168. My Neurodivergent Brain with Ky Westcott

Ky Westcott, an East Coast boy with a West Coast heart, embarks on a neurospicy journey to come to terms with his ADHD, high functioning anxiety, and depression while discovering the power of negotiation and knowledge to overcome his mental health challenges. In this episode we discuss: How to navigate and manage mental health with neurodivergence, particularly in the black community. The importance of validating one's own feelings and emotions, and how to apply that knowledge in the future. The power of working with your brain, focused attention, and excitement in achieving extraordinary results. Kai Westcott is a mental health humorist, director, digital creator, writer, and producer. He has been documenting his neurospicy journey for the past year and uses his social media platforms and website to share his journey and lend his platforms to other people. If you love hearing about people’s journey’s you might like these other interviews in the “My Neurodivergent Brain” series. https://amberhawley.com/my-neurodivergent-brain-with-annie-ruggles/ Find out more about The Vibe With Ky: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevibewithky/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyruskeenanwestcott/ Website: https://thevibewithky.com/ Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsamberhawley Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsamberhawley Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsamberhawley/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@itsamberhawley LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/amberhawley Website: https://amberhawley.com/ Loved this episode? Share it with a friend. Chapter Summaries: [00:00:49] Ky Westcott is a mental health humorist, a director, a digital creator, writer, producer. He is also the person that introduced me to the term neurospic. Anything to do with mental health or entertainment or social media, kai's your guy. Listen to the actual interview. [00:04:25] The Vibe with kai has been documenting his neurospicy journey for the past year. Kai has all three ADHD, high functioning anxiety and severe depression. He loves inviting mental health professionals onto his platform to give out their insight. [00:06:27] I didn't even find out until I was 41 that I had ADHD. Now that I have a better understanding of a lot of it, I realize that I'm thankful that it did happen. I don't know what kind of person I would be today if it weren't for my journey. [00:12:24] There is not a lot of research behind black people and mental health. For so many people of color, what they're going through is discounted. There's tons of misdiagnoses that are happening to this day because there's just no research behind it. [00:16:57] I think it's also we're experts in ourselves, right? We know our particular, like how we do things. Sometimes we need help seeing those patterns or getting unstuck. And so when so I know it's only been a year, I'm actually surprised. [00:17:44] How does ADHD how has it challenged you? How is it a challenge? And then how have you adapted the way you do business or the way that you do projects to deal with that? [00:25:12] Kai: Your feelings, your thoughts are always down. You are feeling that way for a reason. What you have to do then is figure out what you're going to do with those thoughts in those fields. When you can do that, you can validate other people's feelings. [00:28:20] One of the most positive things in having ADHD is like the creativity. When you hyper focus, like you said, that's where the magic happens. I try to use my hyper focus to my advantage because one of the things that I've been really pushing myself to do is to live in the moment. [00:34:56] 100%. As a virgo and somebody who my ADHD is called Over Focused, that organization gives me calm. At work, I was often reluctant to do things that I knew I should be doing. The more we understand ourselves and how our brains work, it can be so freeing. [00:41:39] Amber: At what age does it seem kind of messed up that I still pull all nighters to get stuff done?  Ky: I find that balance because there are lots of reasons why it's not good and it's unhealthy. When I'm finding this balance, I don't fight it. [00:46:16] I want to always add some sort of levity to the conversation about mental health because it is such a very serious thing. I just want people to be able to watch my stuff and just know that they're not alone. We shouldn't be afraid to talk about it. [00:53:03] Amber: What advice would you give to somebody struggling with feeling like they're not good enough? Ky: Your feelings are valid. Once you fully recognize that you can do anything that you want, the possibilities are endless. Where is the best place for people to connect with you?