at @authenticallyADHD on Instagram or Facebook. On both platforms, she draws on research and personal experience to help those with ADHD meet their goals and find their own unique strengths.
Katie Williams, Katiewiliamsblog.com
Katie Williams has been documenting her life as a mother for over 10 years on her website. Part of that journey has been her receiving a diagnosis for her ADHD in her 30s. Since learning more about ADHD in 2020, Katie suspected her anxiety and depression might be untreated ADHD. She began advocating with her doctors. Katie describes in her blog needing to see countless doctors before she felt like she was really heard. This is an experience that patients with ADHD describe far too often.
If you feel like you might need encouragement as you begin your journey toward diagnosis, Katie’s blog is a helpful resource. Her experience as an adult struggling to get a diagnosis is not told often but it’s certainly not rare.
In addition to her blog, you can find her on Pinterest and Instagram. On her Instagram, you can see various glimpses of her life as an entrepreneur, wife, mom, and as a female dealing with her mental health. You’re sure to find many thought-provoking captions among the bright photos of her family life, motivational quotes, and relatable moments.
Renee Brooks, Blackgirllostkeys.com
Renee Brooks received ADHD diagnoses three separate times during her life, at ages 7, 11, and 25. It wasn’t until her adult years she was able to receive treatment that helped her manage her condition. With a passion for helping others, Renee decided to turn her attention toward making content to help people with ADHD. She focuses on the experience of black women.
On her website blackgirllostkeys.com, Renee provides helpful strategies to overcome struggles associated with ADHD. Her strategies cover a range of topics, from learning more about ADHD, managing a household with ADHD, cooking and cleaning with ADHD, to working from home with ADHD. She also highlights how ADHD has strengths that have helped her in her journey.
You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Pina Varnel, @adhd_alien
Humor can be healing. So Pina Varnel decided to create comics inspired by her experiences with ADHD. Informative and entertaining, Pina’s content is perfect for those looking for digestible information in a cute package. With over 100,000 followers on Instagram, It’s clear that her content has had a big impact on her community.
Pina’s content ranges across a variety of topics that impact those with ADHD including relationships, rejection sensitivity, emotions, and more. Whatever you are struggling with, she is sure to have a comic that could help.
You can find Pina’s work on her website, ADHD-Alien.com, as well as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Patreon.
Find your ADHD community
While these are some of our favorite ADHD content creators, there are plenty more that can help you find support with your ADHD. We hope that you are able to find a community that helps you feel more at-ease with your condition. If you need additional support, Ahead can be a convenient, affordable option to help you start moving forward. Start your journey with Ahead today.