BoJack Horseman has Adult ADHD

I firmly believe Bojack suffers from adult ADHD. I have it myself, as well as my dad and boyfriend having it, so I am very familiar with the symptoms and presentation, but I will explain for those less familiar. What I'm gonna do is copy the info about adult ADHD from the Mayo Clinic website and explain, point by point, why I see it in Bojack.

Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental health disorder that includes a combination of persistent problems, such as difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. Adult ADHD can lead to unstable relationships, poor work or school performance, low self-esteem, and other problems.

So obviously we have some commonalities already, but that's far from damning; alcoholism, depression, anxiety, etc all have similar effects.

Adult ADHD symptoms may not be as clear as ADHD symptoms in children. In adults, hyperactivity may decrease, but struggles with impulsiveness, restlessness and difficulty paying attention may continue.

I think a big reason this isn't often discussed is because few people even know about adult ADHD and would think of someone like Andy Dwyer from Parks and Rec as adult ADHD (when I would say he's just goofy!) and think of Bojack as purely depressed, when really adult ADHD can bring a lot of darkness into your life.

Many adults with ADHD aren't aware they have it — they just know that everyday tasks can be a challenge.

When Diane says "We're responsible for our own happiness" Bojack responds "That's depressing" because he "can't even be responsible for [his] own breakfast." Cut to Bojack calling out to Todd when he spills the cereal.

I know this is a silly joke and I laughed at it, but it is kinda reality for me. When you have ADHD, especiallyunmedicated, everything feels so overwhelming. I've literally cried over spilled milk because of the way everything piles up on each other in my mind. Some days when I have a lot to do I end up paralyzed by anxiety and my body just says "nope, go to sleep."

Adults with ADHD may find it difficult to focus and prioritize, leading to missed deadlines and forgotten meetings or social plans.

Remember when Bojack spent 6 hours playing with fonts? That's the most quintessential ADHD shit ever. I had to explain it to my mom like this, since my mom does not have ADHD and has trouble relating to my dad and I sometimes.

For most people, you'll come up against a task and if it's hard or unpleasant or boring, you'll be tempted to do something else, but if you remove the distractions you can will yourself into focusing on it. I literally can't will myself into focusing sometimes. Sure, sometimes I can, but even then it will be for short bursts. Sometimes I could be in an empty room, with nothing but white walls, no doors and windows, with just my homework and I would sit and stare at a wall rather than do my work. My mind just refuses to devote any energy to the task at hand. I can't "will myself" to focus anymore than you can "will yourself" to run a 4 minute mile. You might be able to do it with lots of training and practice and help and support, but you won't learn to do it in a day. And if you try, your legs will just give out.

The inability to control impulses can range from impatience waiting in line or driving in traffic to mood swings and outbursts of anger.

This one we see a lot. Bojack is very moody and, believe it or not, that is very typical of people with ADHD. He lashes out at people all the time, and he's extremely impulsive, like when he fired Princess Caroline so they could be together only to abandon that fantasy hours later.

Adult ADHD symptoms may include:
Impulsiveness

Another example is Bojack's competition with Mr. Peanutbutter, up to and including stealing the D from the Hollywoo sign. Also, almost sleeping with Penny and trying to sleep with Charlotte when her husband was literally right there.

Disorganization and problems prioritizing, poor time management skills, problems focusing on a task

The first time I thought I saw ADHD in Bojack is when he is trying to write his memoirs and yells at Todd for being loud, then decides he needs to vacuum right now, then has to go buy more vacuums to clean out his other vacuums... That's all ADHD and I find myself doing it all the time. "Well I can't start my homework with a slow computer, lemme just defrag the disk real quick... Oh and I was gonna shower, I should do that... Ooh, I need to eat too... Better go to the market...

Suddenly it's been 8 hours and I've done nothing I needed to do.

Trouble multitasking

This one hasn't been brought up a lot, I can't think of a specific example.

Excessive activity or restlessness

Keep in mind that this doesn't just mean fidgeting or being active. Bojack is "restless" in that he requires constant superficial and materialistic change. Always needs friends and a party to go to, he can't just sit and be.

Poor planning

This should be obvious. Despite planning some things well (sabotaging the Rock Opera, for instance) he's very bad at planning other, more important things (like how he was supposed to get in shape for Secretariat but instead got a shitty audio book and ran, like, once).

Low frustration tolerance

Remember when Bojack ended up on national news because of a squabble over a box of muffins? And then decided to call into the news station because he was so frustrated that the guy didn't "properly call dibs"?

Frequent mood swings

Self explanatory really

Problems following through and completing tasks

Memoirs, Ethan Around, even Secretariat to an extent are examples of this.

