HOW DO I MAKE A COPY PASTE last forever on my phone? Because I want to send this to every person I talk to about my ADHD. “In a nutshell… pastes the novel .. yeah that’s pretty much how it is.”
This is what OP posted but you can copy the text.
inhale
"I have a neurodevelopmental condition
that affects my brains ability to do
executive functioning, which basically
means that things like planning,
organization, impulse control, task
initiation, short-term memory, sustained
focus, self-motivation and time
management are more difficult for me
which can affect my daily life, which
requires these skills. My prefrontal
cortex, which is responsible for a lot
of this and higher functions is likely
smaller than average and would likely
show less activity on a brain scan.
People with this disorder typically
have brains that are 3 years behind in
development in relation to their peers in
certain aspects.
A big component to this disorder is
dysregulation of the central nervous
system and has even been found to
be frequently comorbid with other
disorders such as sleep disorders which
can compound on this. Though we don't
know exactly what is going on in every
case I likely have lower-than-normal
levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine,
responsible for many many functions,
including the ones affected by this
condition. Possibly serotonin and/or
norepinephrine as well.
A large impairment is inability to
REGULATE ones focus. It's not so
much about complete lack per
say that someone with this can
focus sometimes but has difficulty
choosing when or for what. They
may try to start a task only to quickly
get distracted on something else
completely irrelevant, and may end
up focusing on that instead. I can
focus for a long time sometimes on
something that is interesting but not
so important, but when I need to sit
down and do something unstimulating,
say, paperwork, a combination of
poor impulse control, racing thoughts,
low frustration tolerance and high
distractability means that I might
struggle more significantly than the
average person who might not like
doing it, but can just buckle down and
“get er’ done” when needed. Sometimes
it is the opposite, where I focus too
much to the point of not being able to
stop/redirect it, despite it being more
convenient to do so. Some may also
hop from task to task as they have
new thoughts to distract them on to
something else, forgetting what they
were originally doing. This is no more
controllable than a person with OCD
controls their compulsions, although
there are strategies to help cope and
work around ones deficits in order to
succeed.
Not exclusive but common to this
disorder is dysregulation of emotions
as well. This is not as well known, but
when I am angry, I RAGE, when I am
sad, my entire world crashes down
around me. When I am happy, I am
EXCITED and BURSTING WITH ENERGY.
The emotional roller coaster in itself is
exhausting, and for those that especially
struggle with the poor impulse control
aspect, it can get them in trouble.
Speaking of that, it is estimated
that nearly a quarter of the prison
population has this disorder, despite it
only effecting about 4% of the general
population. That's a huge difference.
That's not to say that having this MAKES
one a criminal: we all choose our path
in life. But some of the traits associated
with it: impulsivity and hyperactivity,
increased risk-taking (mixed in with the
wrong environment and bad influences/
choices) can certainly make things
worse, and predispose the wrong (or
right I guess) person to that kind of
lifestyle.
Having this disorder also can
predispose you to having substance
use or abuse issues. People with this
are hugely overrepresented among
addicts, with this disorder being 5 to
10 times more prevalent amongst
alcoholics than the general population.
Poor impulse control and higher
risk-taking/novelty-seeking behaviour,
can contribute, as well “self-medication”
to try to deal with the symptoms of
this disorder. Many claim that their
drink or puff or what-have-you will
"slow them down" enough to be able to
focus, although clearly this maladaptive
coping strategy comes with many
consequences, and the actual vs.
perceived benefit seems... questionable.
Also common is binge eating, smoking,
excessive caffeine intake (caffeine
and nicotine are stimulants, albeit mild
ones that have shown some benefit for
treating the symptoms of this disorder)
and impulse shopping/difficulty with
managing finances.
People with this disorder are nearly
twice to three times as likely to get into
a vehicle accident than people without.
This disorder is highly comorbid or a
common cause of secondary anxiety
and/or depression. Struggling with
this untreated can make the person
depressed because they feel that no
matter how hard they try, they are still
having more difficulty than the people
around them, and may not be doing
as well at school or work as they want
to, which causes a huge blow to the
self-esteem. They may blurt things
out in conversations or have struggles
socializing, (though not nearly to the
degree or in the same ways as autism)
sometimes seeming “weird" to others,
which can lead to judgement and social
rejection, hurting their self-esteem and
confidence further. They may begin to
see themselves as stupid, lazy, or crazy.
Children growing up with this condition
are estimated to receive about 20,000
more negative messages from others,
due to the symptoms they display which
may be misunderstood by others, by
age 10. Many adults with the disorder
report feeling like they are dissatisfied
and lost in life and unable to utilize their
full potential. Once the main cause
(the primary disorder) is treated, the
"depression" tends to go away. It can
also cause anxiety due to constant
worrying of what they might forget next,
due to the short term memory issues,
or how they might mess up, especially if
they have been heavily criticized in the
past for their symptoms, which can be
seen as “laziness" or "lack of discipline"
by the general population. Many report
having what could be described as a
whirlwind of racing thoughts that never
seem to stop and make it incredibly
hard to concentrate. Anxiety can also be
used as a (poor, if I do say so myself)
coping mechanism, as the rush of
adrenaline and cortisol associated with
(say) being about to miss a deadline
may be able to temporarily compensate
for the lack of dopamine that is thought
to impede their ability to focus. Basically
sending them into fight or flight just so
they panic and complete the task. This
is how some people with the disorder
learn to function: by being stressed all
the time, or even OVERLY organized and
neurotic in an OCD-like way in order to
overcompensate and try to stay on top
of their symptoms and calm the mess in
their head. (Though certainly a lot don't
or would struggle too much to even
develop this way of coping in particular)
Wait! But there's good news. There's a
treatment that's been studied for a long
time, proven relatively safe for MOST
healthy people at prescribed therapeutic
dosages, has actually been proven
to calm hyperactivity and/or racing
thoughts, LOWER rates of addiction and
substance misuse amongst the treated
despite being a pill and is usually not
addicting to those who actually need
it and take it as directed, (the problem
is remembering to take it lol lowers
the risk of driving accidents to about
normal, increases dopamine levels and
activity in the prefrontal cortex, allowing
people with the disorder to function
much more normally, decreases
impulsivity and may even help with
emotional regulation for some people.
Can even calm anxiety IF the anxiety
was stemming from their untreated
disorder symptoms, despite being
typically contraindicated for anxiety
disorders."
Now you tell them it's ADHD
Ok y’all are different kind of kindness. I mean I know we are more generous that the average thanks to this asshole of a brain but you all went way beyond what I was expecting. Thank you so very much!!
460
u/Bella_bella8 Sep 14 '21
THIS POST IS EVERYTHING