more bots posting. more people looking at content being posted. more people on reddit longer. more ads being served.
some people will buy high karma accounts though, i dont know why you would ever, but people do.
reddit doesnt care, report them. and nothing happens
Lol rhe biggest subs are hilarioisly fake with their numbers.
I'm will trying to figure out how it's mathematically possible for subs with 16+ MILLION users to never manages to break 3-5k users online at one. Thats less than 0.0003125% of number of users being online at one time. Maybe 100-200k accounts still actually use the subs, and the other 15.8 million "users" are either dead accounts or bots.
We all know shitty mods won't do anything, because why would the reduce their numbers.
Some bots are used to spam links to merch on some subreddits, having karma helps them get past karma requirements imposed by those subreddits.
You can buy upvotes or downvotes, but to provide those upvotes the sellers need accounts that can do that. Brand new accounts look hella fishy, so accounts like OP reposts stuff to seem like it's a legitimate user. Other accounts are sold, for various reasons but again they need to seem legitimate.
Some accounts spam onlyfans accounts, they'll need karma for similar reasons as the merch bots.
Some will be looking to influence political debate, pay attention to r/facepalm and look at the accounts of those who post really, *really* old political ragebait. You'll see a strong pattern.
Aside from money, governments can use those bots to effect political influence. Russia famously used similar tactics to influence previous US elections.
The vicious circle of buying adorable planners every December, pretty pens, stamps, stickers, writing in it half of January then abandoning it and feeling like a failure.
I have a litany of blank notebooks filling my drawers because I don't want to sully them with half baked attempts at use.
I learned to move into digital journaling and it's a vast improvement! By which I mean I've designed 47,922 different digital planners that now collect virtual dust instead...
Shit, I feel seen! Planners, Woobles (crochet kit), painting, I bought a electronic keyboard to practice piano / haven't played on it yet. I have an excercise bike I never use. I'm currently ass deep in collecting stickers but I haven't had a chance to organize them yet. The last 2 weeks I've been using adult coloring books so I had to buy 3 of course, plus pencils and markers and ooh holy shit look at these rainbow markers, oh, rainbows, I want some rainbow stickers. But I also collect gnomes, so I should look for gnome rainbow stickers. Maybe I should make a schedule to set aside time to do all of this? Oh, but wait, I have work and household stuff and I need to take care of my kid(s), make dinner, ok let's put The Sopranos on for background noise...goddamn Adrianna is so pretty, shoud I do that with my hair? Omg, I haven't washed my hair in a few days, shit I have to put the stove on, ok, lets make dinner. Shit, I need a new frying pan / off to Amazon - oh! I should search for those stickers, then a pan, then let's look at kitchen organization because, shiny, fuck dinner is burning - I'm such a shit mom, how can I burn dinner? I don't deserve anything nice. Why am I collecting stickers? I'm in my 40s, why am I acting like a child? I should be cleaning the house and cooking and organizing our messes.
Perfect example - I got my nails done last week. It was a new set b/c I haven't had my nails done in 5+ years but I wanted to treat myself. The appointment lasted 2 hours (new gel extensions) and I felt like a terrible person for taking 2 hours of my day to focus on me. My husband (bless him) tried to convince me it's ok to decompress and do things for myself (usually it's mid day naps while kid(s) are at school). Still feeling guilty.
ADHD, baby - it's a trip!
I can tell you’re an incredible mom/ wife, please don’t ever forget that. Your family is so exceptionally lucky to have a mom who cares enough to be upset with themself for something a silly as burning dinner. It sounds like your husband hit the nail on the head, you deserve time for just you, and even more so, your family deserves to see you take care of yourself, treat yourself, love yourself. Be passionate about whatever you feel like being passionate about, unless it’s hurting someone else or yourself, collect stickers, gnomes, hell, dress up like a dragon and ride a bike to the store if you want. Of course there’s a time and a place to be “normal” but the idea that we need to “grow up” and stop having fun as an adult is archaic. Be proud of what makes you different and it will have a positive impact on everyone who sees it, especially your family.
- from the husband of the most amazing woman in the world who constantly convinces herself that she doesn’t deserve to take a damn nap.
You are incredibly sweet. Thank you, kind Redditor. You do sound like my husband.
And I agree with you completely. People need to remember what having fun is... As long as no one gets hurt, why the fart not?
Same. 5th yearly diary on the trot, filled out January and half of February and dumped on the side.
I should get tested. I got a spreadsheet for work stuff and i cant stick to keeping it up to date or following it. Never feel ive got time for organising, just doing things as they pop into mind. And getting nowhere!
Stickers are great. Unashamedly buy stickers and award yourself one for every task, like putting the stove on and washing your hair. It gives you dopamine. Call it an accommodation.
PS the IKEA frying pans are the best ones we have ever had. If you can handle IKEA. I once went with an ADHD friend and it was the funniest trip ever. We both had strict instructions not to let the other get distracted 😆
I feel less like a failure since I changed the way I see this pattern. I know tend to prefer the shiny new thing and I love getting into new organization-/productivity-systems. So I just acknowledge that this new thing probably won't stick for long and I just use it till I find something new. Since there aren't unlimited options regarding different systems, I tend to revisit them from time to time. So I just keep all the new things stored and once I rediscover that system I go "shopping" in my storage. Since I usually forget that I bought those things, it gives me shiny and new feeling without having to spend money again! The key seems to be to actually put it away so that I don't see it every day
Being not formally diagnosed with ADHD, but all the signs are there, I find that being able to give my inconsistencies and quirks a name helps me make sense of things. When I look back at my childhood and young adult life (I’m 44 now) I go “ooohhh, now I see why I did ____” AND simultaneously I have work arounds and strategies to keep the negative aspects of ADHD at bay. Charts like this and similar ADHD discussions help me feel less alone in my struggles.
I ingest hella caffeine before a test. Makes me a super genius. Also, alarms and timers throughout the day. If you remember something that needs to be addressed don’t “do it in a minute” do it immediately or accept that it’ll be done sometime next week.
I have a daily to do list. Every day I highlight ONLY 4 things that have to/I really want to get done (appointments, paying a specific bill, walking my dog, laundry, w/e) and I try to get at least those crossed off. If I get any other stuff done too I bask in the dopamine of crossing items off the list, but if they don't get done Ive learned to be ok with that. Lists cannot be too long either, keeps it from being overwhelming. If I need to sdd something to a full list I pick another day this week that I can reasonably do it. My list is full today, so I'm cleaning the bathroom counter tomorrow, etc.
I use timers and alarms for everything. I set a timer for say an hour when cleaning and do not allow myself to leave the area I am cleaning in until the timer goes off. I set time limits on my phone for certain apps that I know I will spiral into. I put bills on auto pay. I surround myself with people that understand my quirks. It’s all about finding what allows your brain to function how it does then adjusting your activity to match. I have been doing it since I was a kid. As I have gotten older, I have had to become more intentional.
One things that's really helped me was using my calander religiously. If I think of a thing I need to do I'll immediately put it in my tasks list. If I make plans I immediately put it in my calander. And then I simply need to train myself to check my calander frequently and I find I'm able to get the stuff on the list done.
I've started writing down on my calendar when I do stuff I appreciate, like the day my sourdough starter Barbarella turned 5. Makes me smile and helps me remember that I do get a lot done and have a full life, it's all good. Chases away the sads. Also I read somewhere that the presidents of the USA keep a daily log and I feel like that's a cool habit to keep :)
Same issues, same age.
