The
#adhd
to-do list:
-need groceries
-but first, let’s make a healthier eating/exercise plan
-but first, let’s make a new life plan
-but first, let’s clean up the house
-ooh, must repaint bedroom
-shops for new bedroom linens
-hungry, how is there nothing in frig
#adhdtwitter
Why I never knew I had adhd:
-I got good grades
-I could sit still
-I read books like mad
but
-if I wasn’t interested, forget it
-my room: a nightmare
-i could lose anything
-I was as puzzled as my parents when they’d ask, “What were you thinking?”
We aren’t all alike.
#adhd
I have an appointment at 11, so of course I’m in ADHD wait mode. NT friend does not get this: “I try to see how much I can get done before I have to leave!”
What?
Need to make dental appointment.
-I’ll call after lunch.
-Actually it’s just Monday, I’ll call tomorrow.
-Man this is a busy week, I’ll call Wednesday
-Crap it’s 4:30 probably can’t call now
-Darn it’s Saturday I forgot I’ll do it Monday
-I’ll call in Sept
-ad infinitum
#adhd
The ADHD Friday:
-whew, almost the weekend
-I can get EVERYTHING done
-plus run errands
-plus give a dinner party
-plus read that book
-plus start a project
-plus clean the house
-plus catch up on email
-plus exercise
-plus plan next week
-plus relax
-really, what could go wrong?
The strawberries have gone bad.
NT person: Tosses bad strawberries, puts on grocery list
ADHD person:
-Ohmigod I suck
-I WAS going to eat those
-Like with yogurt, on healthy eating plan
-and it’s wasted money
-Honestly I don’t deserve strawberries at all
#adhd
#adhdtwitter
ADHD waiting mode: Utter brain paralysis brought on by something happening later that day - an appointment, a package you have to sign for, etc. Brain will do nothing but WAIT. Oh, and talk back to you.
Me: Can we do this while we wait? Brain: No, I have to wait.
Truly FFS
The ADHD thing that turns “I need to do laundry” into “I need to take every piece of clothing out of the closet and pile it on the bed and try it on and organize it” and yes it’s 9 pm what’s your point?
#adhd
#adhdtwitter
Breakfast:
NT husband: Hungry, makes oatmeal
Me: Hungry, but what?
-cereal? boring
-bagel? had yesterday
-toast? no, need protein
-eggs? ugh
-protein bar? sigh
-opens fridge
-cold pizza! SAVED!
Lunch:
NT husband: Hungry, makes sandwich
Me: Hungry, but what?
welcome to
#adhd
This is hard to read/translate, but DO TRY. Twitter's new privacy policy takes effect 09/29, giving X the right to use your posts (including DMs) & all your data - including phone, email, biometrics - to train Musk’s AI and share with any partner X wants.
Does your brain tell you everything is your fault? Even when it isn’t?
That’s the product of growing up not understanding why you didn’t finish it, how you could have lost it, when are you going to stop being late, how you could forget, and why you’re not trying hard enough
The thing about cleaning up one area is that you end up with things that need to go elsewhere, but all the elsewheres need to be organized too, so you think “before I put this in that room I need to do something about that room,” so whatever it is sits in the hall for weeks.
Puts appointment in calendar.
-Sets notice one day before
-Sets another notice one hour before
-Sets another notice 10 minutes before
-Wonders if that’s enough
welcome to
#adhd
It feels like “overwhelm” should be reserved for such things as the house is flooding, the bill is $10,000, my life partner just left.
Not “I am in the middle of a work assignment, two things need to go back to amazon, we need groceries and I need to make a dentist appointment.”
As an
#adhd
child, I was creative, messy, stubborn, smart - and always a little puzzled. Why didn’t I clean my room? How did I lose (fill in the blank)? Why didn’t I listen to my teacher? My answer, always, was “I don’t know.” Because I didn’t. Dx’d at 43, the lightbulb came on.
