hana

ADD is a gift <3

[zo-gu]

How to not abandon a new hobby as someone with ADHD

Starting a project and then realizing that it’s much harder than you thought it would be, that you need to get down the basics first and be a beginner, is the hardest thing ever for me for some reason. 

I hate looking up inspiration for a sewing project and then seeing all of those items made by people who aren’t beginners, and that results in me losing motivation. I go “What’s the point in spending time on this project? It’s gonna turn out bad anyway because man I don’t have the experience…. Wack”.

Butttt we can work with this: 

How to not abandon a new hobby as someone with ADHD 

If you can let go of perfectionism, make ugly things on purpose. Make those projects bad on purpose. So that when what you created is bad, it’s not because you’re a beginner, but because you WANTED it to be shitty,, that was the GOAL.

If you CAN’T let go of perfectionism, do parts of the project perfectly,, E.g. instead of making the perfect song start to finish, try to make the perfect bass line first or write the perfect chorus or the perfect bridge. Same thing with idk making clothes; don’t make the perfect westwood-esque corset or the sickest pants, instead aim for the perfect color match of your fabric or aim for sewing the perfect clean finish etc… 

Let inspiration come and go in waves without trying to desperately hold on to it. If you get sick of a project after working on it for 3h it’s probably just a dopamine dip,, doesn’t mean you won’t come back to it again someday or that this hobby isn’t for you

You losing interest in something isn’t a sign of failure, so don’t go “damn I started something and wasn’t able to stick with it, AGAIN, it’s hopeless”, just accept the fact that it’s neurobiology and have a journal or a google doc to keep track of all the things you DID try out. That is an accomplishment in itself; having the courage to be a beginner in something and stepping out of your comfort zone to try this new thing. That’s truly a gift and trying new things makes you more likely to find YOUR thing. Or maybe doing tons of stuff imperfectly is “your thing”? Doesn’t matter if it’s not a classic hobby; you’re having fun and novelty 

Make an account where you can show your progress;; I made a video on TikTok showing a dress that I wanted to upcycle and the video ended with me just showing the dress in safety pins, as in, how it’s supposed to look once I finish the sewing part. Did I finish it? Well no, I lost interest. But the trying, the thrill of starting a new project and documenting the progress was enough for me that day. Whether I’ll actually finish it is up to me (or up to my brain). I could pressure myself into setting deadlines, but that would kill the purpose of a hobby. It’s not your job; it’s supposed to be fun???

[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)

[zo-gu]

“no one can make that decision for you, you gotta figure it out yourself” PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DO PLEADE ELSE I’LL ROLL A DICE AND LET HIGHER POWERS DECIDE FOR ME DAWG PLEAEE

[zo-gu]

mute people if they make you feel bad about yourself- even if you love them

whenever i see instagram posts of friends where they show their boyfriend / husband / baby / baby bump / wedding pictures / diploma / vacation pics - i get happy for them! but my second thought is “why don’t i have that-“ BAD brain i know.

i need to understand that i’m not behind in life and that there is no “right” timeline.

i can be happy for them and love what they achieved. but i can’t help but spiral whenever i see posts like those. so i mute them. which is fine

[zo-gu]

please mute people that make you feel like youre behind in life

[zo-gu]

too shy to do a project you wanted to start?

the shyness will pass lol

everything you didn’t do because you were too embarrassed suddenly becomes VERY doable because ay you spent nough years contemplating it you have literally nothing to lose might as well try the thing youve always wanted to try. no such thing as too old, or too untalented just make it exist. if you have a gut feeling that you should try that project then there’s a reason for it??????? MAKE IT EXIST EVEN IF ITS BAD EVEN IF ITS UGLY EVEN IF YOU ONLY SPEND LIKE 5 MINUTES ON IT DO THE THING

[zo-gu]

i’m in a yapping mood lately so i started posting on youtube lol

in highschool i was the student with the prettiest notes but with the worst grades so maybe this could be a gentle wake-up call for someone

[zo-gu]

LETTING COLD WATER RUN OVER MY FACE OR MY BODY UNTIL I STOP THINKING HELPS SO MUCH WITH RACING THOUGHTS ITS INSANE HOW WELL IT WORKS

[macgyvermedical]

Took me until about halfway through college before I realized “study” means “play with the material in a variety of ways until you understand it” and not just “read the assigned chapters and do the homework” and I think that probably should have been discussed at some point prior to that.