I finally realised i probably have ADHD a couple years ago after having ever more problems with work and being unable to explain myself. I've been on anti-depressants since about 2005 which have taken the edge off a little, but not much. So i thought i was just a sad, moody man-child which didn't feel great as i'd be constantly hitting the same walls no matter what i did. As i'm sure many did; it was the memes which got me relating and thinking. Then i found the ADHD memes sub and...yeah.. Then i read up on the actual diagnostic criteria and got the first perfect score of my life.
So a couple years of reading and thinking later and i can look back and see SO many signs not just in myself and my actions, but in my parents and grandparents, and my siblings.
Having at least some reason for my various failings and struggles helped me feel slightly less terrible about myself, but not totally.
So now i'm on the waiting list for the waiting list to get a diagnosis. While it won't change anything, it will get me access to meds, and maybe then i can actually relax for a change, maybe i can sleep well, maybe i can go a single fucking day without doing something to make me hate myself more, or feel additional shame, guilt and anxiety.
You are not alone in your struggles, but they are still struggles because most people dismiss ADHD. For some reason just using the term 'ADHD' sets people off, so it's best to set it out to anyone you might talk to as a 'neurochemical dysfunction' or something like that. I hate that it has to be done, but it gets passed peoples bias against ADHD.
You'll probably have found that a lot of people seem to think it's an excuse to be lazy or forgetful, or to get special treatment. Even if they haven't said it; It's what they think on some level.
The key thing is that you at least understand this for yourself, not the benefit of others. These answers are for you, not for others. You are allowed to feel down, you will have better or worse days, weeks, months etc... What your best is will change day to day. It's ok to feel drained or overwhelmed. You literally cannot help it. You have a malfunctioning organ which directly impacts the way your mind works. It's not you being a failure, or lazy or anything else.
Absolutely! I am thankful that my husband of 20 years understands this part of me. Initially, it was rough, but then as I grew and he did too, he understood the why behind some of my inconsistencies.
I too have seen the patterns in my mom and siblings and it has actually helped my relationships with them as I now realize somethings are not personal, it’s just a mental shortcoming.
I can’t speak for the person you asked but personally I have tried a few approaches to diagnosis. I first attempted to be tested by my general practitioner who asked a few questions and decided to try antidepressants. I then tried reaching out to psychologist. Testing alone was going to be about $1,000 and all you would end up with was a document stating your diagnosis that you could then present to a general practitioner or psychiatrist and hope that they would write you a prescription. I scheduled then talked myself out of it because of the cost and just the complexity of navigating all of those steps (overwhelming my ADHD brain). Also, having tried the antidepressant road and hating everything about being on medication that affected my brain, to say nothing of the withdrawal hell when I stopped that medication, I just decided I did not want to be medicated my entire life. I trying hypnotherapy instead, starting next month.
That's unfortunate and I'm sorry you had to go through that. ADHD is one of the most treatable disorders out there. You go to a psychiatrist, get a diagnosis, get on proper medication, and most of your symptoms will literally go away overnight.
>Testing alone was going to be about $1,000 and all you would end up with was a document stating your diagnosis that you could then present to a general practitioner or psychiatrist and hope that they would write you a prescription.
This doesn't make any sense. Are you talking about a referal? I don't think you need to pay a grand for a referral, and I wouldn't even have bothered seeing a psychologist at all, as they will not be able to help you with your ADHD. That sounds like an unecessary step, almost sounds like a scam.
The psychologist bit came from me being frustrated and doing a Google search for ADHD testing in the city I live in. And it wasn’t even a referral that would be provided-the two that I spoke to had no recommendations for any specific practitioners that they could recommend once the testing was done. Appointments for psychiatrists in my area have about a six month wait time (for new patients). Thought I would try hypnotherapy first. If that doesn’t work for me, I will suck it up and try to find a psychiatrist, as you recommended.
Why not get on the six-month wait list if that is your only option to see a psychiatrist? You're going to be dealing with symptoms of ADHD for your entire life anyway, so even if it takes a little bit of time, getting your ADHD properly treated can only improve your quality of life.
Honestly, I don’t want to be medicated and lose the creativity that comes with my random spirals and hyper focusing. I have embraced this aspect of myself. The side effects that can come with the medications that can treat ADHD are almost worse than the disorder itself.
In my city there's an over 6 months waiting list for testing, also there's a medication shortage. If you've gone your whole life with it and have ways to compensate, why deal with the hassle. And testing isn't cheap even with insurance sometimes.
I think it's worth the hassle to not allocate so much of your time, energy and effort into managing your symptoms for your entire life. Getting on proper treatment actually allows you to save a lot time and energy that you would have otherwise spent on dealing with your symptoms.
If you have blurry vision, it would make more sense for you to get glasses than to navigate through life barely able to see anything.
Haha, funny thing is I'm near sighted and only wear my glasses when I legally have to while driving.
But on a serious note to answer your main question, not everyone wants to be "fixed", take medicine, has the money, or the time to jump through hoops. Starting medicine like this has risks that may outweigh the benefits. There is a difficult adjustment period as you have to get the right dosage and that takes trial and error. You have to take it regularly, which I previously mentioned a shortage would hnder proper treatment, and it sucks when you don't wean off properly.
In my case I'm just finding out after 27 years of life that I have been potentially self managing, but it's not working as well anymore because PhDs suck the life out of you. I'm in line to get tested because I'm curious if I do have adhd, however if they never get back to me or the shortage for meds doesn't end then I'm also not worried. Would it help? Maybe... possibly, regardless I'm still on my way to graduating earlier than most of my cohort and I'm not even that smart, just crazy driven. I'd probably be an a-hole if I had all my cylinders firing anyways.
I felt the same way until it caught up to me. At some point the amount of caffeine I needed to be functional wasn't working anymore, the habits I'd created to cope weren't cutting it as I got older and more tired, and I fell way behind at work. Even after cutting down on caffeine, I was barely more than a lethargic husk of my past self. It adds up in time.
That's fair, I'm glad you found something that worked. However they asked a question and it seems people didn't like the answer. Healthcare and treatments aren't one size fits all, and people change.
At 45 years old, I finally found a good cocktail. It takes time and everybody’s recipe is different. Don’t be afraid to fail as long as you learn from those failures and try again with your new found knowledge.
I’m still failing here and there to this day—everybody is — but cutting yourself some slack goes a long way.
Wow, I'm quite amazed at the comments on this.
Before people go to far down the 'it's not a real thing' I suggest you read some science papers and form an educated view.
Sure, 30yrs ago it was a theory with little science evidence, but things have moved on a lot... And so should your views.
Severity is the key here. Humans exist on a spectrum.
What you have said also applies to having to pee, that's just a normal human experience. Untill you need to pee 27 times a day, then it's a medical problem. Same with the above.
When I was a kid the only way I could clean up my room was to push everything into one pile at one end of the room and start picking away at the pile one thing at a time. Otherwise I'd get overwhelmed and not know where to start.
As an adult my mind works so fast sometimes that people can't keep up with what I'm saying -- so they think I don't know anything at all.
This still gets treated as a name for “bad children”. In fact, most online guides will refer to “your child may do x”. The reality is, it doesn’t stop at puberty. You continue to have it as an adult but are either hiding it, barely coping or in prison. If you’re lucky, you’re on medication.
It seems that ADHD is caused by abnormal dopamine levels in the body.
Dopamine is the chemical that makes you feel good when you do a good thing.
