Woman Explains What It Actually Means To Have ADHD In Hopes Of Eliminating Misinterpretations
Symptoms of ADHD, according to the NHS, can be categorized into two types of behavioral problems: inattentiveness; and hyperactivity and impulsiveness. As mental health experts explain, most people with this disorder fall into both of these categories. However, it’s not the same for all. For instance, some people may struggle with inattentiveness while not having problems with impulsiveness or hyperactivity. This is what psychiatrists call a form of ADHD that is also known as attention deficit disorder (ADD). Sometimes, as the symptoms of ADD can be less obvious, this disorder can go unnoticed.
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One person on Twitter explained how complex attention deficit hyperactivity disorder really is
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Apparently, most of us without the disorder have a hard time understanding the true complexity of it. One Twitter user has recently gone on a rant about common misconceptions about ADHD.
For this person, one of the most serious issues is a lack of recognition and consideration that ADHD is a learning disability. “Start normalizing recognizing ADHD as a serious learning disability that includes sensitivities to light & sound, depression, maladaptive daydreaming, not reading social cues, fidgeting and restlessness, not being able to do anything for no apparent reason,” they write.
“Start normalizing recognizing ADHD as a serious learning disability”
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Image credits: leah_666666
Image credits: leah_666666
The social media user went on to explain that other characteristics fall into the disorder as well. They expressed that having a hard time with mental math and math in general is common too, among other things.
The Twitter user pointed out how tired they are of people thinking of it as being “distracted by a bird… oh look, a butterfly! Oh my god, my leg is bouncing so fast! Wow.”
“People who have ADHD have complex problems that come with this disorder,” they added.
Seemingly, health officials agree that ADHD should be considered a serious disability. In a book named “ADHD: What Every Parent Needs to Know,” the authors argue: “His or her hyperactivity and/or inattentiveness constitute a real day-to-day functional disability. That is, it seriously and consistently impedes the ability to succeed at school, fit into family routines, follow household rules, maintain friendships, interact positively with family members, avoid injury, or otherwise manage in his or her environment.”
Here’s what other people had to add to the now-viral thread
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Share on Facebookthis is going to be an unpopular opinion, sorry, but I have adhd, and I think people recognizing that this can be a serious disability for others, but for people like me who have a pretty mild case and take low doses of meds, people are starting to look at all of us and saying "oh they're all basically autistic" it can be kind of hurtful for everyone to think you "basically" have another disorder. my dad looks at me different since I was diagnosed 6 years ago because he's not as woke as my mom and thinks that I have something wrong with me, and these articles dont help out. sorry all of you who do have bigger cases or have adhd and autism if i've offended you. I respect all of you.
ADHD and autism are completely different diagnoses, so you’re not wrong. 👍🏼 I’m a medical student (with ADHD) and the more I look in to it, the less these two diagnoses have in common. They’re barely even cousins on the psychiatric spectrum.
Load More Replies...The sensitivity to light and sound is maddening. I sometimes genuinely feel like I am losing my mind, as I cannot filter out / ignore background noise.
I have both Autism and ADHD, the stimulation stuff is insanity. I both need stimulation and hate stimulation. I gotta send this to my mom..
Might I say, Aspergers is a nice kind on the spectrum. Even though there's almost no social interaction, it's nice to not have people that bother you. Though in the high school years you realize how lonely you are and try to get some, but everyone makes fun of you for your "preschool behavior" and then you just end up in a downwards spiral into depression...
Load More Replies...Also, symptoms like not being able to read social cues, being bad at math, opposition to authority and only eating foods you like - are NOT part of an official ADHD diagnosis. Don’t spread more lies than what already goes around about ADHD. And ADHD and autism are completely different. They’re on different genes in the DNA, have different causes, affect the brain differently — autism is in how the brain is structured and I based on specific functions of the brain being underdeveloped, while ADHD doesn’t affect the brains development but it causes an imbalance between different consecutive functions. That’s also why medication is often so successful with ADHD because it stabilized the release and absorption of dopamine, making you feel more motivated and makes it easier to collect your thoughts enough to be able to focus. //Medical student with ADHD.
