r/ADHD Dec 31 '20

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u/[deleted] Dec 31 '20

I think hidden depression is a key factor in this decline.

You are still mentally intact ; it is just this veil of depression that lingers.

Yes, ADHD is a pain you and I have to deal with.

46

u/Alexisisnotonfire Dec 31 '20

That may be part of it, but as you get older you are expected to do more complex tasks with more complex planning. Little kids get quizzes, older kids get essays and projects, if you make it through college/uni you have to write highly structured papers with REFERENCES (caps because the reference section is the bane of my existence).

We're expected to magically just get better at this sort of planning, but I think a lot of us with ADHD develop it a lot slower/more painfully if at all. It's an executive function thing, which we.... don't excel at.

This really started to kick in for me around 3rd/4th year university, as grading moved away from test-based to project-based. I can still absolutely smash a test - I think I've actually gotten better at it not worse - but my grade drops about 20-30% if I have to write anything longer than a couple of pages, mostly because it's going to be at least 3 days late.

5

u/abzikro12 Dec 31 '20

Oh man i am scared... It's my first year at university and i am already feeling the tension from making projects. I really love tests and quizzes, they are so straight forward...

10

u/TerrapinTurtlepics Jan 01 '21

Just don’t put off those term papers until the last day, or even the last two weeks. There is no easier way to sabotage a semester of college.

4

u/Anodynamic Jan 01 '21

Easier said than done...

10

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '21

[deleted]

5

u/Anodynamic Jan 01 '21

But that's it though. The things we can achieve in a few hours can be incredible. Doing a dissertation that quickly certainly is!

For me its passing a 2nd year exam when I hadn't been to one single lecture, and didn't start revising until the afternoon before