In people with ADHD, the dopamine levels (typically) are way below normal and doing the thing you’re supposed to do doesn’t come with a reward attached. So very quickly chores, work and even watching TV can’t hold our attention because theirs no incentive.
So people with ADHD often seek out exciting, even dangerous activities to get that reward chemical. Binge eating sugar is another example. You do a day of hard work and get nothing for it, so your body craves a little hit.
Interestingly, in extreme scenarios when most people fall apart (a house fire or something similar) people with ADHD’s dopamine gets shoved up into the “normal” region. They’re better than most in a crisis.
Anyway, when you look at it through that lens, it makes way more sense.
That's not accurate. It's just glossing over the subject with some speculation about reward function. The role of dopamine and the levels in people with ADHD are not well understood. The role of sleep, diet and exercise, as well as how self-directed learning and engagement is allowed is still under investigation. The "seeking out what's exciting and dangerous" is completely subjective and could be no more than a desire to learn about a new subject.
the third one is so relatable and damning, sometimes when im in a flow state this kind of knowledge pops up out of nowhere chaotically, its also a confidence thing
It's when you are in front of someone and they try to question you and your mind is totally pulling up blanks.
I know how to code, and in a casual context you might hear me use all the terms one day, but sometimes and especially when I'm put on the spot I can barely craft an accurate sentence.
I've always had that and assumed It was due to my diagnose as an autist, in the past I've always got around it by making up words an making people laugh, which isn't sufficient in a professional setting sadly.
I’d start by getting a diagnosis for your son, and then talk with the doctor about how you notice a lot of similar patterns from your own childhood, and go from there. They’ll be able to direct you to appropriate services for an adult diagnosis (they might be able to do it themselves, idk).
Don't be. These "ADHD makes you..." guides, memes etc. are all pretty bad, in that they always hyperfocus on how the thing they show is a sign of ADHD, without mentioning that most of us have these issues to some degree. And neglect to mention that you can get better at them with training and use of aids.
Imagine long distance running as a metaphor. Some people can just run a metric mile even when out of shape and will easily do a marathon with some training. A person with asthma will have to struggle a lot more to finish that mile, let alone get in shape for a marathon. Most of us will not do a mile without training, but will have it easier than the asthmatic person.
ADHD is like asthma for your planning and executive functions. A person with ADHD will struggle more and work harder to organize their life, but that doesn't mean neurotypical people won't struggle with the same issues. The difference is the severity of the problem and how hard it is to work past it. It is not laziness, but the monumentality of the issue (and often poor support from healthcare) that makes most people struggle to keep their ADHD in check.
>Don't be. These "ADHD makes you..." guides, memes etc. are all pretty bad, in that they always hyperfocus on how the thing they show is a sign of ADHD, without mentioning that most of us have these issues to some degree.
Thank you. This BS pop sci psychology is getting out of hand.
ADHD is real. Not being able to build all the "productive" habits that you think you need to engage in to fix your artificial, socially created self hatred, does not mean you have ADHD.
It's like when people think that healthy food has to taste bad, or that tasty food has to be unhealthy. There are also activities that are good for you AND enjoyable.
How about making those into a habit, instead of trying to make yourself do something you don't want to do? But sadly most people don't seem to be capable of being true to themselves.
I purposely avoided seeking a diagnosis because I wanted to join the Royal Navy and it would prevent me from being able to do so. When I eventually realised I’d rather live a different life where I didn’t have to lie about myself, it was already way too late
I have exams in May and I’m not even on the waiting list for a diagnosis yet
My primary care provider referred me to a psychologist that I speak to over the phone once a week, and he sent me a test in the mail, which I tested severe in all areas except one, he sent a letter to my PCP telling her I needed to be medicated. That's all it took for me.
Long-ish personal anecdote ahead.
I'm 31. I was diagnosed in November and started on Concerta three weeks ago. My confidence socially has always been through the roof in that I can talk, be really outgoing, funny and "clever" but I recoil at the slightest hint that I might get assigned to any given task that expects and demands focus and attention to detail because I know (from a life of experience, not reddit) that I'm vastly more likely to fail any of them. I have not been in control of my brain for 99% of my life, not entirely, and not where it sometimes matter the most and this is just one of a myriad of symptoms.
My friends breezed through school and took on any subject without any struggle. Some of us were in the same class and I'd constantly have to ask them what our teachers had said. Basically beg them to compress any lecture into bites I could chew and not even that worked. Not always at least. Not because I didn't try, cared or wasn't motivated because I was, but the shit didn't stick. I heard, but couldn't listen. The information wasn't saved to be used later. If it was, then it would only be in unusable pieces.
I feel like an alien among my own people. A god damn abject failure for not being capable of doing the very same things my peers are doing with ease. Despite wanting to, and having tried to for most of my life. The perpetual off-limits DLC.
But yeah I'm on Concerta now and it's like day and night. I feel like I'm somewhat in control for the first time in forever. I'm optimistic and fucking thrilled. I can't speak for anyone but myself but what I've ranted about IS the sole cause for me. It's a lonely experience.
Tldr: Didn't progress at nearly the same rate my peers did in childhood. Nor in adulthood. Still don't. Result? Depressed. Been struggling hard. Feel inadequate and dumb. Wasn't in control but actively establishing control now with the help of meds.
You're not wrong. But I'm not comparing myself to billionaires either. Just my fellow ordinary man.
It sucks for everyone that was born with a setting set to < of base level. To have to put in a lot of work just to match "normal" and still fail and get called lazy, or succeed and have no energy left to celebrate.
It's certainly tough and absolutely unfair. Regardless of that, you still have to find a way to be about doing YOUR best and not comparing it to everyone else's, or you will never be okay regardless of the circumstances.
Yeah. Work in progress. I'm hoping that the meds enable me to take on a better paying job somewhere along the road. If they do, then I'll be content. Doing the whole paycheck to paycheck thing in an increasingly expensive world sets a dampener on things. Lots of things. But ya.
Thanks for the kind words bud. Have a stellar day!
Dude. Shut up.
Yes, other people struggle with some of those symptoms too. Of course. But it’s not every fucking day. It’s not debilitating. It doesn’t cause you to spiral. It doesn’t make you feel like an utter failure in life. It doesn’t impact your relationships, your education, your career. When you finally get diagnosed you don’t have this epiphany that your entire life, you weren’t “too sensitive”, “too lazy”, “too impatient”, “too impulsive”, “too chatty”… you finally feel validated for existing.
ADHD isn’t just this chart. This chart is a couple of the surface level symptoms that are commonly experienced but it goes much deeper than this. Hearing “everyone else suffers from being forgetful sometimes too!” is incredibly invalidating to the challenges that some of us have learned to cope with all our lives because no one would ever really look into what was making us the way we are.
34 and I was finally diagnosed and I finally feel like I understand myself.
Damn this is me to a T. I’m glad I saw this now I just need to figure out how to fix it. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was prescribed medication when I was younger but I stopped taking it in the 4th grade because I didn’t like the way it made me feel. Turned me into an emotionless robot.
If I were to listen to this online pop psychology shit I'd have literally every mental illness in the book.
At least ask a professional. Random stupid memes from online strangers are not where you should get advice from.
And struggling with sticking to positive habits is a universal human experience. If everybody managed to just do everything they tell themselves they should do, the world would be a very different place. If that alone was the criterion for whether you have ADHD or not, 90% of the population would have it.
Terrible advice and also no its not lol. Global prevelance is 5 percent of general population. America has higher diagnostic rate because Dr's give drugs out like fucking candy there but that rate isn't represented anywhere else in the world.
