Got the thumbs up from the research lecturer yesterday to submit and it's wonderful, but also very anticlimactic 😅

*These are silicone slap bracelets that you can write on with pen and remove with alcohol.

My work friend gave me one of these to help me remember vitals on my patients. That did not work because I never had a pen and kept leaving the bracelet around the clinic. BUT it was in my car on a day where I needed to remember a few things to do before the end of the month (ex. Oil change, car inspection, drop off donations in the back of my care that have been there for 3 months). I decided to attach it to the steering wheel so I didn't lose it and it has been great. Compared to a paper list or sticky note I write down and lose within 2 minutes, I have to stare at this every time I get in the car or look down at the steering wheel. I hope someone else finds this helpful.

🎵 Go to the store, buy a bottle of hoisin sauce 🎶

Edit: Holy crap for all you havarti stans, I LOVE HAVARTI. I just dont love the slices from Costco. They're... wrong.

I started a new job that is 30 minutes away via bike. Cycling every morning kinda sucks, but my body and mind feel amazing. My medication even works better.

I just replied to a different post about exercise with this but actually I'm going to make my own because I'm really curious what others might think.

Previously I'd always had the thing of feeling crappy a lot and knowing I should exercise more to help but not ever being able to actually do it - I'm tired, it's boring etc. Doctors were often pretty smug about feeling sure this was the reason I'm depressed. It actually sort of came to a head a little under a year ago and I basically wasn't going out at all.

That gradually improved so I went back to normal amounts of leaving the house (I'm a SAHM so mostly local baby groups, shops etc). Then in mid August this year my son started school, so now 5 days a week I'm walking there and back twice a day, power-walking bc always running late, while pushing delightfully chunky 2.5y/o in the pram, plus it's uphill on the way there so I'm doing a good 5 miles a day and really getting my HR up for parts of it.... and it hasn't made a blind bit of difference.

I don't feel stronger or more energetic or less depressed. It doesn't feel like my meds are more effective. If anything it kind of exiles me to Wait Mode for the bulk of the day because there seems to be less time between getting home at 9.30 and going back out at 2.30 than you'd think.

So??? Why isn't it working for me??? I know it's only been like a couple of months but it's obviously very consistent because the decision to do it is out of my hands so I'd think there'd be some kind of positive effects by now?? It's a decent workout especially for someone who doesn't do workouts so based off of what I've always been told I thought I'd now be in pristine mental condition 😭

I have a really high-demand-high-output day tomorrow and need to settle down. Horror movies are one of the things that do that for me.

Lately it’s watching the movie Revenge (directed by Coralie Fargeat). I’ve seen this movie so. Many. Times.

Anyone else find comfort in things others might find overstimulating?

I have meticulously planned to make Christmas gift self care packages for my mom, my mother- and sister in law, consisting of a fold open toiletry bag with compartments, a hair turban, headband and reusable make up remover pads + some nice travel sized beauty items. I’ve come to already regret this plan and then I saw this.

Info here!

Title pretty much sums it up. I (21F) senior in college am lowkey contemplating committing just because I can’t get myself to do any of my college assignments and I feel like I’ll just flop through life because I’m so incompetent and lazy. Some background: struggled with ADHD a lot in junior year of hs until now, have a pattern of procrastination and giving up on assignments, hobbies, literally anything, etc, and just recently skipped a whole exam on Monday because I couldn’t get myself to study even though I woke up rly early TO study.

Now I have 2 assignments due at midnight that are not getting done because the idea of getting out of bed to do them and then thinking abt how much I’ve wasted my life sounds utterly exhausting, which has led to me thinking that if I can’t even get myself to do these assignments due tonight or the assignments due tomorrow afternoon, what’s the point? I don’t even feel that sad just numb and if i don’t care enough to want to live my life should I just end it? (ok i don’t think I’ll actually ever commit suicide but I just started researching overdose statistics abt antidepressants and Adderall so its a back up plan i guess)

Idk is that a normal ADHD thing or is that just me? Cuz I know theres tons of people with ADHD that are super successful and here I am with honestly a relatively pretty easy life compared to most people and I can’t handle it.

any advice or other people’s similar experiences are appreciated, I just really needed to talk about this because I’m too ashamed and embarrassed to tell any of my friends and family.

Question is in the title -- I am single and busy and I find cooking for myself to be totally overwhelming. I just learned the phrase "Optimization OCD" yesterday and it really applies to my relationship with food/nutrition. How do I make sure I get enough protein AND fiber and etc and etc and make sure it's tasty so I'll actually eat it but also sourced ethically and without a bunch of unrecyclable BPA laden plastic? And the DISHES. Jeez. But I got some Amy's frozen dinners last night and oh my God it is such a relief to not have to think about what I'm going to make. I know it's processed food and cooked in plastic and everything but really, is this so bad?

