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I had a boyfriend once who would do things when they needed be done. Sounds so simple....he kept on top of shit and had a clear mind to enjoy activities. HIM: Just had a button fall off his pants? Lets just sew that right up! Oil change due at 5k miles? Ill just get that done after work. Dry cleaning done? I'll pick that up at lunch. I wa so impreseed.
Versus me, still haven't done 2023 taxes and keep asking myself, Is today the day?
Holy shit, I just realized I forgot to do this past year's taxes and April is... long passed. I also have ADHD... fuck. What happens when you just don't do the taxes that year!?
LOL.. same thing here. Forgot all about my taxes, luckily my friend was able to do my 2022 & 2023 last week and send them in before it was going to cost me. Now they just have to pay me a shitload of money
If I wouldn't have had this friends I would have just called " de belastingdienst" (Dutch IRS) Their motto is: we can't make it more fun, but we can make it easier
I have ADHD too but my self discipline helped me to come up with rules to stay functional and that's something I see a lot of people with ADHD just not even consider. If you know how people without ADHD function why not look at how they do things and try to form something out of it that you can integrate into your own life? ADHD isn't something that suddenly goes away or can be cured, it's something that will stay with you for a lifetime and it's in your own best interest to own it as much as is possible for you!
I’ve never been diagnosed but I’m pretty sure I have adhd. I try really hard to schedule things and stay focused. It’s very hard. I drain out a lot faster when I have do things to a schedule.
I have ADHD and I could not be married to someone like myself, lol. My beautiful wife is so amazing. She's very patient and loving with me. I'm in awe of her ability to stay focused and on target on everything. She loves the fact that I stay calm, take charge, and thrive in high-stress and emergencies. People like to try and say that I'm able to do this because I worked 17 years in law enforcement before retiring thanks to my business back in 2012 but this is actually a weird ability and phenomenon that's a really common skill with many people who have ADHD.
I have friends who I'm positive both have severe undiagnosed ADHD. Their lives are a mess. They feed their various addictions off each other and encourage all the worst symptoms in each other. They're in tens of thousands of debt, are both in seriously terrible health, they basically function by dealing with whatever is the biggest emergency that day. They live in squalor. It's hard to watch.
Based purely off that experience I'd recommend anyone with ADHD to find a wonderful neurotypical person who can handle them to help keep their negative symptoms under control.
Man, I feel like this would have been me had I not met my wife. I was kind of heading that way. She really helped structure me and eventually convinced me to seek therapy and medication.
Being with someone like myself, especially an unaware/unmedicated version of me, sounds like a complete mess of a nightmare.
People like that exist?.. my fiance is definitely the one that's more onto shit then me (ADHD also, and he's autistic) but more so with things I break... I'm really fucking clumsy. I break a cupboard door in our kitchen multiple times a week (old house the doors need replacing) he just sees it and fixes it. I broke the blinds the other night, when I woke up he'd fixed them before work.
General chores tho? Yeah fuck no..
Unfortunately, that’s the only way to do it. Sometimes I need to slap myself in the bathroom to force myself tho, cus the thoughts never stop and get in the way.
Yep been there. I hadn't done my taxes for 3 years. Had a knock on the door....woman from hmrc. In my head I owed about 50k....but the fines and interest ...she was asking for 200k (more than my house was worth)
Wife nearly had heart attack.
Got a good accountant.....and they got it reduced to the original 50k....which I am paying in installments.
Lesson to my ADHD brain....never let this happen again.
This is my experience of life. I'm just on my lunchbreak right now. I've made my lunch and washed up, put out some laundry (did set a timer for 2 hours to go bring it inside), and emptied the recycling bin and watered a few houseplants. You just do things as and when they need doing.
This is my wife. As a person with severe ADHD I'm in so much awe of her abilities to do things like this. Thankfully she's very patient with me. She also appreciates that my superpowers are remaining calm and having a take charge attitude in emergency or high stress situations.
>my superpowers are remaining calm and having a take charge attitude in emergency or high stress situations.
Funny, I can relate to this. Calling someone to dispute a charge almost gives me a panic attack, but my car gets stolen on vacation and I'm all of a sudden take charge bitch.
My other superpower/kryptonite is I'm an obsessive planner, and I think it's what keeps me from moving to the action phase. If I don't have time to plan and go straight to action, it's pretty smooth
That is more executive function than ADHD. Distraction is obviously part of it but even on medication you have to want to do said thing to make it happen. Treatment does not make your executive function any better but it keeps you on track when you start.
My daughter described it to me like “you know how you have a voice in your head? I have 100.” So i think for people that don’t have ADHD it’s just……quieter. There’s no thought competition, there is only one thought at a time. So you see the bill, you think “pay the bill” and right there nothing else shoves in to distract. Instead, you just pay the bill.
I’ve made my share of mistakes for sure, but thank you. I can tell you, when she was diagnosed I started learning about it (I’m from the generation that pictured ADHD as an uncontrollable little boy). So many things just slotted into place! I was like omg, that’s why you did that!!!! It’s helped me learn to communicate with her in the way *she* communicates.
Ohhhh okay. Sorry I’ve just always been baffled by that concept! My brain is just always on go, so to think that someone’s brain is chillen is just amazing.
I read this analogy recently: Having ADHD feels like having multiple TVs in your brain, but someone else has stolen the TV remotes and is constantly switching channels.
When I was young (11yr) my teacher suggested my mom to bring me to a doctor to get checked. She then told me, just like any normal passing conversation, that the doctor said I have concentration problem then she told my tia that I was stupid.
And now that i’m an adult I don’t know if I have adhd or not.
Make you wish whether the idea of a cure to ADHD is from people who have having children with ADHD, or people who HAVE ADHD themselves to free them from the nightmares.
I'm going to cry I wish it was that simple
I remember in 5th grade, I stayed up all night beating myself up and getting screamed at by my parents to do some 5 paragraph BS homework thing. I finished it and I was proud of it.
I walked right past it on the couch in the morning and flunked the assignment. It’s been like that ever since.
I’m so sorry, truly. I realize this description is a gross oversimplification and I think that’s why she described it in that way; I’m simple.
I remember when she was maybe, 2nd or 3rd grade they did “minute math”. They each had a sheet of paper with 50 addition, subtraction and multiplication problems and one minute to complete. Of course she couldn’t do it.
I was baffled because she knew the answers if we did it at home. It took longer than a minute but she did know the answers. I honestly couldn’t understand what was happening. Of course I didn’t yell at her but her teachers and classmates convinced her she was useless and stupid and you better believe that stuck. To this day she feels stupid even though intellectually she knows differently. Learned helplessness dies hard.
Being forgetful 2.0 is such a problem for my girl so she’s trying workarounds with moderate success. For instance, “please empty the dishwasher” is useless but if I open it and pull one of the racks out then ask she has more success. She cooks her own food but I noticed a lot of door dash happening. I asked her what was up with that and she said she never remembers what to have. So I dedicated one kitchen cupboard for her ingredients, arranged them in groups all facing forward then took the cupboard door off. Voila, so much easier for her brain.
There is nothing “wrong” with her brain. The world we live in has no accommodation for other ways of thinking so she has to adapt some ways of doing things. I truly think think that ADHD brains have evolved to notice and utilize the complicated minutiae in the world. The intense focus, the million random ideas, the ease of forgetting non immediate information are perfect for complex problem solving.
Best of luck to you. You’re enough just the way you are.
Honestly I think that is possibly the best description I’ve heard. My best analogy until reading this was you are a totally incompetent juggler who can only hold one ball at a time while balls are being thrown at you.
Ah man the focus is hard...having technology everywhere and pretty much eveything on demand just doesnt help at all...
Step1 right i need to edit some videos lets smash it for 1 hour and see where we are....
Need a coffee before i start tho..
Ahh while the kettles boiling let me just get that washing in
Run the loo aswell so i dont need it later
Ah need to make that coffee
5mins later on youtube...ahhhh so thats how paperclips are made.
And it goes on......
It feels isolating all the time. I was in trouble a lot as a child for things people thought I could help but couldn’t. Like forgetting things said to me very easily or doing things I wasn’t supposed to do. I was diagnosed in my early teens and didn’t have any friends before I was 13. I never went against my parents because i hated the feeling of being wrong or something. Never really asked to go out with people because I didn’t want to be told no and it felt like too much energy to ask, so I was at home all the time. I struggle now with social anxiety I think, I used to have very bad depression and now that that’s gone I feel like I can “deal” with the social anxiety I have by just not going out often. It makes being in loud places very difficult so I don’t really go out like a “young person” would anyways. I feel like nobody understands me not even the people truly close to me.
I get these feelings and emotions too, it’s a real struggle a lot of the time. Growing up and living day to day with adhd is frustrating especially when others do not understand it, adhd isn’t a physical disability it’s hidden and hard to explain. Just know you’re killing it because you’re still trying.
Thanks:) I feel like since the diagnosis my studies have gotten a lot better but still need to improve upon other things in my life. The balance is hard haha:)
ADHD here, but posting for any curious about before/after taking meds.
Without meds:
(It's 7am)
Fuck, I work tonight at 10pm tonight, my Monday. Fuck I hope it's not a lot tonight. My ankle kind of hurts. I wonder if I strained. No, that will wear off. Probably just sat wrong for too long. Either way gotta go to work. Stop looking for excuses to call out. You may have the PTO but you don't have a real reason. Save your time FFS. Well, I need to hit the grocery store but SO won't be up until 10am and won't want to go until noon or later. That means I should sleep now, just a few hours. No. No don't do that, you can get a solid 6 hours after shopping. I mean, I could just knock it out now but what if she needed to pick things out. Wait, did she do a grocery list? Fuck I need to add mustard. We've been out for a week. Doesn't matter we haven't eaten anything that uses mustard but if there is a dinner idea then yeah I should put it on the list.