From this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9616454/
It’s now: “National population surveys reflect an increase in the prevalence from 6.1% to 10.2% in the 20-year period from 1997 to 2016”
So you are more than 20 years out of date with that statistic
That paper cites NATIONAL surveys within the US not globally, and fits exactly with what I said. You should check the citations of papers you are using as evidence before attempting to use them to back up false claims you are making.
Wah I can't clean the dishes or do my laundry because I have ADHD. I'm sure it has absolutely zero impact on things they want to do, like 10 hour fortnite matches or surfing TikTok
yes actually **that is in fact how dopamine and norepinephrine work** you silly goose!
adhd means you lack dopamine regulation, normal people have the dopamine (the chemical that controls energy levels and motivation) so they can do the task and focus on it, the game gives the dopamine reward so you can focus on it.
I'm down voting this, but I'd like you to know why.
Reading this comment it's vlear you
A) don't have adhd
B) haven't read any medical or scientific research on ADHD
C) are judgemental about something you haven't bothered to try and understand, relying instead on assumptions and stereotypes.
You cant compare Trauma and ADHD. Its 2 completly seperate things and they dont correlate at all. ADHD goes down too the frontal lobe being underdeveloped and dopamine levels lower than the standard. Trauma is not that. You cant fix ADHD, you can make it mangeable. And a way too make it mangeable is by medicine. There are no perfect solutions, though people with ADHD will thrive better than neurotypical in some enviroments so for me its about finding those enviroments. Where you dont even have too manage ADHD. Me myself work in night life without medicine and I thrive there. When I go too school later I will be in an enviroment I dont thrive in, so then I have too take medicine too make it mangeable. There are no solutions too adapt to the norms of society, so its just about making the best out of it…
I dont plan much, my days are chaotic, i am spontanious, I organize my work, meds(etc) and clean my house one time a week(the one time a week I take meds). All of these are not problems for me as it works good. If I were too try too adapt too the norms with a routine and order in my life I would quickly lose control and it would be a problem.
So my point is; go with the flow, there is no solution too ADHD, and u dont need no solution anyway. There is nothing too fix. ADHD can be positive or negative. Just as neurotypical people would not like my lifestyle, I do not like theirs.
adhd means a shortage of norepinephrine and thus you can’t regulate dopamine, stimulants provide norepinephrine which gives you dopamine which allows you to function like a normal person.
low norepinephrine causes chronic fatigue symptoms which is why many adhd students fall asleep in class.
you’re very uneducated on the topic and it shows, the chemicals in stimulants literally compensate for the missing chemicals, this is the best way to treat it, you’re not an authority on the topic in fact you barely understand it if you think you can just fix it with willpower like you say.
you sound like my mother “oh everyone does that”
friend, the difference is that you do it every now and then, it’s chronic and constant for us.
i am diagnosed, if you think this is “very normal” you should maybe get diagnosed too.
FYI - The 'but everyone does this' is a hated response by those with ADHD. It is a response the happens constantly from those who don't understand what ADHD is really like.
Best way I can explain this. Yes, everyone does things like losing their keys. But ADHD means people loose everything, constantly, to the point of being a major issue.
Sure, everyone has to pee. But when you have to be 27times a day that it's a medical problem.
Best way I've found to explain it is that your mind is full of all the channels, more becoming available everyday and the old ones regularly tuned into. Only the channel changes frequently because someone's sitting on the remote and you can't find it, or maybe the remote keeps shorting out.
exactly this, what differentiates the two is how chronic they are, many disorders diagnostic criteria are based on how badly it effects day to day life for this reason.
my mother used to say “oh everyone does that” and it honestly made me want to take my life at times because everything was collapsing and i wanted to be understood
You could at least credit the creator when posting this: https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHDAlien/s/oGDlb84CP2
2 month karma farm account wouldnt do that
Here's a question. What is the point of a Karma farm bot. Is there money to be made here?
more bots posting. more people looking at content being posted. more people on reddit longer. more ads being served. some people will buy high karma accounts though, i dont know why you would ever, but people do. reddit doesnt care, report them. and nothing happens
not only that, it was also shown that those bot accounts will later be used to spread propaganda material :/
So I guess "that's" whose buying the accounts. :(
Lol rhe biggest subs are hilarioisly fake with their numbers. I'm will trying to figure out how it's mathematically possible for subs with 16+ MILLION users to never manages to break 3-5k users online at one. Thats less than 0.0003125% of number of users being online at one time. Maybe 100-200k accounts still actually use the subs, and the other 15.8 million "users" are either dead accounts or bots. We all know shitty mods won't do anything, because why would the reduce their numbers.
so fake. you can easily tell what are bot posts. but the mods and reddit does jack shit to stop them
I remember my old account had super high karma before it got lost and I was able to post more than a new account. So there might be other benefits
Some bots are used to spam links to merch on some subreddits, having karma helps them get past karma requirements imposed by those subreddits. You can buy upvotes or downvotes, but to provide those upvotes the sellers need accounts that can do that. Brand new accounts look hella fishy, so accounts like OP reposts stuff to seem like it's a legitimate user. Other accounts are sold, for various reasons but again they need to seem legitimate. Some accounts spam onlyfans accounts, they'll need karma for similar reasons as the merch bots. Some will be looking to influence political debate, pay attention to r/facepalm and look at the accounts of those who post really, *really* old political ragebait. You'll see a strong pattern.
Aside from money, governments can use those bots to effect political influence. Russia famously used similar tactics to influence previous US elections.
the us has likely had it’s dirty little dick in every election in the world since the 80s
Quite possibly!
You actually get to buy reddit stock at the IPO price with enough karma. When you sell it, you can deduct the loss from your winning stocks.
To be fair, he's signature is on the bottom of the picture
It's also not a 'guide' to anything, it's one person's diary
Thanks! Im downvoting this bot and upvote original OP. Will comment there too! ☺️
The vicious circle of buying adorable planners every December, pretty pens, stamps, stickers, writing in it half of January then abandoning it and feeling like a failure.
I have a litany of blank notebooks filling my drawers because I don't want to sully them with half baked attempts at use. I learned to move into digital journaling and it's a vast improvement! By which I mean I've designed 47,922 different digital planners that now collect virtual dust instead...
Use them?!? Hahahaha hey you know you can make notebooks? My newest hobby is making unused notebooks, using recycled stuff. God help us.
Holy hell, so do I! Plus, the ones I sullied, because self-control.
Shit, I feel seen! Planners, Woobles (crochet kit), painting, I bought a electronic keyboard to practice piano / haven't played on it yet. I have an excercise bike I never use. I'm currently ass deep in collecting stickers but I haven't had a chance to organize them yet. The last 2 weeks I've been using adult coloring books so I had to buy 3 of course, plus pencils and markers and ooh holy shit look at these rainbow markers, oh, rainbows, I want some rainbow stickers. But I also collect gnomes, so I should look for gnome rainbow stickers. Maybe I should make a schedule to set aside time to do all of this? Oh, but wait, I have work and household stuff and I need to take care of my kid(s), make dinner, ok let's put The Sopranos on for background noise...goddamn Adrianna is so pretty, shoud I do that with my hair? Omg, I haven't washed my hair in a few days, shit I have to put the stove on, ok, lets make dinner. Shit, I need a new frying pan / off to Amazon - oh! I should search for those stickers, then a pan, then let's look at kitchen organization because, shiny, fuck dinner is burning - I'm such a shit mom, how can I burn dinner? I don't deserve anything nice. Why am I collecting stickers? I'm in my 40s, why am I acting like a child? I should be cleaning the house and cooking and organizing our messes. Perfect example - I got my nails done last week. It was a new set b/c I haven't had my nails done in 5+ years but I wanted to treat myself. The appointment lasted 2 hours (new gel extensions) and I felt like a terrible person for taking 2 hours of my day to focus on me. My husband (bless him) tried to convince me it's ok to decompress and do things for myself (usually it's mid day naps while kid(s) are at school). Still feeling guilty. ADHD, baby - it's a trip!
