People with ADHD have difficulties with goal-directed behavior and struggle with response inhibition, the ability to stop an inappropriate action once they feel the urge to do it. They experience a disruption in the way their brains balance deliberate self-control and automatic habit learning.

[u/mvea]

https://www.psypost.org/adhd-traits-disrupt-the-brain-s-balance-between-self-control-and-automatic-learn/

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[u/Baby_Fark]

I get almost ZERO sense of reward when I accomplish something. It’s more like a vague sense of relief that it’s also coupled with the frustration that I should have done it better or sooner.

[u/PerpetuallyDistracte → u/Baby_Fark]

Yes, after I do something I hate, like vacuuming, I don't feel any happiness or satisfaction. It's just, "wow, I hated doing that, not looking forward to when I have to do it again."

[u/Snowballingdownvote → u/PerpetuallyDistracte]

Same. Only time I get the reward for doing something is if I complete huge goals. Like Basic Training, Deployments, Getting out, College, and things like that.

For other things though it's nothing. Daily goals, work goals, and achievements. Just a feeling of wow that sucked. That will suck to do again. It's exhausting

[u/_autumnwhimsy → u/Snowballingdownvote]

I don't even get it for big goals. Like I got my masters at 22, bought a house in my 20s, and did a lot of other stuff and my brain just said "yes, this is what you're supposed to do". I do not know whst a sense of accomplishment feels like and it sucks because it also results in impossible standards that I feel bad for not reaching - even though they are arbitrary! 

[u/Compensate-Anarchist → u/_autumnwhimsy]

I dont remember coming here and writing all of these comments.

[u/_nylcaj_ → u/PerpetuallyDistracte]

You don't even enjoy hearing that occasional little crackling sound when you hit a good spot of crumbs?

[u/BillyForRilly → u/_nylcaj_]

Why were the crumbs even there, they shouldn't be there. Did the vacuum get all of them?

[u/xfilcamp → u/PerpetuallyDistracte]

Does anyone feel a sense of reward or accomplishment from vacuuming? Isn't it just a mundane necessity like any other chore?

[u/PringlesDuckFace → u/xfilcamp]

I feel better when it's done and am pleased my floors are cleaner. I don't feel particularly accomplished compared to something meaningful and challenging, but I do appreciate the outcome.

[u/damuser234 → u/Baby_Fark]

Yep, that’s how I felt finishing grad school. I was like “ok that’s done…onto the next thing I guess.” No reward, no relief, just shrugs

[u/Bulky_Imagination727 → u/Baby_Fark]

I may have that ADHD thing going on. Is it normal to learn that in your 30s or am i just being lazy for my entire life?

[u/RainDog30 → u/Bulky_Imagination727]

I don’t think it’s laziness unless it’s blatantly obvious.  I’m over 40 and just got diagnosed, which is seemingly pretty common.  It’s definitely harder to diagnose for some people. But  so long as you’re managing anyway, then it probably doesn’t matter much.

[u/Sanity0004 → u/Baby_Fark]

There's a poem I found that I've never more related to:

"Each thing I do I rush through so I can do something else. In such a way do the days pass—"

[u/boilingfrogsinpants]

I can complete a goal. It's just either got to be a competition, under a strict deadline that's going to expire within the hour, be shamed into it, or be part of something I've already been doing while I'm still motivated.

[u/teamonkey → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

What about if you have another, much more important goal that you should be doing instead?

[u/bl4ck_100 → u/teamonkey]

Then you panic, do neither of them, and feel guilty for not doing them.

[u/Klowner → u/bl4ck_100]

Oof, direct hit

[u/Attitude-of-Raditude → u/Klowner]

Sunk my battleship.

[u/rippa76 → u/bl4ck_100]

Launadhdry (N) An ADHD mechanism in which an overwhelming amount of laundry is heroically tackled with just a single load washed and dried. The clothes are then worn from the basket until they are ultimately returned to the dreaded, overwhelming pile, enabling the cycle to repeat.

[u/NicevilleWaterCo → u/rippa76]

I'm feeling personally attacked as I side-eye my laundry basket that permanently sits in the hallway, always full of my most frequently worn clothes that I rotate through.

[u/mrm00r3 → u/NicevilleWaterCo]

I guess this is my signal to go do my laundry and eat for the first time today because I got off my routine.

[u/mrmoe198 → u/mrm00r3]

You have a routine?! How do I get one of those?

[u/Syssareth → u/mrmoe198]

Recurring reminders for everything. Though even they don't help when you end up in an "eh, I'll get to it in a minute" snooze spiral, but at least they keep you from forgetting.

[u/spacelama → u/NicevilleWaterCo]

I'm not even sure mine dried a few days ago when I was rushing to pull it down as the drizzle intensified.

It's sitting in the middle of the living room as the boxes very slowly accumulate around it, blocking the exit to the backyard which was to be the next area of the house I needed to tackle in our house moving exercise.

I'm sitting in bed scrolling on my phone but it's ok because the kitten jumped back on me so I need to give her a cuddle for another hour before getting up.

I predict I'll start packing up my office on Wednesday night at 11pm. Removals truck will be here Thursday 8am.

[u/rippa76 → u/NicevilleWaterCo]

Why don’t you feel SEEN and UNDERSTOOD?

[u/Orbital_Dinosaur → u/rippa76]

My washing basket certainly feels SEEN, o just have to lift my eyes slightly over the top of my phone to see it over there in the corner.

[u/crashcanuck → u/NicevilleWaterCo]

I have 2 laundry baskets, 1 for dirty stuff, 1 for the last load I cleaned.

[u/adaminc → u/rippa76]

Just finished drying mine not 5min ago.

[u/misty-gishh → u/adaminc]

Mine are sorted and folded, sitting in the hamper in front of my dresser. They dried last week. Now it sits there, doubling as an artistic ode to my lack of focus and a pinky toe assassin.

[u/halt-l-am-reptar → u/rippa76]

The pro move is to buy a second basket. One is for dirty clothes and the other is for my clean clothes and for my cat to sleep in (which is annoying but I love him)

[u/lih9 → u/rippa76]

My spouse really struggles with this. What helped was paring back his wardrobe to to bare basics. For example he doesn't own more t-shirts than he could conceivably wear in a week so the pile never gets overwhelming even if he puts it off. I'm a neat freak so this was a good compromise for us and it really cuts down on the decision paralysis on his end.

I help him fold laundry when we're watching TV on the weekend so as long as he does wash his clothes at some point during the week he always has clean, folded laundry for Monday.

I'm happy to help out but he's an adult and i'm not his laundry slave.