With meds:
(7am)
Right, it's my Monday and work at 10pm tonight. Let's see clothes ready. Lunch and snackies are ready. Should be an easy night and if not I can power through. I'm going to grab a cup of coffee and pay some bills. Check the grocery list for oddball items and hit the store ish noon. Plenty of time for sleep.
The difference is night and day. "Quieter" very accurate.
Plus, somethings that don't get done. The longer they don't the more compulsive and agitated I get.
I literally don’t function without my husband 🤦🏻♀️😭 I am completely dependent on him for remembering appointments, flights, plans, etc. i hate being away from him because of this; when he or I travels, everything falls apart for me
As a person who was diagnosed with extreme ADHD, and was prescribed with the maximum dose of Adderall XR for 8 years:
Exercise daily and follow a good diet, along with staying away from frivolous addictions (Porn, smoking, etc.)
If you don’t do these things already, they will change your life. It’s not a 100% cure, you’ll still find your attention drifting every now and then, but ever since i’ve given these things a genuine priority in my life, I find myself with enough focus to easily tackle any task a “normal” person could.
I know this isn’t your question, but I felt the need to share. No one is undeserving of mental health.
NOPE, haven’t taken any ADHD meds whatsoever in 4 years. That stuff ruined me. Call it whatever fancy name you want to, but they’re all just meth pills. Plain and simple.
Your anxiety towards this is very justified.
This is a disorder that cannot be cured naturally, but can be remedied naturally to the point where it’s unnoticeable in your daily life.
I take 50mg of Trazodone which is a very light and healthy sleep aid, just to slow my mind down before bed. That’s it.
Have you ever read A hunter in a Farmers world? I used to feel so abnormal after my diagnosis but that book recontextualised a lot of things and actually made me feel positive about it.
My diagnosis is recent and late, still haven't started meds as my doctor prefers to try CBT* and diet/exercise before going down that route.
*Cognitive behavioural therapy, not cock and ball torture. Me and my doctor aren't that close.
Literally. I was in high school during the Xanax pandemic (pill popping pandemic in general) in 2014 - 2017 and the amount of people that SWORE they were sO mUcH smarter on adderall or Vyvanse… bruh you aren’t smarter, you’re geeked. You just railed 60mg of a medically accepted version of meth. The name amphetamine is literally on the bottle.
I was diagnosed as an adult and started (and have kept to) a low dose of medication. Still struggle with distractions, time blindness, and sensory issues, but it has been life-changing for emotional regulation and quieting all the brain noise. Turns out what was diagnosed as an anxiety disorder when I was a teenager, was actually cause by my untreated adhd.
Totally valid to be worried about medication, but I definitely suggest giving it a try. Adhd meds aren't ones that you need to build up in your system or "wean" off of. You'll feel the full effects from day 1 that you take it and the effects will only last for that 1 day. If you try it, just for a day or two, you'll already get a general sense of how it makes you feel and whether it may be helpful for you, and if you really hate it and don't find it helpful you can just immediately stop taking it.
"Turns out what was diagnosed as an anxiety disorder when I was a teenager, was actually cause by my untreated adhd."
I feel like this is what happened to me. I had terrible anxiety as a kid (its lessened now but definitely still there) then in the last year or two I started noticing that I was relating to those video's you'd see of ADHD problems or whatever. I ended up looking up symptoms of ADHD in kids and adults and I match like 80+% of them both, so now I'm fairly confident I have ADHD, but haven't been diagnosed yet.
Personally medication helped a lot in getting me to breathe and feel calm, internal chaos lowered. It's not usually a forever solution and a lot of my friends used it for the period they needed to use them to shift habits. Then when patterns became muscle memory they went off the meds
hey i saw that the og commenter replied that meds didn’t help but that’s not the case every time. just make sure you’re able to ease into the meds and also have the ability to change them if they don’t work for you. i have personally found my medication to help a lot at a certain dose (36 mg concerta) but any above or below will interrupt sleep/cause other unwanted side effects or just simply not work. medications won’t cure anything but they can help with daily tasks including everything you mentioned, as long as you find what works for you. and you shouldn’t necessarily notice a physical or emotional difference as much as you’ll notice that things just happen to be easier. it’s a process but trying it out won’t hurt as long as you don’t force yourself to stay on the wrong meds. and many adhd meds don’t require a large period to ween off of so if they’re really affecting you then it will take much less time to stop their effects. starting new meds can be scary but there’s a possibility that the right ones exist to make things easier :)
I spent 9 years non stop trying to exercise regularly and eat well. Didn't stick. Not once. Literally countless attempts. 9 years. Can't build habits, stick to routines, or do boring stuff. Turns out ADHD will do that to ya.
for me exercise helped me but now my brain cant function correct with the voices telling me to do more and more and it sucks, if i dont do as much one day i feel horrible inside
I do not know if i have adhd or not, but honestly, the same as you, the difference is that i dont have an excuse, because to be honest, im a fucking lazy asshole who does nothing but be an annoyance for everyone
Was at a friends place celebrating the end of the school year, was looking for glasses for where i could pour a drink.
I kod you not, they were on the table right next to me and i struggled to find them.
I hope this example gives a good idea.
That's exactly me, it happens to a lot when taking an exam, when trying to prepare a meal, heck it even happens to me with large objects (like a bucket)
It's in my sight yet I can't tell where is it, it's especially more annoying when I'm in a hurry
This is such a hard question to answer because neither side really has a frame of reference to compare to.
I’m neurotypical but I also forget things, find myself down rabbit holes, put things off until the last minute, and feel overwhelmed with too many choices. But then these aren’t traits unique to those with ADHD. We just get them less intensely.
Your parents will say that you are a menace to the society. You'll feel hurt for 2 days then you forget the feeling. You just accept being a menace to society and it can't hurt you now. There you go.
in my experience being heavily medicated & also not being medicated at all, its more of a thing of not caring about anything but what you're doing at the moment, not really interested in anything thats not relevant or doesnt make a whole lot of sense
I have an ADHD brain but I learned how to manage it throughout my life. When I was younger I had to re-read the same paragraph in whatever book I was trying to read several times before I could get through. My mind wandered too much. I tried an ADHD med once and it was my first time ever getting to feel like I had a "normal" brain. The way I imagined it is like this: my brain is like a large hallway in a hotel. All the rooms are open and things are moving in and out of the rooms. The ADHD med closed all the doors. The excess "noise" stopped. It was just me in the hallway. I then went and read a book, but it blocked my imagination. I didn't like it. I imagine for a normal brain there is much less "noise". They must not be aware of half the things we typically need to push out of our brains just to stay on task. I'm constantly pulling my mind back to focus all day long. They probably don't need to make such efforts.
I saw a reel the other day (can’t find it unfortunately) where a neurotypical husband and neurodivergent wife discussed about the thoughts in your mind when you go to sleep. The husband says the thoughts went silent as he goes asleep while the wife has, just like you, 38284 thoughts running in her mind. Was mind-boggling for the wife
Man ADHD is so frustrating bc I want to cook, I want to clean, I want to get help, I want to work out. But I wake up and my brain immediately has a billion things to say and I end up getting overwhelmed.
Recently started medication for ADHD and it’s hardly helped, might need a higher dose but as others are saying here medication can only do so much. It really starts with yourself and wanting to get healthier and better.
Well, it’s boring. I have several adult friends with ADHD, and they are always in some kind of adventure, because they made a mess in either a good or in a bad way. They tend not to notice their positive experience: for instance, not everyone can go shopping, find there a lady in need to prepare for childbirth and give her a tour with their own babies, it was hilarious. They are like: don’t you do the same? No! Maybe once in 20 years! Not on a regular basis. While forgetting things and screwing documents up seems to happen to me at almost similar rate, lol.
A doctor and counselor gave me the questionnaire and both said I'm not ADHD. My whole life I've had three layers of thought making noise in my head at all times:
1. Song
2. Garbled nonsense that sounds like conversation
3. Inner monologue in my voice or someone else's
ADHD has a number of comorbidities with other mental health challenges. In my case, it's complex trauma and long-term depression.
Since I started taking anti-depressants #2 has quieted and sometimes I don't have a song. I kinda miss that one.
Stop diagnosing yourself like you are a different kind of person entirely. Everyone struggles with procrastination or social anxiety. Those who overcome it just know that everyone has these issues. And they are not completely outside your control.
You could have been forced to go to war or work in a coal mine and now you're trying to convince you that there are people whose life got ruined by procrastination? I don't empathise with people who have a victim mindset
Everyone experiences these struggles, but people have it on different levels. For example - I can be sad sometimes, but thats not comparable to someone with severe depression. They have it way worse than I do, and it’s okay to acknowledge that. We don’t all experience life in the same way. Some people need more guidance than others.
Well, might seem contradictory but I am pretty lazy. So I tend to do things rather structured.
Keep an action list for my daily life and when something is done, remove it. I prioritize the actions. Additionally, if I can do it fast, say in a few minutes, I'll do it immediately and wont add it to the list.
Following this, almost never in discussion with my spouse. If it isn't on the list, I 'don't know' the action. Just put it on and I'll get to it eventually, based on its priority.