Thank you. I found most of those "symptoms" of ADHD to not be me at all. No trouble reading social cues. Not super oppositional to authority (in fact, I appreciate authority although I often question it once I have it, but that's an Enneagram Six). A lot of people don't eat foods they don't like. I suck at math, but that's the only one of these that fits me. I also don't fixate on objects in the store and "have to have them". I don't "fixate" in general, but I can definitely hyperfocus or get obsessed by things I'm interested in. I feel like there's a large percentage of the autism scale folks who also maybe have ADHD who are far too into conflating the two things. Plus, as I mentioned in another comment, we're all different people and the way things manifest in one person will not be identical to another person. I'm glad people are finding community, but let's be careful not to exclude the folks who are ADHD in a different way than "ADHD/autism influencers".
Load More Replies...And depression isn’t a symptom, it’s a disorder and even though it’s fairly common for people with ADHD to develop depression as a response to struggling in life and lacking support, it has nothing to do with ADHD as a medical diagnosis.
Anxiety and depression are common secondary disorders. Meaning the person develops either one as a coping mechanism for their ADHD. I have pretty mid-range ADHD and throughout my life have struggled with anxiety and depression.
Load More Replies...When I try to express how hard something is to someone, like I say I have a very hard time doing this due to my ADD, they just go: "Everyone gets distracted, you just need to focus harder, I get really distracted too." Like...no! Of course everyone gets distracted, and I am by no means dissing other people's problems, but don't tell me I'm not actually ADD because you get distracted by stuff too, and you're not ADD.
The sensitivity... Oh man, I ended up in tears at the office on December 24th. Deadline looming and employees' kids running around - but the adults constantly wishing me a happy holiday while I'm trying to focus... Thank goodness some of my colleagues were sympathetic when I lost it.
💙 https://youtu.be/iozAFIr3BEw 💙 I can really recommend this channel on YouTube to anybody who wants to learn more deeply about ADHD/ADD. Since this post potentially only made it worse when they started to confuse autism in to mess.
That was the single best ADHD/ADD video I've ever seen!!! Thank You!!!!!
Load More Replies...Anyway, I've been weird all my life. I grew up socially isolated. I don't have very many friends, but I'll help anyone.I don't know all the rules about what people do, and why. I don't understand them. Like, how to flirt. If anybody asks a question, I think they want an answer. I seem incapable of not answering a question, with complete honesty. My mom says, I'm brutally honest. I don't understand lying, and why people do it. But, my mom, and my sister won't have anything to do with me, now. I'm embarrassing in public, they say. It's maddening to them to take me places. I don't have a car, so I walk everywhere, now. I guess I wore them out. It's a struggle for me, everyday.to do what others seem to do with ease. I get so overwhelmed, I can't think, and I go into shut down mode. I'll have a headache, and be very tired and have to sleep when I get home, sometimes. But, yet, I graduated from a two year college's L.V.N program Magna Cum Laude. I was in National Honor Society all 4 years of
Thank you for a post that will help people to be gentler with themselves, kinder to others, and more understanding and compassionate in general. Win. Win.
I have ADHD and it used to be less obvious but now everyone can tell. I cant go somewhere and just sit still but its more than just that. I have a sensitivity to light and sound too. If I turn my fan on to the highest setting it makes a noise everytime it goes around and when I first heard it it made me feel unsafe and like if the noise didnt stop something bad was gonna happen. Not the fan falling onto me just a bad thing. Whenever I try to focus on school work and the light is shining I have to turn it off or else I cant focus. ADHD is more serious than "omg my leg is tapping" I have gotten in trouble before because I genuinely cant sit at a desk and focus on something. I am very glad to be doing homeschooling this year because I can be free to move wherever I want to in my house and not be contained to a desk.
