Let's ADHD Together

34 | she/her | ADHD Inattentive Type | Diagnosed mid-30s Sharing what I learn about living with ADHD. Plus some general mental health stuff. Main blog: @barrebard

[animatedtext]

[tryingtounderstandmybrain]

I don't have a lot of trouble falling asleep but waking up ... oh! This is a very big problem. I've been sleeping for more than 12 hours when I don't have to work the other day.

Like yesterday I spent all day drinking coffee, had a can of monster energy at 9 pm, and at 10 pm was I sleeping? Today I woke up 11 am?

ADHD folks, does anyone else go through this?

[adhdtogether]

Yes! Getting out of bed in the morning is just the worst. I would easily sleep until 10am every day if I didn’t have to get up for work.

And even if I do wake up, actually getting up and out of bed for the day is such a chore.

[headaching]

that fun adhd thing where i think of something i need to do, imagine myself doing it, then can’t remember if i actually did it or not ❤️

[paperbagoverhead]

"if you can't handle minor criticism you're never gonna make it in the real world" yep uh huh yes mhmm yeah agreed absolutely yup I know

[funnytwittertweets]

[tfw-adhd]

[tfw-adhd]

[adhdteacherthings]

Undiagnosed ADHD child: Sometimes I talk too much in class, lol

Undiagnosed ADHD middle schooler: I always forget things in my locker, so I just keep everything in my backpack all the time, lol

Undiagnosed ADHD high schooler: I’m a big procrastinator, but I just work better under pressure, lol

Undiagnosed ADHD college student: I can’t focus during lectures unless I’m playing on my phone, lol

Undiagnosed ADHD working adult: I’m just a list person - if I don’t write it down, I know I’ll forget it, lol

[whitepeopletwitter]

[bumblebeebats]

Ok can i tell y'all the world’s stupidest ADHD hack for this?

First, work out exactly how much time you really need to get to the appointment. (E.g. 10 min drive, 15 mins to stop what I’m doing and get my papers together, 5 mins leeway = 30 mins.)

Subtract that from the time of the Thing and set an alarm. (in this case, for 2:15.)

Now, DON’T LOOK AT CLOCK!! I usually just put a post it note over my laptop clock. Now you exist in a timeless void where the appointment does not exist. How much time do you have left, 2 mins or two hours?? Who knows, not ADHD brain!! That bitch has no idea what “an hour” feels like!!!

Anyway, now that you have been freed from the shackles of time, you can start that homework assignment or whatever it is with the knowledge that you will not be late

[noparlpf]

Reblogging this one too because this is a good tip. That’s what I usually do.

[literaphobe]

UH WHAT

UH...... WHAT.........

[adhdtogether]

Hi!

I wanted to aak is it possible to have ADHD traits but not be ADHD?

Like having many ADHD symptoms but not enough to be eligible of a diagnoses??

Thanks:)

Hi there!

I'm not sure I'm qualified enough to answer your question fully, but I think I can offer some things to help you think through your experiences.

I'm linking to some older posts of mine where I share info from the book Taking Charge of Adult ADHD (which I highly recommend!).

Yes, everyone can experience symptoms of ADHD, but diagnostic-criteria symptoms are much, much more common in people with ADHD.

Having symptoms of something isn't the same as being impaired by them. Generally for an ADHD diagnosis, your symptoms need to be impairing your life in some way.

HOWEVER

ADHD symptoms are on a spectrum. Some may be minor for you and others may be more pronounced. Whether or not they are "enough" for a diagnosis is for a medical professional to determine.

But I also want to say that I've heard from a lot of people that they worry about this. They worry about not having ADHD "enough" for a diagnosis, which makes them uncomfortable seeking support. But doctors (good ones, at least) are there to help you and support you. Even if you don't have diagnosable ADHD, it's never a bad thing to ask for help.

[anxietyproblem]

[sandersstudies]

Time for Am I Depressed or is it just the ADHD?

[sandersstudies]

Time for Am I Depressed or have I just not seen my friends in too long?

