When I was a kid, I remembered being in the Psychiatrist's office being diagnosed with ADHD/ADD along with Depression. I hate it even more now that I'm in college. It can be a blessing but most of the time it feels like a curse. My day begins with four pills, dragging my feet, and wishing I could just sleep through all of my pain. I despise going to class because I know my disability brings me and others problems. People tell me to stop using it as a crutch, but I wish more than anything that I didn't have this problem. Sometimes it's hard to get others to understand what I, and many others, have to deal with.
1. We didn't choose this life.
I hate it more than almost anything. I would eat brussels sprouts every day for the rest of my life just to never have to deal with this EVER again. Don't tell us to get over it, because we totally would if we could. If you figure something out, HMU please.
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2. We constantly feel like failures.
People with ADHD/ADD tend to be incredibly intelligent, but unfortunately, we constantly feel like we suck at everything. Tears over homework, panic attacks during tests, getting angry when we can't keep up with everyone else. We just wish we were normal sometimes.
3. We are usually hypersensitive.
We tend to have some intense hypersensitivity symptoms. Our feelings get hurt easily and we breakdown over too much information. It can be too much for us sometimes. I used to, and still do, cry if the professor is moving too quickly and won't slow down. I don't want to, but I can't write everything down that quickly. Sometimes loud noises really mess with us too, like with a group of people screeching when laughing or screaming at each other.
4. We're really freakin' tired a lot.
You know how when you workout for a long time, you just want to lay down and rest? That is pretty much a large misconception that ADHD/ADD people are constantly hyperactive and hate to sleep, but in
5. Speaking of tired, we are DEEEEEEEP sleepers.
I am not exaggerating, when I say DEEP, I really mean DEEP. I once slept through an earthquake. THAT is how deep into my sleep I was. So when we're late to class or even work, it is often because the alarms didn't wake us up. We often sleep through those alarms because our brains need a break at some point.
6. Multitasking, multitasking, multitasking.
A rational brain thinks, "Ah, I'm going to do each thing one at a time," and our brains go, "NAH, WE CAN TOTALLY DO ALL THESE THINGS AT ONE TIME LETS GO!" Yeah, doesn't get quite well because things end up getting messed up or lost or worse, forgotten.
7. Then it leads to procrastination.
Like I said, we're incredibly intelligent people and we're not lazy, but sometimes things get procrastinated because we are constantly running to things that catch our attention at the time. I get really stressed when I have too much homework at one time, so I bounce around in hopes of knocking it all out if I break it down. This doesn't always work because our brains can only focus for so long.
8. We tend to move slower compared to others.
Ironic, I know, but as I said, ADHD doesn't mean that we're hyper all the time. Usually, when our medication wears off, we tend to move slower and become unfocused. Things like reading can take us longer because we have so many thoughts going on at one time that we can't function to focus.
9. We have been blessed and cursed with the gift of hyperfocus.
You're probably thinking, "Uhm, isn't it good to be able to focus?" Well yeah, you would think but unfortunately, it is usually with something that we thoroughly enjoy. Sounds awesome! Until it gets in the way of learning, doing homework, or working. We can easily obsess over something and spend a solid five hours straight learning about it, but it may not always be what we should do.
10. We have memory problems.
Yes, we are very intelligent, can spend hours focusing on something to learn it and know it at the time, but forget it instantly. Our brains get foggy or we have so much going on in our minds or maybe we just feel overwhelmed and start to shut down.
11. We don't mean to mess up and get in trouble but we often do.
This is a common problem with ADHD/ADD people, they get the bad rep of always getting into trouble and being cast as obnoxious or bad. A lot of us have good hearts, we don't want to be bad kids or co-workers, sometimes it just happens. We just want to fit in and feel accepted, but it may take a couple bumps in the road with us.
12. We often feel like little kids.
Maybe it is just me, but sometimes I feel like people treat me like a little kid. I'm constantly being scolded, told to stop, someone having to hold my hand, and I can't keep up like the others. Stuttering in a language class, being made fun of for reading slowly, needing more time to take a test, or needing help to keep up. When I can't even count on myself to get up in the morning to needing extra help to do my homework even in college.
13. We struggle to make friends and often get toxic friends.
Making friends is hard with ADHD/ADD because we tend to have emotional development problems, struggle to keep up with others, and often feel like outcasts. If we do get friends, it can be a hit or miss and sometimes our personalities attract toxic people into our life. Many have sought out my vulnerabilities and used it against me. We truly want friends, but initiating a friendship can be incredibly stressful.
14. We tend to not think things through all the way.
Surprise, but sometimes when we DO make new friends, we don't want to let them down and get excited to do everything with them so we just agree to everything. It is our fatal
15. Anxiety is our unfortunate shadow.
Anxiety is constantly lurking behind us at all times, usually at it's worse if we are medication for ADHD/ADD. To make it worse, we tend to get anxiety from dumb things like, "Oh, I just touched my eye after touching something that could be harboring diseases and now I am sick." I'm serious, it is ridiculous but so real a fear.
Despite all of this, we just want our loved ones to know that we'll be okay with help and patience.
These are just a few things that we struggle with on a daily basis. We mean well, and we ultimately are loving, happy, and great people (I hope). We want you to understand where we are coming from. So if you love someone who has ADHD, just remember all the great qualities and find the positives in the bad ones.