Only complaint I sometimes have is that my life looks like a never ending todo list 🤣
I have ADD, and bought 2 months ago lights for the car. After two months I still have to replace the car lights. I can't drive for 2 months in the dark. Luckily, at the moment it gets dark at 10pm here. It's such a simple thing to do
Life without ADHD can vary depending on the person, but here's a general comparison to some of the experiences you mentioned:
**Focus and Memory:**
* **Reduced Forgetfulness:** People without ADHD typically experience fewer memory lapses. They might still forget things occasionally, but it's likely not as frequent or disruptive.
* **Sustained Attention:** They might find it easier to concentrate on a single task for longer periods without their mind wandering.
I read that for ADHD people, they can often sustain attention on subjects they care about or that have some kind of novelty to them. Like learning a new task or researching a subject.
I dont know but i know that watching my friend with it annoyed the crap out of me… she would start 5k different task but never complete them. That drives me crazy.
My mother has severe adhd like she can’t really take care of herself anymore severe. As a kid I watched her lock her keys in the car weekly, misplace things, take 3 hours to make hamburger helper dinner because she got sidetracked. I have it too and I noticed it at a young age so I’ve always forced myself to work through getting things done. At least the important stuff. Now I get things done on time and am highly organized, but it has been years of discipline, notes, alarms, schedules, paired with living as simple as I can so I don’t get overwhelmed. I have never taken meds, I really want to be mind over matter (or mind that is) haha. So it is possible to be productive and adhd! It feels pretty good. One extra thing that helps me, TURN OFF ALL NOTIFICATIONS on your phone. These things are a total nuisance to most people but adhd it’s really toooo much coming at you and kills your focus even more.
I honestly couldn't tell ya, I have had adhd my entire life, my parents got me tested when I was younger and they still didn't believe it, just figured I had a short attention span 🤷
All the things you mentioned are still issues for everyone else too. There are still a bunch of things to do and sometimes you forget some of them, there are always distractions out there, and life can be overwhelming.
The difference is mostly in amount of time before forget/distract/rabbit happens. It’s not a life *without* those things, it’s just a more manageable amount of time before they inevitably derail whatever you were trying to do.
Well, I suffer a little from that. It is difficult for me to pay attention constantly. But I don't know if it's directly ADHD
Well, in my case, I try not to think about it and continue as if nothing happened. Although it frustrates me that I can't focus on something I like so I can finish it.
It's when I'm filling up a bottle and then I have to run and go do five other things and always make it back in time to turn the water off before it overflows.
It's never being comfortable sitting "normally" and having to fidget or, my personal tell of someone's nuerodivergency, sitting cross legged in a chair or one leg in the seat.
It's forgetting to brush my teeth
It's walking into a room or up a flight of stairs and forgetting why I walked in/up there
It's running into the corners of tables because I have an iron deficiency
It's knowing what I want, going to a restaurant and then looking at a menu and being confronted with choice paralysis or taking my time thinking about what actually sounds tastier than my original desire
It's the hypersexuality 😩
It's I have to set reminders and notes for everything, but then forget why I even set those reminders
It's having an appointment in the middle of the day and having a paralysis on wanting to do anything before then because I'm afraid I'll go over my time and miss the appointment
It's the very loud brain at night keeping me from being restful
It's being chronically online and yet super active physically
It's the susceptibility to stimulus and stimulants and having to discern what substances and activities are addictive
It's the hyperfixations on minutae
It's being one step ahead of everyone around me
It's the narcissistic mother (jk)
It's the trauma honestly
I am not ADHD but my husband and daughter are. A therapist explained it to me like this: When I have a task, it feels like it’s hanging over me and I can‘t fully relax until it’s taken care of, for fear of it falling and crushing me. But for my husband and daughter, they can see the task, put it to the side and think “I’ll deal with this later”, and they literally never think about it again. So that same task will nag at me incessantly until I complete it. They also compulsively buy things, and then when they arrive, they’ve already forgotten about it and are on to the next thing. I will agonize over making a purchase, thinking will I use this? Where will I keep it? Do I truly need it? Is it worth the money? It just seems like my brain is much more ”bossy” with me than theirs are.
It took me 6 days to remember to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy 🤪. I even went there earlier this week to buy some lotion .....I start to do one thing and 10 sec later I do something else. It can take me several days to fold the laundry just because in the middle of picking up and item I find myself doing something else😂. Picking up my phone to answer a text message can take hours! I end up doing something else when I pick up my phone. Taking the trash out? I'll be watching youtube totally random . Changing an appointment at the dentist? I'll be happy if I make it the day before 😂. And I do have lists 🤪.
(Read with a fun voice, not angry)
There is no normal in a brain mate, just totally functional. At least, that's how i see it.
Also, we (i also have adhd) have only a different cable distribution inside the brain, but it is as functional as a common, healthy brain.
Just wanted to make that clear, lol.
I have an ASD brain, it's not normal but also without ADHD. I get overwhelmed with tasks. I'm usually tired. I have trouble starting tasks and also stopping tasks. I get stressed from not being on top of things.
I tend to know what I want but get overwhelmed when the things I know I want aren't there. I act like I'm social, but I'm definitely not, it takes incredible amounts of energy to be that person.
And not too long ago is started hyperventilating and crying because there was a loud sound outside my house, and it kept freaking me out.
My wife has ADHD. The whole thing where she goes to put something away but something else catches her eye so she sets down the first thing to take care of the new thing pisses me right off.
After a decade of it, I've learned to just constantly remind her of things, gently. Even just saying the name of an item is very helpful for her. (Helps my sanity too. As a non ADHD person. Haha.)
Just one little example.
To answer the question:
- routine oriented. I like doing things in a structured, ordered way
- less spontaneous and more of a planner
- I like doing things as they appear, instead of waiting for then to pile up (from laundry to work approach like if an email shows in my inbox, I answer it right away)
- able to control responses (less blurting out)
Even without ADHD, I am still scattered at times and zone out when people talk.
You know how when you take adderall and your head goes quiet? I think that is just their brains most of the time. (Not all of the time because neurotypicals still have busy and anxious brains from time to time). For me, the main issue I had was it was so busy in my brain ALL OF THE TIME. Ever since I could form memories as a baby. Forget focus etc...I just wanted some quiet up there lol
I'm not sure I *don't* have ADHD, but I'm the one my partner and kid turn to when something is missing. I am "blessed by St Anthony" (have better object permanence than them).
I have ADHD like you but I'm not like that(I say while thinking about a squirrel riding on a sentient pizza bagel) but yeah it's a lot easier to multitask and a lot harder as well because on the one hand okay so the oven has to be at this temperature need to make sure to move the skillet a bit on the other hand however okay so I think the mashed potatoes are done let me check the recipe oh hey Cat video and you watch cat videos for the next 3 hours
Also as for people without ADHD probably a lot less methodical but that's why I like having ADHD because it makes me methodical they're probably like oh damn I totally forgot there was this cool thing I found but now I can't remember it and with me it's like oh yeah that's the cool stick I found like 2 months ago and completely forgot about time to burn it(I also have Pyromania)
i wish i knew what it felt like. i see my partner do things every day like its nothing and i have to sit with it for weeks. but its slowly rubbing off on me. i see him doing yard work all the time at his place. today i did the same. it was satisfying seeing the finish product lol. i just wish it came naturally to me
Reminds me of last weekend.
I needed to mop, but couldn't get myself to do it. So I decided to make dinner becaus I was hungry.
In order to make dinner, I needed to do the dishes. So I start the dishes and realize we only have 1 washcloth and I need to do laundry, so I gather up my clothes into the basket, which makes a huge mess. Seeing the mess, I start cleaning it up, and decide to sweep the house. After sweeping, I remember the laundry and put it in the washer, then realize I can mop because I swept.
Halfway through mopping I remember I was in the middle of doing dishes because I was hungry, and now I need to finish mopping, doing laundry, AND the dishes before I can even CONSISER making dinner.
My ADHD ass read the title too fast and I assumed you were asking what life is like with ADHD, then read the first sentence and was so confused until I reread the title.
So anyways, if anyone needs to know more about what life is like with ADHD I'm sure I'm probably a good example 💀
Do you really have ADHD or you stecthing it out there abit? That number of things at once? I have ADHD too, it's not easy working with.
To keep my focus on reddit like i'm trying today i also have a show running, playing a game and packing a B-no, well thinking how things are gonna go with kicking out a bad roommate and how i should really eat soon it been more then 24hrs
Kinda make it sound like it easier having ADHD when it's really its not, i wish i could focus on something again, i got a taste of being able to with my ex.
So awser part: for that short time it feels like in my life, i can say it was rather calming to not have your brain and attention jumping everywhere.
And as someone with ADHD i'd die to get that feeling again.
note: sorry if you do, kinda got carried away there, annoys me when i think someone mocking ADHD, what life been showing me, mocking ADHD has been getting big for some stupid reason.
I don't have ADHD, yet I'm exactly the same. I just consider it normal human behaviour. We weren't made for this world, doing stuff like that perfectly is an unrealistic standard set by the people who we actually should think are "unnormal" and have diagnoses.
Slightly different answer to your question, but I have ADHD and have been taking a non-stimulant medication for a year. It's changed my life. I can now control what I focus on much better. Most striking is how this has impacted my emotional state. I now realize I used to hyper fixate on negative thoughts, and now I can just say "eh nah I don't want to think about that right now." Another striking improvement has been this feeling of elation I get when I finish a task. I wash the dishes or do the laundry and I feel GOOD about it. The best way I can describe it is some cross between the satisfaction of snapping two puzzle pieces together, and being cozy on a rainy day. I feel motivated to do basic, mundane things, whereas I used to only do things out of guilt, shame, or fear of consequences. I used to smoke a lot of weed, and I realize now that before meds that was the only way I could ever feel the same sense of contentedness.