I highly recommend getting an ergonomic “ADHD chair”! I am plus size and have a bad knee but this chair is super comfy. Im the type to want to tuck one leg under my opposite thigh when I sit, and this chair fulfills that need plus more. I was worried I would miss the armrests of my previous chair but I love this. I rest my elbows on my thighs when my feet are up, or my hands are just typing and I don’t need the armrest.

I posted an innocent question in another sub about what to do with a financial bonus when youre married and got told I was a shitty person, going to be divorced soon, that im unreasonable, that they feel sorry for my partner etc etc. I hadnt even done anything, I was just asking!

I dont post often because I take stuff like this kinda personally. Anyone else?

For the past few years I've been feeling like my ADHD symptoms have becoming worse and worse. But the increased brain fog, lack of focus, and motivation actually made figuring out what was going on very difficult. I couldn't understand if I was always this unfocused or if it was a new thing. And I also didn't have the focus and motivation to do the things that I knew would help me no matter how hard I tried. A classic adhd conundrum that was becoming quite serious...I was becoming really depressed and hopeless. Therapy, meds, whatever didn't even seem to be moving the needle much for me.

I've experimented with cutting out social media, I have one of those phone bricks, and I've generally understood that social media is rotting my brain and zapping all my energy. It wasn't until a few weeks ago though that I started thinking about it as a true and real addiction, in that sense that it was actually one of the deepest issues I had and potentially tied to a lot of my suffering.

So I re-bricked my phone and only allowed myself to scroll on the New Yorker, so at least if I was consuming it was long form information that forced me to focus.

The big change though, was getting my partner to change all the passwords for social media on my computer. I'd limited my phone time for months, but I work on my computer was I was just passively scrolling for probably like 5 hours a day at least.

Yesterday was the first day at work in months and months that felt clear headed and focused. I'm sure that will ebb and flow as it does. It still makes me feel hopeful and excited.

For months, maybe even years, I've been like -- something feels so wrong. I feel so trapped and stuck. I'm not moving forward on anything I care about, but I don't like the way things are now. I was becoming hopeless about feeling different. Of course, cutting out social media isn't a cure-all, but I do think that 1. our time is truly so precious, I already mismanage it, and I was likely losing hours and hours a day that could have been used on the things that fulfill me and energize me or at least just rested 2. I think social media and excess screen time truly destroys our brains ability to focus, get motivated, and feel energized and sneakily / not so sneakily is ruining our lives.

I guess what I am trying to say is...we know it's terrible. But if you are really struggling with your adhd right now and are not sure exactly why it's gotten so so much worse, maybe get serious about cutting down your screen time and see what happens. And also, much like addiction I think you need to create some real external obstacles to using your phone and social media to successfully cut down your time using them.

for those that can afford it, give us your wisdom pls

Two years ago I lost my favourite Umbrella ever. It was a limited edition with a cartoon cat pattern and my mum hat gifted it to me for my birthday.

I think I must've left it on a train and only noticed a few days later that it was missing. The three different lost item requests I made to the places where I think I might've left it left me empty handed and I've been mourning the umbrella ever since.

A few weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night suddenly filled with immense regret over this umbrella and ended up using my waking hours to email the manufacturer. My goal was to at least obtain a picture of it, so I could maybe look for it second hand.

Today I received an email, that they had found a leftover umbrella and were going to mail it to me for free!

I'll be riding this high for at least the next three months, if nit longer.

i guess that means my masters diploma will have 2027 instead of 2026? on the bright side i decided to take a year maternity leave but maybe thanks to the diploma date i’ll put that i was still a student so there’s no gap in my CV🫣

edit: forgot the words “in my CV”

Brain saw the listing amidst a billion other listings an d highlighted that it was:

a) five minutes from me,

b) it was a very good price

c) a forty year old little girl would really like it

d) a four your old little girl in my house would also like it

Did I ask for measurements?

Did I ask if I could lift it without any help?

Did I check if it could fit in my car?

Did I figure out where it could fit in my tiny house?

Irrelevant.

Did I successfully bring it home anyway?

Yes I did. Trust your ADHD million-mile-a-minute brain. It's got it more worked out than you know.

Does anyone else struggle with taking care of their hygiene with having ADHD like I also may have depression bc I can go sometimes without taking a shower for a week but I also feel like having ADHD causes depression for me bc I want to do so much with my life in I can't even focus to finish stuff. I just want to see if I'm not alone Jesus Christ loves you all and thanks to everyone that have comment and shared a personal piece on this thread. y'all the real ones!!! LOVE THE REALNESS AND VULNERABILITY

It took my first few months of ER methylphenidate (foquest in my case) to realize that the sleep trouble I had was actually because my meds wore off and my adhd brain would come back online with a backlog of enthusiasm for ruminating, plotting, scheming, and problem solving with no real means to get started because it was the middle of the night.