It must be scary and horrible to get something that you don’t understand much. 😰
Diagnosed in my early 50s, told it was a "time and thinking management" issue, put into a group to learn how to put sticky notes everywhere and throw mail away as soon as you read it ... not super helpful. Let the diagnosis slide until this year when my adult son got interested in ADHD and got assessed -- he's definitely an ADHD-er. So I had a second assessment, and yep, I'm still officially ADHD (i.e., the first assessment was right), but beginning to realize All The Ways this affects my life, and has since I was small. BUT -- I am nowhere near the autism scale. I'm frustrated with trying to find out more about ADHD and everywhere are all these folks with both, and saying "THIS IS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE ADHD!" and they're not describing me much at all. I can take an aggregate of what several of them say and see myself in there, but I have zero trouble reading social cues, I am only slightly fidgety, etc. We're not all the same, y'all, even when we have the same disorder/diagnosis.
i have both adhd and anxiety. the adhd makes me blurt out random things, the anxiety makes me regret them at 3am.
There are a lot of people suffering, some of them I guess should have been given more info about their condition years ago. But there is some great info sharing shown here - as if they just need someone to say, "Yes, I feel that, I get those symptoms."
My nephew was diagnosed as having Dyscalculia, ADHD, and dyslexia. IN COLLEGE! Actually, both nephews have ADHD. One was treated for it all through school and took medication. He was hyper, and definitely had trouble focusing and staying on a task. Unless, he was interested in something he wanted to do. Then, he was single minded. I am that way, too. Single minded, and my attention will focus, like a laser. I notice each and every small detail of things, down to the most minute. I know, definitely weird. Different. If I could bring myself to use the telephone, I'd make an appointment to go back to the psychiatrist. My mom used to help me with doctors appointments and van rides too. She doesn't, anymore.They say they think I should be able to do these things that are difficult for me, myself. I agree. I should be able to. But, I can't sometimes. I amaze myself by how well I do function, most days. I try to be kind to myself now, when I've failed, again, at perfection. Or just adequency.
I would consider myself to have pretty mid range ADHD and I feel this description hard. Sensitivity to texture (clothes have to feel right), unable to read social cues, impulsiveness, general loudness, I have hyper focus (on things I'm intensely interested in), have suffered anxiety and depression as secondary diagnosis (Ie caused by the first) throughout my life, sometimes being unable to focus your eyes on one thing. Its absolutely maddening and people don't understand. When I tell people I have it I always get the eye roll. They have no idea how much of an impact it has on their daily life.
I’m autistic and I also have ADHD. I have to fidget/pace around. My hyperfixiations are very intense rn, especially since my family is going through a divorce.
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Load More Replies...I was diagnosed when I was 7 but I haven't known about any of the other symptoms of ADHD till about 6 months ago. Before that I was seriously questioning if I had autism. My main problem is that I don't understand sarcasm and other social cues so it pushed me to do a lot of research on autism and ADHD. I think that there should be more information available to everyone about what ADHD really is. It doesn't just affect you attention span.
I was diagnosed as a really young child and was told I would just have trouble paying attention. Literally everything this tweet said matched up with me perfectly. ADHD is so much more than just having trouble focusing.
Finally, an article that I want to read that isn't funny art or whatever!
I was diagnosed with ADD and filtering is one of my biggest problems. I always explain it like this: Your brain is like a mailbox (Snail), all it really looks at when mail comes in, is the postal code and the house number. My brain sees the streetname, the stamp, what kind of stamp, the color of the envelope, the size of the envelope, gauges the weight, sees the handwriting, the name and so on.
One website that has helped me a LOT is www.additude.com. So many resources!!!
I have ADHD and it I definitely forget what I'm saying as I'm talking. If I'm talking in front of a group, my brain will literally stop working mid sentence and I just freeze. Like mid sentence stop and stare and try to think of what I'm saying in a panic, realize I've been frozen 15 seconds and it's awkward, and saying I'm sorry I lost what I was saying. Also, when people are talking to me I'll be looking at them but like sound stops... suddenly I remember they are still talking and I'm still listening and I have no idea what's happening
My son has ADHD, it drives me crazy. He can't regulate his moods, his memory is nearly non-existent and he can't throw anything away. He is medicated and finds it a huge help with learning but there is a lot Ritalin doesn't help. His father tells him everyone has ADHD, everyone is hyper at some time even his step daughters. It's so much more than a sugar induced high.