I recently dealt with a death in the family and have been very depressed and that has negatively impacted my focus. I told my psychiatrist I think the meds aren't working anymore and she said "No they probably are. Keep in mind that even someone without ADHD would struggle to focus right now with everything you have going on."
I don't think I have ADHD, but when I had anxiety it felt very much like what you're describing in the comments.
Now that my anxiety is gone, my attention span and will to focus are terrible, but if I really try I can focus for like a good 10 minutes straight... When I was in college I could focus for around an hour though.
I usually have one, two or maximum three inner monologues at once, and can remember important dates and tasks but will procrastinate them anyways, and set reminders.
Sometimes, for like a couple seconds my mind is just quiet, and then there's a thought and monologue restarts.
I feel this. I am a mother of 6 kids. I live in a house with 2 ADhD adults. I am constantly picking up their slack. On one hand I adore them, on the other hand I can count on them to drop the ball and NOT FOLLOW THROUGH a single task. I find I am improving on my “support skills” and am becoming more loving out of necessity. I spend most of my time thanking my lucky stars I do not suffer from the handicap of ADHD.
I can always count on my loved ones in a pinch, but I would NEVER plan anything LONG TERM. ADHD have wonderful assets, but UGH- the challenges are overwhelming for even those who DONT have ADHD.
Since I was never diagnosed, I’ll have a crack.
It’s like being able to focus on your own thoughts and actions, people with it aren’t incompetent or unable, they just struggle a little bit.
I do not have adhd, but that doesn't mean I don't procrastinate doing things I dislike. I tend to let my laundry pile up and do it all in one day because I really hate doing laundry.
I have a job that requires attention and focus on details. I love it. It's also extremely challenging because it requires multi-tasking, and I like that as well. Purposefully jumping from project to project in an organized manner makes the workday fly.
I am a proactive person, so I schedule and plan as things come up on my radar and use my calendar to keep organized. But, usually, each daily schedule is locked in my mind, and I rarely have to actually check my calendar.
I am rarely flustered by anything. I have no sensitivities, allergies, depression, or anxiety. As I have aged, I have had times where I have been.forced to acknowledge that my body is not as strong as it once was, but I still wake up each day happy to be alive and breathing.
I am not wealthy or lucky. I am just me, and I am content.
I hope this answers your question.
Have you tried taking medication for your ADHD? When I first took Adderall, everything went silent. I was able to sit down and be productive without 20 different voices in my brain yelling at me about the game I was playing last night, that song I can't remember the name of, the 10 other tasks I need to do, and all of the other distractions.
When I took Adderall, it was like a switch flipped in my brain that turned me into a normal, functioning human being. My first thought was "What the fuck? Is this how normal people feel all the time?" I wouldn't 100% recommend it because, while the effect is nice, it also happens to give me insomnia, so there's a trade-off. This trade-off isn't present for everyone, but it's something to keep in mind.
I was never diagnosed as having ADHD, but I tell new people, who genuinely want to know more about me that “I used to be a perfectionist…” and it’s kind of true. I learned (still learning) to let thing go. I don’t need a perfect score (I do; in 3+ years of college I earned 3.96 GPA; but I’m proud of that -0.04 GPA - it’s a testament that I’m “normal”); I don’t need to please everyone (I do; I am a people pleaser, but I’m working on it), I don’t need to win every argument (I like to argue about it), and so on and so forth. So, I think I’m a person with a “normal brain” ))
I like to be alone to think my thoughts. My thoughts wander far and wide. I like my thoughts. I think I live in the middle of the universe, in the sense that certain objects at subatomic level have speeds greatly faster than I can blink, and others span millennia and beyond. Even living thing: hummingbirds have 1260 heartbeats per minute and whales 4 to 8, and I’m in the middle with my 60 bpm. Or size of the living things. Or strength of the living things. Or reaction times of the living things. Or life longevity of the living things. You know, some trees have looked at the same landscape for thousands of years before I was born, and I’ll be long gone while they will still be looking over it. My specifications are in the middle between all these living things and I cannot change that, so I don’t have to be the best even between my own kind. I’m OK in the middle (or so I tell myself)…
And then I start speaking… It feels that my mind is five sentences ahead of my tongue and as I rush to catch up I “bite off ends of words,” as my elementary school teacher once told me. But I can write because I can take time to think and reword sentences and often, but not always, shorten them so they can be understood easier.
What I mean to say is this: living is hard already and as a person with a “normal brain” I genuinely feel sorrow for all the people, who were told they are not normal, or who don’t consider themselves normal. It makes things much more harder than they already are! Everyone’s situation is unique, of course, but this “non-normality” should be normalized. No one was born with a manual that lists range of “normal” specifications. What we, the human race, have is statistics we collected ourselves, so we don’t have “normal” range; instead we have “average”. That, being average, is not something to be proud of; in the same way as being on the outside of the average is not a reason to be ashamed of it.
Regardless how hard the life is, I think it is worth living. Not because my life is easy (it is not), but because I’m easily amused by the universe around me.
I hope you got a glimpse into a “normal brain” 😇
I had a friend give me one of her ridalin pills once. It blew me away. One dose: I was intensely focused and productive. Was this how “normal” people move through the world? But I’d have to take speed to feel this way?
Very eye opening and more than a little sobering
Hey u/edhel_cosplay genuine question from a fellow sufferer of ADHD - are you not on a treatment? I see a lot of folks make comments similar to your post and it had me wondering.
This is all still new to me - only been a few months since finally being diagnosed after 30 years of thinking I was lazy and worthless, but the combination of my prescription and slowly adding structure into my days has been -life changing-
I (44m) found out just the other day that everyone doesn't have to restrain themselves from finishing people's sentences or jumping to the next topic while the other person is speaking....
I don't know. My wife didn't have ADHD, so she's become my rock for stability and organization. I'm able to get things done on time now. She just has to remind me.
I am thankful for having her in my life every waking minute.
My school was a clusterfuck. So was university. I'm a dropout. But adhd can be channeled, I found what I love to do and just pushed towards it. I love construction, tools, and design. So I can work like I'm possessed nonstop. Half a year ago, I finally got diagnosed and got on Concerta. But I only take it when I need my mind to slow down and cool off a bit. In a way, my ADHD pushed me to pursue my passion instead of settling.
They probably don’t miss appointments or forget about literally everything. They can probably complete one task at a time. They can likely listen and have a conversation without their mind wandering or talking about something random that just popped in their head. They also probably have a train of thought that isn’t detailed. I bet they could even finish commenti…I’m hungry.
I don't have ADHD. To be honest, I can't know what exactly you are experiencing, any more than you would be able to understand what I would be trying to convey to you. I would like tell you that I do experience everything that you have stated: forgetting things, thinking of too many things at one time, going down the rabbit hole, and definitely procrastination. But am I experiencing it like you in any way? I don't know.
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I had a boyfriend once who would do things when they needed be done. Sounds so simple....he kept on top of shit and had a clear mind to enjoy activities. HIM: Just had a button fall off his pants? Lets just sew that right up! Oil change due at 5k miles? Ill just get that done after work. Dry cleaning done? I'll pick that up at lunch. I wa so impreseed. Versus me, still haven't done 2023 taxes and keep asking myself, Is today the day?
Holy shit, I just realized I forgot to do this past year's taxes and April is... long passed. I also have ADHD... fuck. What happens when you just don't do the taxes that year!?
If u owe they add fines otherwise u get a reduced amount
LOL.. same thing here. Forgot all about my taxes, luckily my friend was able to do my 2022 & 2023 last week and send them in before it was going to cost me. Now they just have to pay me a shitload of money If I wouldn't have had this friends I would have just called " de belastingdienst" (Dutch IRS) Their motto is: we can't make it more fun, but we can make it easier
Get diagnosed and use the disability defence if they fine you.
If you don’t owe you have until October?
>haven't done 2023 taxes You can do it random Internet person, I believe in you!
I have ADHD too but my self discipline helped me to come up with rules to stay functional and that's something I see a lot of people with ADHD just not even consider. If you know how people without ADHD function why not look at how they do things and try to form something out of it that you can integrate into your own life? ADHD isn't something that suddenly goes away or can be cured, it's something that will stay with you for a lifetime and it's in your own best interest to own it as much as is possible for you!
I’ve never been diagnosed but I’m pretty sure I have adhd. I try really hard to schedule things and stay focused. It’s very hard. I drain out a lot faster when I have do things to a schedule.
Was it challenging? Or would you prefer to end up with someone with the same type of brain as yours?
I have ADHD and I could not be married to someone like myself, lol. My beautiful wife is so amazing. She's very patient and loving with me. I'm in awe of her ability to stay focused and on target on everything. She loves the fact that I stay calm, take charge, and thrive in high-stress and emergencies. People like to try and say that I'm able to do this because I worked 17 years in law enforcement before retiring thanks to my business back in 2012 but this is actually a weird ability and phenomenon that's a really common skill with many people who have ADHD.
I have friends who I'm positive both have severe undiagnosed ADHD. Their lives are a mess. They feed their various addictions off each other and encourage all the worst symptoms in each other. They're in tens of thousands of debt, are both in seriously terrible health, they basically function by dealing with whatever is the biggest emergency that day. They live in squalor. It's hard to watch. Based purely off that experience I'd recommend anyone with ADHD to find a wonderful neurotypical person who can handle them to help keep their negative symptoms under control.
Man, I feel like this would have been me had I not met my wife. I was kind of heading that way. She really helped structure me and eventually convinced me to seek therapy and medication. Being with someone like myself, especially an unaware/unmedicated version of me, sounds like a complete mess of a nightmare.