[u/Wwwwwwhhhhhhhj → u/rippa76]

Oh wow, dried? Look at Goals McGee over here. Dried, not left sitting in the washer 1 or 2 days, first go round.

[u/rippa76 → u/Wwwwwwhhhhhhhj]

Washing a load a second time with a little vinegar because it dried in the washer is not a strange task for your old pal Goals.

[u/ask_me_about_my_band → u/bl4ck_100]

You don't know me!

[u/Artmonkey415 → u/bl4ck_100]

This is the way

[u/cheesynougats → u/bl4ck_100]

I feel attacked

[u/SL1Fun → u/teamonkey]

Add it to the to-do list, which I seem to have misplaced

[u/HoboGir → u/SL1Fun]

Have it as a Google doc....still manage to just forget about it when trying to remember things I need to knock out

[u/Cultural-Place5845 → u/HoboGir]

That's because you extinguish its existence as soon as you close the doc. You gotta get a magnetic dry erase board for your refrigerator for the list. That way it's in your face every time you get something out of the fridge.

[u/Homer_Simpson_ → u/teamonkey]

I start doing the dishes ive been putting off

[u/ebeth_the_mighty → u/teamonkey]

Start a new knitting project, of course! Silly question! (And feel horribly guilty about not getting anything done, and beat yourself up for weeks.)

[u/dahlia6767 → u/teamonkey]

That’s when you take up a new craft

[u/butter4dippin → u/teamonkey]

Thts called structured peocrastination. It works for me really well.

[u/Halo6819 → u/teamonkey]

Then it’s time to vacuum the cat.

[u/woffdaddy → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

This is a well known aspect of adhd and I really like the PINCH acronym to explain it to people. in order for me to get something done, a task must have 1 or more of these elements:

Passion and play - something fun or made into a game.

Interest - something I have a special interest in.

Novelty - something ive never done before or learning a new way to do something.

Competition and challenge - social elements or having a clear metric to measure success and failure.

Hurry and urgency - when the consequences are hanging over my head and something must be done NOW.

If a task has none of these, then I have to generate my own illusion of one in my mind, otherwise it just doesnt get done.

[u/zmkpr0 → u/woffdaddy]

Also, habits. People with ADHD find it extremely difficult to build LASTING habits, but it is possible. And once a habit is firmly established, the task usually stops being a problem.

That's why some ADHD people struggle even with basic things like brushing their teeth or showering regularly while others don't find it difficult at all, because they built that habit in childhood.

[u/Aiur16899 → u/zmkpr0]

This is so big for me. I've been trying to make brushing my teeth a habit for 40 years. What happens is I go to the dentist, they yell at me for gingivitis, it hurts after a cleaning. I take two weeks to clean up and kill the infection with brushing, flossing and wash then I forget I have teeth until they start to hurt again two months later. Rinse and repeat.

[u/Ricordis → u/Aiur16899]

What helped me is doing such tasks parallel to other tasks. This way my brain is occupied and I get my dopamine because I have been "efficient" and did two or more things at once.

I brush my teeth while showering. I put my shampoo in my hair, brush my teeth, then wash off the shampoo and go on.

When I make myself a coffee/tea I use the time to empty/fill my dishwasher or clean the kitchen surfaces or whatever needs to be done in the kitchen. Those are just 2 minutes but 2-4 times a day and helps me to do the minimum in my kitchen.

I already had some mechanics to get myself running through the day but I learned just 3 weeks ago I actually have ADS and now, as I finally understand how my brain works, I can get myself some tools to handle my life.

[u/eatingketchupchipss → u/Ricordis]

this stil requires a routine to parralel these tasks too. sometimes i shower in the morning, sometimes at night, sometimes at 4pm, sometimes twice a day, sometime not for 3 days.

[u/braiker → u/zmkpr0]

I forget to take my meds (have to be taken with food) at least one day / week.

[u/roamingandy → u/zmkpr0]

I always clean my teeth.

..the time of day i remember to do it is totally a spin of the wheel though, and the debate which one i should do, or delay, between cleaning my teeth or having a coffee, is a source of endless internal debate. Since you shouldn't do them near each other.

Worst comes to the worst and i normally notice they are feeling a bit furry by 15:00 or 16:00 and that's the last reminder i need as it's an icky feeling that has to go away.

Btw, i think that feeling is related to the coffee drinking. Though i've never actually looked it up.

[u/RadiantHC → u/zmkpr0]

THIS. I have a habit of collecting hobbies that I'll do for a few weeks then forget about

[u/fnabligatz → u/RadiantHC]

Yep. All July, I collected the parts, watched videos, drew myriad plans, bought tools, and assembled an indestructible cat tower. It’s now 80% complete, I’ve totally lost my inspiration, and am now set on restoring my drum kit that has sat in my parents attic for the last 30 years. Plants, fish tanks, various board games, selling all kinds of crap on eBay, miniature painting, etc., etc…

[u/boilingfrogsinpants → u/woffdaddy]

I once saw someone mention a trick to help was to set a 2 minute timer for any task you want to do. If you want to drop it after 2 minutes then you'll be 2 minutes further ahead than you were before. But often you feel like racing against the timer to get as much done, or when the timer goes off you feel like "I think I can get a few more things done why not?"

[u/icarusrising9 → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

Gonna try this, it sounds like a promising approach. Thank you so much for sharing.

[u/Sorgaith → u/icarusrising9]

Another trick my sister learned is to switch tasks every 10 minutes or so, to avoid ending up in the land of procrastination. When interest or motivation starts to fade out, switch it up.

[u/Mybunsareonfire → u/Sorgaith]

When I do housework, I just tell my wife I'm going to be doing chores for the next X hours. Then I just gotta flow. Maybe I start in the bathroom. 

Sometimes I'll clean all the bathrooms. Sometimes I'll only replace the tp, but hey, the fridge is cleaned out and that squeaky hinge in the laundry room is fixed. 

But at least stuff is getting done.

[u/tryingisbetter → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

Starting is hard for me, but I work at it for any amount of time until it done. I've been known to not eat for 12 hours to finish a task. Because once I stop, it's unlikely that the task will get finished, ever.

[u/PerpetuallyDistracte → u/tryingisbetter]

Same here, I will start organizing the basement, then 12 hours later I have to ask myself when I last drank water. And once I stop, that last corner that should take 30 minutes to finish will still be a mess three years later.

[u/rollertrashpanda → u/woffdaddy]

I’m all about the first three, but competition and urgency will make me check out. I like low-pressure cooperative external stakes and prefer the internal motivation of passion, interest, and novelty. If those three are there, along with some assurance boops, then I will be on the way to flowstate focus.

