Except when your horse starts to stray off the path you've told it to go, often you won't even notice until you're already far down that other path. Sort of a "What was I doing again?"
Reddit is legitimately the worst thing to happen to people with ADHD yet.
At the same time, though, it's also the best thing to ever happen to people with ADHD, and that's why it's the worst thing.
It's the absolute perfect dopamine machine. I spend more time on subs like /r/gaming, /r/movies, /r/television, etc than I do actually playing games or watching movies or TV or whatever. I'm distracted from my distractions.
So you think "Well, I'll delete my account and cut myself off." But the issue is reddit is actually incredibly useful in certain ways and it's helped you a great deal with other things. It's a double edged sword.
Have you joined r/adhd and subscribed to YouTube's "How to ADHD"? The creator of How to ADHD is engaged to a guy who didn't get diagnosed until mid 30s either. They'll soon be doing a special about life as a late-diagnosed person. :)
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Ps: welcome to the Cool Kids Club! :D one of us. One of us. One of us.
Ah! That's so fun for the munchkin. He's got someone just like him to share all the ADHD secrets with...! :)
Best of luck to yall. I don't have any spawn, but I definitely think growing up w/ a diagnosed parent would have made life a lot smoother.
Don't get me wrong though, mom did a fantastic job, but I definitely owe her a cabin in the mountains for all she had to endure. X'D.
Went to see my family doctor. My kiddo was diagnosed about 6 months ago, so once she also heard my symptoms it was a no-brainer. I was expecting it to take a really long time (it did with The Boy), but I guess it's so common she didn't make me jump through hoops.
Yes. It is. At the same time, it's tough not to look back at failed relationships, career ventures, etc and think "what if I had been diagnosed earlier?"
It's like there's a mourning process for what/who you might have been. I also sometimes get down on myself for not having more self-compassion when I was younger.
When I catch myself feeling that way, I usually end back up realizing that if things had been different then, I wouldn't be who I am now - and that any of those changes would have meant missing out on so many of the people & experiences in my life that I love so much. The "what if" game can go both ways.
Treatment helps with some stuff - but I still find myself repeating patterns. The difference is at least now, for example, I know, "ok - I am super enthusiastic about XYZ right now, I love it, it's the best thing ever, it's life changing, it's my new favorite thing above all other favorite things.....and in 3 days or a week or a month, I'll have moved on and have a new favorite thing". Somehow it not being "my fault" makes it easier for me to "own" and have a sense of humor about it - instead of how I used to just get embarrassed about going "all in" on something, only to never follow through.
How did you manage to write all that stuff about me?? My timeframe is a bit longer, usually 6 months to a year of HEAVY immersion.
That's actually the cool/bad thing about Reddit. You found a new hobby? Here are a few hundred people who know everything you need to know and talk about it constantly!
Never put two and two together, but you are absolutely right! I always go back and check to see how many upvotes my comments get; really had no rational reason why but dopamine definitely makes sense.
I have an addictive personality, so Reddit just further feeds that.
Awe shit we are just like Instagram hoes. We think we are better but we are all the same, we just don't have big asses or pretty faces. Or we are too arrogant.
I delete my accounts every now and again, this one is due being toasted too tbh. I recognised that I was having fun just getting the reply notification rather than enjoying the discussion.
You even spend an hour writing a detailed response or opinion on a subject you had no knowledge of before, but you googled it and found out information, then responded like you have been studying it for years?
Actually, with ADHD, it usually goes like this: I used to have knowledge of this subject but seem to have forgotten most of it, so let me google the info so I can re-establish the knowledge base I once had....Then go back and post the response I had a rough outline of in my head but needed the information that I forgot in order to do so.
I can admit to that. I will post without rereading, then go back and realize I made like 5 mistakes and edit them one at a time then try to format it with " "
Edit: Also I had to google how to do double spaces on reddit for the 10th time.
Agreed. I've been trapped in here for about 8yrs. I'm glad i learned to play guitar before Reddit came around because I sure as fuck wouldn't have after being sucked into the vortex.
get up to fill glass of water. If I didn't have a glass in hand, I might get to the kitchen and forget why I walked there. Yep. I've actually sat back down and been "aw man, I was going to the bathroom" and somehow did something else instead.
I need to go do the dishes! Oh look the trash is full I will take that out then do the dishes. When I get back in the house I hear the dryer stop so hey gotta get those cloths out. Start that, I gotta pee, Oh now I'm thirsty, oh shit the dishes are still not done. Wait wasn't I going to scoop the cat boxes?
Yes I understand I can make lists and I CAN stay on task but it is really damn hard sometimes. Eventually 3/4 of everything gets done. But it takes me a lot longer than it should.
One time, my wife woke up and went to the freezer to get some ice cubes and then yelled "why is your underwear in the freezer?"
That's when I realized why everything felt so drafty to my undercarriage. I had showered, then I went to get the laundry to get dressed, then I fixed myself a glass of ice water to take my Adderall with and sat down at my computer. I forgot a step. Thankfully I didn't have to work that day.
That is hilarious! And sounds just like my son--16 years old, and ADHD. I always joke that he'd make a terrible criminal cause he'd leave evidence strewn all over the crime scene.
Your mom is actually right. Focusing on when you lose focus is a key step in meditation. It's meant to identify intrusive thoughts and distractions, then help you train yourself to avoid losing focus in the future.
Have you ever seen broad city? One of the characters was going to do something and then ends up like wandering around, messing with stuff, starting other tasks etc and then suddenly stops and goes "wait.... what am I... doing?" Me on the daily.
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u/[deleted] May 30 '17 edited Sep 24 '19
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