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The Forgotten Traits Of Adult ADHD

And why it's so important to keep talking about them

Jun 26, 2019

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Part of living with a mental illness is being unable to remember all the symptoms and traits that can occur. Sometimes it's not being able to recognize these traits and symptoms. Recently, I have been feeling like trash over behaviors I couldn't quite identify. I knew they weren't self-destructive, at least not intentionally, but these actions kept me from being productive in the simplest ways, yet I couldn't care enough to just do them. Or I cared too much about being counter-productive. Not that this made me motivated to get the things done that needed to be done last week. One term that had completely left my brain was "executive dysfunction" and it's one of the most important traits of adult ADHD/ADD that rarely gets talked about.

Executive functioning skills help you get things done. These skills are controlled by an area of the brain called the frontal lobe.

Executive function helps you:

Manage time
Pay attention
Switch focus
Plan and organize
Remember details
Avoid saying or doing the wrong thing
Do things based on your experience
Multitask

When executive function isn't working as it should, aka executive dysfunction, your behavior is less controlled. This can affect your ability to:

Work or go to school
Do things independently
Maintain relationships

This came up in my Pinterest feed a few days ago, and ever since I have felt significantly less guilty and stressed about being a lazy piece of shit

Executive dysfunction i.pinimg.com

Because in reality, I'm not purposely doing all the things except for the one thing I need to be doing. My brain is just doing what is does best when my ADHD is in high drive. It won't last forever, but it's going to happen, so the best thing I can do is allow it to run its course. In the meantime, I will pin every pin that allows me to accept this so that I can share these traits with others. Or even remind myself down the road when I forget about the time all I had to do was fold the laundry and I.Just.Couldn't.

ADHD in Adults Pinterest

Adult ADHDPinterest

Executive Dysfunction Pinterest

Hacks for executive dysfunction Pinterest

Living with Adult ADHDPinterest

ADHD moods in adults Pinterest

Adult ADHDPinterest

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

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The Forgotten Traits Of Adult ADHD

And why it's so important to keep talking about them

Subscribe to our Newsletter

No one best represents the struggle like our favorite 90s squad.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

2. When there is only one section of a popular course.

3. Receiving the 18,000 emails reminding you to register ASAP.

4. When you need to see an advisor, but they are too busy/unresponsive.

5. Trying not to dress like a bum for your appointments with your advisors/department heads.

6. When you have a perfectly planned out schedule, and one class ruins it.

7. Carefully moving things around to accommodate a different class/section.

8. Waking up at 6:00 a.m. for your enrollment time.

9. Concocting a new schedule at your enrollment time after your original plan gets changed.

10. Getting into a class and filling the last available seat.

11. When all of your classes finally go through.

12. Realizing that you forgot a class that was a pre-requisite for everything else.

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

"Nobody living in one of the most influential nations in the world should be worried about making ends meet."

What is the current minimum wage at the federal level?

What are the benefits of raising the minimum wage?

What are the states that have set a $15/hour minimum wage?

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Because who understands your bitterness better than April?

1. When you have to provide an "interesting fact" for your first day ice-breaker.

2. When your professor is babbling on and on in his lecture.

3. When you edit your friend's paper and they get an A.

4. When it's 2 AM and you remember you have a test tomorrow.

5. When you finish taking the test and you're pretty sure you failed...

6. ...but then you get the test back and somehow passed.

7. When you've been up for 12 hours straight writing a paper.

8. And then you manage to stay awake in class the next day.

9. When you have to butter up your professor for an extra credit opportunity.

10. When you're assigned a group project.

11. And your group-mates are trying to chat about life instead of the assignment.

12. When it's your last class of the day and you're about to go home.

13. But then you remember rent is due tonight and the anger comes back.

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