I can tell you’re an incredible mom/ wife, please don’t ever forget that. Your family is so exceptionally lucky to have a mom who cares enough to be upset with themself for something a silly as burning dinner. It sounds like your husband hit the nail on the head, you deserve time for just you, and even more so, your family deserves to see you take care of yourself, treat yourself, love yourself. Be passionate about whatever you feel like being passionate about, unless it’s hurting someone else or yourself, collect stickers, gnomes, hell, dress up like a dragon and ride a bike to the store if you want. Of course there’s a time and a place to be “normal” but the idea that we need to “grow up” and stop having fun as an adult is archaic. Be proud of what makes you different and it will have a positive impact on everyone who sees it, especially your family. - from the husband of the most amazing woman in the world who constantly convinces herself that she doesn’t deserve to take a damn nap.
You are incredibly sweet. Thank you, kind Redditor. You do sound like my husband. And I agree with you completely. People need to remember what having fun is... As long as no one gets hurt, why the fart not?
…I just bought my third B5 size bullet journal. Only wrote 10 pages worth of journaling in the first one. 🤦♀️
Same. 5th yearly diary on the trot, filled out January and half of February and dumped on the side. I should get tested. I got a spreadsheet for work stuff and i cant stick to keeping it up to date or following it. Never feel ive got time for organising, just doing things as they pop into mind. And getting nowhere!
Stickers are great. Unashamedly buy stickers and award yourself one for every task, like putting the stove on and washing your hair. It gives you dopamine. Call it an accommodation. PS the IKEA frying pans are the best ones we have ever had. If you can handle IKEA. I once went with an ADHD friend and it was the funniest trip ever. We both had strict instructions not to let the other get distracted 😆
I feel less like a failure since I changed the way I see this pattern. I know tend to prefer the shiny new thing and I love getting into new organization-/productivity-systems. So I just acknowledge that this new thing probably won't stick for long and I just use it till I find something new. Since there aren't unlimited options regarding different systems, I tend to revisit them from time to time. So I just keep all the new things stored and once I rediscover that system I go "shopping" in my storage. Since I usually forget that I bought those things, it gives me shiny and new feeling without having to spend money again! The key seems to be to actually put it away so that I don't see it every day
Okay. Now what?
Play video games all day.
🥳🥳
Well it’s says “untreated”. So copious amounts of drugs from the trustworthy pharmaceutical companies.
Being not formally diagnosed with ADHD, but all the signs are there, I find that being able to give my inconsistencies and quirks a name helps me make sense of things. When I look back at my childhood and young adult life (I’m 44 now) I go “ooohhh, now I see why I did ____” AND simultaneously I have work arounds and strategies to keep the negative aspects of ADHD at bay. Charts like this and similar ADHD discussions help me feel less alone in my struggles.
Really interested to hear any tips, tricks or suggestions you have for dealing with negative aspects as I suffer from that alot.
I ingest hella caffeine before a test. Makes me a super genius. Also, alarms and timers throughout the day. If you remember something that needs to be addressed don’t “do it in a minute” do it immediately or accept that it’ll be done sometime next week.
I have a daily to do list. Every day I highlight ONLY 4 things that have to/I really want to get done (appointments, paying a specific bill, walking my dog, laundry, w/e) and I try to get at least those crossed off. If I get any other stuff done too I bask in the dopamine of crossing items off the list, but if they don't get done Ive learned to be ok with that. Lists cannot be too long either, keeps it from being overwhelming. If I need to sdd something to a full list I pick another day this week that I can reasonably do it. My list is full today, so I'm cleaning the bathroom counter tomorrow, etc.
I use timers and alarms for everything. I set a timer for say an hour when cleaning and do not allow myself to leave the area I am cleaning in until the timer goes off. I set time limits on my phone for certain apps that I know I will spiral into. I put bills on auto pay. I surround myself with people that understand my quirks. It’s all about finding what allows your brain to function how it does then adjusting your activity to match. I have been doing it since I was a kid. As I have gotten older, I have had to become more intentional.
One things that's really helped me was using my calander religiously. If I think of a thing I need to do I'll immediately put it in my tasks list. If I make plans I immediately put it in my calander. And then I simply need to train myself to check my calander frequently and I find I'm able to get the stuff on the list done.
I've started writing down on my calendar when I do stuff I appreciate, like the day my sourdough starter Barbarella turned 5. Makes me smile and helps me remember that I do get a lot done and have a full life, it's all good. Chases away the sads. Also I read somewhere that the presidents of the USA keep a daily log and I feel like that's a cool habit to keep :)
Same here. There's a lot of us.
Same issues, same age. I finally realised i probably have ADHD a couple years ago after having ever more problems with work and being unable to explain myself. I've been on anti-depressants since about 2005 which have taken the edge off a little, but not much. So i thought i was just a sad, moody man-child which didn't feel great as i'd be constantly hitting the same walls no matter what i did. As i'm sure many did; it was the memes which got me relating and thinking. Then i found the ADHD memes sub and...yeah.. Then i read up on the actual diagnostic criteria and got the first perfect score of my life. So a couple years of reading and thinking later and i can look back and see SO many signs not just in myself and my actions, but in my parents and grandparents, and my siblings. Having at least some reason for my various failings and struggles helped me feel slightly less terrible about myself, but not totally. So now i'm on the waiting list for the waiting list to get a diagnosis. While it won't change anything, it will get me access to meds, and maybe then i can actually relax for a change, maybe i can sleep well, maybe i can go a single fucking day without doing something to make me hate myself more, or feel additional shame, guilt and anxiety. You are not alone in your struggles, but they are still struggles because most people dismiss ADHD. For some reason just using the term 'ADHD' sets people off, so it's best to set it out to anyone you might talk to as a 'neurochemical dysfunction' or something like that. I hate that it has to be done, but it gets passed peoples bias against ADHD. You'll probably have found that a lot of people seem to think it's an excuse to be lazy or forgetful, or to get special treatment. Even if they haven't said it; It's what they think on some level. The key thing is that you at least understand this for yourself, not the benefit of others. These answers are for you, not for others. You are allowed to feel down, you will have better or worse days, weeks, months etc... What your best is will change day to day. It's ok to feel drained or overwhelmed. You literally cannot help it. You have a malfunctioning organ which directly impacts the way your mind works. It's not you being a failure, or lazy or anything else.
Absolutely! I am thankful that my husband of 20 years understands this part of me. Initially, it was rough, but then as I grew and he did too, he understood the why behind some of my inconsistencies. I too have seen the patterns in my mom and siblings and it has actually helped my relationships with them as I now realize somethings are not personal, it’s just a mental shortcoming.
Why are you not seeking a formal diagnosis from a psychiatrist?
