My ADHD Story: Stride Beyond Silence

Trigger warning: this episode contains detailed personal accounts of Kit's experiences, some of which could be emotionally challenging for some listeners, including suicide, addiction, eating disorders and self-harm.

In this episode of All Aboard ADHD, Claire is joined by special guest Kit Burks - writer, adventurer, mental health activist and recovering addict living with ADHD and bipolar disorder. Kit speaks with raw honesty, breaking the silence around mental illness and vowing that no one should ever feel as alone or misunderstood as she once did. Her debut poetry collection “Burnt Toast” captures the quiet strength it takes to keep going and the beauty that can grow from brokenness. She is now undertaking “Stride Beyond Silence” - a world record solo trek spanning over 8500km, across ten countries, to raise awareness for suicide prevention.

Kit shares a deeply personal account of her journey, with an ADHD diagnosis at 26, during her recovery from addiction, followed by a bipolar diagnosis a year later. Kit discusses the relief she felt afterwards as her “jigsaw puzzle” started to come together and the impact of being told by her psychiatrist that she had “done so well to get this far”. Kit also shares some of her early struggles with mental health, including insomnia, depression, and eating disorders, starting at just 12 years old. With a lack of information and education about ADHD at the time, and Kit being deemed “unteachable”, she began to feel more like a problem than a person. As an adult, Kit shares the huge impact her diagnosis had in terms of helping her to feel more understood and less alone in her struggles.

Kit goes on to talk about the strengths she has developed despite her personal challenges, such as her ability to excel when she is particularly passionate about something. She discusses how her experiences have fueled her passion for helping others and why she believes reducing stigma around mental health is important. A key turning point came for her in early 2022, when she hit rock bottom and decided to seek help and attend a meeting with a friend. This marked the beginning of her process to empty her "invisible rucksack" of shame and trauma and ultimately learning to accept herself. Kit also explains how she discovered poetry as “a form of therapy” shortly after starting her recovery and how her book, "Burnt Toast," chronicles her journey from pain, to healing, and blooming, through poetry.

Finally, Kit introduces her phenomenal solo trek, "Stride Beyond Silence," on which she has just embarked, to raise awareness for suicide prevention. She also offers a message of hope for parents of children with ADHD, stressing the positive impact of honest conversations and reassuring them that “even when it feels like it won't, it really will be okay.”

Follow Kit’s trek on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @kitbirks

You can find out more about her trek here: https://www.kitbirks.com/stridebeyondsilence

And donate to support her mission to raise awareness for suicide prevention here: https://givestar.io/gs/stride-beyond-silence-arctic-to-aegean

The views shared in this episode are those of the guest, based on their professional expertise and/or personal experience. This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical, educational, or psychological advice. Please consult a qualified professional for personalised support relevant to your individual circumstances.

My ADHD Story: Stride Beyond Silence

All Aboard ADHD

Where can you listen?

Episodes