r/videos May 30 '17

This guy's presentation on ADHD is excellent

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JowPOqRmxNs
36.1k Upvotes

3.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

3.8k

u/Aneurysm-Em May 30 '17

Also FYI the ADHD subreddit is hilarious. We're so eager to dump feelings in 5000 word posts but NOBODY there can read any of it because it's too long.

We need to hire some normal folk to come in and TL;DR that shit for us.

1.1k

u/HD_ERR0R May 30 '17

Yup. That's why a lot of my comments, emails or texts I try and break up with lots of spaces.

Like this.

To try and separate ideas.

504

u/pawsitively May 30 '17

Bullet points are our friend

330

u/Fluix May 30 '17

OMG I just realised why I gravitate towards bullet points so much when texting anything lengthy.

210

u/incindia May 30 '17 edited May 31 '17

This is why i force people to break things into paragraphs if they want me to actually read it

Obligatory Gold Edit: It only took 4.75 years for a guilded comment!! Thanks /u/bboyjkang !!

8

u/sh3ppard May 31 '17

I have never understood the need for paragraphs. Bullet points seem like the condensed form of paragraph prose, and thus are more efficient for absorbing the contents.

7

u/incindia May 31 '17

Paragraphs allow for more content with proper grammar. Bullet points are single sentences or two short ones.

7

u/sh3ppard May 31 '17

More content? Proper grammar? How are bullet points any different in those regards lmao

I know what a bullet point is thx

10

u/incindia May 31 '17
  • To

  • each

  • their

  • own

  • k

  • thx

  • bye

1

u/Abnormal_Armadillo May 31 '17

It depends on how you want to convey information. I prefer writing a few sentences or a short paragraph explaining what my bullet points will be about, and then I proceed to use them to get more information across.

IE: I don't like X, and here are the reasons why.

3

u/bboyjkang May 31 '17

Breakup Chrome extension

Breaks up walls of text into readable paragraphs, applies a different font and colouring.

Breakup is a simple Chrome extension that attempts to reformat text elements on webpages so they are more readable.

To use the extension, right click on an element and select "Break up text" from the context menu.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/breakup/janccjlmbelkhnffmbfimnklelkdfcoh?hl=en-GB

Sentence segmenter

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/sentence-segmenter/jfbhkblbhhigbgdnijncccdndhbflcha

https://github.com/AhmadHassanAwan/Sentence-Segmentation

It temporarily puts each sentence on a new line, and all sentence starts are on the left side.

It can give you a better view of the length of sentences in your peripheral so you can pace your reading (and breathing).

Without using an extension:

Replace every "period space" with "period newline/paragraph break".

Microsoft Word replace

 . 

.^p

or

Notepad++

 . 

.\n

2

u/incindia May 31 '17

Whoaaaaaaa wtf thats amazing. Anything for android os?

1

u/bboyjkang May 31 '17

Unfortunately, I haven't found something as seamless as those Chrome extensions.

If I want segmented text to be viewed on my tablet on phone, I use:

  1. Ditto clipboard manager to gather a bunch of text with repeated Ctrl+Cs

  2. Paste it all in Microsoft Word

  3. Replace every "period space" with "period newline/paragraph break"

  4. Save as PDF

  5. Upload to Google Drive

  6. Open with the Moon+ Reader PDF-reader app

2

u/incindia May 31 '17

God youre like a ADHD sensei

1

u/bboyjkang May 31 '17

I doubt I have any kind of ADHD, but I'm not a good reader.

I commissioned someone on Fiverr to create that sentence segmentation extension.

Hope that it can help others.

1

u/incindia May 31 '17

It's amazing what some people will do for $5

→ More replies (0)

3

u/[deleted] May 31 '17

Second I see a fucking paragraph text I'm immediately stressed.

1

u/incindia May 31 '17

You mean text without paragraph formatting?

1

u/[deleted] May 31 '17

That or multiple messages in a row

1

u/incindia May 31 '17

Which is effectively doing the same thing :)

1

u/jimothyjones May 31 '17

How did you get gold without breaking that into paragraphs?

1

u/incindia May 31 '17

Paragraphs are typically 3-5 sentences; breaking it up would have been poor grammar.. But you do have a point!

