adhd chillin

i've got adhd and i'm gonna talk about it || katie/astra || she/they/he || inattentive type || follows come from @prehistorictriforce || also posts abt other disorders and syndromes, so be aware of that!

[addminds]

well, howdy everybody. been a while. idk how many people are even still on this site that follow this blog but hi there. it’s been a few years. i wanna start posting on here again, i’ve really missed this community for a while now. i’ve got a new main blog that i’m interacting from, i use a new name and pronouns but honestly, i’m chill with all the old stuff, too. 

i now interact from the main blog @prehistorictriforce and i go by the names either Astra or Katie (which is the name i originally always went by!!). i also now go by any and all pronouns!! i’m 22, and i’ve still got hella adhd inattentive type </333

my diagnoses include adhd inattentive type, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, insomnia, major depressive disorder, tourette syndrome, and obsessive compulsive disorder.

[addminds]

october is adhd awareness month, so be sure to give your local adhder a hug!!

it’s me

i’m the local adhder

please give me a hug

[addminds]

something about my usual existence is slightly off. guess it’s time to spontaneously combust because that’s enough to overwhelm and upset me!!

[pezpenser205]

PEOPLE WITH ADHD

are you the "caffeine makes me tired and/or drowsy" adhd or the "caffeine makes me so insane i feel like im gonna have a heart attack/explode" adhd

.

caffeine makes me tired and/or drowsy

caffeine makes me so insane i feel like im gonna have a heart attack/explode

i dont have adhd/show results

Voting ended onSep 4, 2023

rb for larger sample size pretty plz

[addminds]

sensory issues really aren’t just “thing feels bad” and i feel like sometimes neurotypical people don’t get that. how can i explain to someone without sensory issues that i’ll break down into tears if i feel my hair when it’s greasy? like hey i’m sorry i’ve been the human incarnate of rage today i just noticed the tag on the back of my shirt this morning and i’ve been on a rampage ever since 💕

[veeaziel]

every day i am percieved™️

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

There is a reason for this though!

The original tweet summarizes it pretty well. Fanfic tends to be popular among certain types of neurodivergent people (aka people most likely to read excessively as a child, and have burnout as an adult) for the same reasons that we tend to hyperfixate–neurochemical signaling (I hope I’m using that phrase correctly). What I mean is, for people who are really dependent on changes in dopamine/serotonin/neurotransmitter levels, who have low levels or wonky neural reward systems (perhaps the most common types of neurodivergence)…people like us rely on dependable external sources of those neurochemicals. In order to function, we spend a lot of our free time trying to level out our brain chemistry using things that can reliably bring us a steady stream of joyful moments (rewards) without costing too much of the mental effort that is already in short supply. 

significantly: the investment of reading has to be balanced with a steady “return on investment”–and this return has to start fairly quickly. because again, we don’t have a lot of attention/energy to invest on tiring things. we have perpetual “low batteries” in that regard.

that doesn’t mean these stories are “simple,” or that they lack complexity or value–only that the reward has to come in short regular intervals, and it has to have a low “upfront cost.” these stories are only “easy” to read in the sense that the effort we put into them is rewarded in a timely manner. which is why fanfic stories are so perfectly formulated for neurodivergent readers–they are often beautifully written, but skip a lot of the upfront costs (of introducing new characters, of world-building, of getting the audience emotionally connected to the story elements).

the nature of fanfiction is that the reader has a pre-existing relationship with this world and these characters. that–combined with the shorter average length of fics–means that fan fics very quickly start rewarding the reader in a way that traditional fiction struggles to. that’s not a bad thing! and maybe it’s something more traditionally published writers should be paying attention to.

Fanfic, as a genre, has been uniquely helpful and accessible to many neurodivergent readers who would otherwise struggle to immerse themselves in stories. I’m glad so many of you have found a way to love and enjoy reading again! The important thing is that you are spending time inside stories you love–the way those stories are published or presented to the world is just one detail. The fact that you find joy in the process of reading (or listening!) to stories–that is what matters.