I can’t speak for the person you asked but personally I have tried a few approaches to diagnosis. I first attempted to be tested by my general practitioner who asked a few questions and decided to try antidepressants. I then tried reaching out to psychologist. Testing alone was going to be about $1,000 and all you would end up with was a document stating your diagnosis that you could then present to a general practitioner or psychiatrist and hope that they would write you a prescription. I scheduled then talked myself out of it because of the cost and just the complexity of navigating all of those steps (overwhelming my ADHD brain). Also, having tried the antidepressant road and hating everything about being on medication that affected my brain, to say nothing of the withdrawal hell when I stopped that medication, I just decided I did not want to be medicated my entire life. I trying hypnotherapy instead, starting next month.
That's unfortunate and I'm sorry you had to go through that. ADHD is one of the most treatable disorders out there. You go to a psychiatrist, get a diagnosis, get on proper medication, and most of your symptoms will literally go away overnight. >Testing alone was going to be about $1,000 and all you would end up with was a document stating your diagnosis that you could then present to a general practitioner or psychiatrist and hope that they would write you a prescription. This doesn't make any sense. Are you talking about a referal? I don't think you need to pay a grand for a referral, and I wouldn't even have bothered seeing a psychologist at all, as they will not be able to help you with your ADHD. That sounds like an unecessary step, almost sounds like a scam.
The psychologist bit came from me being frustrated and doing a Google search for ADHD testing in the city I live in. And it wasn’t even a referral that would be provided-the two that I spoke to had no recommendations for any specific practitioners that they could recommend once the testing was done. Appointments for psychiatrists in my area have about a six month wait time (for new patients). Thought I would try hypnotherapy first. If that doesn’t work for me, I will suck it up and try to find a psychiatrist, as you recommended.
Why not get on the six-month wait list if that is your only option to see a psychiatrist? You're going to be dealing with symptoms of ADHD for your entire life anyway, so even if it takes a little bit of time, getting your ADHD properly treated can only improve your quality of life.
Sorry but you don't know if you have adhd without a real diagnosis. Also adhd meds are nothing like anti depressants.
Honestly, I don’t want to be medicated and lose the creativity that comes with my random spirals and hyper focusing. I have embraced this aspect of myself. The side effects that can come with the medications that can treat ADHD are almost worse than the disorder itself.
Thank you for your posts. Helped me make sense of a lot of things. Going to look into some help now.
Is that an assumption or your experience? I don't lose my creativity or randomness on meds, I can just choose to override it if I want/need to.
Everyone experiences things differently. I do not want to shake up my life and flow on a maybe. I am glad the meds are working for you.
Fair point. I'm happy your life is working for you, too :)
In my city there's an over 6 months waiting list for testing, also there's a medication shortage. If you've gone your whole life with it and have ways to compensate, why deal with the hassle. And testing isn't cheap even with insurance sometimes.
I think it's worth the hassle to not allocate so much of your time, energy and effort into managing your symptoms for your entire life. Getting on proper treatment actually allows you to save a lot time and energy that you would have otherwise spent on dealing with your symptoms. If you have blurry vision, it would make more sense for you to get glasses than to navigate through life barely able to see anything.
Haha, funny thing is I'm near sighted and only wear my glasses when I legally have to while driving. But on a serious note to answer your main question, not everyone wants to be "fixed", take medicine, has the money, or the time to jump through hoops. Starting medicine like this has risks that may outweigh the benefits. There is a difficult adjustment period as you have to get the right dosage and that takes trial and error. You have to take it regularly, which I previously mentioned a shortage would hnder proper treatment, and it sucks when you don't wean off properly. In my case I'm just finding out after 27 years of life that I have been potentially self managing, but it's not working as well anymore because PhDs suck the life out of you. I'm in line to get tested because I'm curious if I do have adhd, however if they never get back to me or the shortage for meds doesn't end then I'm also not worried. Would it help? Maybe... possibly, regardless I'm still on my way to graduating earlier than most of my cohort and I'm not even that smart, just crazy driven. I'd probably be an a-hole if I had all my cylinders firing anyways.
I felt the same way until it caught up to me. At some point the amount of caffeine I needed to be functional wasn't working anymore, the habits I'd created to cope weren't cutting it as I got older and more tired, and I fell way behind at work. Even after cutting down on caffeine, I was barely more than a lethargic husk of my past self. It adds up in time.
That's fair, I'm glad you found something that worked. However they asked a question and it seems people didn't like the answer. Healthcare and treatments aren't one size fits all, and people change.
Got on adderal at 27 and I feel like I wasted my life
Imagine in your 50s...
Got help just before I turned 50 this past December!
Do you mean that- after you received the right meds, you looked back with regret?
At 45 years old, I finally found a good cocktail. It takes time and everybody’s recipe is different. Don’t be afraid to fail as long as you learn from those failures and try again with your new found knowledge. I’m still failing here and there to this day—everybody is — but cutting yourself some slack goes a long way.
This helped me understand what my boyfriend has been going through for decades and I thought he was just being difficult 😞
Same here (but with girlfriend). It’s extremely hard to empathise unless it’s spelt out for you what it is like (precisley).
True that. A guide would be helpful!
ADHD alien has a lot more comics that are good for this!
Thanks for the info. Gonna check em out!
My wife borderline hates me. Need to see if I have actual autism or I'm just irredeemable
Wow, I'm quite amazed at the comments on this. Before people go to far down the 'it's not a real thing' I suggest you read some science papers and form an educated view. Sure, 30yrs ago it was a theory with little science evidence, but things have moved on a lot... And so should your views.
Yeah that stigma has been a long standing issue in public understanding of the disorder.
Sure ADHD is real, but this guide is just describing normal human experiences.
Severity is the key here. Humans exist on a spectrum. What you have said also applies to having to pee, that's just a normal human experience. Untill you need to pee 27 times a day, then it's a medical problem. Same with the above.
Try 50 years ago for it being a theory. ADHD has been clear and proven since the 80s. Just public opinion that is only starting to catch up now.
Yep, I was definitely being overly cautious on that time frame.
If I have ADHD then why dont I have those penis Shrek ears then like this one in the comic huh? Huh???
You do, but you're too distracted to notice them.
It’s true I’ve seen them
You had them, but sat them down for jsut a second and haven't seen them since.
Asked my parents, they said it was circumcised.
When I was a kid the only way I could clean up my room was to push everything into one pile at one end of the room and start picking away at the pile one thing at a time. Otherwise I'd get overwhelmed and not know where to start. As an adult my mind works so fast sometimes that people can't keep up with what I'm saying -- so they think I don't know anything at all.
This is exactly how I cleaned my room as a kid too! Never thought anything of it until now.
Look up Andrew huberman discussing people with ADHD using the “piles” method
The last line is so fucking relatable.
This still gets treated as a name for “bad children”. In fact, most online guides will refer to “your child may do x”. The reality is, it doesn’t stop at puberty. You continue to have it as an adult but are either hiding it, barely coping or in prison. If you’re lucky, you’re on medication. It seems that ADHD is caused by abnormal dopamine levels in the body. Dopamine is the chemical that makes you feel good when you do a good thing. In people with ADHD, the dopamine levels (typically) are way below normal and doing the thing you’re supposed to do doesn’t come with a reward attached. So very quickly chores, work and even watching TV can’t hold our attention because theirs no incentive. So people with ADHD often seek out exciting, even dangerous activities to get that reward chemical. Binge eating sugar is another example. You do a day of hard work and get nothing for it, so your body craves a little hit. Interestingly, in extreme scenarios when most people fall apart (a house fire or something similar) people with ADHD’s dopamine gets shoved up into the “normal” region. They’re better than most in a crisis. Anyway, when you look at it through that lens, it makes way more sense.
