fellow adhd'ers why is it so fucking hard to brush my teeth every day
i think its some combination of:
the act itself being an unpleasant sensory experience
absolutely no short term reward
long term reward of “not losing your teeth” too abstract
knowing that no matter how well you do it one day you will still always have to do it again the next
we are bad at remembering to do things by ourselves
I THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST ME OH MY GOD
A good trick for people with ADHD or depression is to do things like brushing your teeth or doing the dishes while you are forced to wait for something else – while you wait for water to boil, for your washing machine to finish up, for your microwave to finish heating, and so on.
You’ll still have to remember your duties and consciously choose to do them, but you essentially trick your brain into the idea of “I’m not wasting any time on this anyway”. These other activities that force you to wait eventually also become reminders.
it helps me to keep a bag of disposable flossers next to my computer so i can floss my teeth while i’m scrolling tumblr. it’s easy, i don’t have to remember to do it because the bag is right there, and i can entertain myself while i do it so i’m not bored. flossing is just as important as brushing, kids.