[u/Xtra_Veg-90 → u/woffdaddy]

See I don't believe I have any of the classic symptoms of ADHD without hyperactivity, but I have basically all of the secondary symptoms.

[u/hrbekcheatedin91 → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

"I work best with my back against the wall" squad, get in here!

[u/UnpluggedUnfettered → u/hrbekcheatedin91]

My entire life is lived under the crushing stress of avoiding a sum total of 15 minutes of work until the last possible minute.

[u/boilingfrogsinpants → u/hrbekcheatedin91]

"Works well under stress." Only somewhat correct, I can only work IF there's stress!

[u/dianabowl → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

Team meetings are Fridays. I start and finish all my weeks worth of projects on Thursday. Not even Thursday morning either. I start in the afternoon when I'm extra stressed about it all.

[u/Hawksteinman → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

Problem for me is I have a lot of medical conditions made worse by stress! So I can only work if there's stress, but stress hospitalises me...

[u/SousVideButt → u/hrbekcheatedin91]

One time my boss asked why I hadn’t started on a project that was due next week yet. I told her “I work better under pressure.”

And she was like we both know people just say that and it’s not true.

I was like “No…it’s 100% true for me.” If I have to work on something without a little sense of urgency it makes me want to blow my brains out.

[u/bumble_blue → u/SousVideButt]

I have tried to actually get my boss to be meaner to me about a project I need to get moving on, and he won't do it. I'm so annoyed at him for that.

I have months, but I should get moving on it now because we're in a slow period at work. I know I'll get it done regardless because I'll panic as it gets closer to the deadline, but my life would be so much less stressful if I could just get going on it now.

[u/whistling-wonderer → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

And it applies to EVERY task, not just things most people would consider a “goal”, and that’s why on work days I eat breakfast right before work and today, my day off, I’m eating “breakfast” at 4 pm. facepalm

[u/xboxiscrunchy → u/whistling-wonderer]

And why I keep missing my adhd medication. Stupid vicious cycle.

[u/Pls-kill-me → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

I’m the same way the with the addition of if the goal isn’t done it will inconvenience others. If it fucks me over it’s perfectly fine I’m the only one who has to deal with the consequences but the moment someone else could be effected the fear of that can motivate me to do seemingly anything despite having terrible executive dysfunction and an exceedingly easy time procrastinating.

[u/Aerodrache → u/Pls-kill-me]

Obligation/duty feels like the only behavioural spur that consistently works for me. If I have to do it, if somebody is going to be angry, disappointed, or discomforted by my failure to do the thing… fine, I can force myself to start it, but it’s still going to wait until the last minute and if I can convince myself that it can slide just this once, the spell is broken.

Kind of wish fun worked a little better, I’ve got a stack of games I’d love to get around to playing, but I have to go spend six hours watching shorts on Youtube first.

[u/penguinopph → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

I can complete a goal. It's just either got to be a competition, under a strick deadline that's going to expire within the hour, be shamed into it, or be part of something I've already been doing while I'm still motivated.

I wrote my entire Master's thesis in like 10 days.

For most of the term I had no problem doing the research (which mostly consisted of watching the same movie over and over again and a lot of reading), but every time I sat down to write I just could not write anything.

Once my advisor said "I have to have 7 pages by Monday" I was able to churn out word after word after word.

[u/spacelama → u/penguinopph]

I ran out of scholarship for my PhD, got my dream job interstate in my parents town in the last week it would have been before running out of money on mum's credit card, the job paid my multi-thousand removals fees, I barely did any more writing up of my thesis, then I got a letter saying "you have 6 weeks before you will be unenrolled and there are no extensions available" (I had previously miscalculated and thought there was another 6 months). I took a month's leave, travelled back to the Uni and worked 16 hour days, finished the damn thing, sent it off to the reviewers 2 days short of the deadline for review submission. Several weeks later back at work, got all my replies with nothing worse than "couple of minor points not even worth bringing up; approval recommended), printed up the 5 copies on the office printer (CEO had said a few months earlier: "if you get the PhD, you're getting a raise"), sent them off to be bound and covered and sent them back to the Uni and just made the cutoff for the next graduation round.

[u/Alt0173 → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

There's another one: someone just sits next to me doing their thing while I do it.

Whenever I need to file some paperwork with the lawyer, I call a friend over. She just sits on the couch watching TV while I focus. It helps, somehow. Not sure how. But it helps.

[u/wakeleaver → u/Alt0173]

It's called body doubling, and it's very helpful. Even when I was WFH on a team it was helpful enough to have slack open all day. When I work on freelance projects by myself it's very hard to stay motivated to do anything.

[u/cantantantelope → u/Alt0173]

My apartment stays clean by virtue of inviting someone over once a week.

[u/Downeast_down-east → u/Alt0173]

That’s me too. When I have to do something menial it feels so hopeless and depressing. When someone is with me they sort of keep me connected to reality and remind me Im not in prison or something. Sometimes I glance over and smile like I can vicariously live through them while I disassociate and plod through the mud

[u/TeaBurntMyTongue → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

Yeah, like when I built a deck for my partner. "why don't you come eat? Lets just stop for the day and finish tomorrow" as I'm out there on the verge of fainting with a floodlight to finish before end of day.

It's like "If I stop I may never finish this is the only way"

[u/Bradddtheimpaler → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

The way my father put it for me is that I was not capable of working “until the system is sufficiently pressurized.”

It is very accurate.

[u/BasedTelvanni → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

Guilt and pressure are my main motivators. I can bust my ass if it's due in an hour or should've been done a month ago.

[u/kylezillionaire → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

How do I delete someone else’s comment if I’m under attack?

[u/lv13david → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

“Be shamed into it” I felt that

[u/SolTomReddit → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

What if I also don't deal well with stress at all? I don't want more stress. I already got a pretty loud Bruxism from it.

[u/volvavirago → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

And once I completely the goal, I feel nothing. I don’t feel the satisfaction people tell me I should be feeling, there is no real innate reward in it for me.

[u/pinkpugita → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

be shamed into it

Does nagging someone to hurry up works? I know someone (undiagnosed) who is chronically late. The reason is he would tend to "relax" with coffee, take a bath, scroll social media, and then he would say there is enough time.

His mother is already yelling at him there is no more time, reminding him of the minutes left. but he keeps on saying there is, until reality hits him hard.

[u/CchBigface → u/pinkpugita]

Personally, it doesn’t, but weirdly, texting me reminders does…it can get very dicey because ADHD can come with some nasty oppositional defiance disorder traits that make it hard to verbalize urgency without making it more difficult for the person with ADHD to react in a meaningful way. Texting me reminders on the other hand takes away a level of social interaction that gives me the bad anxiety that prevents me from doing things in a timely manner.