1

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '17 edited Sep 28 '20

[deleted]

1

u/incindia Jun 04 '17

Never really thought about that, but youre very right

60

u/[deleted] May 30 '17

You guys are blowing my mind right now. This is exactly how I function at work. Lots of bullet points.

88

u/samsquamchh May 30 '17

It's confirmed. Bullet points cause ADHD.

2

u/-JustShy- May 31 '17

No, ADHD caused bullet points. You're welcome, rest of the world.

10

u/everyones-a-robot May 31 '17

I mean let's be real though, bullet points are the shit ADHD or not.

2

u/---dave May 31 '17

OMG I think this is why I like reddit comments so much. They're nothing but bullet points.

1

u/byebybuy May 30 '17

You can text bullet points?!

4

u/nuclearusa16120 May 31 '17

They don't need to be actual bullet points.

*** You can use asterisks

.>>>Arrows work too

(1) You can even

(2) use numbered

(3) lists like this

1

u/Enrampage May 31 '17

Damn, I only run them in emails and word docs. New thought, new text!

1

u/15blairm Jun 06 '17

Huh, maybe thats why i only skim when reading books

0

u/gezorpazorpfield May 31 '17

Actually it's probably because you're a weak writer. Most weak writers lean heavily on bullet points instead of writing logically flowing sentences.

17

u/[deleted] May 30 '17

Lol, any comment of mine that goes beyond a paragraph tends to become bullet points, even when utterly inappropriate. Helps to contain and organise a rant into coherent points.

1

u/CommandoKitty2 May 31 '17

Bullet points fuck yeah! Always hated the homework where they said you can't answer in bullets.

2

u/TheMwarrior50 May 30 '17

If things arent sepperated they dont make sense because they become a mush of ideas.

Or look completely disgusting and too entirely long to read.

1

u/[deleted] May 31 '17

Bullet points... that's how I did essays at school. Write down all my thoughts in bullet point.. arrange them in order and then expand into paragraphs.

1

u/obviciously May 31 '17

GOOD GOD..... JUST LOOK at my comment moment ago.... i ABSOLUTELY LOVE BULLET POINTS. LIKE LITERALLY EVERYWHERE... even at my work.... oh fuckk........

1

u/[deleted] May 31 '17

Some bullet points would change our life.

0

u/[deleted] May 31 '17

[deleted]

1

u/Poddster May 31 '17

People don't have the attention spans they used to.

I'm sure all those illiterate people toiling away in fields used to have great attention spans.

The fact is more people read more stuff now than ever in human history, which wouldn't be possible if attention spans were diminishing.

152

u/FancySack May 30 '17

Ya my friend with ADHD often texts me in 3 message bursts and then nothing for the next 3 days.

Jarring at first but I got used to it.

179

u/[deleted] May 30 '17 edited Dec 12 '17

[deleted]

80

u/wisdom_possibly May 30 '17

Girlfriends hate me

10

u/[deleted] May 31 '17 edited Dec 12 '17

[deleted]

5

u/matias676 May 31 '17

Thankfully mine is understanding

1

u/DANGERMAN50000 May 31 '17

Turn off read receipts. Helps me feel wayyy less guilty bout that business

3

u/noimagination669163 May 30 '17

This so stinking much!!

2

u/-JustShy- May 31 '17

This is why my mom thinks I'm dead all the time.

42

u/Megahuts May 30 '17

Or you think you sent the message, and find it five weeks later

7

u/noimagination669163 May 31 '17

I believe I found my people!

5

u/texasemp May 31 '17

Or you type the message and forget to hit send... Because you got distracted by Reddit.....oh crap that reminds me.....

5

u/rartuin270 May 30 '17

There should be an app that reminds you to reply after a certain amount of time.

2

u/special_circumstance May 30 '17

why hasn't a seamless "create event from email" feature been implemented?

make the email's unique ID a link that is attached to a reminder or calendar event.

instead of smashing red notification bubbles and forgetting to go back and address the emails, i would smash the red notification bubble and then get reminded of the email at a time and place where i can actually do something about it.

2

u/[deleted] May 31 '17

Holy shit, I think you might have misplaced your soul with mine.

1

u/rinitytay May 30 '17

My life every day.

1

u/theodont May 31 '17

This is bad on text but I do it with emails all the fucking time.

I got in the habit if flagging everything I read that I need to take action on which ultimately results in dozens of todos every day.

