Hey everyone, I saw a community called ADHD Talk, but it’s got no users, so I came here instead.
I like this community because it provides a lot of funny contexts for the difficulties I come across in understanding my diagnosis, and some honest stories from other ADHD people (victims? Possessors?, Space cadets?)
It’s also hard because, like some legitimate OCD possessing members that groan at every mild example of specificity, it’s hard to filter out the general decrease of attention spans due to technological advances/rapid cuts used in animation from other people trying to understand and live with a diagnosed disorder.
Anyways, hoping I can make some new friends here (which despite being very social in person and 33 years old, I haven’t figured out how to make friends online somehow?)
ADHD isn’t just short attention span. It’s the disability of directing attention. This is why ADHD folks can also spend twelve hours straight reading (e.g.) about the history of donuts. It’s not that we have little attention. We just can’t pick where it goes. And sometimes it goes hard.
That’s very true. I’ve been down so many rabbit holes by now though that I have started giving up trying to do anything because I feel like as soon as I get good at it I’ll lose interest/it’s pointless/etc. Thanks for replying and making me feel a little bit seen.
I call that “chasing the dopamine”. Once the dopamine vanishes, it’s over.
It makes it hard to start things knowing it’s likely to end in boredom or burnout. I find it helps try to focus on the good things in life, and appreciate that life is a series of menial tasks but joy can still be found around and within despite the seeming monotony.
I sometimes will remind myself that even on my worst days, the life I live is charmed in ways I don’t always realize. I saw a note in someone’s house once that said, “Remember when you wanted what you now have.”