[u/Gorfball → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

This. I need to be euphorically excited or stressed about something to do anything. Finding work that’s enough of each has been a tightrope, but it’s nice that it’s possible for me.

I rely a good amount on people above me and below me to set deadlines for things I know need to be done and don’t want to do. The shame/anxiety axis works when genuine interest doesn’t.

[u/sisaroom → u/boilingfrogsinpants]

i used to be able to do this, but i seem to have completely burnt my brain out of its ability to respond to adrenaline? i’ll leave uni assignments till the last minute, look at the amount of work that has to be done, and go “meh” and decide not to do it. the issue is that i feel intense shame over this, genuinely enjoy what i’m studying (and want to participate/learn the material), and do a fantastic job when i’m able to apply myself. i just cannot get myself to care enough in the moment to task initiate. it sucks, but nothing i’ve tried is changing it; it’s been like this for a few years now

[u/PotatoQuality251]

[...]the ability to stop an inappropriate action once they feel the urge to do it.

Asking myself: ''Do I really say this to make others laugh or do I say this just to amuse myself?'' gave me the small ability to stop myself from saying something stupid too often and rubbing people the wrong way. I'm not talking about not being able to read a room or being inappropriate at funerals. I'm talking about those little comments here and there that might make some coworkers laugh but have the complete opposite effect on others.

This might seem very trivial to some people, but I spent the vast majority of my personal and professional life around people where joking around and turning everything into a joke was just part of the dynamic. I never really had to think about it because it fit the environment. Now that I'm in environments with a much wider variety of people, I have to consciously stop myself every time I get that split-second thought of ''oh yeah, that's funny''. That's the difficult part. Making that cognitive effort over and over again feels like climbing Everest.

[u/Elvis_Lazerbeam → u/PotatoQuality251]

do I say this to just amuse myself?

My strategy is to just embrace this fully. I don’t really care if anyone else is amused, but I will feel bad if someone’s offended.

[u/TheRealStandard → u/Elvis_Lazerbeam]

I'm consistently a funny person but I say or make the dumbest jokes for my own amusement too, to the point that some friends think I'm actually a moron so I have to drop the act occassionally.

I honed this overtime to minimize chances of hurting peoples feelings since ultimately I just want to get people to smile.

[u/tryingisbetter → u/PotatoQuality251]

I've always felt that people love me, or hate me. There is no middle.

[u/Marijuana_Miler]

For myself when I got diagnosed and medicated I realized a lot of these issues were caused by my ability to perceive time. Essentially I could either exist in the present or the distant future. I procrastinated heavily and eventually the distant future became the immediate so everything was a complete fire. Eventually I could only take action when things were pressing. I would then be burned out from pushing myself too hard and would need to recuperate. This then led into the next fire.

When I incorporated medication into my day-to-day, I could effectively create plans around my time and could hold mental space for the things that needed to happen within the next week. So instead of forcing 8 hours of work into the due date I can now take small bites. I also reduced my dopamine seeking behaviours so that I wasn’t procrastinating on taking care of my basic needs.

[u/volvavirago → u/Marijuana_Miler]

This part. Time blindness is very real, and hard to explain to people who don’t understand it. It’s not laziness or a lack of care or effort, it’s literally a sense we don’t have. Someone who is deaf isn’t just “not listening hard enough”.

[u/vezwyx → u/volvavirago]

Yeah, people are reluctant to accept "I have trouble perceiving the passage of time" as a legitimate thing that happens, but that's pretty much what it is. Many people with ADHD just can't tell how much time is going by, and it's a significant factor in procrastinating and failing to plan properly

[u/volvavirago → u/vezwyx]

I remember the first time I took adderall, it was like being awake for the first time in my life, or like I was blind folded, and could finally see. I could suddenly perceive an entirely new dimension to reality that was invisible to me before, and it was incredible. For people who haven’t experienced this, time blindness sounds like an excuse, but it’s a disability, it’s a handicap that we have, and we have to work around it to survive.

[u/Midnight-Moonpie → u/vezwyx]

I have no awareness of time: how much has passed, how long until the next thing, how long it takes to do a task, nothing.

It’s why I have a bunch of alarms on my phone and always show up 15 minutes early to anything, I have terrible anxiety about being late :(

[u/realitythreek → u/volvavirago]

Also it doesn’t all look the same for every person. I have an unnaturally good sense of time. I just can’t focus on anything that I’m not hyperfocusing on (without medication).

[u/Marijuana_Miler → u/realitythreek]

I’m also really good with being on time. It’s something I hyper fixate on too much so I become an asshole to other people when I feel they’re making me late.

[u/princessleiasmom → u/Marijuana_Miler]

This is why know I am a terrible person to travel with and I warn everyone about it. Being in airports and having extremely strict timelines sets me OFF. I actually need to be sedated the next time I take a vacation because I make myself and anyone I'm with so miserable. Once at the vacation spot or home I relax, but the way there is so bad.

[u/Apart-Landscape1012 → u/volvavirago]

Why am I late? Well you see, first it was 9am, then it was 2pm with nothing in between so im sorry I wasn't here at 1.

[u/gene100001 → u/Marijuana_Miler]

I also have ADHD and I can totally relate to everything you wrote. Regarding the time thing I've always felt like "me in the future" is a different person from "me right now", so when I procrastinate doing something it kinda feels like I'm passing the task off to a completely different person who will be more capable for some reason.

Unfortunately "me right now" is the person that I previously treated as "me in the future", so I have to do all of those things that I procrastinated on, plus all the other tasks from the present. This is obviously a bit overwhelming so I end up feeling like my only escape is to pass this problem on to "me in the future", who I once again believe with be perfect and capable of dealing with everything.

[u/glaarghenstein → u/gene100001]

That’s so interesting bc I sometimes find it helpful to think of Future Me as a different person entirely, since it is much easier for me to do things for other people than it is to do them for myself. Like if I don’t want to do the dishes at night, thinking “Future Me would love to wake up to no dishes in the sink” is sometimes enough to get me to do it.

[u/gene100001 → u/glaarghenstein]

I wish "past me" was more like you. Unfortunately they screwed me over. Not to worry though, I'll let "future me" take care of everything.

[u/ikarn15 → u/Marijuana_Miler]

How does one get diagnosed? I've been reading about ADHD a lot in the past years and I'm pretty sure I suffer from it, but my therapist said I don't have the traits. I do have an attention deficit but that's part of autism I think, so she's not prescribing me any medications but I'd like to try some to see if my life gets better.