1

u/jefbenet May 31 '17

Guilty of exactly that myself, far more often than I'm proud of

33

u/HD_ERR0R May 30 '17

Yup this.

When you get those 3 message bursts you're giving him the most dopamine at the time.

2

u/WaffleWizard101 May 31 '17

That's how the brain works in general, everything is quantified with chemicals.

3

u/[deleted] May 31 '17

I do that because it represents the three stages of my reply.

My initial reaction. My processed response. Follow up statement or question.

2

u/texasemp May 31 '17

OMG, IM NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT DOES THAT?

2

u/TheOneWhoReadsStuff May 31 '17

Fuck. This is exactly what I do to friends. I'm learning I might have ADHD.

2

u/JustTheT1p_0 May 31 '17

Yeah that is my life. Some girls get really mad about it haha.

But what can I do? I can't just turn off my adhd. I take meds but I'm almost 30. Don't think I'm going to grow out of it

2

u/yellowjellocello May 31 '17

Yep, I just tell all of my friends straight up that if they text me something and I don't answer in a timely manner, keep nagging me or actually call me.

2

u/naikoto May 31 '17

gawd this is so me. I'm pretty sure I send them at like the randomest times too.

2

u/[deleted] May 31 '17

Is that why I do that? I can type almost as fast as I think so there's that. And I read a lot when I was a kid so I naturally like to see short punchy sentences that encapsulate separate ideas.

Also, there's the ADHD

2

u/TheFishRevolution May 31 '17

That's what I do o.o

2

u/tanto_le_magnificent May 31 '17

Oh god this is me.

2

u/[deleted] May 30 '17

is that was ADHD does? i do this on a regular texting my friends.

1

u/Ariviaci Aug 26 '17

Sounds like someone I know...

1

u/[deleted] Sep 01 '17

Yep, this is life.

1

u/JelloDr May 30 '17

I do this too... maybe I should get checked lol

34

u/NordicApache May 30 '17

Goddamit I do this too.

It's so much easier for me and natural to read.

Coworkers type up these walls of text. How the fuck do they digest it. It's like eye vomit.

6

u/Fortheloveof1 May 31 '17

It's like eye vomit.

I'm using this

Thanks

3

u/catnosesprinkles May 31 '17

Eye vomit, lol!

67

u/Aneurysm-Em May 30 '17

Right??? My texts and DMs are a flurry of sentence fragments. Reads like I talk though which is fun if you know how I talk.

12

u/itsnotFflam May 30 '17

People get pissed because I text this way. This is how I talk, I wouldn't be reciting paragraphs at your face, why am I supposed to do it via text?

4

u/chaos0510 May 30 '17

This is why I have trouble reading books. My mind just looks at a bunch of fragments, starts skipping around and gets bored.

2

u/dansedemorte May 31 '17

i read by skimming paragraphs.

i mean most stories follow similar patterns and differences are mostly in the colorful metaphors that surround the verb. if the next sentence does not make sense then I'll back up and give a more thorough glance and gather the context.

7

u/Old_Mike May 30 '17

I'm told I text exactly how I talk all the time. People always commenting on the extra spaces and letter that I use to just make it more fun

4

u/[deleted] May 30 '17

This is why I'm getting the new Blackberry KeyONE. Autocorrect took away the voice so to speak in my text. Back during the days of qwerty phones, I would right more like I speak instead of all formal.

2

u/[deleted] May 30 '17

I text the same way. Just straight flow on consciousness, I think it's really entertaining.

But sometimes a lot of what I say is lost in translation because of it. Written and spoken language are definitely two different things

6

u/M374llic4 May 30 '17

Oh wow... is that why I do that when I message or text? I am 31 and have had ADHD something fierce for as long as I can remember (which unfortunately isn't long). I always would use AIM or now FB messenger and I make sure to hit enter quite often without thinking about it to get what I am thinking out there before I lose my train of thought and then do something else completely...

4

u/surely_stoned May 30 '17

I'm a big fan of....... well, separating thoughts within sentences.

3

u/BigKevRox May 30 '17

Omg! I do this with ALL my emails! I like separating concepts, it's cleaner. Thank you, you are a cool person.

3

u/Leechylemonface May 30 '17

I have done this with texting for years. Makes complete sense now. Was diagnosed when I was 5 and at 30 I still learn new things about ADHD

3

u/ni-THiNK May 30 '17

Holy shit

I just realized I do this so much

3

u/horkkanyrkki May 30 '17

Like I send text messages.