Hanging a clinical tag on this and thinking of it as a disease/syndrome/disability is a mistake that leads people into thinking there's something wrong with them and it is going to hold them back. I grew up in the 70s before drug companies put a name & pill to it and for my wandering mind, social indescretions and naughty behaviour was treated to corporal punishment most days at school, had few close friends and did poorly at exams. Far from holding me back however this taught me resilience, strength of character and the true intelligence that uninformed teachers of the time did not know how to harness shone through regardless when it mattered. I believe it gave me a higher level of energy & creativeness than my dull 'normal' peers which paid off with being able to cope in well paid high pressure jobs & now running my own business. ADHD is an assett, don't take a pill for it, treat it as a superpower 💪🏻🔥
high school, and was named in Who's Who Among American High School Graduates the year I graduated. I was on the Dean's List, and the President's List, every semester in college.I worked, many years as a nurse, and I was good at it. I helped people, and I know I saved a couple of people from dying, for sure. But, I've been married, and divorced 4 times. One of those I married, and divorced, twice. I'm estranged from most of my immediate, and extended family. But, I love them, and think about them, all, constantly. Well, whatever. Sorry, for going on, and on. I sometimes don't talk to another person for days at a time. I live alone now, and I'm not in a relationship. I don't do well with those. Narcissists seem to home in on some kind of signal I project, or something. I end up losing everything I have, giving it all to them, mainly. I'm 53 now. I have 3 daughters, and 10 grandchildren!! I was never going to get married, or have kids. I wanted to go to college and go into some kind of li
I hate stores because I get what I call, "mesmerized". I become entranced with all the neat stuff. I have to look at every-single-thing. I will get all kinds of neat stuff and spend too much money, or not have enough when I go to pay, and have to put a lot of things back. Usually, a lot of people will be in line behind me when this happens. The store clerks cringe when I come in. Or, I'll get stuff, think better of it, and go put it all back. The stuff it took me 2 hours to decide to get. As a matter of fact, I'm going to have to go bring some things back to the store this afternoon. I doi that, too. Get too much of the wrong thing, spend too much money, and realize I forgot what I was there to get. Like coffee, eggs, bread. You know. Real food. And now, I don't have any more money. So, I bring things back. Get my money back, and try again. I loathe talking on the telephone. I will, but I hate it. Doing anything that requires telephoning, especially something important, is hard for me
Oh my god. Oh my god. I do all these things. I have the math thing, big time. Or really, it's a number thing. Dates, time, money, addresses, phone numbers, measurements on rules, thermometers, measuring cups. It's odd though, once I can sneak around this block in my treacherous brain, and get something like this lodged there, I'll never forget it. I'm an introvert and I become overwhelmed by light, sound, temperature( too hot, or too cold) crowds, smell, and touch. Also, I get overwhelmed by too many choices of things. Ordering food from a large menu, is awful.Too many choices, I can't decide and I feel rushed to answer quickly. I have go to meals I order. Usually,a hamburger. With Mexican food, chicken enchaladas.If I venture to walk on the wild side and order something different, it is horrifically awful. Once, I ordered a Monte Christo sandwich because the Fairy Godmother in Shrek ordered one. I had NO idea what it was, believe me.Stores are my most hated, but yet most loved places.
ADHD is not a learning disability, let’s just establish that. It’s a lot, it’s worse than what the general population thinks it is, but it’s not a learning disability and it’s not a disorder. It’s more of an imbalance between polarities in the brain - zero concentration vs hyperfocus, impulsiveness vs can’t get out of bed, have all the energy in the world vs crashing and sleeps for two days, etc. It’s like constantly being hyped from caffeine and crash over and over again, like a roller coaster playing games with your own energy and ability to focus in life. And while you’re on that rollercoaster you flip a switch and go off on the wrong track and end up going the completely wrong direction.