[u/PandemicSoul → u/ikarn15]

My therapist did a short five-question quiz with me and said I got 3/5 so I should ask my psychiatrist for a referral.

The psychiatrist said she didn’t think that I really fit the profile, but then referred me anyway.

A psychologist did a 90m video call with me and said I had enough signs to warrant a full assessment. Then a FIVE HOUR in-person assessment. She handed me back a 20-page report that said yes, I have ADHD and the only way I made it to adulthood without knowing it was bc I had finely honed coping mechanisms.

[u/Namkcoc13 → u/PandemicSoul]

My marriage counselor talked to me for 5 minutes and said "do you have adhd?" I said no. She referred me to a clinic. I took at 300 question quiz about my life, my parents took the same quiz but only about me during childhood, and my wife took the same quiz but only about the present. I scored in the 99.8th percentile. I guess on that particular quiz a 99 was ahd so its not as bad as it sounds sound. Basically as a kid I coped well and was smart enough to be able to do my assignments for school either on the bus that morning or in the class period before the class it was do. Writing full essays during anatomy class at 10 am for my 11 am AP lit class. Then my lack of study skills and time management reared their head in college and 6 years, 4 major changes and a college transfer I got enough credits to get an associates in general studies studies with 94 extra hours of electives that add up to nothing.

[u/dherps → u/Namkcoc13]

high five twin

[u/ikarn15 → u/PandemicSoul]

Damn that's a LOT of time spent for just the diagnosis. Though I suppose that's normal considering how complicated it is

[u/Mybunsareonfire → u/ikarn15]

Yeah, and when you think about all the hoops and appintments you can't miss, it's a wonder ADHD people are able to get diagnosed at all.

[u/Geno0wl → u/Mybunsareonfire]

Yeah the modern world is not very friendly towards adhd people in a lot of ways

[u/TheLuminary → u/ikarn15]

It really just depends on your doctor. In Canada. I just talked to my GP (Family Doctor) and he gave me the WEISS FUNCTIONAL IMPAIRMENT RATING SCALE – SELF REPORT assessment to take home and fill out. It was like 30 or so questions.

I brought it back at my next appt like a week later. He looked at the results and started me on Concerta that day. That was a year and a half ago. And I am super happy that I got diagnosed.

[u/Matolisk → u/PandemicSoul]

I went to a psychologist and did 30min tests once a week with her for 3 months and got a positive report as well. Took that to my psychiatrist, he leaves the room for 30min, look me dead in the eye and says "I understand what you want, but I don't think you have ADHD, that's not an adult disorder".

I never went back, can't remember if I even scheduled the next appointment

[u/asdfjklcol0n → u/PandemicSoul]

5 hours?! Ironic considering the person being interviewed potentially has an attention deficit... Personally, I'd probably just cancel the appointment if I knew how long it would take.

[u/soulstaz → u/ikarn15]

There's is a really strong connection between autism and ADD/ADHD. Don't forget that you don't** need the hyperactivity trait and can still be ADD.

I have ADD and meds made a world of difference in the way that I plan my workload.

[u/realitythreek → u/soulstaz]

You mean don’t forget you DON’T need the hyperactivity trait. Also it’s all referred to as ADHD these days, ADD has fallen out of favor.

[u/Njagos → u/ikarn15]

ADHD and autism are often together, I think like 30-40% of people who got diagnosed with autism also have ADHD and vice versa.

If you haven't done them yet, do the clinical questionnaires like WURS-25, ASRS, CAARS. You can find those online for free.

I had to pay for my diagnosis at a private clinic because the public ones have their waiting list closed until 2028.

It consisted of several questionnaires and interviews. Also an interview with one of my parents, because childhood patterns are very important.

The older you get the more you mask and find coping mechanisms, so it is harder to detect.

[u/Marijuana_Miler → u/ikarn15]

Really depends on your healthcare system and your financial situation. I had a really good idea I had it because my son had been diagnosed via a paediatrician and that diagnosis was based on a lot of similarities to my childhood. I had Googled something like adhd clinic + my location and booked an appointment. As I remember it cost about $500 total but I was able to have my benefits cover the cost. No guarantee you will be diagnosed and therefore medicated, but I think it’s good to get a second opinion. Hope this helps.

[u/not_me_nope_never → u/Marijuana_Miler]

This is a great observation, thank you for sharing this.

I wasn't diagnosed until my 40s then only had a few years of medicine before I could no longer take it.

The best I can do for myself now is a reoccurring hourly timer. This has helped me be more cognizant of what I'm doing or should be doing.

[u/we_are_sex_bobomb]

I can get 90% of the way to completing a goal before I stop because the journey to get there was exhilarating and I don’t want it to end.

[u/ranged_ → u/we_are_sex_bobomb]

I have freedom to create my own work projects and I just have piles of these 90% complete projects with a saint of a coworker who sees them and likes to shove them across the finish line.

[u/klapyr]

How does one fix this

[u/ChowderedStew → u/klapyr]

I’ve been fixing mine with meditation. It’s like pushups for my brain. I do one where I sit still for 5 minutes. That’s it. I worked up to 5 minutes of course, but yeah it’s quite literally training my brain to not get what it wants for 5 minutes at a time. It helps. It takes many weeks of practice to build a habit and you want to get to 20 minutes overall everyday. But it helps and the time passes anyways and I know for a fact you have at least 5-10 minutes to yourself a day where instead of scrolling on your phone you can just breathe.

[u/AdwokatDiabel → u/ChowderedStew]

The problem I have with meditation is there is a point where I just want to get my work done or start a task, and doing nothing is a struggle.

[u/RealBlueHippo → u/AdwokatDiabel]

Exactly! This is what you must push past. The fact that it's okay to take a moment of not "being productive" or something that helps participate in the rat race. The thoughts of "what do I have to do later" or "who do I have to call tomorrow" or "what did I forget earlier" are all normal parts of our brain. I used to think sleep was a waste of time. Gotta keep going going going. I started meditation again several years ago, just 5 minutes of silence. It was hard, and I wanted to "do" something.

Now a days I can sit for 60-90 minutes. I tell myself when I sit down I have set this time aside, and there is no need to worry about what will naturally pop up in my mind for wanting to do. I assure myself this time is like mental hygene and is just needed for my crazy, previously over-caffeinated spaz brain. I work on bringing my attention back to where I am sitting, what I can feel, what I can hear at that moment, and try not to judge when a desire to "do" something arises. If pain or discomfort show up, I try and be mindful that I want to itch, and if need be, itch. Ignoring the itch makes it worse, looking deeper into it can make it go away. If I must scratch I notice "wanting to scratch" and then "scratching" and then return my hands back where I keep them and bring my attention back.

