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Gone from being 95% sure I have ADHD to being certain. Eager to be formally diagnosed & medicated but I'm on a massive waiting list. People think self-dx is about seeing some TikToks & saying "omg I do that!" but 'properly' self-diagnosing yourself isn't just a passing thought
Not stopped thinking about for the last few months. I was nervous to tell my mum cos I thought she'd see it as a 'naughty boy thing' & say I'm just lazy but when I read out the list of reasons why I think I have it, she agreed with it all & added more to the list
I said "you know how I've always been a bit of an attention seeker...?" And she was like "mmhmm" 
I'm not of course suggesting all people with ADHD behave like this. I do think it's an ADHD thing for me but maybe I'd be just as insufferable even if I was neurotypical.
I'm not of course suggesting all people with ADHD behave like this. I do think it's an ADHD thing for me but maybe I'd be just as insufferable even if I was neurotypical.
Boyfriend was skeptical at first but then each day we spent together after that confirmed it. Couldn't sit through Guardians of the Galaxy without me asking him to pause it every few mins. "This song was in Better Call Saul too!" was just one of the mundane facts I *had* to share
He'll be cooking us dinner and will ask me to fetch one thing. On my way to fetch that thing, I'll do 10 other things. I'll be frantically dashing from one side of the flat to another, adding more and more things to a to-do list in my head. It's hard to snap myself out of it.
Getting ready to leave the house is a struggle unless I have somewhere I absolutely have to be by a certain time. Rarely late for a personal training session but if I tell myself to get to the gym for 10am, it won't happen cos I'll be pottering around the flat for hours
I've learned I need deadlines in order to function. I need an editor to give me deadlines and I need to believe there'll be some kinda consequence for my career if I don't meet them. If I set my own or an editor says "Honestly no rush!" I'm screwed.
When I was a writer in a marketing agency, I was very good at meeting tight deadlines but awful at managing my own schedule. On the tram each morning I'd plead with myself to break the cycle & have a productive day but as soon as I'd sit down at my desk, I knew it wouldn't happen
Every time a manager called my name, I assumed my time was up and I was about to be fired. I was so passionate about doing a good job and had hundreds of ideas but actually executing them was impossible. I've since learned I've been suffering from 'decision paralysis'.
I have a huge list of article ideas on Trello but whenever I pick one and sit down to write it, I'll think about all the other ideas on the list and worry that I've chosen the wrong one. I'll jump from one idea to the next and end up with 10 half-written pieces.
Decision paralysis is something I experience every day. I'll wake up in the morning and think "I could go to the gym or I could write a couple of articles or I could clean my flat or I could..." Realistically, I could do all of those things but I know I'll be lucky if I do one.
I often just end up scrolling or posting on social media. Sometimes I hyper-focus on a social media post and can't tear myself away. That's what's happening with this thread right now. If the phone rang, I know I wouldn't answer. I would probably ignore the doorbell.
Sometimes I hyper-focus on cleaning or most recently decorating. I decided to decorate my flat & for a week or two, it was all I wanted to do. I'll stay up until 2am sanding down the walls & get up at 8am to paint. It's hard to not jump from one decorating task to another though
When I was decorating, my boyfriend invited me to spend some time with him and his housemates. I love them all and they've embraced my weirdness from the start but tearing myself away from my paintbrush was distressing & I felt resentful. Can see how ADHD can damage relationships
When I first told my boyfriend that I think I have ADHD, he (gently) suggested it's maybe just social media. Social media definitely is a problem for me. It's a quick-fix when I want instant stimulation, I guess. But the problems exist even when I'm not on my phone.
My boyfriend stays at mine at the weekend and I don't go on social media as much during that time. In that time I interrupt him when he's telling a story, forget things he's said to me, have bursts of hyperactivity, and get distressed if we watch TV for too long.
I've lost track of the number of times friends have gotten frustrated with me for forgetting important things they've told me. I'll ask them a question and they'll say "I told you that twice already!" and I'll be convinced that they didn't. Getting upset just thinking about it.
It's hard to tell what's ADHD & what's just my personality. Recently learned that people with ADHD often take things very personally, obsess over things they perceive to be a personal attack and find it hard to let things go. I feel SEEN! It's crippling.
A few years ago I had an argument with a friend & still think about the things she said on an almost daily basis. Maybe I'm just a sensitive bastard who cares too much what other people think or maybe I'm like this because of my childhood or experiences. Maybe it's ADHD.
"Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's ADHD!!!!" Lol. Shit. My chain of thought has been broken. What was I going to say next? I think I'm gonna wrap up this thread now but I might add more to it later. If you have ADHD please do share your experiences or tips with me.
Really been struggling lately. Had a little cry last night cos I've written a to-do list for the week & I easily have enough time to get it all done but I know I won't. I'll jump from one task to the other without completing them. It's upsetting to think of the untapped potential
This thread is a very good summary of the sort of thing I experience on a daily basis. https://twitter.com/A_Silent_Child/status/1197202970745556995?s=19
Here are a few things I've been doing since self-diagnosing myself with ADHD to try and get things done:
One thing I've long struggled with is cooking/following a recipe. If I Google how to make risotto, I'll jump from one recipe to another. If I manage to pick one, I then have to navigate my way around ads and long-winded intros. It's overwhelming. Enter... a cookbook!
I bought myself a TwoChubbyCubs book to start with cos the meals looked bangin' & there weren't too many ingredients. Suddenly I was no longer overwhelmed with thousands of recipes for the same thing. Wanna make sausage casserole? This is the only way to do it!
I started this in Jan & since then I've bought a few more recipe books & have cooked dozens of new meals. This is HUGE for me. I used to live off burgers & cheesy potatoes. The thought of taking a list of random ingredients to the supermarket overwhelmed me but I'm getting better
I read (okay, listened to) Atomic Habits by James Clear and that was v. helpful. Got me thinking about how I could attach the things I want to do but struggle with (for example: eating well & exercising) to things I already do.
I already spend the whole weekend with my boyfriend so on Saturdays he cooks something new for me and on Sundays I cook something new for him (from one of my books, obviously). It's become something fun that I look forward to all week!
We've also introduced gym workouts to our weekends together too. We go off & do our own thing when we're there, but it's nice to be held accountable. Going with him means I have a deadline. He refuses to sit on the sofa for 2 hours while I potter around 'gEtTinG rEaDy'.