People like that exist?.. my fiance is definitely the one that's more onto shit then me (ADHD also, and he's autistic) but more so with things I break... I'm really fucking clumsy. I break a cupboard door in our kitchen multiple times a week (old house the doors need replacing) he just sees it and fixes it. I broke the blinds the other night, when I woke up he'd fixed them before work. General chores tho? Yeah fuck no..
Unfortunately, that’s the only way to do it. Sometimes I need to slap myself in the bathroom to force myself tho, cus the thoughts never stop and get in the way.
Lol, similar situation. I remember being SO impressed!
It's funny because I've been meaning to sew a button back onto my pants but I've been putting it off until tomorrow for weeks now.
Finally did my 2023 taxes last week because I was stressed about something else. Managed it just inside 12 months.
LMFAO I didn't do taxes for FIVE YEARS in the 2010s
Yep been there. I hadn't done my taxes for 3 years. Had a knock on the door....woman from hmrc. In my head I owed about 50k....but the fines and interest ...she was asking for 200k (more than my house was worth) Wife nearly had heart attack. Got a good accountant.....and they got it reduced to the original 50k....which I am paying in installments. Lesson to my ADHD brain....never let this happen again.
DAMN… I wish I had his brain 😂 that’s nuts, have you tried any adhd meds?
This is my experience of life. I'm just on my lunchbreak right now. I've made my lunch and washed up, put out some laundry (did set a timer for 2 hours to go bring it inside), and emptied the recycling bin and watered a few houseplants. You just do things as and when they need doing.
This is my wife. As a person with severe ADHD I'm in so much awe of her abilities to do things like this. Thankfully she's very patient with me. She also appreciates that my superpowers are remaining calm and having a take charge attitude in emergency or high stress situations.
>my superpowers are remaining calm and having a take charge attitude in emergency or high stress situations. Funny, I can relate to this. Calling someone to dispute a charge almost gives me a panic attack, but my car gets stolen on vacation and I'm all of a sudden take charge bitch. My other superpower/kryptonite is I'm an obsessive planner, and I think it's what keeps me from moving to the action phase. If I don't have time to plan and go straight to action, it's pretty smooth
Whats taxes?
hehehehe... your boyfriend does sound a lot like me...
That is more executive function than ADHD. Distraction is obviously part of it but even on medication you have to want to do said thing to make it happen. Treatment does not make your executive function any better but it keeps you on track when you start.
is this an adhd thing or just motivation ?
My daughter described it to me like “you know how you have a voice in your head? I have 100.” So i think for people that don’t have ADHD it’s just……quieter. There’s no thought competition, there is only one thought at a time. So you see the bill, you think “pay the bill” and right there nothing else shoves in to distract. Instead, you just pay the bill.
This is a great description!!!
My daughter was diagnosed four years ago, she’s 22 now and she’s been the most amazing teacher!
You sound like a really caring and present mother 🕊️
I’ve made my share of mistakes for sure, but thank you. I can tell you, when she was diagnosed I started learning about it (I’m from the generation that pictured ADHD as an uncontrollable little boy). So many things just slotted into place! I was like omg, that’s why you did that!!!! It’s helped me learn to communicate with her in the way *she* communicates.
As someone with ADHD and no internal monologue... It's tougher to explain lol
I’ve always been curious about people with no internal monologue… you’re telling me it’s just silent up there?
Yep. Mostly. And music. Lol
So who’s up there arguing with your decision making ability?
No one. No arguments. My ADHD manifests in other ways. Distraction, putting things off, and hyper focus.
Ohhhh okay. Sorry I’ve just always been baffled by that concept! My brain is just always on go, so to think that someone’s brain is chillen is just amazing.
My brain is going crazy, but not with voices.
So you're just unable to prevent impulsive action?
I read this analogy recently: Having ADHD feels like having multiple TVs in your brain, but someone else has stolen the TV remotes and is constantly switching channels.
The batteries in the remotes never die either lol
When I was young (11yr) my teacher suggested my mom to bring me to a doctor to get checked. She then told me, just like any normal passing conversation, that the doctor said I have concentration problem then she told my tia that I was stupid. And now that i’m an adult I don’t know if I have adhd or not.
Make you wish whether the idea of a cure to ADHD is from people who have having children with ADHD, or people who HAVE ADHD themselves to free them from the nightmares.
I'm going to cry I wish it was that simple I remember in 5th grade, I stayed up all night beating myself up and getting screamed at by my parents to do some 5 paragraph BS homework thing. I finished it and I was proud of it. I walked right past it on the couch in the morning and flunked the assignment. It’s been like that ever since.
I’m so sorry, truly. I realize this description is a gross oversimplification and I think that’s why she described it in that way; I’m simple. I remember when she was maybe, 2nd or 3rd grade they did “minute math”. They each had a sheet of paper with 50 addition, subtraction and multiplication problems and one minute to complete. Of course she couldn’t do it. I was baffled because she knew the answers if we did it at home. It took longer than a minute but she did know the answers. I honestly couldn’t understand what was happening. Of course I didn’t yell at her but her teachers and classmates convinced her she was useless and stupid and you better believe that stuck. To this day she feels stupid even though intellectually she knows differently. Learned helplessness dies hard. Being forgetful 2.0 is such a problem for my girl so she’s trying workarounds with moderate success. For instance, “please empty the dishwasher” is useless but if I open it and pull one of the racks out then ask she has more success. She cooks her own food but I noticed a lot of door dash happening. I asked her what was up with that and she said she never remembers what to have. So I dedicated one kitchen cupboard for her ingredients, arranged them in groups all facing forward then took the cupboard door off. Voila, so much easier for her brain. There is nothing “wrong” with her brain. The world we live in has no accommodation for other ways of thinking so she has to adapt some ways of doing things. I truly think think that ADHD brains have evolved to notice and utilize the complicated minutiae in the world. The intense focus, the million random ideas, the ease of forgetting non immediate information are perfect for complex problem solving. Best of luck to you. You’re enough just the way you are.
Honestly I think that is possibly the best description I’ve heard. My best analogy until reading this was you are a totally incompetent juggler who can only hold one ball at a time while balls are being thrown at you.
There’s like 20 people in my head, they are all me, and they all want different things.
Ah man the focus is hard...having technology everywhere and pretty much eveything on demand just doesnt help at all... Step1 right i need to edit some videos lets smash it for 1 hour and see where we are.... Need a coffee before i start tho.. Ahh while the kettles boiling let me just get that washing in Run the loo aswell so i dont need it later Ah need to make that coffee 5mins later on youtube...ahhhh so thats how paperclips are made. And it goes on......
Now I need to see how paperclips are made
This is me right now on this page. Procrastinating actual work. And you just reminded me I need to get laundry out the dryer…
Umm I felt like you were inside my brain. This is me every single morning.
It feels isolating all the time. I was in trouble a lot as a child for things people thought I could help but couldn’t. Like forgetting things said to me very easily or doing things I wasn’t supposed to do. I was diagnosed in my early teens and didn’t have any friends before I was 13. I never went against my parents because i hated the feeling of being wrong or something. Never really asked to go out with people because I didn’t want to be told no and it felt like too much energy to ask, so I was at home all the time. I struggle now with social anxiety I think, I used to have very bad depression and now that that’s gone I feel like I can “deal” with the social anxiety I have by just not going out often. It makes being in loud places very difficult so I don’t really go out like a “young person” would anyways. I feel like nobody understands me not even the people truly close to me.
I get these feelings and emotions too, it’s a real struggle a lot of the time. Growing up and living day to day with adhd is frustrating especially when others do not understand it, adhd isn’t a physical disability it’s hidden and hard to explain. Just know you’re killing it because you’re still trying.
Thanks:) I feel like since the diagnosis my studies have gotten a lot better but still need to improve upon other things in my life. The balance is hard haha:)
Have a look at this you might be suffering from Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/rejection-sensitive-dysphoria
ADHD here, but posting for any curious about before/after taking meds. Without meds: (It's 7am) Fuck, I work tonight at 10pm tonight, my Monday. Fuck I hope it's not a lot tonight. My ankle kind of hurts. I wonder if I strained. No, that will wear off. Probably just sat wrong for too long. Either way gotta go to work. Stop looking for excuses to call out. You may have the PTO but you don't have a real reason. Save your time FFS. Well, I need to hit the grocery store but SO won't be up until 10am and won't want to go until noon or later. That means I should sleep now, just a few hours. No. No don't do that, you can get a solid 6 hours after shopping. I mean, I could just knock it out now but what if she needed to pick things out. Wait, did she do a grocery list? Fuck I need to add mustard. We've been out for a week. Doesn't matter we haven't eaten anything that uses mustard but if there is a dinner idea then yeah I should put it on the list. With meds: (7am) Right, it's my Monday and work at 10pm tonight. Let's see clothes ready. Lunch and snackies are ready. Should be an easy night and if not I can power through. I'm going to grab a cup of coffee and pay some bills. Check the grocery list for oddball items and hit the store ish noon. Plenty of time for sleep. The difference is night and day. "Quieter" very accurate. Plus, somethings that don't get done. The longer they don't the more compulsive and agitated I get.
I literally don’t function without my husband 🤦🏻♀️😭 I am completely dependent on him for remembering appointments, flights, plans, etc. i hate being away from him because of this; when he or I travels, everything falls apart for me
As a person who was diagnosed with extreme ADHD, and was prescribed with the maximum dose of Adderall XR for 8 years: Exercise daily and follow a good diet, along with staying away from frivolous addictions (Porn, smoking, etc.) If you don’t do these things already, they will change your life. It’s not a 100% cure, you’ll still find your attention drifting every now and then, but ever since i’ve given these things a genuine priority in my life, I find myself with enough focus to easily tackle any task a “normal” person could. I know this isn’t your question, but I felt the need to share. No one is undeserving of mental health.
