ADD/ADHD/Etc

RightMeow

You know, because someone said they wished we had a thread. I present… the thread.

Dreampipe

I forgot my food in the microwave for several hours yesterday. Ergo, I also forgot to eat literally anything for several hours. I was curious why I was feeling dizzy and weak so I went for a glass of water and then found my very cold meal in the microwave again.

This happens two or three times a week.

RightMeow

I get people all the time looking at me and asking how I can possibly forget to eat when I have a day off. I tried to explain it once.

Start - I’m hungry I should make a sandwich
Walk in kitchen
Notice dishes aren’t put away
Put dishes away
Consider the cabinet
Decide to re-organize the dish cabinet
Look at the other cabinets.
Remember that you were supposed to text someone
Send text
Why am I hungry?
Go to make sandwich
Get out plate - feel like you accomplished something looking at your organized dishes
Open fridge
Realize that you forgot to throw out some leftovers
Throw out leftovers
Trash has to go out
You should probably make it one trip
Clean out fridge
Decide to clean out fridge
Might as well do freezer
Stand there trying to remember what you were originally doing because you know it was something not fridge related
Oh right! Trash
Take out trash
Probably should get mail. Is it Sunday? That would be really awkward if the neighbors saw you check mail on Sunday. You know there is no mail on Sunday, but would they know you know? Mentally review your week
It’s Wednesday, check mail.
Go back inside
Oh, dog needs out
Come back, respond to text
Still hungry
Remember you were making a sandwich
Look at clock
It’s pretty close to next meal, should you eat now or wait
This debate lingers far more than it should
Ponder dinner
Look for dinner ideas
Get up to remember what you don’t have frozen as you don’t have time to defrost it
Go back to looking up dinner ideas
Read boards (ahem)
Still hungry.
Look at time.
Ponder if you have time to eat before bed.
You have to eat
Order pizza/grubhub/etc because hey it will get here
Remember you have a plate on the counter
…

It goes on and on.

Kumakun

Added another project to juggle while my brain prattles over things that I wish I could see as a MU*

It’s hard to explain the need to juggle tasks if one gets dull or stuck or isn’t fun at the moment - and not lose credibility as someone who can get things done, finish projects, or release products.

My project graveyard is vast. The struggle is real.

L. B. Heuschkel

Finished the first half of my assessment today. The GP thinks it’s very likely that I do in fact have ADHD.

Now to wait up to a year for a psychiatrist to confirm the diagnosis and decide on treatment. Thank you, pandemic and Putin.

Birdie

@L-B-Heuschkel Why do you have to wait so long for a diagnosis confirmation?

L. B. Heuschkel

@Birdie A combination of pandemic backing up the resources of the healthcare system and everything grinding to a halt here in Europe because of the Ukraine war.

I may get lucky and get in sooner. But they did tell me to not count on it.

Birdie

@L-B-Heuschkel I’m so sorry to hear this. I am in the US. I was initially diagnosed by my nurse practitioner and was then confirmed by a psychiatric nurse practitioner and had started taking medication but I stopped before having my kids. About a year into the pandemic I started suffering multiple panic attacks a day. I decided to find a therapist to do talk therapy with. It wasn’t until 10 or so months into talk therapy that we discussed medication again.

Talk therapy has really been helpful. In the meantime time while you wait for an appointment with a psychiatrist, is talk therapy an option where you live?

L. B. Heuschkel

@Birdie Unfortunately not without a diagnosis, no. But I’ll live. I’ve lived 51 years so far without treatment, I can get through another.

RightMeow

@L-B-Heuschkel

We are here for you the best we can be. We might not be able to get you meds, but we can relate with you. That is always good. Also maybe give you some ‘tips and tricks’ if you need them.

L. B. Heuschkel

My GP agreed that I likely have ADHD. I’m now on a wait list for psychiatric evaluation, most likely sometime in early 2023. Unfortunately, Denmark has a long wait time for conditions that aren’t considered critical – and well, I’ve lived with it for 51 years so I can pull through another, I guess.

Thanks to people in here who helped me come to the realisation!

Birdie

@L-B-Heuschkel said in ADD/ADHD/Etc:

My GP agreed that I likely have ADHD. I’m now on a wait list for psychiatric evaluation, most likely sometime in early 2023. Unfortunately, Denmark has a long wait time for conditions that aren’t considered critical – and well, I’ve lived with it for 51 years so I can pull through another, I guess.

Thanks to people in here who helped me come to the realisation!

While it is not a substitution for being under the care of a physician, there are many wonderful podcasts on ADHD that offer some coping strategies, a basic understanding of ADHD, and other helpful resources. There is also something called the ADHD diet many people swear by. Just remember it is a process. Be kind to yourself.

I believed that medicine was the answer. I believed that as soon as I started taking medicine for ADHD I would be the perfect version of myself and I would finally achieve all of those (unattainable) goals I have set. This did not happen exactly like that. It has helped but I am still the one doing the work. Some days are better than others. That has been my journey so far.

I hate to say it like this but early 2023 is basically here. Keep your appointment. You’re doing great. ️

L. B. Heuschkel

@Birdie I’ve been medicated for a substantial part of my life for the Borderline diagnosis – that turns out to have been a mix of cPTSD and ADHD. Believe me, I have no illusions left about medicine – I’ll take it if they genuinely think it can help but I’d rather be without.

It’s wonderful to have so many things fall into place though. The hyperfixation, the lack of ability to focus, the lack of ability to sit still, the dyscalculia… A lot of things make more sense now.

sao

Fkn hour late to a hearing because I forgot about it, of course. Sigh.

RightMeow

@sao I’m sorry. I won’t say I know how it feels because I’m not in your particular branch of employment. However, I relate on my own.

Raaspra

@RightMeow I forget to eat for many of those same reasons.

And then some days I find myself eating constantly because it’s there, and I’m not paying attention. I’m doing twenty other things and hand-to-mouth is without conscious thought.

Floof

I got my official diagnosis yesterday. Not really sure where to go from here, but it at least feels good to not second guess myself about it all the time now!

L. B. Heuschkel

This is an issue I really should be debating with a therapist or other professional but, alas, I live in Denmark and I’m still waiting for my adult ADHD assessment to start ‘sometime in 2023’. That’s a long wait ahead so I’m going to poke the hive brain here instead.

I’ve been doing my homework of course and I realise that rejection dysphoria is very definitely a thing. But how do fellow ADHD people suffering from it tell when it’s the dysphoria rearing its head – and when people are actually excluding you, or worse?

Lately, a group of people in my game circles have been very pointedly ghosting me to an extent where other players have started to ask what the problem is. I’m seriously thinking about taking a break from roleplaying because of it; after all, I must be pushing people away or otherwise acting in a way they can’t condone, in order for this to happen. I don’t feel that I’m behaving in a bad fashion but obviously, mileage varies.

This is where I really could use some tools to make it easier to tell when it’s you yourself who’s being a rejection sensitive pile of anxiety who simply needs to suck up the fact that some people don’t like you, and move on – and when people are actually being assholes.

Mourne

@L-B-Heuschkel I can only suggest asking someone you trust who is still around.

L. B. Heuschkel

@Mourne said in ADD/ADHD/Etc:

@L-B-Heuschkel I can only suggest asking someone you trust who is still around.

I have asked for reality checks from friends and they’re not telling me that I’ve gone nuts. I am hoping that maybe there might be some reading material or tools out there, though, that can help detect bad patterns – whether in yourself or in others.