Really, in the end all that matters is understanding your individual versions of add, adhd, autism, asber, OCD etc - whatever the "label" is doesn't matter. What matters is that everyone is different with it, and everyone deserves understanding, support and accommodation.
Haha, can confirm you are wrong. Have major ADHD and this is all true, I was called useless because I couldn't do mental math, I was called "too sensitive" when I had sensory issues. The first half of my life was hell because of this b******t and it was because of ADHD. I think you may have a form of ADHD with only partial effects and can't speak for us all. So please don't f*****g say "Just do your research" to people who have experienced this themselves.
Load More Replies...Not really, My friend has autism and I know somebody with ADHD the act completely different. (Also this was in my experience)
Load More Replies...Wtf man? People had ADHD far before it was ever recognized, but they were just shamed and punished for it. Its been around for a really long time, people just weren't compassionate about it.
Load More Replies...this is going to be an unpopular opinion, sorry, but I have adhd, and I think people recognizing that this can be a serious disability for others, but for people like me who have a pretty mild case and take low doses of meds, people are starting to look at all of us and saying "oh they're all basically autistic" it can be kind of hurtful for everyone to think you "basically" have another disorder. my dad looks at me different since I was diagnosed 6 years ago because he's not as woke as my mom and thinks that I have something wrong with me, and these articles dont help out. sorry all of you who do have bigger cases or have adhd and autism if i've offended you. I respect all of you.
ADHD and autism are completely different diagnoses, so you’re not wrong. 👍🏼 I’m a medical student (with ADHD) and the more I look in to it, the less these two diagnoses have in common. They’re barely even cousins on the psychiatric spectrum.
Load More Replies...The sensitivity to light and sound is maddening. I sometimes genuinely feel like I am losing my mind, as I cannot filter out / ignore background noise.
I have both Autism and ADHD, the stimulation stuff is insanity. I both need stimulation and hate stimulation. I gotta send this to my mom..
Might I say, Aspergers is a nice kind on the spectrum. Even though there's almost no social interaction, it's nice to not have people that bother you. Though in the high school years you realize how lonely you are and try to get some, but everyone makes fun of you for your "preschool behavior" and then you just end up in a downwards spiral into depression...
Load More Replies...Also, symptoms like not being able to read social cues, being bad at math, opposition to authority and only eating foods you like - are NOT part of an official ADHD diagnosis. Don’t spread more lies than what already goes around about ADHD. And ADHD and autism are completely different. They’re on different genes in the DNA, have different causes, affect the brain differently — autism is in how the brain is structured and I based on specific functions of the brain being underdeveloped, while ADHD doesn’t affect the brains development but it causes an imbalance between different consecutive functions. That’s also why medication is often so successful with ADHD because it stabilized the release and absorption of dopamine, making you feel more motivated and makes it easier to collect your thoughts enough to be able to focus. //Medical student with ADHD.
Thank you. I found most of those "symptoms" of ADHD to not be me at all. No trouble reading social cues. Not super oppositional to authority (in fact, I appreciate authority although I often question it once I have it, but that's an Enneagram Six). A lot of people don't eat foods they don't like. I suck at math, but that's the only one of these that fits me. I also don't fixate on objects in the store and "have to have them". I don't "fixate" in general, but I can definitely hyperfocus or get obsessed by things I'm interested in. I feel like there's a large percentage of the autism scale folks who also maybe have ADHD who are far too into conflating the two things. Plus, as I mentioned in another comment, we're all different people and the way things manifest in one person will not be identical to another person. I'm glad people are finding community, but let's be careful not to exclude the folks who are ADHD in a different way than "ADHD/autism influencers".
Load More Replies...And depression isn’t a symptom, it’s a disorder and even though it’s fairly common for people with ADHD to develop depression as a response to struggling in life and lacking support, it has nothing to do with ADHD as a medical diagnosis.