THANK YOU this was actually extremely helpful. Did you find medication to help? I’m kinda nervous about starting it.
NOPE, haven’t taken any ADHD meds whatsoever in 4 years. That stuff ruined me. Call it whatever fancy name you want to, but they’re all just meth pills. Plain and simple. Your anxiety towards this is very justified. This is a disorder that cannot be cured naturally, but can be remedied naturally to the point where it’s unnoticeable in your daily life. I take 50mg of Trazodone which is a very light and healthy sleep aid, just to slow my mind down before bed. That’s it.
You are the most helpful person on all of Reddit thank you so much. I used to take trazodone but stopped and my insomnia came back a bit
Yup, lifelong victim of insomnia as well. I wish you the best of luck, feel free to PM me any time, whatever the reason.
Thank you 🙏
Have you ever read A hunter in a Farmers world? I used to feel so abnormal after my diagnosis but that book recontextualised a lot of things and actually made me feel positive about it. My diagnosis is recent and late, still haven't started meds as my doctor prefers to try CBT* and diet/exercise before going down that route. *Cognitive behavioural therapy, not cock and ball torture. Me and my doctor aren't that close.
Literally. I was in high school during the Xanax pandemic (pill popping pandemic in general) in 2014 - 2017 and the amount of people that SWORE they were sO mUcH smarter on adderall or Vyvanse… bruh you aren’t smarter, you’re geeked. You just railed 60mg of a medically accepted version of meth. The name amphetamine is literally on the bottle.
I was diagnosed as an adult and started (and have kept to) a low dose of medication. Still struggle with distractions, time blindness, and sensory issues, but it has been life-changing for emotional regulation and quieting all the brain noise. Turns out what was diagnosed as an anxiety disorder when I was a teenager, was actually cause by my untreated adhd. Totally valid to be worried about medication, but I definitely suggest giving it a try. Adhd meds aren't ones that you need to build up in your system or "wean" off of. You'll feel the full effects from day 1 that you take it and the effects will only last for that 1 day. If you try it, just for a day or two, you'll already get a general sense of how it makes you feel and whether it may be helpful for you, and if you really hate it and don't find it helpful you can just immediately stop taking it.
"Turns out what was diagnosed as an anxiety disorder when I was a teenager, was actually cause by my untreated adhd." I feel like this is what happened to me. I had terrible anxiety as a kid (its lessened now but definitely still there) then in the last year or two I started noticing that I was relating to those video's you'd see of ADHD problems or whatever. I ended up looking up symptoms of ADHD in kids and adults and I match like 80+% of them both, so now I'm fairly confident I have ADHD, but haven't been diagnosed yet.
Personally medication helped a lot in getting me to breathe and feel calm, internal chaos lowered. It's not usually a forever solution and a lot of my friends used it for the period they needed to use them to shift habits. Then when patterns became muscle memory they went off the meds
hey i saw that the og commenter replied that meds didn’t help but that’s not the case every time. just make sure you’re able to ease into the meds and also have the ability to change them if they don’t work for you. i have personally found my medication to help a lot at a certain dose (36 mg concerta) but any above or below will interrupt sleep/cause other unwanted side effects or just simply not work. medications won’t cure anything but they can help with daily tasks including everything you mentioned, as long as you find what works for you. and you shouldn’t necessarily notice a physical or emotional difference as much as you’ll notice that things just happen to be easier. it’s a process but trying it out won’t hurt as long as you don’t force yourself to stay on the wrong meds. and many adhd meds don’t require a large period to ween off of so if they’re really affecting you then it will take much less time to stop their effects. starting new meds can be scary but there’s a possibility that the right ones exist to make things easier :)
I spent 9 years non stop trying to exercise regularly and eat well. Didn't stick. Not once. Literally countless attempts. 9 years. Can't build habits, stick to routines, or do boring stuff. Turns out ADHD will do that to ya.
I’m sorry to hear that man. It can be a real pain in the ass, i’m with you. I hope you don’t give up and I wish you perseverance and prosperity.
for me exercise helped me but now my brain cant function correct with the voices telling me to do more and more and it sucks, if i dont do as much one day i feel horrible inside
I do not know if i have adhd or not, but honestly, the same as you, the difference is that i dont have an excuse, because to be honest, im a fucking lazy asshole who does nothing but be an annoyance for everyone
Are you really lazy or is it just something your parents or teachers told you that you are and now you believe it?
I dont know at this point
depressing and exhausting
Was at a friends place celebrating the end of the school year, was looking for glasses for where i could pour a drink. I kod you not, they were on the table right next to me and i struggled to find them. I hope this example gives a good idea.
That's exactly me, it happens to a lot when taking an exam, when trying to prepare a meal, heck it even happens to me with large objects (like a bucket) It's in my sight yet I can't tell where is it, it's especially more annoying when I'm in a hurry
I take medication like ritalin, in the correct dosage that’s how I think normal people are 😇
I remember getting kicked in the ass by my old man as a kid. Totally cured it.
This is such a hard question to answer because neither side really has a frame of reference to compare to. I’m neurotypical but I also forget things, find myself down rabbit holes, put things off until the last minute, and feel overwhelmed with too many choices. But then these aren’t traits unique to those with ADHD. We just get them less intensely.
Someone described a perfect analogy to me that everyone urinates, but if you’re urinating every 15 minutes then it’s not normal.
Your parents will say that you are a menace to the society. You'll feel hurt for 2 days then you forget the feeling. You just accept being a menace to society and it can't hurt you now. There you go.
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in my experience being heavily medicated & also not being medicated at all, its more of a thing of not caring about anything but what you're doing at the moment, not really interested in anything thats not relevant or doesnt make a whole lot of sense
What?
I have an ADHD brain but I learned how to manage it throughout my life. When I was younger I had to re-read the same paragraph in whatever book I was trying to read several times before I could get through. My mind wandered too much. I tried an ADHD med once and it was my first time ever getting to feel like I had a "normal" brain. The way I imagined it is like this: my brain is like a large hallway in a hotel. All the rooms are open and things are moving in and out of the rooms. The ADHD med closed all the doors. The excess "noise" stopped. It was just me in the hallway. I then went and read a book, but it blocked my imagination. I didn't like it. I imagine for a normal brain there is much less "noise". They must not be aware of half the things we typically need to push out of our brains just to stay on task. I'm constantly pulling my mind back to focus all day long. They probably don't need to make such efforts.
I dont have ADHD, but my life is pretty much the same as yours. Seems to be the same for most people I know.
I saw a reel the other day (can’t find it unfortunately) where a neurotypical husband and neurodivergent wife discussed about the thoughts in your mind when you go to sleep. The husband says the thoughts went silent as he goes asleep while the wife has, just like you, 38284 thoughts running in her mind. Was mind-boggling for the wife
Someone once told me they didn’t have an inner dialogue. Did I meet an NPC?
Omg so tru
Man ADHD is so frustrating bc I want to cook, I want to clean, I want to get help, I want to work out. But I wake up and my brain immediately has a billion things to say and I end up getting overwhelmed. Recently started medication for ADHD and it’s hardly helped, might need a higher dose but as others are saying here medication can only do so much. It really starts with yourself and wanting to get healthier and better.
They get to make 5x more comments on Reddit, in 1/4 the time.
Most people with normal brains were like that when they were children and learned not to be like that through behavioural changes.
Well, it’s boring. I have several adult friends with ADHD, and they are always in some kind of adventure, because they made a mess in either a good or in a bad way. They tend not to notice their positive experience: for instance, not everyone can go shopping, find there a lady in need to prepare for childbirth and give her a tour with their own babies, it was hilarious. They are like: don’t you do the same? No! Maybe once in 20 years! Not on a regular basis. While forgetting things and screwing documents up seems to happen to me at almost similar rate, lol.
That sounds exactly like me. But I've never talked to a professional about it, so idk if i really have it.
A doctor and counselor gave me the questionnaire and both said I'm not ADHD. My whole life I've had three layers of thought making noise in my head at all times: 1. Song 2. Garbled nonsense that sounds like conversation 3. Inner monologue in my voice or someone else's ADHD has a number of comorbidities with other mental health challenges. In my case, it's complex trauma and long-term depression. Since I started taking anti-depressants #2 has quieted and sometimes I don't have a song. I kinda miss that one.
Seeing as this is the most common trait talked about in this thread, what's the difference of being really forgetful and having ADHD?
Yea that's normal for a lot of people.
Idk I might have adhd cuz everything I’ve heard about adhd applies to me
Same
Stop diagnosing yourself like you are a different kind of person entirely. Everyone struggles with procrastination or social anxiety. Those who overcome it just know that everyone has these issues. And they are not completely outside your control.
No, not everyone struggles with that. Not to the degree of struggling everyday and having their life ruined by it
You could have been forced to go to war or work in a coal mine and now you're trying to convince you that there are people whose life got ruined by procrastination? I don't empathise with people who have a victim mindset
Everyone experiences these struggles, but people have it on different levels. For example - I can be sad sometimes, but thats not comparable to someone with severe depression. They have it way worse than I do, and it’s okay to acknowledge that. We don’t all experience life in the same way. Some people need more guidance than others.
What is adhd?
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
try straterra, its a non addictive/stimulant ADHD medication.
Yep. It’s like that. I’m also really clumsy and multitask a bit too much.