[attackofjak]

I feel understood 🥰

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

a bunch of people have reblogged this with the default “i feel called out” reaction….and i know when we say that we mean it tongue-in-cheek….but this comment sorta blew my mind & shifted my perspective up and to the left a little thank you♥

[catnippackets]

return of the happy stim

[high-quality-tiktoks]

Say it with me: ADHD ≠ being lazy

[thatadhdfeel]

surely i will not be consumed by my interests this time

[thatadhdfeel]

by talos this cant be happening

[closet-keys]

folks with adhd, how often to you feel physically fatigued/exhausted*

literally every day all the time

most days

a few days a week

fluctuates- weeks of frequent fatigue & weeks without

only when there's an external reason (lack of sleep, physical exertion, illness)

Voting ended onMar 31, 2023

*Notes:

specifically discussing physical fatigue, not mental overwhelm.

please answer based on what you experience when you are not medicated. (you can also mention in the tags if you are medicated for it & whether the meds alleviate your fatigue to some extent)

self diagnosis counts

[addminds]

DPD as a diagnosis is widely contested in psychiatry

as is AvPD (although there's more evidence for it being viable as a diagnosis)

Both of them are severely underresearched tho, because both disorders are the most troublesome and painful to the sufferer themselves but in a 'quiet' way unlike NPD or BPD

And a case of C-PTSD could look like symptoms of either of them

That’s really interesting, I’ll keep looking some more into the controversy and everything. Thank you for the info!!! Much appreciated!!

[addminds]

Accidentally found out about a mental disorder that fits me too well, will never recover from this shocking blow

[yearning-dyke]

people who experience psychosis and anger issues and paranoia and delusions and intrusive thoughts and addiction and dissociation and other “ugly” non-romanticized mental health issues i love you and i believe you and you are not a bad person

[kaijuerotica]

me and my brother: *explains how adhd affects us*

our parents: that's not adhd, that's normal

me and my brother:

[beatoriche-remade]

some of yall really be like “support mental illness!” up until someone is schizo-spec or psychotic. it shows and it’s ugly

[beatoriche-remade]

i really hate that the only posts i see for people who are either schizophrenic or psychotic are ones where we’re demanding to be seen, heard, respected and supported. or usually they’re PSAs about how we aren’t dangerous or scary. and.. that’s it. that’s ALL the shit i see for us on this stupid website

schizophrenia, schizo-spectrum disorders and psychosis aren’t rare mental illnesses. they’re as common as others are. 

so maybe, stop leaving schizo-spectrum people and people with psychosis out of your happy uwu support posts and awareness posts. stop seperating us from other mental illnesses just because you arent educated on them and think we don’t experience similar things to adhd, autism, etc. WE DO! we have symptoms in common also.

so i’ll just say it: you support every mental illness or none. period

[firefly-fez]

you’ve never known true jealously until you’ve met another ADHDer who hyperfixates on something useful as opposed to your garbage collection of unrelated interests. Bastard won the ADHD lottery

[addminds]

heyo,

i've been suspecting being adhd or autistic for around 4ish years now and one thing i haven't found much on is my weird speech development. i started talking extremely young, and whenever my parents filled out the checkpoints they were given when i was born my speech was wayyyy far ahead (i'm talkin' forming full sentences pretty comfortably before i was a year old). i just heard (from a medical study) that unique speech development is a trait of neurodivergency, do you have knowledge/advice on this topic?

thanks :]

howdy anon!!!

this is a really interesting question, because it’s kinda all over the place. the most “common” effect for adhd and autism (since they are the two neurodivergencies mentioned here) on speech is often speech defects and delayed speech, such as i had serious issues with enunciating as well as stuttering as a kid and had to do intensive speech therapy for it. of course, “common” was put in quotes for a reason, because it’s more just what is expected from neurodivergent people and especially from adhd and/or autistic people. that doesn't mean it's the only kind of unique speech development to come from neurodivergencies.

there’s a large range of speech development when it comes to neurodivergency. experiences aren't universal, and sadly there's just not a lot of information easily available without paying for textbooks and research papers, which most of us are not in the position to do. of course, a very important aspect is the words of neurodivergent people themselves, who have in several places on the internet, come together to discuss their own experiences with advanced speech at a young age.

I know of one particular popular post written by C.L. Bridge of the Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network that's been shared around often about this subject of precocious speech, specifically in terms of autistic youth. it is written by an autistic author and takes into account the experiences of other autistic people the author has spoken with on the issue.

generally, the answer is that yes, there definitely can be a link between unique language development and neurodiversity! often it's expected that our speech be delayed or otherwise different from most neurotypicals (such as my own issues with enunciating and stuttering that made it difficult to communicate, which after a lot of digging over the years seemed to be connected at least partially to my adhd). however, there are many instances that speech can be accelerated. i often see it linked with the "gifted child" idea, or the large amount of neurodivergent kids that are seen as "little adults" based on their communication abilities.

i would like to note quickly, that the couple sources used here only really discuss autism, because that's all i can really find on this topic with the time i had. adhd sources mostly seem to focus on speech delays, which is also not universal. the overall idea is, from my own personal experience and the experiences i've heard from other neurodivergent people, there are plenty of people that are on either side of the speech development argument.