Anxiety and depression are common secondary disorders. Meaning the person develops either one as a coping mechanism for their ADHD. I have pretty mid-range ADHD and throughout my life have struggled with anxiety and depression.
Load More Replies...When I try to express how hard something is to someone, like I say I have a very hard time doing this due to my ADD, they just go: "Everyone gets distracted, you just need to focus harder, I get really distracted too." Like...no! Of course everyone gets distracted, and I am by no means dissing other people's problems, but don't tell me I'm not actually ADD because you get distracted by stuff too, and you're not ADD.
The sensitivity... Oh man, I ended up in tears at the office on December 24th. Deadline looming and employees' kids running around - but the adults constantly wishing me a happy holiday while I'm trying to focus... Thank goodness some of my colleagues were sympathetic when I lost it.
💙 https://youtu.be/iozAFIr3BEw 💙 I can really recommend this channel on YouTube to anybody who wants to learn more deeply about ADHD/ADD. Since this post potentially only made it worse when they started to confuse autism in to mess.
That was the single best ADHD/ADD video I've ever seen!!! Thank You!!!!!
Load More Replies...Anyway, I've been weird all my life. I grew up socially isolated. I don't have very many friends, but I'll help anyone.I don't know all the rules about what people do, and why. I don't understand them. Like, how to flirt. If anybody asks a question, I think they want an answer. I seem incapable of not answering a question, with complete honesty. My mom says, I'm brutally honest. I don't understand lying, and why people do it. But, my mom, and my sister won't have anything to do with me, now. I'm embarrassing in public, they say. It's maddening to them to take me places. I don't have a car, so I walk everywhere, now. I guess I wore them out. It's a struggle for me, everyday.to do what others seem to do with ease. I get so overwhelmed, I can't think, and I go into shut down mode. I'll have a headache, and be very tired and have to sleep when I get home, sometimes. But, yet, I graduated from a two year college's L.V.N program Magna Cum Laude. I was in National Honor Society all 4 years of
Thank you for a post that will help people to be gentler with themselves, kinder to others, and more understanding and compassionate in general. Win. Win.
I have ADHD and it used to be less obvious but now everyone can tell. I cant go somewhere and just sit still but its more than just that. I have a sensitivity to light and sound too. If I turn my fan on to the highest setting it makes a noise everytime it goes around and when I first heard it it made me feel unsafe and like if the noise didnt stop something bad was gonna happen. Not the fan falling onto me just a bad thing. Whenever I try to focus on school work and the light is shining I have to turn it off or else I cant focus. ADHD is more serious than "omg my leg is tapping" I have gotten in trouble before because I genuinely cant sit at a desk and focus on something. I am very glad to be doing homeschooling this year because I can be free to move wherever I want to in my house and not be contained to a desk.
It must be scary and horrible to get something that you don’t understand much. 😰
Diagnosed in my early 50s, told it was a "time and thinking management" issue, put into a group to learn how to put sticky notes everywhere and throw mail away as soon as you read it ... not super helpful. Let the diagnosis slide until this year when my adult son got interested in ADHD and got assessed -- he's definitely an ADHD-er. So I had a second assessment, and yep, I'm still officially ADHD (i.e., the first assessment was right), but beginning to realize All The Ways this affects my life, and has since I was small. BUT -- I am nowhere near the autism scale. I'm frustrated with trying to find out more about ADHD and everywhere are all these folks with both, and saying "THIS IS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE ADHD!" and they're not describing me much at all. I can take an aggregate of what several of them say and see myself in there, but I have zero trouble reading social cues, I am only slightly fidgety, etc. We're not all the same, y'all, even when we have the same disorder/diagnosis.
i have both adhd and anxiety. the adhd makes me blurt out random things, the anxiety makes me regret them at 3am.
There are a lot of people suffering, some of them I guess should have been given more info about their condition years ago. But there is some great info sharing shown here - as if they just need someone to say, "Yes, I feel that, I get those symptoms."
