Sex functions like a task for many people with ADHD and depends on executive functions like remembering, starting, and focusing.
Catie Osborn contrasts sexual disappointment (attention pulled away by something like a neighbor mowing) with medical dysfunction to clarify common ADHD experiences.
insights INSIGHT
Every Intimate Moment Feels Precious
Moments feel precious for people with ADHD because they live on a razor's edge of distraction and may not get the chance to re-enter an experience.
Osborn recounts challenging a neurotypical professor who said "the moment is not precious," emphasizing repeated loss of moments for ADHD brains.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Break Intimacy Into Manageable Steps
Try breaking sex into manageable steps and treat reminders like you would for other tasks to counteract ADHD task-management gaps.
Osborn notes ADHD brains don't distinguish remembering sex from remembering to make a chicken salad stand, so external structure helps.
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How might ADHD affect your sex life? Host Laura Key chats again with sex therapist Catie Osborn, this time about how executive function challenges can affect sex and intimacy. Spoiler: Sex is a task, and people with ADHD can struggle with task management.
As kids head back to school, it's a good time to remember: not every student experiences the classroom the same way. Through My Eyes, a free interactive experience from Understood, lets you step into a day in the life of a kid with ADHD, dyslexia, or dyscalculia. See their strengths and challenges in a whole new way. Try it out here.
Understood is a nonprofit where millions of people who are navigating neurodivergence find clear guidance, practical tools, and people who get it. To help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give.
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