People with ADHD reveal the 10 most important things about the disorder that others just don’t get
When it comes to cognitive or mental disorders and conditions, there is only so much that people know. For something like ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), many people know it's a mental disorder that affects concentration. However, there are several other symptoms of the same that no one relates to ADHD. Apart from concentration, even having difficulty in understanding something very basic and prioritizing every task but completing none are some other signs of the disorder. ADHD can look different for different individuals and have varying signs. So, the condition is not just limited to focus, but also affects thought processes, relationships and much more.
Right from the way a person with ADHD thinks to the way they express themselves, a lot goes into play. u/Violinistmiddle1534 shared a post on Reddit asking people with ADHD, "What are the things about it that people just don’t get?" Many shared unique factors that affect their day-to-day lives. From burnouts and overthinking to hindrance in completing the simplest sensory tasks, these 10 things about ADHD are crucial, but also something many people don't realize.
1. Wanting to but can't
"I have no idea whether I have ADHD, but most of these comments are me. I have some urgent work to do, but I am paralysed and I can’t do it. I need to, I want t,o but only after everything is perfectly aligned, or as always, I force myself to. - u/CattoGinSama"
2. Simple chores feel like impending doom
"A massive wave of responsibilities crashing is a perfect way to put it. I frequently feel so overwhelmed with things I have to do that I do nothing. This is much worse when I have a hangover. - u/No-Yard-9447"
3. Pacing and constant worrying
"Oh my gosh! This!! It is slightly easier at work because things are levels of urgency, but even then, at home...oh my gosh! It'll take me 5 minutes to realize I've just been pacing between rooms, trying to decide the order of events that need to take place. u/mmmUrsulaMinor"
4. Auditory-processing issues
"ADHD often comes with an auditory processing disorder, especially in women. People don’t understand, I can hear you just fine, I’m not going deaf. It’s just what you said to me is either processed as complete gibberish, or if there are multiple other sounds in a small area, I input them all at the same volume. The TV is the same volume as the dishwasher, which is the same volume as the dog scratching her back, which is the same volume as what you just said to me. It’s sometimes impossible to sort unless I am looking at your face as you speak to me. u/Commander_Fem_Shep"
5. Being hyper-vigilant
"Hypervigilance is exhausting. It's like the dumbest version of what the guy in psych does, except it's all anxiety-based and intel gathering for better masking. You're spotting micro-expressions on people's faces or sauce on their tie and wondering if they don't like talking to you while also trying to guess which chicken sandwich shop they ate lunch at. Now you're thinking which shop is your favorite and then which country invented fried chicken. All of this stupid information is a traffic jam blocking what Bill (colleague) from Accounting just said, and you just want to run. - u/thedanyon"
6. Stuttering and communication issues
"I get halfway through a sentence and realize some way that what I’m saying could be misinterpreted, so I try to adjust on the fly and end up saying something that’s confusing or doesn’t make sense altogether. I do this a lot in writing, too. Without a bunch of editing, my written communication would have a bunch of parentheses to add additional context to whatever I’m saying. - u/Donny-Moscow"
7. A bunch of symptoms every day
"I wish people understood that ADHD doesn’t just affect your ability to focus. It really needs to be renamed. ADHD changes your brain chemistry. We have trouble with executive function, which means that no matter how hard we may want to do something, we may not be able to force ourselves to do it. We struggle with motivation because every task is high priority, yet our brains don’t reward us for completing them. We have sensory issues because we cannot control which things to pay attention to and which things to block out. On the bad days, speech has no meaning; it’s just sound. We want to listen, but it’s just noise. We have trouble regulating our emotions. It’s different for everyone, but for me, emotions are either unbearably intense or nonexistent, and there is no middle ground. u/PixelRapunzel"
8. Random thoughts in between random thoughts
"It's so frustrating to get up to do a thing and then end up in a loop because I forgot what I was doing in the middle of doing it, so I have to circle back around trying things to shake loose the memory of what I was doing in the first place. u/Silaquix"
9. Rejection-Sensitive Dysphoria
"It’s hard to balance the pendulum of being overly sensitive towards rejection versus ignoring how I feel because it could be an overreaction. - Reddit user"
10. Object permanence
"Object permanence. If an object doesn’t have a home where it belongs, it ends up in a pile or is lost. If I can’t see something, I forget it exists. There are a bunch of clothes hanging in my closet that I’ve forgotten exist because I don’t see them - dressers don’t work.- u/notroscoe"
This article originally appeared 6 months ago.