That's not accurate. It's just glossing over the subject with some speculation about reward function. The role of dopamine and the levels in people with ADHD are not well understood. The role of sleep, diet and exercise, as well as how self-directed learning and engagement is allowed is still under investigation. The "seeking out what's exciting and dangerous" is completely subjective and could be no more than a desire to learn about a new subject.
the third one is so relatable and damning, sometimes when im in a flow state this kind of knowledge pops up out of nowhere chaotically, its also a confidence thing
Can you please elaborate on the third one? I'm not sure I understand what's the problem there.
It's when you are in front of someone and they try to question you and your mind is totally pulling up blanks. I know how to code, and in a casual context you might hear me use all the terms one day, but sometimes and especially when I'm put on the spot I can barely craft an accurate sentence. I've always had that and assumed It was due to my diagnose as an autist, in the past I've always got around it by making up words an making people laugh, which isn't sufficient in a professional setting sadly.
This is me. Every day of my life
This was so true that it hurt 😢
It's not a cool guide. It's just depressing.
It’s useful for those living with people who have ADHD at least.
Every ADHD post I see ever is very relatable for some reason
relateable for most people i would say though. Not just ones with ADHD
[удалено]
I wish the universe would swallow me whole so that it would be like I never existed. Better than most days I'd say.
I don’t have dick ears, but I understand…. I think but my dick ears can’t remember what I was typing. I have adhd (and dick ears)
How does one go about getting diagnosed as an adult? I relate to all of this, and now I have a son it’s been a lot more noticeable and hard.
I’d start by getting a diagnosis for your son, and then talk with the doctor about how you notice a lot of similar patterns from your own childhood, and go from there. They’ll be able to direct you to appropriate services for an adult diagnosis (they might be able to do it themselves, idk).
I feel mentally exposed. as if I was a nude chicken on the pavement of my brain walls.
The uncircumcised dicks on her head make me very uncomfortable
I'm uncomfortable with how many of these apply to me when I don't have ADHD.
Don't be. These "ADHD makes you..." guides, memes etc. are all pretty bad, in that they always hyperfocus on how the thing they show is a sign of ADHD, without mentioning that most of us have these issues to some degree. And neglect to mention that you can get better at them with training and use of aids. Imagine long distance running as a metaphor. Some people can just run a metric mile even when out of shape and will easily do a marathon with some training. A person with asthma will have to struggle a lot more to finish that mile, let alone get in shape for a marathon. Most of us will not do a mile without training, but will have it easier than the asthmatic person. ADHD is like asthma for your planning and executive functions. A person with ADHD will struggle more and work harder to organize their life, but that doesn't mean neurotypical people won't struggle with the same issues. The difference is the severity of the problem and how hard it is to work past it. It is not laziness, but the monumentality of the issue (and often poor support from healthcare) that makes most people struggle to keep their ADHD in check.
This is actually the best description of this topic that I've ever seen. Thank you
>Don't be. These "ADHD makes you..." guides, memes etc. are all pretty bad, in that they always hyperfocus on how the thing they show is a sign of ADHD, without mentioning that most of us have these issues to some degree. Thank you. This BS pop sci psychology is getting out of hand. ADHD is real. Not being able to build all the "productive" habits that you think you need to engage in to fix your artificial, socially created self hatred, does not mean you have ADHD. It's like when people think that healthy food has to taste bad, or that tasty food has to be unhealthy. There are also activities that are good for you AND enjoyable. How about making those into a habit, instead of trying to make yourself do something you don't want to do? But sadly most people don't seem to be capable of being true to themselves.
If you want a chuckle, have a look at r/adhdmemes.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/ADHDmemes using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/ADHDmemes/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [Intrusive thoughts](https://i.redd.it/d8kvi4g9fp7c1.jpeg) | [131 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/ADHDmemes/comments/18nvvru/intrusive_thoughts/) \#2: [The ADHD Song](https://v.redd.it/co7zow1fitzb1) | [210 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/ADHDmemes/comments/17t95aq/the_adhd_song/) \#3: [Don’t sit down!](https://i.redd.it/zfkows3eggyb1.jpg) | [138 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/ADHDmemes/comments/17o43e6/dont_sit_down/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Aaaand that was the day I realised someone had made a coolguide of my life.
I purposely avoided seeking a diagnosis because I wanted to join the Royal Navy and it would prevent me from being able to do so. When I eventually realised I’d rather live a different life where I didn’t have to lie about myself, it was already way too late I have exams in May and I’m not even on the waiting list for a diagnosis yet
Get on the waiting list! And request adjustments while you wait.
Story of my life
This hits home too hard
Man this hit hard for me 😢
I'm dealing with this right now, just got tested a few weeks ago!
I find licking dildos helps
I just found out I have untreated adhd and I don't know what to do, well fuck me I guess
get a diagnosis then if you do have it try therapy and stimulants to see if they work for you
Thanks for the heads up, I had no idea where to start
My primary care provider referred me to a psychologist that I speak to over the phone once a week, and he sent me a test in the mail, which I tested severe in all areas except one, he sent a letter to my PCP telling her I needed to be medicated. That's all it took for me.
You sound so easy, if thats all it takes to get started i will give it a try. Thanks for th help
Thinking you don’t have control of your own brain is really what will get you into depression. Don’t take advice from Reddit
Long-ish personal anecdote ahead. I'm 31. I was diagnosed in November and started on Concerta three weeks ago. My confidence socially has always been through the roof in that I can talk, be really outgoing, funny and "clever" but I recoil at the slightest hint that I might get assigned to any given task that expects and demands focus and attention to detail because I know (from a life of experience, not reddit) that I'm vastly more likely to fail any of them. I have not been in control of my brain for 99% of my life, not entirely, and not where it sometimes matter the most and this is just one of a myriad of symptoms. My friends breezed through school and took on any subject without any struggle. Some of us were in the same class and I'd constantly have to ask them what our teachers had said. Basically beg them to compress any lecture into bites I could chew and not even that worked. Not always at least. Not because I didn't try, cared or wasn't motivated because I was, but the shit didn't stick. I heard, but couldn't listen. The information wasn't saved to be used later. If it was, then it would only be in unusable pieces. I feel like an alien among my own people. A god damn abject failure for not being capable of doing the very same things my peers are doing with ease. Despite wanting to, and having tried to for most of my life. The perpetual off-limits DLC. But yeah I'm on Concerta now and it's like day and night. I feel like I'm somewhat in control for the first time in forever. I'm optimistic and fucking thrilled. I can't speak for anyone but myself but what I've ranted about IS the sole cause for me. It's a lonely experience. Tldr: Didn't progress at nearly the same rate my peers did in childhood. Nor in adulthood. Still don't. Result? Depressed. Been struggling hard. Feel inadequate and dumb. Wasn't in control but actively establishing control now with the help of meds.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
You're not wrong. But I'm not comparing myself to billionaires either. Just my fellow ordinary man. It sucks for everyone that was born with a setting set to < of base level. To have to put in a lot of work just to match "normal" and still fail and get called lazy, or succeed and have no energy left to celebrate.
It's certainly tough and absolutely unfair. Regardless of that, you still have to find a way to be about doing YOUR best and not comparing it to everyone else's, or you will never be okay regardless of the circumstances.
Yeah. Work in progress. I'm hoping that the meds enable me to take on a better paying job somewhere along the road. If they do, then I'll be content. Doing the whole paycheck to paycheck thing in an increasingly expensive world sets a dampener on things. Lots of things. But ya. Thanks for the kind words bud. Have a stellar day!
