Adhd and other things

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[rhynee]

people who dont experience it cannot comprehend how awful executive dysfunction is. I WANT to do the task, i have the resources TO do the task, i will feel better having DONE the task

but i cant fucking do the task

[suffering-and-misery]

adhd executive dysfunction sucks bcuz im just sitting there and my brain is like

YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME YOU ARE WASTING TIME

no work done no rest gained. literally no point of this at all

(to everyone who reblogged, donate and share @olagaza's initiative!)

[whyenn-reader]

Not to go "if you have ADHD just go for a run" or anything, but I am so serious if you have ADHD you should regularly go outside, no headphones no phone no nothing and just stand and observe for a while until you've had enough. Not until you get bored, until you've had enough. Drink your coffee without watching tiktok. Have a bath without music. Turn down the volume in your headphones. I cannot overstate how much learning to be bored is cruicial with ADHD. Life is not just about pleasure, no matter what your dysregulated dopamine system thinks, and when you teach your brain to be okay with being bored, then boring tasks stop feeling like torture. By letting yourself be bored you are yoinking your system out of the high/low binary and allow for the highs to feel like actual highs and not just anything that isn't low. I am so serious go literally touch grass. Listen to the sounds in your flat. Stimulate your body the way it was designed. It lowers anxiety and makes you feel like you're real and best of all it's completely free

[byjove]

ADHD sucks so bad. You’ll finally do that task you’ve been putting off for weeks or months and then be like “Oh my God, I’ve been laying in bed at night wracked with guilt and disgust at my inability to clean my bathroom sink and it wasn’t even difficult. I’m so stupid.”

[rederiswrites]

The real thing with ADHD is not "I forgot", but that forgetting is this ongoing process. I remembered! And then I forgot.

At ten this (hypothetical) morning I remembered that I have a meeting at six. And then from 11 through 3 I worked on other stuff and had zero thoughts about that meeting. Maybe even thought about what I was gonna do with my evening at home. Got attached to the idea of taking the time to make a good dinner, maybe play some video games.

And then at three I said, "Oh! Fuck!" and remembered again, hopefully long enough to set an alarm. And then I went to the bathroom and remembered that I need to clean the counter and spent twenty minutes cleaning the bathroom and went to get a snack and then at five I said, "OH! FUCK!" and had to scramble to dress like a real adult and get out the door.

It isn't one clean forgetting. It's a constant process of forgetting and then, with an exhausting adrenaline spike, remembering. And then forgetting. Baby, I can forget the same thing more times in a day than you ever forgot your parents' anniversary.

[foone]

one of the most annoying feelings in ADHD is the can't-get-started-with-anything feeling. like, your ADHD is screaming you have to do something. you can't just rest, resting isn't a thing. even if you are resting, it's by doing something.

but nothing works. you try to watch something, it's not right. you can't. read? can't read right now play? nah none of these games seem fun make something? ehh, you're not feeling any of these projects right now social media? it's boring or worse right now, so... find something else it's like you're not moving but it's because you're too tense to do anything, just vibrating in place

[3liza]

its like being the protagonist of an adventure game and everything the player tells you to combine or look at or use or do youre just like "hmm....that wont work" "i cant do this right now" "its locked" "i dont think so" "i cant do that yet"

[purplesaline]

This often happens if you're under- or overstimulated

It's very similar to the being too tired to sleep, or too hungry to eat problem.

If you're overstimulated the solution is to rest. Take yourself somewhere quiet and dark and have some downtime, even take a nap. This is a productive use of your time in this scenario.

If you're understimulated try adding a little music to the background and see how that makes you feel. If it feels like all your nerve endings are on fire that's a sign you're actually overstimulated. If it feels like you're itchy inside your skin you're definitely understimulated and that might not be the right kind of stimulation for you, or you need to add more. You can try adding pacing, or try a different kind of music or go with a podcast or audiobook instead and see how that feels.

You also might just not have enough glucose in your brain to allow you to focus! ADHD folks are chronically low in glucose and that can make it hard to focus on anything. Try having a pop or some candy and see if that helps. If it does then go make yourself something to eat with some complex carbs if you can. If you can't then opt for non-complex carbs are keep going with straight sugar, whichever you can manage in the moment.

