Lots of us with ADHD cobble together our own organization systems & coping skills from what we have learned from others. I thought I would toss my own experiences out there so others can use them as they will. #adhdtwitter

My background: diagnosed at 31, 10 years ago. Had obvious features as early as 12 years old, but I was “well behaved” and “smart” so no one ever suggested to my parents I may have it because of course I couldn’t have a “learning disability."

The first person to notice was my 7th grade science teacher (shout out to Ms. Senteney, you changed my life!). She noticed when I turned work in, it was perfect…but I only managed to remember to turn in like half the work.

So my first compensation mechanisms were the Dayrunner organizer she had my mom buy for me. The kind with the month & the weekly schedules. She taught me to write everything down religiously, made sure the other teachers knew I’d be doing this (VERY small school).

Pretty sure one of my most stressful yet helpful mechanisms arose from this: I learned to trust the planner, and NEVER trust my own head. Now that I’m older this means I do not trust myself to remember anything correctly, which leads to a LOT of self-doubt.

I went on like that for years, only ever trusting the planner. I got an electronic planner the year the Handspring Visor was released. It could ping to remind me things. THE FUTURE!

Those mechanisms worked for YEARS, until finally at age 30 I changed careers. Bedside nursing is not conducive to computer reminders & color coded charts. It has to be done quickly & you need to keep more things in your head.

So at the age of 31 I sought my diagnosis and got it: ADHD inattentive type. Started on methylphenidate to GREAT success, and began to learn more about conscious compensation/coping skills. Over the past decade, I have developed some helpful ones.

Seeing pre-organization as self-care: I have some pretty bad time blindness when it comes to getting out of the house. If I have something important, I need to prep ahead of time to be on time. Things like laying out my clothes are “now” me being kind to “future” me.

Doing something vague like “sitting down to study” requires more executive function than I have, so I block off time on the calendar. 1pm to 2pm, do the cardiology reading. 2pm take a 15 minute break for coffee. 2:15 to 3p, do the neuro reading, etc.

Again, blocking that time off is a huge kindness to myself. Now Me is taking some time to give specific instructions to Later Me so she won’t flail and stress because she can’t prioritize. Already been done for me.

Also: it’s helpful to break those tasks down on separate days. Evening Me just has to do the time blocking and scheduling, and Tomorrow Me just has to do the studying. I’ve separated two very stressful tasks, so each takes less executive function.

Routine is really important. I have water, coffee, a protein snack (usually nuts), and I do all my school work at a place set up in my house for exactly that. This helps improve executive function by giving me cues this is what I’m “supposed” to be doing now.

I have a weighted blanket. It works, y’all. Especially when I’m sitting in my chair in the evening, when my brain flails the most. I get high anxiety in the evenings thinking of everything I should have accomplished and wondering what else I forgot. The blanket just stops that.

Ooooh another one for time blindness: multiple alarms. Sometimes I can tell you exactly when 10 minutes has passed, sometimes it feels like 30 seconds. Multiple redundant alarms helps with this. I have a “wake up”, a “get dressed,” a “warning,” and a “you have to be leaving now."

Medication experience: as stated, I use methylphenidate. Concerta (long acting) lasts about 8-10 hours, onset & off load are smooth. Dry mouth & appetite loss are side effects (don’t get me started on ppl who guffaw & say they wish they could lose their appetite).

(I’ve been on it for 10 years & still fat so it doesn’t work like you think it will, and also ha ha, we’re all fat & wanna lose weight amirite? NO. Fuck off with that.)

Drawback: long acting is HELLA EXPENSIVE. So I use short acting. 4-6 hour half life. Onset is VERY sudden. I don’t get increased heart rate or jitters but I think if you were prone to that, this would be uncomfortable for you.

Feel like a focused, heat-seeking missile when it’s working…then it stops very suddenly too. Then, I feel jittery and weird. Often there’s a headache, slightly shaky hands. If I have a little caffeine at this time, it cushions this effect well.

#ADHD often comes with insomnia, and I have some mechanisms for this too (esp since I’m night shift). Eye mask that blocks 100% of light, fan in my room, careful bedtime routine with toothbrushing, cleanser, moisturizer, lavender oil.

I also take a low dose of trazodone, an old anti-depressant we now mainly use off label as a sleep aid. It works like a CHARM for me. Not all meds work the same for everyone but I CANNOT praise it enough.

Finally, I’m always on the lookout to find what’s worked for other #adhdtwitter people. I have gotten many of my coping skills by observing & talking to others. Please chime in anywhere on this thread to let me know what’s worked for you!

This is especially important now that I’m raising an #ADHD son in his teenage years & it’s time for me to really help him learn to develop his coping skills. There may be things y’all do that won’t work for me, but will for him, & I’d like to present a variety of skills! /end