ADHD is me
This is a place to feel accepted among people like you.
ADHD is a gift and should be treated as one. We want you to focus on the positives of the condition so that you can excel in your life and be the best that you can be.
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akthe1337beauty Untitled -
blessedacceleration Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration -
ladyak Beauty in the Geek -
It would be great if hyperfocus came with a switch
like, “I have an exam in an hour and I have nothing to do so let me turn it on and sit down and just reread all the chapters that the exam covers”
or conversely, “I have to be in class in 20 minutes, so let me turn it off, because as fascinating as reading about The Defenestration of Prague on wikipedia is, I haven’t actually needed to know anything about it since high school, and I really do need to get to class”
Yeah, I did that.
Picking Thing Up From Apartment Floor Rescheduled For Thursday | Full Report
me
(via nightsinwonderland)
Seriously. I have worked my butt off to make considerations, set time limits, make schedules with smartphone, take meds on time, basically make it so I can be successful despite my ADHD.
Then people doubt you have it. Do you risk it all by stopping the things that help you just to prove it to them? No, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone, just know they are stupid and don’t know your story.
(via nightsinwonderland)
- me playing any new game: i don't need your shitty tutorials
- me five seconds later: what the fuck am i doing
(via hopelesstetris)
(via nightsinwonderland)
Anonymous Asks:
adhdisme Said:
Hey, Lulu. I was diagnosed in 2003. I would like to think I’ve lived with ADHD my whole life. I would say to you a couple of things to maybe help with managing ADHD would be to have regular exercise - say 30-60 minutes a day. I find it really helps a lot with focus. I like to do this in the morning as well.
If you haven’t read the book Delivered From Distraction by Dr. Hallowell, please do. We have a lot of quotes if you look at the archive from that book, and I think you’d benefit from it a lot.
You may also want to look into whether or not you may have anxiety along with ADHD. It’s quite common actually to have that. Chances are that you’re not being stared at by everyone in a room, but you feel like you are.
![disordered-thoughts:
actuallyadhd:
[Image description: AAAA! IT’S ADD/ADHD DISMISSAL BINGO! THIS IS AWESOME! It’s 5 x 5. Here’s the text in the squares from left to right and top row to bottom row:
“You’re just lazy.”
“Well maybe if you tried a little harder…”
Devalues your methods because you use pharma.
Richard Branson
Thinks ADD and ADHD are the same thing.
“I have ADD when I’m [doing thing that doesn’t interest me].”
“Stop making excuses.”
Blames video games for your ADD/ADHD.
“You’ll grow out of it.”
All environmental factors delegitimize your diagnosis.
Statistic about ADD/ADHD misdiagnosis.
Thinks knowing someone who has it makes them an expert.
Free space
Starts a nurture vs. nature debate.
Uses your other learning disabilities to invalidate ADD/ADHD.
“Everyone has ADD/ADHD these days.”
“You just want to be special.”
Taking a two month course makes them an expert.
Devalues your strategies because they are not pharma.
“You’re too smart for ADD/ADHD.”
Thinks you should sell your meds to college kids.
Achievements are proof you don’t have ADD/ADHD.
Assumption about how strict your parents were.
Anyone who diagnoses you just wants to put you on medication.
Pretends adult ADD/ADHD doesn’t exist.]
Update: ADD and ADHD are sort of the same or at least are used interchangeably now. More accurately, ADD is not technically a thing anymore, but it’s easier to say than ADHD.
This is awwwwwwsome!
What about unwanted comments on your diet? I get that all the time.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/7589d51e4e21dfb9f0b7e04df47d99b1/tumblr_mi1i4gEzrr1r8zdn4o1_500.jpg)
[Image description: AAAA! IT’S ADD/ADHD DISMISSAL BINGO! THIS IS AWESOME! It’s 5 x 5. Here’s the text in the squares from left to right and top row to bottom row:
“You’re just lazy.”
“Well maybe if you tried a little harder…”
Devalues your methods because you use pharma.
Richard Branson
Thinks ADD and ADHD are the same thing.
“I have ADD when I’m [doing thing that doesn’t interest me].”
“Stop making excuses.”
Blames video games for your ADD/ADHD.
“You’ll grow out of it.”
All environmental factors delegitimize your diagnosis.
Statistic about ADD/ADHD misdiagnosis.
Thinks knowing someone who has it makes them an expert.
Free space
Starts a nurture vs. nature debate.
Uses your other learning disabilities to invalidate ADD/ADHD.
“Everyone has ADD/ADHD these days.”
“You just want to be special.”
Taking a two month course makes them an expert.
Devalues your strategies because they are not pharma.
“You’re too smart for ADD/ADHD.”
Thinks you should sell your meds to college kids.
Achievements are proof you don’t have ADD/ADHD.
Assumption about how strict your parents were.
Anyone who diagnoses you just wants to put you on medication.
Pretends adult ADD/ADHD doesn’t exist.]
Update: ADD and ADHD are sort of the same or at least are used interchangeably now. More accurately, ADD is not technically a thing anymore, but it’s easier to say than ADHD.
This is awwwwwwsome!
What about unwanted comments on your diet? I get that all the time.
(via sonic-thespacehog)
There needs to be a code word or something that means “my brain is fighting me every step of the way today and I feel like I’m going to vibrate out of my skin, so I need you to forgive everything and go slowly and speak softly and lower your expectations.” And then we could all just be like, “I know I said we could go to a movie tonight but… tangerines.” And the other person would nod and squeeze your elbow or rub your head and you wouldn’t feel like a failure.