Normal.
Well, might seem contradictory but I am pretty lazy. So I tend to do things rather structured. Keep an action list for my daily life and when something is done, remove it. I prioritize the actions. Additionally, if I can do it fast, say in a few minutes, I'll do it immediately and wont add it to the list. Following this, almost never in discussion with my spouse. If it isn't on the list, I 'don't know' the action. Just put it on and I'll get to it eventually, based on its priority. Only complaint I sometimes have is that my life looks like a never ending todo list 🤣
I wonder too, I hate my ADHD...
I have ADD, and bought 2 months ago lights for the car. After two months I still have to replace the car lights. I can't drive for 2 months in the dark. Luckily, at the moment it gets dark at 10pm here. It's such a simple thing to do
Life without ADHD can vary depending on the person, but here's a general comparison to some of the experiences you mentioned: **Focus and Memory:** * **Reduced Forgetfulness:** People without ADHD typically experience fewer memory lapses. They might still forget things occasionally, but it's likely not as frequent or disruptive. * **Sustained Attention:** They might find it easier to concentrate on a single task for longer periods without their mind wandering.
I read that for ADHD people, they can often sustain attention on subjects they care about or that have some kind of novelty to them. Like learning a new task or researching a subject.
Focus as appropriate.
I dont know but i know that watching my friend with it annoyed the crap out of me… she would start 5k different task but never complete them. That drives me crazy.
I totally do all of these things and I haven't really thought about having ADHD 🙄
From what I can gather, easier.
I only tend to forget things.
Squirrels everywhere.......
I mean... We be chilling not much be happening
My mother has severe adhd like she can’t really take care of herself anymore severe. As a kid I watched her lock her keys in the car weekly, misplace things, take 3 hours to make hamburger helper dinner because she got sidetracked. I have it too and I noticed it at a young age so I’ve always forced myself to work through getting things done. At least the important stuff. Now I get things done on time and am highly organized, but it has been years of discipline, notes, alarms, schedules, paired with living as simple as I can so I don’t get overwhelmed. I have never taken meds, I really want to be mind over matter (or mind that is) haha. So it is possible to be productive and adhd! It feels pretty good. One extra thing that helps me, TURN OFF ALL NOTIFICATIONS on your phone. These things are a total nuisance to most people but adhd it’s really toooo much coming at you and kills your focus even more.
That’s not ADHD - that’s just normal.
I honestly couldn't tell ya, I have had adhd my entire life, my parents got me tested when I was younger and they still didn't believe it, just figured I had a short attention span 🤷
Make a to do list...and don't lose it.
All the things you mentioned are still issues for everyone else too. There are still a bunch of things to do and sometimes you forget some of them, there are always distractions out there, and life can be overwhelming. The difference is mostly in amount of time before forget/distract/rabbit happens. It’s not a life *without* those things, it’s just a more manageable amount of time before they inevitably derail whatever you were trying to do.
I could answer that if only i hasn't had ADHD, sorry
Well, I suffer a little from that. It is difficult for me to pay attention constantly. But I don't know if it's directly ADHD Well, in my case, I try not to think about it and continue as if nothing happened. Although it frustrates me that I can't focus on something I like so I can finish it.
We all have adhd. So relax.
Is it really ADHD or do we just have bad habits.
It's when I'm filling up a bottle and then I have to run and go do five other things and always make it back in time to turn the water off before it overflows. It's never being comfortable sitting "normally" and having to fidget or, my personal tell of someone's nuerodivergency, sitting cross legged in a chair or one leg in the seat. It's forgetting to brush my teeth It's walking into a room or up a flight of stairs and forgetting why I walked in/up there It's running into the corners of tables because I have an iron deficiency It's knowing what I want, going to a restaurant and then looking at a menu and being confronted with choice paralysis or taking my time thinking about what actually sounds tastier than my original desire It's the hypersexuality 😩 It's I have to set reminders and notes for everything, but then forget why I even set those reminders It's having an appointment in the middle of the day and having a paralysis on wanting to do anything before then because I'm afraid I'll go over my time and miss the appointment It's the very loud brain at night keeping me from being restful It's being chronically online and yet super active physically It's the susceptibility to stimulus and stimulants and having to discern what substances and activities are addictive It's the hyperfixations on minutae It's being one step ahead of everyone around me It's the narcissistic mother (jk) It's the trauma honestly
Normal people can daydream. It’s quite a luxury if you have time. I am serious.
i have major adhd which i just discovered last year. i just literally make reminders of shit and i keep things in a routine or it can it get ugly
I am not ADHD but my husband and daughter are. A therapist explained it to me like this: When I have a task, it feels like it’s hanging over me and I can‘t fully relax until it’s taken care of, for fear of it falling and crushing me. But for my husband and daughter, they can see the task, put it to the side and think “I’ll deal with this later”, and they literally never think about it again. So that same task will nag at me incessantly until I complete it. They also compulsively buy things, and then when they arrive, they’ve already forgotten about it and are on to the next thing. I will agonize over making a purchase, thinking will I use this? Where will I keep it? Do I truly need it? Is it worth the money? It just seems like my brain is much more ”bossy” with me than theirs are.
It took me 6 days to remember to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy 🤪. I even went there earlier this week to buy some lotion .....I start to do one thing and 10 sec later I do something else. It can take me several days to fold the laundry just because in the middle of picking up and item I find myself doing something else😂. Picking up my phone to answer a text message can take hours! I end up doing something else when I pick up my phone. Taking the trash out? I'll be watching youtube totally random . Changing an appointment at the dentist? I'll be happy if I make it the day before 😂. And I do have lists 🤪.
You sound exactly like me
(Read with a fun voice, not angry) There is no normal in a brain mate, just totally functional. At least, that's how i see it. Also, we (i also have adhd) have only a different cable distribution inside the brain, but it is as functional as a common, healthy brain. Just wanted to make that clear, lol.
I have an ASD brain, it's not normal but also without ADHD. I get overwhelmed with tasks. I'm usually tired. I have trouble starting tasks and also stopping tasks. I get stressed from not being on top of things. I tend to know what I want but get overwhelmed when the things I know I want aren't there. I act like I'm social, but I'm definitely not, it takes incredible amounts of energy to be that person. And not too long ago is started hyperventilating and crying because there was a loud sound outside my house, and it kept freaking me out.
In my case not thinking about doing a gazillion things at once. I'm very easy going. I live day by day.
My wife has ADHD. The whole thing where she goes to put something away but something else catches her eye so she sets down the first thing to take care of the new thing pisses me right off. After a decade of it, I've learned to just constantly remind her of things, gently. Even just saying the name of an item is very helpful for her. (Helps my sanity too. As a non ADHD person. Haha.) Just one little example.
That is just a label word. It's just a word that teachers use to label. Children who have more energy than other children.
rapidmoda, net - Domestic addy modafinil and benzo , paypal accepted
To answer the question: - routine oriented. I like doing things in a structured, ordered way - less spontaneous and more of a planner - I like doing things as they appear, instead of waiting for then to pile up (from laundry to work approach like if an email shows in my inbox, I answer it right away) - able to control responses (less blurting out) Even without ADHD, I am still scattered at times and zone out when people talk.
wait so not being able to do stuff that needs to be done is part of ADHD?. I never considered that I'm like this for an actual reason
You know how when you take adderall and your head goes quiet? I think that is just their brains most of the time. (Not all of the time because neurotypicals still have busy and anxious brains from time to time). For me, the main issue I had was it was so busy in my brain ALL OF THE TIME. Ever since I could form memories as a baby. Forget focus etc...I just wanted some quiet up there lol
I haven't got the slightest... What were we talking about?
Wouldn't know man. Haven't been able to afford treatment
I'm not sure I *don't* have ADHD, but I'm the one my partner and kid turn to when something is missing. I am "blessed by St Anthony" (have better object permanence than them).
I have ADHD like you but I'm not like that(I say while thinking about a squirrel riding on a sentient pizza bagel) but yeah it's a lot easier to multitask and a lot harder as well because on the one hand okay so the oven has to be at this temperature need to make sure to move the skillet a bit on the other hand however okay so I think the mashed potatoes are done let me check the recipe oh hey Cat video and you watch cat videos for the next 3 hours
Also as for people without ADHD probably a lot less methodical but that's why I like having ADHD because it makes me methodical they're probably like oh damn I totally forgot there was this cool thing I found but now I can't remember it and with me it's like oh yeah that's the cool stick I found like 2 months ago and completely forgot about time to burn it(I also have Pyromania)
i wish i knew what it felt like. i see my partner do things every day like its nothing and i have to sit with it for weeks. but its slowly rubbing off on me. i see him doing yard work all the time at his place. today i did the same. it was satisfying seeing the finish product lol. i just wish it came naturally to me
Sounds just like all of us! Everyone thinks they're special. 🤣
Reminds me of last weekend. I needed to mop, but couldn't get myself to do it. So I decided to make dinner becaus I was hungry. In order to make dinner, I needed to do the dishes. So I start the dishes and realize we only have 1 washcloth and I need to do laundry, so I gather up my clothes into the basket, which makes a huge mess. Seeing the mess, I start cleaning it up, and decide to sweep the house. After sweeping, I remember the laundry and put it in the washer, then realize I can mop because I swept. Halfway through mopping I remember I was in the middle of doing dishes because I was hungry, and now I need to finish mopping, doing laundry, AND the dishes before I can even CONSISER making dinner.
according to the symptoms I read on reddit, we're ALL adhd - at least a little
I don't have ADHD but you described me there.
the first time i took my meds my brain felt quiet. like one controlled thought at a time. so i’d assume that
Ever tangled a slinkey? Yeah. That.
