ADHd20

You finally found the thread. The document is open, the brain is online, the thought train has left the station.

And then: a “got a sec?” DM. A mysterious knock at the door. The window cleaning crew arrives. A mysterious foot crashes through the ceiling. (True story!)

For our brains, getting derailed feels especially day-ending, thanks to our fragile executive function, our sticky attention residue (as always: ew) and good ol' emotional whiplash. But it's 2026, and they're just a part of modern life. AK and Matt suggest some ways we can keep  interruptions from destroying our productivity, both in and out of game. 

No promises we stay on track. In fact, this episode gets derailed in real time.

But we do make it back.

💬 Come get derailed with us in Discord: http://discord.gg/B2NFAhYDbA

Hey y’all, it’s AK, choosing to speak to you directly instead of doing the usual podcast-description thing where I pretend I’m not the one writing this.

It started with one small decision: not following my usual pattern on the way to therapy. Then I began to wonder about how many habits have I been clinging to long after forgetting why I formed them in the first place.

Which gets us here, for an honest talk about my journey so far on a GLP-1, losing the food noise, and realizing just how much my relationship with my body and brain has been built around habit, ritual, shame, and survival.

And because this is still ADHd20, we’re also talking about the surprising bonus actions this medication has unlocked for my ADHD, the patterns we coulda woulda shoulda noticed sooner, and a few of the demons and pitfalls that have haunted us along the way.

Cue the intensely pensive music: this very special episode is tender, funny, personal, and very much not medical advice.

💬 Come share your thoughts about this episode or anything else: https://discord.gg/B2NFAhYDbA

Why can we genuinely want to prep a game, level up a character, tackle a project, or keep up with a hobby—then feel that desire evaporate the second it becomes an obligation?

Turns out, there's a name for that feeling: demand avoidance. What happens when a want to becomes a have to? How can we meet that resistance instead of letting it spiral into shame and shutdown?

We’d tell you what to do about it, but that sounds suspiciously like a demand.

💬 Bring your “but I WANTED to do it” grievances to Discord: https://discord.gg/B2NFAhYDbA

When the Big Light in AK’s new apartment becomes the Big Bad, AK and Matt become hypervigilantes trying to save their own brains from overstimulation.

What do you do when the lights are too bright, the room is too loud, your socks are committing crimes, seven people are talking at once, and your brain is simply doing its best under hostile sensory conditions?

This week, we’re investigating hyperactivity vs. hyperreactivity, what overstimulation actually feels like, and what to do around the tabletop and IRL when everything becomes Too Much.

💬 Bring your Big Light grievances to our Discord!

Starting a new campaign? Delicious. Finishing one? Now that feels like homework. Let’s talk new campaign dopamine, the dreaded messy middle, scheduling doom, guilt spirals, and why sometimes the kindest thing you can do is end the arc on purpose. Plus! A spirited discussion of our current vocal stims. Comment with yours! 

Help us keep making weird little things: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopsyturvy 
Bring your vocal stims, campaign ghosts, and scheduling woes to Discord: http://discord.gg/B2NFAhYDbA 

We’re back, baby! ADHd20 has returned for season five, and we’re kicking things off on our new tabletopsyturvy channel by asking one very inconvenient question:

What if ease isn’t laziness?

Inspired by nature, mycelium networks, our cave-dwelling ancestors, AI assistants, and the deeply radical idea that maybe we don’t have to make everything harder for ourselves, we’re talking about ADHD, TTRPGs, and the path of least resistance.

🔔 Subscribe for ADHD-friendly TTRPG conversations, neurodivergent-first GM tools, Daggerheart tips, and unserious-but-sincere tabletop nonsense.

🙃 Want to build, chat, and play alongside us? Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopsyturvy

💬 Come hang out in our crescent fresh Discord: http://discord.gg/B2NFAhYDbA

🎹 Beeyootiful music by Mr. Michael Bellar

An admittedly too-short Season 4 wraps with a little reflection, a little mischief, and a big look at what’s coming next.

We look back on 2025’s theme of Mastery, the unexpected places it led (including GMing at Gen Con), and the ideas that have been lighting our brains on fire lately. Also revealed? The theme guiding 2026 — and where this strange, wonderful adventure might take us next.

Thanks for spending another season of ADHd20 with us.

💬 Join our party at The Pocket Dimension Discord: http://discord.gg/B2NFAhYDbA

🌀 Help us keep making this podcast and play games with us via our all-new Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/tabletopsyturvy

🎹 Theme music by Michael Bellar: https://www.michaelbellar.com/

We got Kelly McLaughlin (one half of the legendary Dungeon Dudes) to sit down and talk ADHD, masking, and why neurodivergent brains and TTRPGs might just be a perfect match. Spoiler for those that know us: Kelly agrees that it's not just about the dice—it's about taking off the real-world mask while putting on a character's, having actual agency in a world you can change, and exploring parts of yourself you didn't know needed exploring.

Kelly opens up about his adult ADHD diagnosis, growing up hiding his love of Powerpuff Girls and the color purple in a small town that wasn't kind to nerds, and what tools give him the executive function to build systems that work. We dig into why D&D lets you "grab a sword and change the world" when real life feels overwhelming and uncontrollable, why every character we create is secretly about us (even when we don't realize it), and how the Dungeons of Drakkenheim team designs adventures with ADHD brains in mind.

Also: K-pop Demon Hunters cosplay goals, Tales from Wood Creek (the escape room/reality TV/D&D fever dream with Deborah Ann Woll), cottagecore as resistance, and why Expedition 33 will make you cry. A lot.

Check out the Dungeon Dudes at https://www.youtube.com/@DungeonDudes and grab Dungeons of Drakkenheim on D&D Beyond!

💬 Join our safe party at The Pocket Dimension Discord: https://bit.ly/thepocketdimensiondiscord
🌀 Support the pod (and play games with us!): https://www.patreon.com/enterthepocketdimension
🎹 Theme music by Michael Bellar, https://www.michaelbellar.com/

#ADHD #DungeonsAndDragons #TTRPG #DungeonDudes #Drakkenheim #Neurodivergent

Reminder: progress doesn’t have to look like exhaustion.

After Gen Con, AK and Matt reflect on what “push mode” looks like in ADHD brains—from hyperfocus to emotional overwhelm. Pushing ourselves too hard, pushing through burnout, pushing people away—or feeling pushed around. A conversation about momentum, friction, friendship, and learning when stopping might be the smarter move.

💬 Join our safe party at The Pocket Dimension Discord: https://bit.ly/thepocketdimensiondiscord
🌀 Help us keep making this podcast with your support: https://www.patreon.com/enterthepocketdimension 
🎹 Theme music by Michael Bellar: https://www.michaelbellar.com/

We’ve been quoting his book Extra Focus for years—so getting to sit down with author Jesse J. Anderson (aka ADHD Jesse) feels like a major level-up for ADHd20. We dig into adult diagnosis, ADHD myths that refuse to die, and why “just try harder” is absolutely not a viable strategy for the neurodivergent. Jesse walks us through his 4 Cs of motivation, and we all compare notes on system-hopping, shame spirals, and trying to invoice your way through executive dysfunction.

Also: fidget envy, secret middle initials, and TTRPG metaphors galore. We laughed a lot. You will too. 

Check out adhdjesse.com and don't forget to pick up a copy of Extra Focus at extrafocusbook.com or wherever you buy books. 

Special shout out from all of us to Dani Donovan, www.youtube.com/@Dani_Donovan and The Anti-Planner, adhddd.com/anti-planner

💬 Let's chat about our interest-based nervous systems in Discord: bit.ly/thepocketdimensiondiscord