The adult voices that you can still hear from your childhood, saying, “You can do so much better than this,” or “You have so much potential, but…” (or the note on the report card that said “She’s very bright but doesn’t pay attention in class”)
It’s not doing the thing that’s the
#adhd
issue. It’s the 27 steps that doing the thing entails - the papers, the this-belongs-in-another-rooms, the DECISIONS to keep or not, the boxes, and let’s not forget the motivation to finish once it’s all in piles on the floor around you
-get up
-take meds
-get coffee
-curl up on couch
-think about the day
-still sleepy
-go back to bed for an hour
-meds kick in
-wake up for real
-get coffee
-curl up on couch
-think about the day
-wow, where has the time gone?
so how’s your morning?
No not everyone has ADHD. Ever heard of hyperfocus? Hyperfocus is NOT flow. We forget to eat and pee and move and are like stoned zombies who can’t even get up and give in to the munchies because we are zoned the F out on one thing for a kazillion hours. Can you relate?
I have three unfinished projects going, all of which were extremely motivating in the beginning, and all of which are just sitting there now, taunting me. Do I still like them? Yes. Am I working on them? No. Do I want to? Yes. Does my brain get on board? No. It walks right by.
Ah, the happiness of having a free day. Accompanied, however, by the reality that it is not 56 hours long and that therefore I can’t do everything, which means I have to choose, which means decision paralysis, which makes me want to go back to bed.
welcome to
#adhd
When you basically use your amazon cart as a reminder list - we need dog food, that photo needs a frame, oh what a cute Christmas present - which is why there are 366 items in your “Saved for Later” list and you’ve forgotten why for many of them.
welcome to
#adhd
Perhaps my favorite part of adhd is having my thoughts hijacked approximately 500* times a day. The squirrels get so tiresome.
*If you don’t have adhd, you think 500 is an exaggeration. Trust me.
When you think, “I’m going to find something new to watch,” but then scrolling dozens of things on Netflix and Prime and Hulu leaves you undecided and tired and you start the series over that you’ve watched three times already.
What i did not get done today:
-laundry
-prescriptions managed
-desk chaos solved
-groceries
-important email
-bills
-phone calls
What I did get done today:
-2 hours pet insurance research for someone else
Seriously why
#adhd
#adhdtwitter
Me: We can get a lot done today!
Brain: SNOW
Me: I should shovel the walk
Brain: SO COLD
Me: perfect day to clean, organize
Brain: NO. CAN’T FOCUS
Me: how about laundry
Brain: NO
Me: Fine we’ll watch football
Brain: OK THEN. And ooh let’s make cookies
Me: FFS
life with
#adhd
People who think ADHDers just take meds because we’re addicted: Then tell me why I forget them 2-3 times a week, resist calling the pharmacy, and only remember to get refills from my practitioner because the notification on my phone pops up for the fifth time?
Maybe if I were to write “Sit on couch staring into space trying to motivate myself” as an item in my calendar I would at least be able to cross something off
welcome to
#adhd
Existential ADHD laundry situation: Whether to change into clothes you don’t like or that don’t fit well while you do laundry, so that everything you like will be clean at once, or to stay in what you’re wearing even though it means your favorite jeans stay dirty until next time
Friend asked why the unpacking is so hard. I tried to figure it out. Maybe it’s not just the clothes; maybe it’s that to empty the suitcase actually takes like 45 actions - laundry, toiletries, books, charging cords, gifts, etc.
What do you think?
welcome to
#adhd
#askadhd
@jocrowscott
Some other very common things:
-projects started with joy but then not finished
-time blindness - you don’t judge it quite properly
-if you’re interested, you can work for hours; if you aren’t, forget it
-creative thinking
-you procrastinate, but then kick ass on deadline
#adhd
A friend texts this morning and she has rearranged her electronics. It looks fabulous.
My brain: OOOOH!