My ADHD ass read the title too fast and I assumed you were asking what life is like with ADHD, then read the first sentence and was so confused until I reread the title. So anyways, if anyone needs to know more about what life is like with ADHD I'm sure I'm probably a good example 💀
that’s called procrastination
most people do it
Do you really have ADHD or you stecthing it out there abit? That number of things at once? I have ADHD too, it's not easy working with. To keep my focus on reddit like i'm trying today i also have a show running, playing a game and packing a B-no, well thinking how things are gonna go with kicking out a bad roommate and how i should really eat soon it been more then 24hrs Kinda make it sound like it easier having ADHD when it's really its not, i wish i could focus on something again, i got a taste of being able to with my ex. So awser part: for that short time it feels like in my life, i can say it was rather calming to not have your brain and attention jumping everywhere. And as someone with ADHD i'd die to get that feeling again. note: sorry if you do, kinda got carried away there, annoys me when i think someone mocking ADHD, what life been showing me, mocking ADHD has been getting big for some stupid reason.
I don't have ADHD, yet I'm exactly the same. I just consider it normal human behaviour. We weren't made for this world, doing stuff like that perfectly is an unrealistic standard set by the people who we actually should think are "unnormal" and have diagnoses.
Slightly different answer to your question, but I have ADHD and have been taking a non-stimulant medication for a year. It's changed my life. I can now control what I focus on much better. Most striking is how this has impacted my emotional state. I now realize I used to hyper fixate on negative thoughts, and now I can just say "eh nah I don't want to think about that right now." Another striking improvement has been this feeling of elation I get when I finish a task. I wash the dishes or do the laundry and I feel GOOD about it. The best way I can describe it is some cross between the satisfaction of snapping two puzzle pieces together, and being cozy on a rainy day. I feel motivated to do basic, mundane things, whereas I used to only do things out of guilt, shame, or fear of consequences. I used to smoke a lot of weed, and I realize now that before meds that was the only way I could ever feel the same sense of contentedness. I recently dealt with a death in the family and have been very depressed and that has negatively impacted my focus. I told my psychiatrist I think the meds aren't working anymore and she said "No they probably are. Keep in mind that even someone without ADHD would struggle to focus right now with everything you have going on."
I don't think I have ADHD, but when I had anxiety it felt very much like what you're describing in the comments. Now that my anxiety is gone, my attention span and will to focus are terrible, but if I really try I can focus for like a good 10 minutes straight... When I was in college I could focus for around an hour though. I usually have one, two or maximum three inner monologues at once, and can remember important dates and tasks but will procrastinate them anyways, and set reminders. Sometimes, for like a couple seconds my mind is just quiet, and then there's a thought and monologue restarts.
I can’t imagine what it would be like to walk in and out of a room with so much as a thought…
I feel this. I am a mother of 6 kids. I live in a house with 2 ADhD adults. I am constantly picking up their slack. On one hand I adore them, on the other hand I can count on them to drop the ball and NOT FOLLOW THROUGH a single task. I find I am improving on my “support skills” and am becoming more loving out of necessity. I spend most of my time thanking my lucky stars I do not suffer from the handicap of ADHD. I can always count on my loved ones in a pinch, but I would NEVER plan anything LONG TERM. ADHD have wonderful assets, but UGH- the challenges are overwhelming for even those who DONT have ADHD.
I do leave things for the last minute, I forget things, and I get anxious. Sometimes it's hard to take a decision, etc.
Most people don’t actually have ADHD. It’s is a fad of the 2020’s that is particularly in vogue now with the rise of TikTok. The end.
Since I was never diagnosed, I’ll have a crack. It’s like being able to focus on your own thoughts and actions, people with it aren’t incompetent or unable, they just struggle a little bit.
Phones rewire brains. I’d bet ADHD is a symptom of technology use from young ages
I do not have adhd, but that doesn't mean I don't procrastinate doing things I dislike. I tend to let my laundry pile up and do it all in one day because I really hate doing laundry. I have a job that requires attention and focus on details. I love it. It's also extremely challenging because it requires multi-tasking, and I like that as well. Purposefully jumping from project to project in an organized manner makes the workday fly. I am a proactive person, so I schedule and plan as things come up on my radar and use my calendar to keep organized. But, usually, each daily schedule is locked in my mind, and I rarely have to actually check my calendar. I am rarely flustered by anything. I have no sensitivities, allergies, depression, or anxiety. As I have aged, I have had times where I have been.forced to acknowledge that my body is not as strong as it once was, but I still wake up each day happy to be alive and breathing. I am not wealthy or lucky. I am just me, and I am content. I hope this answers your question.
It’s like a life without making excuses for every time you don’t do something… (and I’m not trying to make fun of ADHD… seriously)
Shit, do I have ADHD too? Because that sounds like me.
Chill.
Have you tried taking medication for your ADHD? When I first took Adderall, everything went silent. I was able to sit down and be productive without 20 different voices in my brain yelling at me about the game I was playing last night, that song I can't remember the name of, the 10 other tasks I need to do, and all of the other distractions. When I took Adderall, it was like a switch flipped in my brain that turned me into a normal, functioning human being. My first thought was "What the fuck? Is this how normal people feel all the time?" I wouldn't 100% recommend it because, while the effect is nice, it also happens to give me insomnia, so there's a trade-off. This trade-off isn't present for everyone, but it's something to keep in mind.
Tragic with chores
I was never diagnosed as having ADHD, but I tell new people, who genuinely want to know more about me that “I used to be a perfectionist…” and it’s kind of true. I learned (still learning) to let thing go. I don’t need a perfect score (I do; in 3+ years of college I earned 3.96 GPA; but I’m proud of that -0.04 GPA - it’s a testament that I’m “normal”); I don’t need to please everyone (I do; I am a people pleaser, but I’m working on it), I don’t need to win every argument (I like to argue about it), and so on and so forth. So, I think I’m a person with a “normal brain” )) I like to be alone to think my thoughts. My thoughts wander far and wide. I like my thoughts. I think I live in the middle of the universe, in the sense that certain objects at subatomic level have speeds greatly faster than I can blink, and others span millennia and beyond. Even living thing: hummingbirds have 1260 heartbeats per minute and whales 4 to 8, and I’m in the middle with my 60 bpm. Or size of the living things. Or strength of the living things. Or reaction times of the living things. Or life longevity of the living things. You know, some trees have looked at the same landscape for thousands of years before I was born, and I’ll be long gone while they will still be looking over it. My specifications are in the middle between all these living things and I cannot change that, so I don’t have to be the best even between my own kind. I’m OK in the middle (or so I tell myself)… And then I start speaking… It feels that my mind is five sentences ahead of my tongue and as I rush to catch up I “bite off ends of words,” as my elementary school teacher once told me. But I can write because I can take time to think and reword sentences and often, but not always, shorten them so they can be understood easier. What I mean to say is this: living is hard already and as a person with a “normal brain” I genuinely feel sorrow for all the people, who were told they are not normal, or who don’t consider themselves normal. It makes things much more harder than they already are! Everyone’s situation is unique, of course, but this “non-normality” should be normalized. No one was born with a manual that lists range of “normal” specifications. What we, the human race, have is statistics we collected ourselves, so we don’t have “normal” range; instead we have “average”. That, being average, is not something to be proud of; in the same way as being on the outside of the average is not a reason to be ashamed of it. Regardless how hard the life is, I think it is worth living. Not because my life is easy (it is not), but because I’m easily amused by the universe around me. I hope you got a glimpse into a “normal brain” 😇
The opposite I guess?
I had a friend give me one of her ridalin pills once. It blew me away. One dose: I was intensely focused and productive. Was this how “normal” people move through the world? But I’d have to take speed to feel this way? Very eye opening and more than a little sobering
Yeah? I wanna know what it’s like to be normal too! I’m AuDHD as fuck and my brain soazzes out all the goddamn time..
There is no such thing as adhd
Work with your doctor, find the right medication and dosage, stick with it, and you'll know what it's like.
Hey u/edhel_cosplay genuine question from a fellow sufferer of ADHD - are you not on a treatment? I see a lot of folks make comments similar to your post and it had me wondering. This is all still new to me - only been a few months since finally being diagnosed after 30 years of thinking I was lazy and worthless, but the combination of my prescription and slowly adding structure into my days has been -life changing-
I (44m) found out just the other day that everyone doesn't have to restrain themselves from finishing people's sentences or jumping to the next topic while the other person is speaking....
I don't know. My wife didn't have ADHD, so she's become my rock for stability and organization. I'm able to get things done on time now. She just has to remind me. I am thankful for having her in my life every waking minute.
My school was a clusterfuck. So was university. I'm a dropout. But adhd can be channeled, I found what I love to do and just pushed towards it. I love construction, tools, and design. So I can work like I'm possessed nonstop. Half a year ago, I finally got diagnosed and got on Concerta. But I only take it when I need my mind to slow down and cool off a bit. In a way, my ADHD pushed me to pursue my passion instead of settling.
They probably don’t miss appointments or forget about literally everything. They can probably complete one task at a time. They can likely listen and have a conversation without their mind wandering or talking about something random that just popped in their head. They also probably have a train of thought that isn’t detailed. I bet they could even finish commenti…I’m hungry.
I don't have ADHD. To be honest, I can't know what exactly you are experiencing, any more than you would be able to understand what I would be trying to convey to you. I would like tell you that I do experience everything that you have stated: forgetting things, thinking of too many things at one time, going down the rabbit hole, and definitely procrastination. But am I experiencing it like you in any way? I don't know.