My nephew was diagnosed as having Dyscalculia, ADHD, and dyslexia. IN COLLEGE! Actually, both nephews have ADHD. One was treated for it all through school and took medication. He was hyper, and definitely had trouble focusing and staying on a task. Unless, he was interested in something he wanted to do. Then, he was single minded. I am that way, too. Single minded, and my attention will focus, like a laser. I notice each and every small detail of things, down to the most minute. I know, definitely weird. Different. If I could bring myself to use the telephone, I'd make an appointment to go back to the psychiatrist. My mom used to help me with doctors appointments and van rides too. She doesn't, anymore.They say they think I should be able to do these things that are difficult for me, myself. I agree. I should be able to. But, I can't sometimes. I amaze myself by how well I do function, most days. I try to be kind to myself now, when I've failed, again, at perfection. Or just adequency.
I would consider myself to have pretty mid range ADHD and I feel this description hard. Sensitivity to texture (clothes have to feel right), unable to read social cues, impulsiveness, general loudness, I have hyper focus (on things I'm intensely interested in), have suffered anxiety and depression as secondary diagnosis (Ie caused by the first) throughout my life, sometimes being unable to focus your eyes on one thing. Its absolutely maddening and people don't understand. When I tell people I have it I always get the eye roll. They have no idea how much of an impact it has on their daily life.
I’m autistic and I also have ADHD. I have to fidget/pace around. My hyperfixiations are very intense rn, especially since my family is going through a divorce.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Load More Replies...I was diagnosed when I was 7 but I haven't known about any of the other symptoms of ADHD till about 6 months ago. Before that I was seriously questioning if I had autism. My main problem is that I don't understand sarcasm and other social cues so it pushed me to do a lot of research on autism and ADHD. I think that there should be more information available to everyone about what ADHD really is. It doesn't just affect you attention span.
I was diagnosed as a really young child and was told I would just have trouble paying attention. Literally everything this tweet said matched up with me perfectly. ADHD is so much more than just having trouble focusing.
Finally, an article that I want to read that isn't funny art or whatever!
I was diagnosed with ADD and filtering is one of my biggest problems. I always explain it like this: Your brain is like a mailbox (Snail), all it really looks at when mail comes in, is the postal code and the house number. My brain sees the streetname, the stamp, what kind of stamp, the color of the envelope, the size of the envelope, gauges the weight, sees the handwriting, the name and so on.
One website that has helped me a LOT is www.additude.com. So many resources!!!
I have ADHD and it I definitely forget what I'm saying as I'm talking. If I'm talking in front of a group, my brain will literally stop working mid sentence and I just freeze. Like mid sentence stop and stare and try to think of what I'm saying in a panic, realize I've been frozen 15 seconds and it's awkward, and saying I'm sorry I lost what I was saying. Also, when people are talking to me I'll be looking at them but like sound stops... suddenly I remember they are still talking and I'm still listening and I have no idea what's happening
My son has ADHD, it drives me crazy. He can't regulate his moods, his memory is nearly non-existent and he can't throw anything away. He is medicated and finds it a huge help with learning but there is a lot Ritalin doesn't help. His father tells him everyone has ADHD, everyone is hyper at some time even his step daughters. It's so much more than a sugar induced high.