(via fateandfire)
I was talking online with a friend of mine one day last week. We were discussing the similarities in our work. She addresses people who are newly diagnosed with ADHD in a workshop setting. I … well, I do this, I address people in a blog setting.
My friend and I were talking about her approach to talking with people. She told me she used to have a power point presentation, and a set patter, but she’s given that up. How does she inspire interaction with her groups now? “ […] I just talk about myself and my experiences.”
She said, “It reinforced my belief that allowing myself to really feel my emotions while I talk to them makes the biggest connection. People see a lot about the superficial challenges of ADHD, but few talk about the hidden shame and pain, and that certainly applies to your blog.”
So I said, “Yep, we connect when we reveal … something about us makes us want to reach out to those who make us feel … not normal, but okay in a way, like ‘Hey,you sound like me and you’re not apologizing to the world, do I not have to apologize either? Is it okay to be this way? Can I stop being so hard on myself?’”
I know this is true, I’ve read blog posts that made me feel this way. My earliest experiences with what ADHD is came from reading Zoë Kessler’s blog.
Then my friend said, “Absolutely, and not ashamed. People don’t talk about what they perceive as weakness. When you show them how strong they are in the face of challenges we face, it is such a relief, and it allows them to talk to other people about their secret pain.”
And I replied, “Hell yeah. That is one of the most poignant and strong truths of this thing, ADHD is perceived as a collection of weaknesses, but no one looks at the person with ADHD and realizes how strong they are to be able to deal with it and survive.”
The secret is, ADHD is issues, not people! And that made me think of all of you. You who read my blog, and others who haven’t read my blog but have ADHD, you need to know this.
We are still here. We take the crap, and we believe it to some extent, because it’s true.
We have ADHD. We have our issues. We have our problems. We get distracted, we get excited, we take chances and they sometimes don’t work the way we thought they would even though from the vantage of time passed we can see that the chances we took had to fail.
But we are still here. We are not our issues. We are the people who survive those issues. We are not our symptoms. We are the ones who battle with those symptoms daily. We are not ADHD. We are the ones who deal with ADHD.
And I’ve realized something big …
I’m happy to be writing for you. I’m proud to be writing for you. And I’m very proud to stand among you, beside you. You are my people and you are strong. We are tested in the fire, so to speak, and we are not found wanting. On the contrary, we are able to pick ourselves up from each blow, and we are able to keep going.
You people, you strong and worthy people, you warriors … you make me proud. Thank you.
6 Benefits of a Later-in-Life ADHD Diagnosis
By ZOË KESSLER, BA, B.ED.
Finding the positive side in any situation is something I’m pretty good at. In spite of life’s challenges, I’ve been called “insufferably cheerful” (whatever that means) and consider myself to be irrationally optimistic.
Even so (and even though it’s been over 7 years since my ADHD diagnosis) until recently, I couldn’t really come up with any benefits of being diagnosed later rather than sooner. (Besides the obvious one of life finally making sense.) (Sort of.)
Imagine my surprise when I finally did stumble over a plus.
I’d been thinking about my decision not to be immunized before my trip to India. I’d been led to believe the shots were mandatory, only to find out at the last moment that they’re not.
Relieved, I chose instead to fortify my robust immune system with supplements under the guidance of a healthcare professional whose opinion and expertise I trust. It also helped that she visits the same area in India every year and knew what I would be up against.
I realize some would see my decision as controversial, perhaps even foolhardy; but I’m grateful that I was able to decide for myself.
In thinking about my decision, I realized that I’d also had the choice when considering how to treat and manage my ADHD. I had that choice because when I was diagnosed, I was an adult.
As an adult, I had (and continue to have) the freedom and ability to research, learn about, and choose my own ADHD management strategies. And again, for this I am grateful.
Finding a positive side to late diagnosis was something I’d almost given up on. It was such a welcome (and unexpected) discovery, I decided to push the envelope to see if I could think of any more.
And I did!
Here’s the complete list.
1 ) You get to choose your own treatment. (I’ve got ADHD; I’ve never liked anyone telling me what to do anyway.)
2 ) Your control of your own ADHD management is the perfect antidote to a lifetime of feeling out of control.
3 ) You’ve got a zillion zany stories about your undiagnosed years to tell at parties.
4 ) …but now you can learn when to stop telling them.
5 ) Your kids will have to stop telling you you never give them anything.
6 ) …but you can bond with them over ADHD management.
Once again, I’ve proven to myself (if to no one else) that no situation is entirely bad.
So far.
What about you?
Can you think of any advantages to being diagnosed with ADHD late in life? (Take your time. After all, it took me 7 years to come up with this list. It’s ok. I’ll wait.)
ADDENDUM:
This just in! Ok, not just in, but I just read it. Chalk it up to poor ADHD organization. I jumped into today’s blog post, wrote and posted, before reviewing and responding to the many comments to other posts waiting in the queue.
Sure enough, on March 15, one reader said I sounded much like, “…a drug addict justifying their belief in ‘better living through chemistry”’” Ouch.
Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful to Dan for taking the time to write in, and fully respect his right to hold whatever opinion he wants, about me or anything else. But I’m not saying I was thrilled by the comparison. I’m too HSP-y for that. But if I can’t take the heat, I’ll get out of the limelight, so fair enough. (btw, if you’re interested in Dan’s comment in full and my response, check out the Comments to my post, Attack of the ADHD Zombies.)