My brain: forgets earlier to-do list
My brain: Must rearrange electronics now!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a prime example of adhd, dopamine & the power of suggestion
#ADHD
math is estimating that a 15-minute task is going to take 2 hours, so you put it off for a month, but thinking a 2-hour task will take 15 minutes so you're late ALL the time.
Additionally, do you, like me (hi, it's Harley), also store them in a screenshots folder that you SWEAR you'll look at? I swear I'll get to it. Eventually. Probably! Soon(tm). Maybe after I deep clean my whole house first...
#ADHD
#ADHDMemes
-gets motivated: let’s get rid of stuff!
-finds decluttering app
-falls down decluttering website rabbit hole
-browses books on amazon
-gathers boxes and sacks
-buys rubbermaid tubs
-gets excited
-peeks into closet to check progress
-wait
-wait
-I actually have to do it?
When Google takes your search history and tries to assign it to an algorithm but can’t because you’ve searched everything from whales to crayon colors to stealth fighters to neon hoodies to poppyseed bread, do they throw you in the
#adhd
bin and say “nevermind this one?”
OK, explain to me how to keep from melting down on the day before a trip you want to take, but you’re dragging your feet getting ready and would stay home if you could even though you know you’ll have the best time ever on the trip.
welcome to
#adhd
#demandresistance
So tired of folks who attack all ADHD meds to the crowd when they don’t know the individuals. I dx’d at 43. Successful career, friendships, exercise, nutrition. Yet there were always struggles. Meds are certainly not the only answer, but they were a huge help to this ADHDer.
Therapist once said part of my time blindness is not being able to “see around the corner” when getting ready for a trip. I try to clean, organize, even create a new life plan when I should be packing. Why? Because I don’t “see” that I’ll be back in just 4 days
#adhd
#adhdtwitter
Why the pile never gets finished:
-I need to pay this one.
-And send that birthday card.
-file these
-toss those
-damn I never returned that?
-oooh sweet photos!
-where does THAT belong?
-I meant to cancel that
-dog needs out
-I need a coke
-what time is it?
-crap I’m late
#adhd
Working at home is good. Jeans, bare feet, dogs. But I miss how going to an office sets up your day. It’s a scaffolding upon which everything else is built. Without that scaffolding, in a world where it almost never matters exactly when we do what, the
#adhd
drift is relentless.
The lovely thing about being a guest in someone’s home - besides hanging out with them, of course - is that my ADHD-brain does not spend all its time suggesting chores or berating itself/me for undone tasks. We just sit. And eat. And talk, and laugh. With a calm brain. Go figure.
When you can’t get back to a task because you’ve been procrastinating so long that you’ve actually forgotten where you were, and figuring that out is somehow more daunting than the task itself
If you’re concerned re Twitter/X’s new data privacy policy as of Sept 29 but just don’t want to leave, do this: Take 30 minutes (it will take at least that long) to go through EVERY aspect of your settings and lock them down. Every page, every drop-down menu. And your biometrics.
Dining table has been covered with my late mom’s stuff for 8 months. Files, photos, keepsakes, scrapbooks, papers and so on. I’ve worked through it bit by bit, totally overwhelmed.
Therapist: Buy clear storage boxes.
Me: Done in a day.
welcome to
#adhd
How it went on Black Friday:
-probably spent 3 hours online
-there are 32 things in my Amazon cart
-there are 249 things on my “saved for later” list
-I haven’t bought any of them
welcome to
#adhd
It’s begun: the litany of “After Christmas, I’m going to…” and “In the new year, I’ll be able to…”
because if nothing else, ADHD is a mixture of erratic focus and yet unabashed optimism
Toaster dies.
-yay! let’s shop
-compares amazon reviews
-checks target app
-goes to consumer reports
-checks food network ratings
-laughs at ridiculous ‘smart’ toasters
-puts three in cart
-forget all that, buys the nifty red one
welcome to
#adhd
Woke up today remembering something incredibly important I need to do.