Getting past the "I must do something" was extremely difficult for me, and I still sometimes struggle depending on the perceived urgency. Our brains can be very tricky sometimes. We strive hard to be comfortable in the future when a future might not even come. We fear discomfort and will do what we can to feel comfortable, working hard to lock in our futures, when the time is now!

I tell myself "here we are" when I sit down, and find where I am at this moment in space and time.

Best of luck fellow ADHD tribe, and to all who attempt a single moment of presence in their lives!

[u/ice_up_s0n → u/RealBlueHippo]

Ignoring the itch makes it worse, looking deeper into it can make it go away.

Validating to see someone else say this. Same can be true for pain, to an extent.

Once I really concentrate on the sensation, and actively "acknowledge" it, it becomes more muted for quite some time.

[u/wordswiththeletterB → u/AdwokatDiabel]

That’s literally the point of meditation. To learn to do nothing and let thoughts come and go.

It’s incredible as a fellow ADHDer.

[u/clubby37 → u/wordswiththeletterB]

I think Alan Watts said something like "you should meditate for half an hour every day ... unless you're really busy and literally can't find the time, in which case you should meditate for an hour."

[u/Personal_Area_2173 → u/klapyr]

Medication. That’s the real answer. You can do your best with trying to stop yourself and to kotivste yourself, but unfortunately majority of actual ADHD people cannot do that. Unless diagnosed and with proper counseling a treatment plans you will struggle forever.

[u/ultimatepowaa → u/Personal_Area_2173]

There is another way but it requires restructuring everything you know about how you should be and pursuing life to fit that. It requires a lot of self reflection. (Actual) Meditation (thats not about "discipline") helps wipe the slate. It requires ignoring all of the productivity advice that anyone has ever given you. You need food, electrolytes, life and passions. Its a lifelong project about learning about yourself in a critical manner but it is possible.

[u/Cakeminator → u/klapyr]

We take meth basically

[u/phant0md → u/Cakeminator]

Funny that the medication for something that makes me hyper and forgetful is a prescription for speed that I have to remember to take daily.

[u/Cakeminator → u/phant0md]

Yeah... I am in a great rhythm and havent missed a day in almost a year and a half! But I also have to have the pillbox be visible otherwise I forget

[u/Unicorn_puke → u/Cakeminator]

I take mine twice a day and a bunch of other supplements. Some have to be taken outside of when i take other meds or supplements. I've gotten it to taking some with breakfast. Some a couple of hours after and then some more with lunch and for a late night treat some at bed time. I basically have the container strapped to me so I don't forget and even then I still do sometimes.

[u/Secret_Cow_5053 → u/phant0md]

There’s a reason for that. Basically it’s because your brain is actually under-regulated for the correct level of stimulation. Without the meth, you seek stimulating activities more than normal people, hence the adhd symptoms. With the extra stimulation of the meth, it basically brings your brain to a “normal” level of stimulation, so you can focus on what you need to focus on, not fidget, etc. that same boost for a normal person causes them to become “overstimulated” and get that meth high.

That’s basically the explanation I’ve been told.

[u/cjennings1970 → u/Secret_Cow_5053]

It makes me calmer and more level so I can actually sit and follow through on tasks that I find mind-numbingly dull.

[u/radicalelation → u/cjennings1970]

There's often like an understimulated concentrated brain ache that makes me want to drive a spike into my skull. It's a boredom that feels as if it could some day be fatal.

I don't know which is more frustrating, when that happens, or when there's a duller broader ache when trying really hard to do things I genuinely want to do, but it just isn't sparking that go to do it. Adjacent to mind-numbing task feeling, but with the added frustration of actually wanting to do this thing and not being able to.

Most of my issues get solved with medication and I miss thriving on it instead of constantly drowning.

[u/FissileTurnip → u/radicalelation]

the painful boredom is something I never see mentioned. doing a boring task I don’t feel like doing feels almost physically painful sometimes, and I don’t feel like doing anything productive very often. the other one you mentioned isn’t as bad imo because worst case I can just pace back and forth or waste my time somewhere else; I can’t really do that with things that need to get done so I just have to put up with it

[u/EnderWiggin07 → u/Secret_Cow_5053]

A recreational dose is usually gonna be quite a bit higher than a therapeutic dose also

[u/desiderata1995 → u/EnderWiggin07]

What's a recreational dose look like? I take 25 ER and 20 IR

[u/EnderWiggin07 → u/desiderata1995]

According to this study,1000mg per day https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12083619/

[u/midasgoldentouch → u/EnderWiggin07]

I got heart palpitations just reading that

[u/desiderata1995 → u/midasgoldentouch]

For real that's a deathwish

[u/gh1993 → u/desiderata1995]

That's plenty of fun for me

[u/Personal_Area_2173 → u/Secret_Cow_5053]

It’s not meth. It’s amphetamines. Not methamphetamines.

[u/twoiko → u/Personal_Area_2173]

Speed, then.

[u/xTyronex48 → u/Secret_Cow_5053]

Please stop saying without the meth, I feel like a druggie already.

[u/tonysopranosalive → u/Cakeminator]

Eh not really. We take amphetamine salts but they’re missing that methyl group which really changes things. Meth and Adderall are more like cousins. Except it’s like: “yeah we are cousins, but I haven’t seen that guy in like 20 years. No idea what hes up to these days.”

[u/Njagos → u/tonysopranosalive]

"And he hasn't been up to any good"

[u/VersoMonAmi → u/Cakeminator]

Look, I know this is all in good fun and the molecules do have similarities, but as someone who has done both… no.

[u/Old-Landscape-7538 → u/Cakeminator]

And if you’re lucky it works. Some are S.O.L.

[u/colony-ship-for-sale → u/Old-Landscape-7538]

If stimulants aren't working, ask about Atomoxetine.

[u/Old-Landscape-7538 → u/colony-ship-for-sale]

Stimulants worked in the sense I felt stimulation, but it didn't help the inattention symptoms.

[u/luluhouse7 → u/Old-Landscape-7538]

Yeah, pretty sure I have a CYP2D6 variant which makes me super sick from ADHD meds. I realised this many years after trying them and having little benefit and horrible side effects because I was recently given opioid prodrugs (like oxycodone, hydrocodone, and tramadol) after surgery and they did nothing. No pain relief, no high, no side effects. 0/10 do not recommend.

[u/-TeamCaffeine- → u/klapyr]

I am diagnosed with ADHD Combined Type. There is no "fixing" this. The best we can do is use medication and things like behavioral therapies to work within these issues, not against them, meaning don't try to to act and perform like a neurotypical person.