Hot temper

Again, pretty self explanatory. I love the line "Clean up your shit, Todd" but it's a pretty rude thing to say to a friend in reality. He also is famous for his outbursts after Diane's book, noted by one of the girls he dats ("Is this one of your famous Bojack rants?")

Trouble coping with stress

Remember when Bojack had a panic attack because someone wanted him to make a phone call? Yeah, that was way too real to me.

Risk of ADHD may increase if:

You have blood relatives, such as a parent or sibling, with ADHD or another mental health disorder

I'd be surprised if Bojack's mom or dad didn't have at least one mental health disorder.

Your mother smoked, drank alcohol or used drugs during pregnancy

I doubt Bojack's mom, who would've given birth in the 1960's, stopped smoking and drinking during her pregnancy.

As a child, you were exposed to environmental toxins — such as lead, found mainly in paint and pipes in older buildings

I know it's a bit of a stretch but he was obviously not well supervised as a kid

You were born prematurely

Nothing relevant here.

ADHD can make life difficult for you. ADHD has been linked to:

Poor school or work performance

"What are YOU doing here??" As soon as work for Bojack became challenging at all, he almost fell apart completely.

Unemployment

No one in the industry wants to work with Bojack, as noted in the scene where Princess Caroline tried to find him work in season 1.

Trouble with the law

Thank God he's famous because God knows how many laws he's broken.

Alcohol or other substance abuse

Yeah.

Frequent car accidents or other accidents

I know most of his car accidents have been due to intoxication, but remember when he was on the phone with Princess Caroline and almost hit that Armadillo, or when he was with Wanda and hit the stag.

Unstable relationships

I mean

Poor physical and mental health

Yeah Bojack is okay right now, but he's overweight, binges on food and drugs, and was out of breath at the end of his driveway.

Poor self-image

Also self-explanatory, but worth more than a passing mention. ADHD, especially when it's undiagnosed, can make you feel shitty about yourself. It feels like you're incapable of the simplest fo tasks simply because your brain works differently and you need different strategies than most people. I constantly feel like I just need to "try harder" and I'll be better, when in reality I need to approach problems with an entirely different mindset than other people do.

Suicide attempts

I think we saw that in the last season at the Oscar party.

Although ADHD doesn't cause other psychological or developmental problems, other disorders often occur along with ADHD and make treatment more challenging. These include:

Mood disorders. Many adults with ADHD also have depression, bipolar disorder or another mood disorder. While mood problems aren't necessarily due directly to ADHD, a repeated pattern of failures and frustrations due to ADHD can worsen depression.

My therapist calls this cycling, and people with ADHD are extremely susceptible to it. You feel shitty about yourself, so you change something up. Maybe you go on a diet, or buy a new planner, or start studying more rigorously. But instead of approaching it with an ADHD mindset, you approach it with a "whip myself into shape" mindset. You inevitably fail, because you can't will away a mental illness, and then you feel worse for it, and the cycle continues.

Anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders occur fairly often in adults with ADHD. Anxiety disorders may cause overwhelming worry, nervousness and other symptoms. Anxiety can be made worse by the challenges and setbacks caused by ADHD.

Interesting side note: I suffer from PTSD and anxiety as well as ADHD. The absolute worse my anxiety is other than literally during a panic attack is a in the morning before I take my medication, even though ADHD medication should technically make anxiety worse. ADHD medication is a stimulant. In my case, my morning anxiety is caused by my ADHD. I often wake up feeling like a gun just went off in my house, with my heart pounding and my hands shaking, and it doesn't get better until I take my meds.

Other psychiatric disorders. Adults with ADHD are at increased risk of other psychiatric disorders, such as personality disorders, intermittent explosive disorder and substance abuse.

Self-medicating for ADHD combined with impulsiveness is a ripe combination for substance abuse. We see it directly when he's trying to finish the book. He tries all kinds of strategies to motivate himself, but none of them work, so he defaults to drugs.

Learning disabilities. Adults with ADHD may score lower on academic testing than would be expected for their age, intelligence and education. Learning disabilities can include problems with understanding and communicating.

Not sure if we see this in Bojack but I will say I think he's a terrible communicator.

Diagnosis of ADHD in adults can be difficult because certain ADHD symptoms are similar to those caused by other conditions, such as anxiety or mood disorders. And many adults with ADHD also have at least one other mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety.

I know it says it above, but comorbidity with ADHD is INSANELY high. I don't have the numbers in front of me but if I'm remembering correctly you're more likely to have ADHD plus something else than you are to have ADHD alone.

Anyway, I know that was super rambly, but that's my analysis.

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