Or it could mean you forgot your meds that day too.

It could also mean you need to socialize or need some parallel play time with a trusted person.

And if all that fails you likely just need to drag out an old hyperfixation or find yourself a new one to engage in. Try to think of something new that had you excited to try out. More often than not this solves the problem for me.

[theanythingmachine]

my first favorite hobby is yapping. second is being extremely quiet and not talking ever at all ever.

[mothmansboywife]

The only adhd tips that actually work:

1. Never tell anyone what you're planning to do until you do it (you will get a premature dopamine hit and sense of accomplishment from telling them and lose motivation to actually do it)

2. Never sit down (never sit down)

[lostgirlaubrey]

It’d be really convenient if I could suddenly start hyper fixating on stuff that matters like work or assignments or my laundry or practicing art

[icarusinfreefall]

reminder that adhd medication isn't a luxury or preference, but a lifesaving medication. a 10 year long study in the usa showed that, when properly medicated, the rate of car crashes people with adhd get into goes down significantly--men's rate drops by 38%, and women's by 42%. the med shortage, denial of meds by doctors, rising prices, and war on drugs has killed--with such a car dependent society, not driving frequently isn't an option, which means we need better healthcare and need it now.

https://shorturl.at/8VD8B

edit because i forgot to explain: short link is to an article by the washington post, it should be free to read

[icy-moons]

I'm pretty sure there's also been a study that unmedicated ADHD increases the risk of developing dementia in old age. I'll get back to yall when I find the study

[icy-moons]

Found it and here's a Washington Post article if you don't want to read a medical journal.

[icarusinfreefall]

@icy-moons thank you for this incredibly important addition!!! People with adhd are almost 3 times as likely to get dementia, and the way to prevent that is stimulant medication--more people need to know this

[therenobee]

Adding some notes here since some people are responding about antacids. You CAN take antacids just avoid taking them at the same time as ADHD meds. Wait like, a couple hours and try to reduce how much your take. If you have chronic acid reflux talk to your doctor about taking some PPIs which don't interact with ADHD meds. Stay safe y'all!

[etherealspacejelly]

this is your gentle reminder to stop fighting against your adhd and instead structure your life around it

buy a pack of chapsticks and put one in the pocket of all of your coats and jackets because you always forget to bring one and chapped lips is sensory hell

leave important things where you can see them. if they go in a box or a drawer you will forget they exist

put any appointments or deadlines in your phone calendar As Soon As you get them. set a reminder for a week before, a day before, an hour before, as many as you need as often as you need them.

when that little voice in your head says "i dont need to write that down, ill remember it" that is the devil talking!!! write it down anyway!!

plan for down time. have a few hours at the end of every day to just do fun stuff like engage in your hyperfixations. even if you didnt get all of your work done that day, have the rest anyway. you probably spent the whole day beating yourself up for not doing what you Should be doing, so you still need the break.

if you never eat vegetables because its too much effort to chop and cook them, get the frozen or canned shit. it doesnt go off for ages and you just have to microwave it. theres no point buying fresh vegetables if they just keep going off and being left to rot in the bottom of your fridge

if you struggle to decide what to have for dinner every day, take the decision out of it. choose a set of meals and eat those on rotation until you get sick of them, then choose some new ones and do it again.

its not stupid if it works! our brains literally have a chemical deficiency. you are allowed to accommodate yourself. go forth and stop making your life more difficult than it has to be because "this shouldn't be this hard". it is hard, so make it easier.

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

ADHD Guide: Music vs. Silence

Future ADHD

[turns-out-its-adhd]

Original comic by @niall.breen.comics - this edit found on Frog Hoppy

[yourlocaladhder]

Yah there are hyperfixations and special interests you can't stop talking about but do you have those interests where you kinda absent-mindedly keep engaging with from time to time and you keep thinking it's a casual interest but suddenly you look back and you have been consistently into it for like 10 years and you're like "woah!! I guess I am into it quite a lot!"

[existennialmemes]

Sorry, my latest hyperfixation has consumed my Entire Personality. Please try again in six months.

[frailscholar]

Adhd is having 1000 hobbies and doing none of them in your free time 😎