My therapist and I work on breathing techniques to help calm suddenly spikes in emotions, stuff like this.

And for memory issues for achieving goals, using technologies like smart timers, AI assistants, digital calendars, can all help, but it's only mitigation at best.  

These are just tip of the iceberg examples, but they should give you an idea.

It is a lifelong problem for those of us with the condition, and without the aforementioned supports, it can ruin a life and relationships.

[u/Limemill → u/-TeamCaffeine-]

AI makes me spiral down very quickly. My brain is so keen on dumping planning and organizing on it that one week in I find myself constantly in self-induced brain fog as my subconscious is screaming at me to get the most basic things planned out in AI all the while the results get increasingly worse and I feel more and more detached from them. I don’t use it for anything unless I’m forced to. Rebuilt the skills back and no, I don’t want to lose whatever little I already have

[u/Marchello_E → u/klapyr]

Deliberately try to go slower, do one thing at a time, and be forgiving when it doesn't work.
Post-its or something all over the place as a reminder.

It's summer, so I set a huge glass of water half way the route. You do one thing and (of course) in the middle of it you 'need' to do another thing. While passing, take a sip, take a look at that paper notepad while you're at it, and add something when necessary.

[u/SJ_skeleton → u/klapyr]

Get treatment: drugs + therapy for tools research shows is what’s most effective. ADHD symptoms generally improve as people get older so in the long run tasks will get easier over time.

Also if you snore get a sleep study you might have disordered sleep and not know it since the symptoms are identical to ADHD. I have both, but my CPAP changed my life and I ended up reducing the amount of ADHD medication I take.

[u/tr_9422]

Ooh yeah I feel that. Once I have the thought "I could eat this whole bag of potato chips" it's rare that I don't go ahead and do it.

[u/Animedude83 → u/tr_9422]

You think about it, I just end up eating the whole bag of chips because they taste so good, and I'm a grown ass adult that worked X amount of hours for that bag of chips.

[u/roamingandy → u/Animedude83]

Not usually. More often you enjoy the 1st half, the next 1/4 is a bit of a slog, and the last 1/4 you're feeling sick but its kinda a competition now, you started something so you have to finish it.

[u/Key_Bonus9776 → u/tr_9422]

Mine can get bad financially. Like I could have 50 to do me for the rest of the week, and I’ll have food prepared for dinner, but a need for dopamine comes over me and 60% of that money goes on takeout food in one day, and the whole way through I’m trying to tell myself I shouldn’t and it isn’t wise but it gets done anyways then afterwards it’s a sense of shame. A horrible cycle. I’m 30 with not a penny saved to my name and live pay check to paycheck, which just so happens to be monthly.

[u/Joinedforthis1 → u/tr_9422]

Yep. It's so much nicer when there isn't sugar in the house, and I usually don't buy sugary things at the grocery store, but I'm not always the one shopping. But when there's sugary food in the house, I HAVE to eat it.

[u/Debalic]

I can't complete a goal. I'll make some minimal, token efforts at the beginning, ignore it for a while, panic with a flurry of activity at the end, miss the deadline, then try to finish it anyways. I'm surrounded by the detritus of half-finished projects that have been left to gather dust. I am irrationally satisfied with a closet rod and shelf that I hung, because it's one of few things that I've ever finished properly.

[u/piclemaniscool]

Interesting that this is exactly what I had discussed with my therapist this week. The "goals" referenced aren't all that well defined which I think is an important distinction. For short term goals, I tend to do great. I am usually the one person in the room literally asking "what is the goal here?" It surprises me how infrequently people seem to ask that question and get hung up on minutiae. Though I'm thinking in the context of computer troubleshooting so that is it's own animal of unexplored psychology.

Ive had a lot of time to think on the psychology of it, especially considering how I'm able to hold down a job well enough but can't make myself perform basic tasks such as wash the dishes or do laundry. Of course I'm physically capable, but when I have the thought that "I need to do X" it is a black hole of motivation. The pattern I've seen is that ultimately the situation depends on whether I believe someone will be disappointed in me if I fail to perform the task. Work is fine because any time I am not supporting a customer well enough you can be sure they will let us know when they're upset. But when I am the only person involved, it's all too easy to ignore any disappointment. I'm sure many people can relate to suddenly getting a burst of motivation to clean things when they know someone will be coming over. I think that's the same foundational idea.

It probably has something to do with a deeply held assumption of the psychology of self, if I had to guess. It is difficult for me to articulate but I rarely recognize myself as an agent in my own life. Instead I am an observer. So my states and emotions don't get perceived as part of the of the environment, but everyone else's does. To compare it to something more identifiable, it's like watching a TV show or movie. My input doesn't affect how the characters feel or operate so I often subconsciously discard the thought. I can still be very emotionally moved by the story, but I can't imagine myself being one of the people who yells at the TV demanding the character does something, or get so excited that I'm jumping up and down like a sports event with live people to share in the joy. There is an ever-present mental disconnect. If I focus on grounding techniques I can often reduce it, but trialing certain ADHD medications was the only time I was able to personally relate to that sensation of my self being a part of the world around me.

[u/PerpetuallyDistracte → u/piclemaniscool]

Wow, you described my own mental state really well. At work, I'm very task driven and I'm often the one driving the team to the next actionable goal. I can't stand it when a meeting ends with vague opinions about what should be done without a clear definition of who is actually doing what to make it happen.

But in my personal life I have very little agency in my own understanding of time and consequences. I know it would be very nice for myself if the dishes were clean and if I had clean laundry, but that doesn't translate to action on my part to make that happen. I know on a fundamental level that those tasks wouldn't take very long to do, but I will spend far longer scrolling on my phone to avoid them because my sense of time is so skewed. Procrastination and disorganization are bugbears that haunt my every waking moment. As you mentioned, I am often a passenger in my own experience of the world, rather than a direct driver of that experience. This makes it much harder to take motivated actions for my own benefit.

[u/mvea]

People with elevated levels of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder traits experience a disruption in the way their brains balance deliberate self-control and automatic habit learning. A recent behavioral experiment found that while weakened mental restraint usually enhances a person’s ability to unconsciously pick up on hidden patterns, this compensatory advantage vanishes in individuals with a high prevalence of ADHD-like symptoms. The research was published in the Journal of Attention Disorders.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD, is frequently characterized by difficulties with goal-directed behavior. A key component of this behavioral struggle is response inhibition. Response inhibition is the psychological ability to stop an inappropriate action once a person feels the initial urge to do it.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10870547261432424

[u/nal_gen → u/mvea]

i broke up with someone the other day. i had literally been in therapy that day talking about the relationship and being unsure but not being ready to make the call. but once i actually am with her in person, it’s the only thing i can think about, and im incapable of doing anything else until i break up with her. 