5 short messages that could have been written in one simple phrase.

3

u/[deleted] May 30 '17

i type text like this

and my friends tell me its annoying

3

u/AffablyAmiableAnimal May 31 '17

I've always done that, isn't that how it should be done? Seems like the right way to me for informal stuff.

1

u/CivilMonger May 31 '17

I do the same thing. I think it definitely makes things easier to read most of the time.

3

u/tape99 May 31 '17

I get my computer to read it to me(text to speech) and then go on browsing reddit.

Helps my ADHD a lot.

3

u/rickamore May 31 '17

I sometimes write blocks of text then get lost in it myself, re-read it and see I've repeated myself 3 times with different phrasing and left two sentences unfinished.

I like to be detailed, but I do better being concise.

2

u/boydboyd May 30 '17

Holy smokes. That's exactly how I type emails to people.

2

u/rag3train May 30 '17

I 100% communicate this way.

Makes it easy to space out thoughts.

I also have a bad habit of finishing sentences backwards but that's new lol

2

u/Iggyhopper May 30 '17

When I was younger I used a lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of periods like this... to separate ideas...

2

u/qefbuo May 30 '17

I always thought that was normal.

2

u/SniffedMDMAWithUrMum May 30 '17

See as a person without adhd reading that is unpleasant, i don't like how it flows, not sure why.

2

u/MBille May 30 '17

OMG I DO THIS ALL OF THE TIME

2

u/scoobdrew May 31 '17

So. Yeah. Just realized all my emails at work are like this.

And that I text in bursts.

2

u/LAQUE83 May 31 '17

Every thought is a new message! Forget paragraphs that takes too long!

2

u/divine_Bovine May 31 '17

I started doing this in work emails a few months ago.

It's incredible, coworkers are at least 2x more likely to respond to me.

2

u/superbleeder May 31 '17

I never realized thats why i do that.... i use the "..." so much and i never realized why. Didnt realize it was part of having ADHD.... been doing it as long as i can remember.

When people send me emails at work, i get irrationality upset at massive walls of text.... all i can see is how it could have been shortened into several bullet points

2

u/lurkedlongtime May 31 '17

Oh god.

I have adhd and do that but never thought of it as an adhd thing. But friends always gave me shit for sending like 4 texts with separate ideas like that at a time

2

u/[deleted] May 31 '17

I actually got called out in a MUD by some egotistical Elf cunt once. I was like 10 (2005).

I would type

like this

and he just fucking

shit on my confidence.

"Don't talk

Like this you

Dumbshit

little kid"

I was trying to get my words out because I NEED to be heard, and grab people's attention, when playing a game or whatever.

I got him back, groped his e-gf a bunch, lmao. Serves you right, these little Hobbit (no clue what it was at the time) hands all over ya bitch.

2

u/AustinAL16 May 31 '17

I do this all the time in games and texts haha. Always get chewed for it. Glad I'm not alone

2

u/Vizuka May 31 '17

I personally can read those really long texts, I just have to force myself to do it to the point where I want to rip my hair out but I can do it.

1

u/SlatheredButtCheeks May 30 '17

This is also effective in professional correspondence

1

u/Benito_Twatolini May 31 '17

I do the SAME thing! All my friends wonder why. It just makes it so much easier to read.

1

u/naikoto May 31 '17

Shit, I thought that was just me being weird or something. I use spaces and/or "return"/next column to quickly jot down the brief ideas (even if it's just a word) that I'll further elab. on, and then have to arrange and compose my response from all that. It's like I'm vigorously taking notes/annotating during a lecture, except the lecture ... is my own thought processing.

I also just realized I use "/" a lot, and typically feel the need to add something in parenthesis, as well as prone to run-on sentences that I'll have to stop and edit. But this could just be something else

1

u/Xillzin May 31 '17

Never really had a proper idea why i always do this aswell.

Now i realize why

1

u/OnwardsBackwards May 31 '17

What's pretty amazing is the way that Dr. Barkley organizes his books (the ones geared toward those with ADHD anyway). I don't think there is a full-page wall of text in the entire tome - it's completely interspersed with tables, tips, anecdotes, and other useful info tucked into the main text. Drives my wife nuts but makes it easier for me to read it.