#adhd kirk

[self-made-purgatories]

(x)

[bijulian]

thinking abt adhd kirk stimming n unknowingly helping his autistic bf spock get over his discomfort w/ his own stimming !!! like he usually still keeps it 2 himself or when the 2 of em are alone but still !! it always makes kirk smile when he catches spock doin it :-) 💕💕

oh n u knoooow kirk LUVS listening 2 his smart wonderful vulcan infodump 2 him abt science n stuff!!! again it just makes kirk rly happy spock feels comfy enough 2 be himself around him!!! plus he likes learning new things n spock has the most lovely voice 2 listen 2 !! ❤

[self-made-purgatories]

Thinking about that quiz that asked,

Are you a "hates wearing clothes" neurodivergent person or a "needs to wear layers" neurodivergent person?

Inspired by this poll post

[spikestartrek]

Listen usually I’m chill with people not agreeing with my headcanons (as long as they’re nice about it and not just being a dick) but anytime someone says Kirk doesn’t have adhd I just have to disagree.

He shows a lot of adhd traits, including over looked and lesser known ones like rejection dysphoria.

Kirk having adhd is really important to me because so often people with adhd are viewed as slackers and those with adhd who are successful often have their struggles undermined because they are able to function how society expects a person to function, when it’s actually very difficult. But Kirk is a successful and smart character, he’s reckless and impulsive sometimes, but he was also the youngest captain in starfleet’s history and went on to be legend.

For me personally my adhd makes doing most things very difficult, and seeing myself represented through Kirk, even if it isn’t canonical really helps me. So I will legitimately argue over the fact that Kirk has adhd because to me he does, to me it’s not just a goofy little head canon, to me it’s a motivation to work through my struggles.

[goldkirk]

I can him having that but can you explain or tell about specific examples of that in the series or movies??

Ohhh yes sure! I’ll do my best!

Ok ok so I had been typing up a long boring post about what executive dysfunction was and how it applied to him but then I was like “man, I wouldn’t want to read this, this is boring and stinks” so I tossed it and I’m just going to run with the how-I-see-Jim-Kirk-having-executive-dysfunction part. 

So in TOS there are a couple I can remember off the top of my head—remember in the episode “Shore Leave” when Spock is like “yo there’s this one crewmember who’s been working himself to death to the detriment of like everyone and he won’t take a break because of who knows but he just won’t” and kirk’s all like “WHO IS IT I’LL WHIP ‘EM INTO SHAPE HOW DARE THEY THEY’RE GOING ON SHORE LEAVE THIS INSTANT” and spock goes “lol it’s you have a fun time on shore leave captain you just got played!!!!!!!”???? That’s one example of him having a single-minded focus on something and being kind of unable to switch out of it, even if he’s not enjoying it and it’s not being beneficial. He just gets stuck sometimes.

He kind of gets into that again other times when he gets so fixated on revenge or w/e for a little bit here or there that he doesn’t see the other parts of a scenario, or so focused on a certain problem he doesn’t see other possible solutions until some other things have happened to snap him out of it. Bones is really good for that. (whispers: inability/difficulty to switch focus)

Then there are other times when he’s just having a hard time getting started with something he needs to do, and Rand or Bones or Spock have go all “CAPTAIN” on him (or something else comes up anyway haha). So activation ability is kind of low. He can have a hard time starting tasks, or finishing/carrying out difficult ones.

Then for AOS and TOS—he’s just. This man I swear he’s so impulsive sometimes—most of the time, who am I kidding—and even though usually it works out fine and most of the time it’s even a good strategy, he’s still being impulsive. It gets him chewed out a lot by his crew and the admirals. ALSO: for a fun example of this, go watch the beginning of The Final Frontier, when he’s climbing the damn mountain with no safety equipment and refuses to think it’s a bad idea because he’s enjoying the challenge (as bones gains an ulcer and spock raises an eyebrow at how illogical it is while he follows along in his roCKET BOOTS).

He’s literally known for being unconventional and finding different ways to do things, which is what successful people with executive dysfunction issues always end up doing. That’s what makes him great, he finds more efficient ways that let him get around problems faster or with fewer losses and less effort/expense. (See: the Kobayashi Maru and every time someone has ever called him unusual or illogical or unconventional)

AOS Jim is a great example of the more impulsive side of Kirk (think of all the times he rushed headlong into danger in the bar fight and the bridge of the Enterprise in 2009 and chasing after Khan and—). He also has a lot more incidents of being easily derailed and distracted if interrupted and having to yank himself back on track—or just rolling with it, which is actually what usually happens. He’s a great example of working around problems that are too hard to attack head-on by finding unconventional shortcuts or “cheats” (again, see the Kobayashi Maru, and the whole Nero incident, and his motorcycle riding in Beyond, and—you get the idea).

And he definitely has trouble estimating time, or tracking time. And managing it in general. He doesn’t tend to do things in the right priority order, often. He was going out and having fun when he should have been studying, he barely made it to the shuttle on time when he decided to join Starfleet, he just casually said he’d do the whole shebang in three years (which he COULD, but that’s not the point), etc.

EMOTIONAL REGULATION is also an issue for both Kirks, although TOS kirk is older and more tempered in general and so he has a better handle on it usually. But both have times where they’re running on rage or blinded by anger and hatred and revenge, or really feeling betrayed, and lashing out at people or making brash decisions that put themselves and others in danger. Again, TOS Kirk doesn’t do this nearly as much. He almost never slips. But sometimes he does, like when talking with Bones about Kodos in “The Conscience of the King”. AOS Kirk, again, has more extreme examples, like when he let loose on Khan when they caught up to him on Qo’noS, or really launching out after him at all even when all of his friends were voicing their concerns. He was too upset and emotionally compromised at the time.

But yeah, those are a few of the instances that come to mind right now when I think about Jim Kirk having executive dysfunction! I hope this was helpful! :)

[goldkirk]

JIM KIRK HAS EXECUTIVE DYSFUNCTION IT’S CANON

[goldkirk]

okay later today someone remind me to talk about adhd Jim Kirk if I haven’t gotten around to it yet because it is overdue

[dietsleaze]

there are so many adhd character headcanons and theyre all So Important gosh