Did not write it down because it was IMPORTANT, no way I’d forget.
You know the rest of this story. FFS
MUST get back to exercise!
-walk?
-no,boring
-run?
-no, knees
-gym?
-20-min drive
-yoga?
-let’s search!
-oooh, youtube
-let’s just click on this first
-“fast car” duet
-caravan vending machine
-oooh, vending machines around the world
-crap what time is it
-I’ll do this tomorrow
A to Z with ADHD:
He: Want to go to lunch?
Me: Yes! Let me get dressed
Brain:
-crap, what to wear?
-half the clothes are dirty
-that’s too warm for today
-that doesn’t fit
-wow I need to do laundry
-actually, I need to empty and organize entire closet
Me: Wait, can we order in?
If you’re anything like me, your routines were turned upside down during the holidays. Morning routine, exercise routine, kid routine, whatever. How do you get back on the horse? Because this is me: Do something for 36 days in a row, miss a couple days, never go back.
#adhd
3 days before a trip. Have not yet done laundry, made packing list, or picked up prescriptions, but I am seriously thinking I should:
-rearrange couch cushions
-shop for new laptop case
-sort photo boxes
-google dog shows
-start cleaning out garage (honest)
Welcome to
#adhd
I sometimes get asked questions like, “Why should I get an ADHD diagnosis if I don’t want to take meds?”
Here’s what I say.
ADHD is about so much more than meds. It’s learning that your brain is wired differently. It’s understanding that you react differently to stimulants /1
I got a new hamper!
So now:
-hamper will get dirty clothes out of laundry basket
-laundry basket then free for clean clothes
-clean clothes will then get put away
-closet will be organized
-life will be forever changed.
I dont think that’s too much to ask from a hamper, do you?
Me: Can we get this one thing done—
Brain: I’m busy right now
Me: I need us to finish this
Brain: Get in line
Me: You’re actually MY brain, you know. I’m in charge here
Brain: HAHAHAHA
Me: It’s just one task
Brain: I am already doing 27 things right this minute
Me: I know
So of course once I got packed, left home, flew here, met friends, had a margarita and nachos, made a grocery list, and spent the evening laughing, all that former pre-trip angst seems - AS IT ALWAYS DOES - ridiculous. And yet will it happen next time? Of course
welcome to
#adhd
So the downstairs table needed to be cleared off for guests. I was using it to sort papers re: my mom’s estate. I used the put-them-all-in-a-box-and-get-back-to-it-later strategy, so the table is clear, but I now fear for the box. It has officially moved into the ADHD-limbo zone.
Excellent planning on my part: Buying six rolls of Scotch tape before prime gift-wrapping season began
Not-so-excellent planning: I can’t find them
Life with
#adhd
I know. Someone needs to create an ADHD Tax app that you install on your phone and it does nothing but keep track of what paid apps and subscriptions you haven’t used in x long and remind you to cancel them.
#adhd
#adhdtwitter
@BillykII
So sorry for the regression!
I could also add:
-“You’re so smart, you just need to apply yourself”
-“You have so much potential, you’re holding yourself back”
-“I told you to do that an hour ago, what have you been doing?”
#adhd
So I thought I’d look at the weather next week (don’t do it!) and then idk what happened exactly but did you know that lemons float but limes sink? Fact.
#adhd
#adhdtwitter
Why yes, I do know how to clean out a closet:
-get excited
-take everything out
-sort into piles
-try stuff on
-despair over things that don’t fit
-get overwhelmed
-do something else
-remember at bedtime when bed is full of clothes
-stuff everything in closet
#adhd
#adhdtwitter
—Time blindness: No way I can get that done, I have to leave in six hours for an appointment.
—Also time blindness: I have 15 mins extra, I can write this email, change clothes, let the dogs out to pee, and stop for Starbucks on the way
#adhd
#adhdtwitter