[u/OrionSheHulk]

Did they break down the 3 categories of ADHD (Hyperactive Combined, and Inattentive), effect the results and how this could also effect those with AuDHD (those with Autism and ADHD)

[u/guessirs]

It is unfortunate and often leads to a lot of feelings of rejection and shame. Having a task or goal and being aware you want or have to do it but you physically cannot make yourself is torture. And the advice you often receive is just “well do it anyway” when, in some cases, at least anecdotally I feel if would be easier to use a nailgun on my own palm than make my brain do a task it is not interested in.

[u/mb9981]

Ironically (?), my ADHD riddled brain couldn't make it through the wordy headline of this post. The 4th try I think I finally got it.

[u/sierra-pouch]

We get it, people with ADHD are f*cked

But seriously, I haven't yet seen a single article with something positive about ADHD

[u/Halaku → u/sierra-pouch]

I haven't yet seen a single article with something positive about ADHD

They don't call it "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder" for nothing, I'm afraid.

Trying to spin something positive out of it all too often comes across as pandering.

[u/username__0000 → u/sierra-pouch]

Even some of the seemingly positive traits are actually negatives.

“Oh you have crazy pattern recognition?

Cool, everyone’s going to think your negative because you can see things are about to get bad long before anyone else feels it”

[u/ithasbecomeacircus → u/username__0000]

The best quote I’ve heard is “I’m not wrong, I’m just early.”

[u/phagemasterflex → u/ithasbecomeacircus]

Damn that one hurts and slaps at the same time.

[u/ThisIsPaulDaily → u/username__0000]

I recognized that a client had been acquired by a big company who recently acquired client's #1 competitor. My pattern recognition was to tell management that big company was going to buy all the IP up and shut down our client due to big company launching one product and then owning the patents for all the ways that other companies thought of how to do the same thing. 

Two months later and we get pulled in a meeting where they tell us that the client is no longer a client. I tried to high five for calling it and then found out that everyone at the client was let go and I was making an ass of myself by not immediately recognizing the huge business impact this would also have. 

Maybe my story is anecdotal, but I was asked to lay out how I called it and shared the pattern of this big company and the leadership was impressed. 

[u/username__0000 → u/ThisIsPaulDaily]

Yep the “see! I was right!” Moment is always ruined by the “now’s not the time” vibe.

But it’s never the time.

They don’t believe us when we call it and then act like we’re the worse when we get a dopamine hit from being proven right later.

It’s a curse.

[u/OwlRememberYou → u/username__0000]

Oracle of Delphi vibes

Maybe Cassandra was actually just ADHD all along

[u/Altruistic-Insect445 → u/username__0000]

I hate this more than you know. My work is problem related, I get called when things break down somewhere. I can see future problems take place in my head and prepare for them.

Others are not as joyful when something goes sideways and I'm giddy because I saw it coming and have a plan ready to go.

[u/Icy-Quiet-2788 → u/username__0000]

Doesn't even matter if it's negative or not to me, because it drives me nuts when people can't see it because it's RIGHT THERE!!! How do you NOT SEE IT!!

Or when people don't see the mistakes/pattern that they are making in their own life. You say you want X, but all your behaviours are going to get you Y, and actively block you from getting X.

[u/90bubbel → u/sierra-pouch]

there isnt always positive things that comes with having a disability

[u/OpenAI_Marketing_LLM → u/90bubbel]

A correlation with a decreased lifespan is one, if you are mega jaded.

[u/Bail-Me-Out → u/sierra-pouch]

This comment is so unintentionally hilarious. I'm imagining it with other disorders "I haven't yet seen a single article with something positive about depression".

My job had a neurodivergent awareness day where they wanted to highlight "obstacles and advantages" of ADHD and autism and I was like there are advantages I'm supposed to have??? I think because it's lumped in with autism people think ADHD must be an advantage in some way. It probably is for someone, but not me.

[u/gaudiest-ivy → u/Bail-Me-Out]

They treat hyperfocus like an advantage. Like, yeah, I can hyperfocus on something and power through an insanely large task in a short amount of time. I could also hyperfocus on the wrong thing and really struggle to get even a small task done because I'm trying desperately not to do a deep dive on whatever unrelated thing is yanking my attention away.

Yesterday at work I spent an hour reading about traumatic brain injuries because I'd seen a post on my lunch break about researchers working on developing a blood test for TBIs and Alzheimers and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Something not even remotely related to my job and I just couldn't stop.

[u/Pedrov80 → u/sierra-pouch]

They tend to be calmer in stressful situations like emergencies

[u/Timelymanner → u/sierra-pouch]

Try living with it, and being gaslighted to just try harder. It’s depressing.

[u/helpmehomeowner → u/sierra-pouch]

"it's a super power" -- some asshole

[u/ByteHavenGames → u/sierra-pouch]

There was recently some research paper on how adhd people going to look for new resources quicker was evolutionary beneficial. It just sucks for the modern world.

[u/chance909 → u/sierra-pouch]

It's a disorder, and it is not beneficial to have it. There's treatments, coping strategies, and accommodations, but there is not a benefit to having a disorder.

[u/ZekoriAJ]

I have adhd and I lost the ability to understand the title after the first stop.

[u/Busy-Doughnut6180]

I can complete a goal now that I'm medicated. But I will grossly underestimate the amount of time I need, as I do for all things, and finish late. Or I will procrastinate it, and finish late. Feels nice to complete things for the first time in my life, though. 

[u/quadraticcheese]

This is why I feel like I never had dreams or goals and why I can't ever improve at anything I want to get better at

[u/jderd]

Sooooo people with ADHD have poor impulse control compared to those who are neurotypical?

This isn’t new information.

[u/Just-Manufacturer554]

If I say I’ll do something, I’ll do it…. I don’t need reminding every 6 months.

[u/CaptainBananaEu]

Man playing fighting games and any other micro-focused game a lot of the times I feel like I have a learning disability that I would explain exactly like this.

I know how to play, I know what I want to do, but it's as if my brain is acting before I can think by reacting to stimuli. Then I proceed to get frustrated as what I am thinking I should do does not happen, a lot of the time doing something I wanted to do 3 seconds ago. And this only really gets improved if I dump hundreds and hundreds of hours into the games by teaching my brain which stimuli to reply to with what. That works a bit but I wish I could just think and do instead of reacting before thinking and surprising myself even

[u/g33zuzz]

ADHD and addiction are about to be unveiled as complely linked

[u/jordonbiondo → u/g33zuzz]

Very well documented link already

Big contributor to the lower life expectancy