[sandersstudies]

Time for Am I Depressed or is the house just dirty?

[nonbinary-adhd]

shoutout to all the adhd kids who grew up being called liars when they said they forgot something/didnt understand something/didnt know something/etc and ended up afraid to actually just tell people that they forgot or didnt know as they got older. if ur reading this i love u

[adhdcognizant-deactivated202110]

Executive function - ADHD couple 🙂🙃

[tfw-adhd]

Hi! Love your blog!

Do you have any advice on how to overcome freeze mode? I have exams in a few weeks but my brain doesn't want to cooperate at all and every time i start studying i get overwelmed by the sheer amount of things i have to do and end up doing nothing all day. I feel like i'm stuck in a state of constant brain fog...

Sent 21st August~

I’m not usually great at the advice, so this one is mainly open to my followers.

However, I will say: try to break it down. Take it one step at a time—remember that it’s so much better if you do even one page than if you do none at all. Listening to music while you study can help, and caffeine usually helps us ADHDers with focusing.

[adhdtogether]

Externalize your tasks! Breaking things down is really great, but I also suggest writing things down. ADHDers have a harder time managing things internally, so if you can externalize your tasks, it allows you to take things one at a time.

And for me, when I have a lot to do, I’m constantly thinking about everything I have to do because I’m worried that if I don’t remind myself over and over about something, I’ll forget it. And all those constant reminders take up brain power that could be better used on actually doing the thing. 

Externalizing things gets them out of my brain and frees me up to have the mental space to actually get started. 

[xsilversugar]

For me personally, I do a lot better when I have an accountabillabuddy. AKA someone to check in with me to see how I’m doing on a task. But like, not someone harping on you to do it if that makes sense. Usually it’s another of my ADHD friends stuck getting over their own wall and we’ll do our best to check in with one another to see how we’re doing on whatever. Which reminds me; laundry…

[adhdtogether]

Yes! This!

(I thought about this right after I posted the above and meant to reblog and add this. Then I forgot.)

Another way you can have accountability is body doubling. Being in the same space as someone else who is working or reading or studying can motivate ADHDers to do the same. 

It’s harder right now, but if it’s safe for you to do so, working at a cafe or library or even a park--anywhere you can work alongside other people--can be hugely helpful!

[penpanoply]

I’m a 40 year old woman, and a week ago, I started taking medication for ADHD. This diagnosis did not come as a surprise—I had to push for testing—but my suspicions had slowly been growing.

“But you did so well in school.”

“But everyone procrastinates sometimes.”

“But trauma has the same symptoms.”

But nothing.

Maybe I was just good at masking things. Maybe I always had enough time or deadlines or interest or coping methods to get by. Maybe there’s a reason my trauma symptoms look like ADHD symptoms. Maybe I grew up in a time, a culture, a household, where nobody really thought about digging into mental health. Maybe I was fine.

But it was still hard. And I haven’t been “fine” for a while. Those deadlines, that free time, those coping mechanisms compressed and disintegrated amid parenthood and a graduate program and family crisis and a pandemic, until my window of tolerance for over- or under-stimulation grew so small as to be disabling. My coping mechanisms became less about function, and more about survival.

I’ve been unconsciously self-medicating with caffeine and sugar for a long time. I pick up new hobbies like I’m tasting samples at Costco. I can’t sleep without white noise, or study without music, because my brain is too loud. I’ve always done my best work in the frantic early morning hours before an assignment is due. And I hate it. Have a long conversation with me, and it will fork like a strange and glorious Wikipedia rabbithole. I have to write lists—sooooo many lists. And I forget what I’m supposed to be doing as soon as I open a new browser tab, or walk through a doorway, or have a stray, interesting thought.

I don’t expect medication to magically change all that. I’m still going to be me. I still am me. But it’s been a little quieter inside my head this week. And I can see my window of tolerance opening up around me.

And that’s a terrifying, beautiful thing.

[adhdtogether]

<3

Being diagnosed as an adult was life-changing for me. I hope the same is true for you!