The Truth Behind Why Trying Harder Doesn’t Work (When You Have ADHD)

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Hello, Brains! Let’s dive into why "try harder" doesn’t work for ADHD brains. We’ve all heard it, right? But the thing is, most times it isn’t about effort. Most of us are already trying really hard—probably harder than people realize. ADHD comes with its own set of challenges that trying harder just can’t fix. So instead of pushing ourselves to exhaustion, let's talk about what to do instead.

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Jessica McCabe is not a licensed mental health provider, but information presented on How to ADHD is reviewed by researchers and approved by licensed clinical psychologist Patrick LaCount, PhD (). While information presented on How to ADHD has historically been built in consultation with researchers and licensed providers, videos posted prior to April 2023 were not subjected to the same formal approval process required by the YouTube Health program.

For more information on the YouTube Health program and verification of health-related content, please visit: 

Music credits:
"Life of Riley", "The Show Must Be Go”
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0


What's in this video:
00:00 Introduction
00:22 Why “Try Harder” Doesn’t Work
00:47 Effort Isn’t the Problem
01:33 Doesn’t Address the Struggle
04:30 It’s Not Sustainable
06:38 What’s a Brain To Do?
06:42 Translate “Try Harder”
06:50 Recognize the Existing Effort
07:11 Make a List to “Try Different”
08:03 What Are Your Strategies?
08:15 Support Us on Patreon