I was on an ADHD forum, and someone posted the question of how to tell Laziness vs ADHD. Thereās a lot of ableism surroundingĀ ālazinessā thatās been discussed else where by many people on this site, and off. But itās something that gives a lot of neurodivergent and disabled folk a shit ton of undeserved guilt that bears discussion.
Hereās how I break this down:
Laziness is ā I need to do this thing. I donāt want to do this thing, therefore I wonāt do this thing. I couldnāt care less about the consequences, or who it hurts, as long as I get to enjoy myself. Complete lack of care for others. Instant gratification achieved.
Responsible Self Care/Mindfulness is ā I need to do this thing. I want/donāt want to do this thing. However Iāve been working really hard lately. Iām feeling burnt out and exhausted. I need a break or Iām going to get sensory overload, or have a meltdown. Iām going to skip this task in order to take care of my mental and physical health. I can always tackle this task tomorrow. The world wonāt end if I prioritise my health.
Procrastination is ā I need to do to this thing. I want/donāt want to do it, but itās important I do. However, I donāt want to do it just yet because itās a big task and itās making me anxious, and I could probably do other stuff first, so Iāll put it to the back of the list and do it later on.
Executive Dysfunction (the core ADHD experience) is ā I need to do this thing. I want/donāt want to do it, but despite needing to do this thingā¦ I canāt. I donāt know why I canāt. It should be easy right? I just need to get up, and find the item, and start the task. But how do I start the task?? Thereās so many steps involed. Whatās the best way to do this? This is really stressing me out because I need to do this thing, and Iām so frustrated! Why is this not happening, itās not even this hard. But no, Iām just scrolling through the internet still. Pleeeassse, Iām begging, just start the task.
Hyperfocus (the ADHD intense state of focus) is ā Cool. Iām doing this thing. This thing is really engaging. Iām so focused on this thing. There is nothing else that exists but this task. Oh crap, itās been five hours and I havenāt made lunch, and really need the bathroom, and Iām kinda exhausted. Where did my day go!? Oh my god. Woops.
Executive Dysfunction (the Time Blindness aspect) is ā
> Version 1) (Time moves too fast) I need to do this thing at 3:00, which means I need to leave at 2:30 to get there for 2:50 so I can be ten minutes early andā¦ What do you mean itās already 2:45!? *PANIC*
> Version 2) (Time moves too slow) I need to do this thing at 3:00, which means I need to leave at 2:30 to get there for 2:50 so I can be ten minutes early. Wow! I sure did get all of this preperation done early so I can leave on time! I bet itās almost 2:30 now. Waitā¦ What do you mean itās still 11am??????
*As per usual, social media is not a medical source. If you want to know more about Executive Dysfunction, I have a post full of links to actual resources here.
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