Hanging a clinical tag on this and thinking of it as a disease/syndrome/disability is a mistake that leads people into thinking there's something wrong with them and it is going to hold them back. I grew up in the 70s before drug companies put a name & pill to it and for my wandering mind, social indescretions and naughty behaviour was treated to corporal punishment most days at school, had few close friends and did poorly at exams. Far from holding me back however this taught me resilience, strength of character and the true intelligence that uninformed teachers of the time did not know how to harness shone through regardless when it mattered. I believe it gave me a higher level of energy & creativeness than my dull 'normal' peers which paid off with being able to cope in well paid high pressure jobs & now running my own business. ADHD is an assett, don't take a pill for it, treat it as a superpower 💪🏻🔥
high school, and was named in Who's Who Among American High School Graduates the year I graduated. I was on the Dean's List, and the President's List, every semester in college.I worked, many years as a nurse, and I was good at it. I helped people, and I know I saved a couple of people from dying, for sure. But, I've been married, and divorced 4 times. One of those I married, and divorced, twice. I'm estranged from most of my immediate, and extended family. But, I love them, and think about them, all, constantly. Well, whatever. Sorry, for going on, and on. I sometimes don't talk to another person for days at a time. I live alone now, and I'm not in a relationship. I don't do well with those. Narcissists seem to home in on some kind of signal I project, or something. I end up losing everything I have, giving it all to them, mainly. I'm 53 now. I have 3 daughters, and 10 grandchildren!! I was never going to get married, or have kids. I wanted to go to college and go into some kind of li
I hate stores because I get what I call, "mesmerized". I become entranced with all the neat stuff. I have to look at every-single-thing. I will get all kinds of neat stuff and spend too much money, or not have enough when I go to pay, and have to put a lot of things back. Usually, a lot of people will be in line behind me when this happens. The store clerks cringe when I come in. Or, I'll get stuff, think better of it, and go put it all back. The stuff it took me 2 hours to decide to get. As a matter of fact, I'm going to have to go bring some things back to the store this afternoon. I doi that, too. Get too much of the wrong thing, spend too much money, and realize I forgot what I was there to get. Like coffee, eggs, bread. You know. Real food. And now, I don't have any more money. So, I bring things back. Get my money back, and try again. I loathe talking on the telephone. I will, but I hate it. Doing anything that requires telephoning, especially something important, is hard for me
Oh my god. Oh my god. I do all these things. I have the math thing, big time. Or really, it's a number thing. Dates, time, money, addresses, phone numbers, measurements on rules, thermometers, measuring cups. It's odd though, once I can sneak around this block in my treacherous brain, and get something like this lodged there, I'll never forget it. I'm an introvert and I become overwhelmed by light, sound, temperature( too hot, or too cold) crowds, smell, and touch. Also, I get overwhelmed by too many choices of things. Ordering food from a large menu, is awful.Too many choices, I can't decide and I feel rushed to answer quickly. I have go to meals I order. Usually,a hamburger. With Mexican food, chicken enchaladas.If I venture to walk on the wild side and order something different, it is horrifically awful. Once, I ordered a Monte Christo sandwich because the Fairy Godmother in Shrek ordered one. I had NO idea what it was, believe me.Stores are my most hated, but yet most loved places.
ADHD is not a learning disability, let’s just establish that. It’s a lot, it’s worse than what the general population thinks it is, but it’s not a learning disability and it’s not a disorder. It’s more of an imbalance between polarities in the brain - zero concentration vs hyperfocus, impulsiveness vs can’t get out of bed, have all the energy in the world vs crashing and sleeps for two days, etc. It’s like constantly being hyped from caffeine and crash over and over again, like a roller coaster playing games with your own energy and ability to focus in life. And while you’re on that rollercoaster you flip a switch and go off on the wrong track and end up going the completely wrong direction.
Really, in the end all that matters is understanding your individual versions of add, adhd, autism, asber, OCD etc - whatever the "label" is doesn't matter. What matters is that everyone is different with it, and everyone deserves understanding, support and accommodation.
Haha, can confirm you are wrong. Have major ADHD and this is all true, I was called useless because I couldn't do mental math, I was called "too sensitive" when I had sensory issues. The first half of my life was hell because of this b******t and it was because of ADHD. I think you may have a form of ADHD with only partial effects and can't speak for us all. So please don't f*****g say "Just do your research" to people who have experienced this themselves.
Load More Replies...Not really, My friend has autism and I know somebody with ADHD the act completely different. (Also this was in my experience)
Load More Replies...Wtf man? People had ADHD far before it was ever recognized, but they were just shamed and punished for it. Its been around for a really long time, people just weren't compassionate about it.
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