[zo-gu]

For when you're too anxious to study

it's kind of common sense but I had to hear it from my therapist to genuinely get that if you look at something that you do not understand (or don't want to understand) for 10 minutes a day, every day, you will get used to it and it will eventually enter your brain.

it's like how kids learn new words or how to do stuff; just repeating stuff without the pressure of HAVING to learn it asap. just spending time with the material. kids don't take notes or write flashcards.

AND; if you learn a definition or a way to solve a math problem by heart, you will have "crutches" during the exam.

things that are gonna feel as obvious as someone going "what are you sitting on" and you going "chair" and that will make you feel good during your exam! :)

if you've been procrastinating a lot and think you'll fail the exam anyways, then you have nothing to lose; try to see how well you can do as a silly little experiment, no high expectations. take care of yourself <3 you deserve good things and you deserve a nice exam experience because you CARE! else you wouldn't have read this entire post. things are meant to work out in your favor

[nightmare-from-heaven]

Hey. Your brain needs to de-frag. Literally it needs you to sit there and space out.

If you want your memory or executive function to improve, stare out a window at the skyline or sidewalk or trees or birds on the electrical wires for like 20+ minutes per day. (With no other stimulation like a podcast or TV if you can manage but hey baby steps innit). If you're fortunate enough to have safe outside with any bits of nature, go stare closely at a 1 meter square of grass and trip out on the bugs and shapes of grasses and stuff.

Literally this will make you smarter. Our brains HAVE TO HAVE this zone out time to do important stuff behind the scenes. This does not happen during sleep, it's something else.

That weird pressurized feeling you get sometimes might be your brain on no defrag.

Give your brain a Daily Dose Of De-Frag.

[starsdreaming]

This explains so much.

Also, if you don't take the time regularly, your brain will do it for you. Usually when you're already stressed and it gets to be too much. You will zone out. And you can not control it. So regular maintenance will help

[the-font-bandit]

By the way, if you're ever having an anxiety or panic attack

One of the best ways I've personally found to stop that shit in its tracks is to hop in an ice cold shower for a minute.

I'm sure there's some biological stuff going on but to me it's like your brain just goes "oh FUCK we have something more important to worry about" and the panic just stops.

Then you get out and warm up, minus one sudden panic spiral.

[zo-gu]

NEW HOBBY? HELL YEAH

quick reminder that it’s okay to buy the items that you need for that new hobby secondhand! or just consider buying cheaper versions of the items.

for example you can get 2 wool thingies instead of 10 when you just started crocheting. and if you wanna get into playing an instrument you dont have to get the most expensive one! maybe you think that you’ll stick to the hobby more likely if you invest more in it but that’s unfortunately not how it works.

get the cheaper things just in case! and have tons of fun at your new hobby!

[zo-gu]

children don't take notes and pressure themselves to learn something by heart when they learn new words, the knowledge just sort of spawns into their heads right??

nonchalantly looking at your notes/slides a few times, then closing them and putting them far away from you to do something that you actually enjoy- every day for like 10mins (or 5 minutes that's even hotter) and you're gonna find yourself understanding it better. just spend a bit of time with the material, no strings attached and no expectations. warm up to it? (is that an expression? I dunno)

without pressure and guilt because you ARE smart

and you have the drive and what it takes to pass those exams. because else you wouldn't be reading this post. you want this, so it already is yours <3

[zo-gu]

DOING LIKE 5 MINUTES OF THE THING YOURE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING IS BETTER THAN NOT DOING THE THING AT ALL!!!

IT CAN BE UGLY!! IT DOESNT HAVE TO BE PERFECT!!

IT DOESNT HAVE TO BE GOOD!!!

JUST DO IT AS BADLY AS YOU CAN JUST DO IT FOR LIKE 5 MINUTES MESSY STYLE

OR DO IT FOR 2 MINUTES THATS EVEN SICKER

and then you can decide whether you want to continue... if not you can do it another time!! just do 2 minutes now

[zo-gu]

got diagnosed with ADD and everything makes sense now I want to cry for 574954 days straight I'm so relieved but like how do I fix my life now the damage is kinda done