What are the symptoms of ADHD besides hyperactivity? All I've been exposed to is stereotypes of what it's like to have ADHD and I want to learn more!
well here’s what it’s like for me
feeling like you need to Do Shit All The Time
like, literally every second
if you aren’t stimulated for even a second you’re incredibly bored
boredom is literally painful
it’s worse than death
worse than e v e r y t h i n g
feelin that sweet Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria™ any time you get teased or insulted
when you’re listening to music you always tune it out eventually
not picking up on social cues At All
actually, what are social cues?
can’t regulate attention
not interesting = not worth paying attention to
hyperfocus for hours
“wAIT ITS 4 PM WHAT THE F U C K”
did i forget to eat again
The Thoughts go from point a to point g in less than one (1) fuckin sentence
*someone says a thing* what *person repeats thing* what *person repeats thing again and you still don’t hear them but dont ask what again in case they think ur weird*
or, alternatively
*someone says a thing* what *person starts to repeat said thing; you reply less than a second after they start*
using subtitles all the time so you don’t have to go back twenty times to determine What The Fuck someone said
“sorry i tuned you out for that entire sentence can you repeat that”
needing e x t r e m e l y s p e c i f i c d i r e c t i o n s
EXTREMELY POOR VOLUME CONTROL TBH
tfw that thing u were working on falls apart and u cant redo it bc u already did it and that would be boring
long blocks of text are Extremely Hard to Read
ur fuckin brain works 12 times as fast as everyone elses. for every ADHD person it’s somethin different. for me it’s puns. ill choke on my own laughter at a pun an Entire Second before anyone else even gets it
RAMBLING
The Leg Bounce™
Disassociation
that ADHD feel when you
^^ that one is a True Marker of an ADHD person. only ADHD people understand.
Reblogging because I think this is super helpful
!!!!! PSA that the hyperactive stuff on here (always needing to Do Something, ccaann’‘tt bbee bboorreed, etc) can wind up masked almost totally by maladaptive daydreaming, which, when you think about it, is actually a marvelous way to begin INSTANTLY doing something interesting without even having to get up and go somewhere else. Once you internalize your need for stimulation and start watchin’ the ol’ headmovies, you might LOOK like a very patient person who has no trouble sitting still when it’s required or staying on-task for extended periods of time despite setbacks and delays, but only from the outside. Inside there are tabs open with music videos and etc. playing, and you’re probably glancing back at reality only when necessary. You might look at sensation-seeking symptoms like hyperactivity and think “can’t relate” when, really, you’re just ready to return to your interior hyperactivity at a moment’s notice. @ everybody who can’t just slip out of reality when boredom threatens and who has to instead find something to entertain themselves with irl, my heart goes out to you and everyone around you because holy fuck
I wonder how many writers and other creatives are ADHD. I mean, that whole “Occupy the brain with invented narratives, characters, dialogue, and wotld-building” thing was my refuge as a child, and has become my happy place as an adult.
I’d write all day, every day, if I could arrange my life for that. Coping technique turned profession. Unfortunately, the Day Jobbe sucks up most of my creative energy, alas.
Others out there like me?
I had a teacher in high school who pulled me aside one day and thanked me for being so attentive in class, and all I could think was, “bitch I am on year three of a Harry Potter OC fanfic, I have not heard a single word you’ve said in weeks.” So, yeah, maybe.
(A couple years ago I turned up positive on an ADHD screening, but I wasn’t jittery and I don’t forget appointments so my therapist said nah, probably not. But I’m finally getting my anemia treated, and I’m starting to wonder if maybe ADHD comorbid with depression and iron deficiency, compensated for by years of refining my note-taking and planner systems, doesn’t explain an awful lot.)
Just so you know, ADHD and ADD are no longer separate diagnoses- there’s just ADHD, and subtypes (primarily inattentive, primarily hyperactive, combined). That means there’s tons of us ADHD people who aren’t hyper physically and may even struggle with fatigue and brain fog pretty badly.
Some more exciting ADHD things include:
- I have lost this thing. When did I lose it? Where did I lose it? Did I ever have it in the first place?
- ‘I’m calling because you missed yo-’ FUCK
- the overwhelming need to be stimulated combined with getting tired of everything quickly and lacking physical energy/ the ability to concentrate
- saying offensive or inappropriate things and then when people are like ‘what are you thinking?’ being like ‘i honestly could not tell you’
- your brain is like one of those shopfront windows with all the TVs playing different channels. at least one of them is a song.
- ‘okay you can’t leave the exam hall until 1PM, so if you finish early you’ll just have to sit there’ haha death would be kinder
- poor emotional regulation. feelings are Very Hard To Handle By Yourself and you might break things when angry, hurt yourself when sad etc
- step one: join club or society. step two: learn everything there is and volunteer for as much responsibility as possible. step three: lose interest completely and ghost or quit, ignoring desperate/confused emails and hating yourself
- “something i thought has distressed me, but i can’t remember what. let me sit down and unpack the last five minutes of mental conversation.”
“!!!!! PSA that the hyperactive stuff on here (always needing to Do Something, ccaann’‘tt bbee bboorreed, etc) can wind up masked almost totally by maladaptive daydreaming, which, when you think about it, is actually a marvelous way to begin INSTANTLY doing something interesting without even having to get up and go somewhere else. Once you internalize your need for stimulation and start watchin’ the ol’ headmovies, you might LOOK like a very patient person who has no trouble sitting still when it’s required or staying on-task for extended periods of time despite setbacks and delays, but only from the outside.“
HAHAHAHAH omg I should have seen this 15 years ago
ADHD is reading the first post in this thread, skipping all the commentary, and rebloggingbit anyway
My input is ADHD is TALKING CONSTANTLY AND UNABLE TO STOP
As someone who’s been maladaptive daydreaming since I was 3/as long as I can remember
It is EXACTLY why I write/draw/get so passionate about stories
But it’s also why as a kid no one saw blatant ADHD- I can be patient and calm but my mind is constantly on high speed daydreaming and creating and writing and it can still be very hard to focus/cope with mental exhaustion
HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHY DIDNT I KNOW THIS ALL YEARS AGO