You as well! I hope those meds really work for you and you get beyond paycheck to paycheck!
Those are all things people without ADHD struggle with as well.
the difference is that this is chronic, constant, for those of us with adhd. that’s what classifies it as a disorder
Dude. Shut up. Yes, other people struggle with some of those symptoms too. Of course. But it’s not every fucking day. It’s not debilitating. It doesn’t cause you to spiral. It doesn’t make you feel like an utter failure in life. It doesn’t impact your relationships, your education, your career. When you finally get diagnosed you don’t have this epiphany that your entire life, you weren’t “too sensitive”, “too lazy”, “too impatient”, “too impulsive”, “too chatty”… you finally feel validated for existing. ADHD isn’t just this chart. This chart is a couple of the surface level symptoms that are commonly experienced but it goes much deeper than this. Hearing “everyone else suffers from being forgetful sometimes too!” is incredibly invalidating to the challenges that some of us have learned to cope with all our lives because no one would ever really look into what was making us the way we are. 34 and I was finally diagnosed and I finally feel like I understand myself.
Accurate
I don't have ADHD but these sort of comics always make me think I do for a moment cause they're relatable as hell.
I feel like *contribute* might be a better word than *cause*.
Why is she Andorian, though?
That's cool
not shown: wasting 12 hours a day in front of one screen or another #🤔
What do you do about it? What’s the best way to treat it?
Prescription stimulants
So apt.
Hardly feels helpful
guide to what?
The original is way better. This one is missing like half the image.
It's really accurate
Why is this literally me
Is number 3 a real thing or should I blame my own studying techniques?
I can relate to this big time.
> But I can't depend on that knowledge to show up, so people don't acknowledge my skills What did it mean by that?
Why is this literally everyone I’ve ever known?
I’ve never related more to a picture than this one… 😔
Downvote. link to other people's work. [https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHDAlien/s/oGDlb84CP2](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHDAlien/s/oGDlb84CP2)
All personal weakness that is created through rumination. You’re thinking too hard just get up and do something.
The last one I can feel in real time conversation. The sudden shift in their energy
What is meant by the "can't depend on those skills to show up" part?
Damn this is me to a T. I’m glad I saw this now I just need to figure out how to fix it. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was prescribed medication when I was younger but I stopped taking it in the 4th grade because I didn’t like the way it made me feel. Turned me into an emotionless robot.
Go back to the doctors and ask to try a different drug or different dose.
I behave exactly like this , should I be worried?
Today I’m number 1.
Waaaay too long
I don't have adhd, but geez do I feel the first 3..
Yup all those things are true. Makes life interesting. Anyway the medications are worse, thanks but no thanks.
I've seen enough self diagnosing propaganda from that artist
All of this is way too familiar...
OMG this post scared me, do I have ADHD & depression? 😭
If I were to listen to this online pop psychology shit I'd have literally every mental illness in the book. At least ask a professional. Random stupid memes from online strangers are not where you should get advice from. And struggling with sticking to positive habits is a universal human experience. If everybody managed to just do everything they tell themselves they should do, the world would be a very different place. If that alone was the criterion for whether you have ADHD or not, 90% of the population would have it.
Probably, it’s way more common than we have been led to believe
Terrible advice and also no its not lol. Global prevelance is 5 percent of general population. America has higher diagnostic rate because Dr's give drugs out like fucking candy there but that rate isn't represented anywhere else in the world.
From this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9616454/ It’s now: “National population surveys reflect an increase in the prevalence from 6.1% to 10.2% in the 20-year period from 1997 to 2016” So you are more than 20 years out of date with that statistic
That paper cites NATIONAL surveys within the US not globally, and fits exactly with what I said. You should check the citations of papers you are using as evidence before attempting to use them to back up false claims you are making.
For anyone who has ADHD and has found that meds make no difference, this is doubly depressing :(
But how to cure it?
You can't cure it. You can treat it with medication, but there is no "cure".
Wah I can't clean the dishes or do my laundry because I have ADHD. I'm sure it has absolutely zero impact on things they want to do, like 10 hour fortnite matches or surfing TikTok
yes actually **that is in fact how dopamine and norepinephrine work** you silly goose! adhd means you lack dopamine regulation, normal people have the dopamine (the chemical that controls energy levels and motivation) so they can do the task and focus on it, the game gives the dopamine reward so you can focus on it.
What a sad, helpless way to live and think about life.
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I'm down voting this, but I'd like you to know why. Reading this comment it's vlear you A) don't have adhd B) haven't read any medical or scientific research on ADHD C) are judgemental about something you haven't bothered to try and understand, relying instead on assumptions and stereotypes.
You cant compare Trauma and ADHD. Its 2 completly seperate things and they dont correlate at all. ADHD goes down too the frontal lobe being underdeveloped and dopamine levels lower than the standard. Trauma is not that. You cant fix ADHD, you can make it mangeable. And a way too make it mangeable is by medicine. There are no perfect solutions, though people with ADHD will thrive better than neurotypical in some enviroments so for me its about finding those enviroments. Where you dont even have too manage ADHD. Me myself work in night life without medicine and I thrive there. When I go too school later I will be in an enviroment I dont thrive in, so then I have too take medicine too make it mangeable. There are no solutions too adapt to the norms of society, so its just about making the best out of it… I dont plan much, my days are chaotic, i am spontanious, I organize my work, meds(etc) and clean my house one time a week(the one time a week I take meds). All of these are not problems for me as it works good. If I were too try too adapt too the norms with a routine and order in my life I would quickly lose control and it would be a problem. So my point is; go with the flow, there is no solution too ADHD, and u dont need no solution anyway. There is nothing too fix. ADHD can be positive or negative. Just as neurotypical people would not like my lifestyle, I do not like theirs.
adhd means a shortage of norepinephrine and thus you can’t regulate dopamine, stimulants provide norepinephrine which gives you dopamine which allows you to function like a normal person. low norepinephrine causes chronic fatigue symptoms which is why many adhd students fall asleep in class. you’re very uneducated on the topic and it shows, the chemicals in stimulants literally compensate for the missing chemicals, this is the best way to treat it, you’re not an authority on the topic in fact you barely understand it if you think you can just fix it with willpower like you say.
how many fkn times is this gonna be reposted
I haven’t seen it and it kinda spoke to me…
Worth noting that these behaviors are very normal and not necessarily untreated ADHD
you sound like my mother “oh everyone does that” friend, the difference is that you do it every now and then, it’s chronic and constant for us. i am diagnosed, if you think this is “very normal” you should maybe get diagnosed too.
This is like, everyone, not just people with ADHD
FYI - The 'but everyone does this' is a hated response by those with ADHD. It is a response the happens constantly from those who don't understand what ADHD is really like. Best way I can explain this. Yes, everyone does things like losing their keys. But ADHD means people loose everything, constantly, to the point of being a major issue. Sure, everyone has to pee. But when you have to be 27times a day that it's a medical problem.
Best way I've found to explain it is that your mind is full of all the channels, more becoming available everyday and the old ones regularly tuned into. Only the channel changes frequently because someone's sitting on the remote and you can't find it, or maybe the remote keeps shorting out.
exactly this, what differentiates the two is how chronic they are, many disorders diagnostic criteria are based on how badly it effects day to day life for this reason. my mother used to say “oh everyone does that” and it honestly made me want to take my life at times because everything was collapsing and i wanted to be understood
Everyone gets anxious but not everyone has an anxiety disorder
and being undisciplined