Am I using ADHD as a crutch? (Jiyoung An’s story)
Am I using ADHD as a crutch? (Jiyoung An’s story)  
Podcast: ADHD Aha!
Published On: Tue Jul 08 2025
Description: For most of her life, Jiyoung An believed her struggles came down to laziness or lack of effort. Even after her ADHD diagnosis less than a year ago, she questioned whether she was just making excuses and using ADHD “as a crutch.”In this week’s episode, Jiyoung shares how her perspective has changed. She’s unlearning internalized shame and now sees her brain for what it truly is: different, not broken. Related resourcesWhat is growth mindset?What does thriving with ADHD actually look like?Timestamps(00:00) Intro(00:46) What was happening before Jiyoung sought out an ADHD evaluation this year?(03:00) Jiyoung’s 3 different psychiatrists’ opinions(04:24) Falling into hustle culture before diagnosis, and being hard on herself(07:24) Jiyoung’s journey to accepting her ADHD label(11:07) How frustrating it can be to not have solutions to all of her ADHD challenges(13:08) Perfectionism and comparing yourself to others(16:50) Jiyoung’s experience growing up with undiagnosed ADHD(19:25) Noticing ADHD in her little sister(21:22) What ADHD traits Jiyoung struggles with the most(25:08) CreditsWe love hearing from our listeners! Email us at adhdaha@understood.org or record a message for us here.  Listen to Everyone Gets a Juice Box, a new podcast from Understood.org where host Jessica Shaw has honest talks with parents raising kids who learn and think differently.Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.