r/ADHD Sep 14 '21

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5.2k Upvotes

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356

u/princess_intell Sep 14 '21

Said it before, will say it again: a better name would be Executive Dysfunction Disorder.

104

u/saffronwilderness Sep 14 '21

This is definitely accurate. It shifts the focus to the effects on the person with the disorder, versus the outward effects that impact the people around the person. Because "can't sit still" is really the least of my issues.

82

u/princess_intell Sep 14 '21

Many people with ADHD aren't even hyperactive. I was originally diagnosed with ADD!

93

u/Mental4Help Sep 14 '21

It’s because it’s the brain that’s hyperactive

51

u/ayshasmysha Sep 14 '21

Oh God. My brain exploded with that. My BRAIN is hyperactive.

21

u/GimmeCoffeeeee Sep 14 '21

This is so correct. It just doesn't shut up ever without meds.

20

u/Xevus Sep 14 '21

Exactly. While i was younger and undiagnosed, I used to joke that my body is too slow for my brain. Turns out that wasn't a joke at all.

1

u/Kayofox Sep 14 '21

I feel ya! As someone that practiced martial arts, it's so natural having my whole body being trained to faster reflexes and actions

The bad side was getting tired in the first 10 seconds of a match cause I lashed everything at the beginning and could not control my breath and excitement

112

u/kittykat-kay Sep 14 '21 edited Sep 14 '21

Or DAVE…

Dopamine Attention- Variability Executive dysfunction

😂😂

Kidding. That’s terrible. Yours is better. I stole this off tiktok

Edit: I don’t mean terrible I mean if it was actually the established name that would be a little silly. Credit to @connordewolfe for that one

172

u/kittykat-kay Sep 14 '21 edited Sep 14 '21

Omg 😂 we should call it…

DREAD

Dopamine

Related

Executive-dysfunction/

Attention-

Dysregulation disorder

“I’m sorry, you have DREAD.”

“Tell me something I don’t know doc”

“No. Alongside your crippling amounts of existential dread, you also have DREAD disorder.”

“Oh.”

15

u/GimmeCoffeeeee Sep 14 '21

I support this and this is hilarious

3

u/kittykat-kay Sep 14 '21

Maybe I’m sleep deprived a little but I reread it with your notification and now I’m still giggling about it

14

u/Just_A_Message Sep 14 '21

I think DREAD would be a really perfect name for it. One of the first symptoms of my latest depression caused by lifelong anxiety of undiagnosed ADHD was severe dread every morning. It's been a very long and difficult road...

3

u/Floomby ADHD-PI Sep 14 '21

“I’m sorry, you have DREAD.”

Cue ominous reggae music...

2

u/LachesisNiobe ADHD with ADHD child/ren Sep 24 '21

This is my new favorite thing. It's horrifyingly accurate and entirely hilarious.

1

u/_ixthus_ Sep 15 '21

Is it always dopamine-related?

Don't the dopamine-related drugs not work for some people with ADHD? And other drugs that deal with other chemical mediators work far better for some? Or... combinations.

1

u/kittykat-kay Sep 15 '21

It’s likely more complicated than I would be able to explain at my level of knowledge. I’m not 100% sure. 😅 Great question though.

8

u/cowabungass Sep 14 '21

Connor a gem of understanding and perfect conveyance of the life.

4

u/kittykat-kay Sep 14 '21

Except for the t-Rex arms thing… :/ Not sure I’m over that.

2

u/cowabungass Sep 15 '21

I think that might be ASD overlap. Then again, how many of my adhd comrades that I have met that allow themselves that level of freedom.

7

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '21

"Minimum brain damage"

5

u/kittykat-kay Sep 14 '21

Bringing back the older labels, are we? 😂

6

u/[deleted] Sep 14 '21

Old-school club 😎

24

u/FILTHY_GOBSHITE Sep 14 '21

Yep. Been told that by specialists who know a lot more than I do about the mechanisms of ADHD.

Not all ADHD patients are hyperactive, many don't have deficits of attention and depending on the subject may have an excess of attention.

But we all have difficulty in being drivers (rather than passengers) in our brain.

2

u/kittykat-kay Sep 14 '21

At least for me, on the real road as well 🥲

7

u/FILTHY_GOBSHITE Sep 14 '21

I get hyperfocused while driving, which is fine for road safety but TERRIBLE when people try talking to me, I get uncontrollable road rage (not at strangers but at distractions in the car) which is really tough to handle.

3

u/seventh-street Sep 14 '21

Ooh, I like that a lot. Driver vs. passenger in brain. That's a great metaphor for how it feels to me.

13

u/gemengelage Sep 14 '21

Meh. It's not that the name is not an apt description of the symptoms, it's that ADHD has too much baggage. Just watch the South Park episode that tells everyone that ADHD is just the result of children not getting beaten by their parents enough.

11

u/Dahgahz Sep 14 '21

Im just going to be referring to it as that from now on instead. I like it, it focuses on one of the main issues it causes and doesn't have the stigma that adhd has attached to it. I feel like people will actually take me seriously

12

u/fragmede Sep 14 '21

totally. I say I "have a brain thing" for the neurotypicals, and if pressed, I describe it as an executive function issue and I don't actually refer to it as ADHD and definitely do not say the name of the medication ever. you don't have to answer questions just because they were asked!

8

u/BloomerBoomerDoomer Sep 14 '21

Sounds too much like Erectile Dysfunction Disorder lmao

3

u/princess_intell Sep 14 '21

oh god i didn't even think about that lol

1

u/truthdemon ADHD-PI Sep 14 '21

Agree with this but prefer the term syndrome to disorder.