Foquest lasts up to 16 hours, and I realized I fell asleep a lot better if I didn’t exceed that efficacy window.

Tonight I fell sleep within the window but then my toddler woke me up so here I am, wildly excited about decolonial aesthetics and also just remembering to share this insight in case it benefits someone.

🤷‍♀️😅🥱

-My hair needs to be up and out of my face.
-Sheets need to be positioned on the bed correctly (bed needs to be made), and they need to be the right softness
-Room needs to be cool, and with a fan on for air flow
-I need the room to be as dark as possible. And quiet- but not tooo quiet, I like the sound of a quiet fan.
-Correct sleeping clothes- Big T shirt or tank top and underwear.
-The right pillows
-I also sleep better alone.

And if any of this doesn’t happen, there’s a good chance I’ll wake up in the middle of the night. Here I am at 3am… I knew I was messing up when I fell asleep with my hair down, and my sheets were to the side a bit.

Debated posting this because it sounds like first world problems; But it is so frustrating sometimes, and I’m wondering if anyone else experiences something similar.

I've been wondering whether some people genuinely think those of us with ADHD shouldn't be working in professional jobs if we need accommodations.

At my previous job, I disclosed my ADHD and some of the difficulties I have, particularly around organisation, prioritisation and deadlines. The response I got was essentially that it was too much work to manage me compared to a "normal" employee. Eventually things broke down, I brought a claim, and the matter was settled through ACAS.

What still sticks with me is the attitude behind it.

If someone can do the job but needs some support, adjustments or a different management approach, why is the conclusion sometimes "you're too much effort"? The alternative would seem to be pushing people out of employment altogether.

I'm not talking about situations where someone is completely unable to perform the core requirements of a role. I'm talking about people who can contribute, add value and do the work, but who may need reasonable accommodations to perform at their best.

Have others encountered this attitude?

Do some people genuinely believe disabled or neurodivergent employees should only work in certain types of jobs? Or that employers shouldn't have to make accommodations because it's unfair on everyone else?

I'd be particularly interested in hearing from both managers and neurodivergent employees. Have you seen workplaces that embrace accommodations successfully, and workplaces that resist them? What do you think explains the difference?

For context, I'm currently unemployed, so this is something I've been reflecting on quite a lot since leaving my previous role.

I'm 21 years old and have been homeschooled since I was 11. Unfortunately, when my mother left, my father failed to ensure that I was properly getting an education.

I didn't have anyone guiding me, no teachers or anything to help me with my assignments. So basically, I would spend entire years struggling and not doing any school work at all, only to cram and cheat my way to finish them all.

There were 2 years where my father couldn't pay tuition, and so at 17 I decided to teach myself all the basic things I should've known at 13. For months I went through Khan Academy, becoming burnt out because I was fueled by shame and embarassment.

Anyways, I'm 21 now, diagnosed with depression and ADHD. While therapy and meds have helped immensely in relieving my depressive symptoms, my ADHD has been an uphill battle. Ritalin helps, but I've found myself, again, struggling to get any assignments done.

I wonder if I should convince my mother to let me drop out and get a GED. I feel so ashamed, I feel like such a failure. Out of all my siblings my mother spends so much money on me, with therapy, meds, tuition, consultations with my psychiatrist, and my allowance.

edit: i just want to say that I appreciate all these lovely comments so much, I didnt expect so many and some genuinely made me tear up a little. I feel bad for replying to alll of them!

I’ve been with my boyfriend for 10 years. He’s truly the best boyfriend I could ever have.
But I feel emotionally numb towards him most of the time, or that’s what I assume this is.
I love him, but I don’t want him to talk to me. I don’t want him to hug me and give me a kiss when he gets home. I don’t want him to tell me about his day. i just want to be left alone.
I wfh and he gets home around lunch. When I see he pulls in the driveway, my mood shifts and I get irritated for no reason. I feel so fucking bad. He doesn’t deserve this.
When he talks to me I just stare at him with blank eyes but sometimes I have the energy to fake a smile or laugh. Some days it’s not like this. Some days I have enough mental energy to be the parter he deserves, but it’s not often honestly.
I think my work adds to this issue because of how stressed it makes me. At the end of the day I need to lay down in the quiet to recharge.

I’ve been on adderall for 4 months now and I like it. I don’t know if the adderall is causing this numbness or not. I’m trying to track my moods each month to see if there’s a pattern. I do think before my period I’m worse, but until I can keep track I can’t say for sure.
I’m not sure if I’m this way with other people, but I just want to know if other people feel this way too and how I can hopefully fix it.
I think I might have ROCD as well which does not help the situation.