#add things

Requested by: @partykeet I hope this helps!

If you don't know if you have ADHD or not but have an inkling you might, these are important questions to consider when self diagnosing and researching into the disorder!

Executive Dysfunction

Do you struggle with getting things done?

Do you mean to do it and you don’t?

Do you feel overwhelmed by trying to do it?

Do you forget to do it?

Do you feel like you can’t for whatever reason?

Emotional Dysregulation

Are you often told you’re overemotional?

Are you told you overreact?

Do you feel like you can’t control your emotions?

Do you often go from one emotion to the next?

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)

Do you react strongly without meaning to?

Do you get really depressed after wearing yourself out?

Do you feel awful after someone’s criticized you?

Do you often spiral when something goes wrong?

Do you feel like you can perk back up when that person asks you what’s wrong?

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

Do you have a hard time waking up?

Do you have a hard time going to bed?

Do you have very vivid dreams?

Are you aggressive and irritable when someone wakes you up (for like, school)?

Do you struggle keeping a consistent sleep schedule over vacation or summer break, even on the weekends?

Inattention(Dissociation) and Hyperfocus

Do you often zone out?

Do you daydream?

Do you get disinterested often?

Do you feel like you can multitask (listen to music and read at the same time)?

Do you get so absorbed in something that when you return to reality, hours have passed by?

Hyperfixation and Emotional Hyperarousal

Do you have “obsessions” or things that feel incredibly pleasurable/taste good when you interact with them?

Do you have a loud mind that runs a thousand miles a minute?

Do you feel overwhelmed or stressed out by your mind?

Do you overthink or overanalyze things?

Is your head really foggy or thoughts blurry?

Working Memory, Inattention and Object Permanence

Do you seem to have memory problems?

Like you cant remember something someone told you to do (homework, chores)?

Or you easily lose things, having it just been there?

Do you forget that things exist after having them put away?

Do you forget important things like birthdays, dates and numbers, but remember other “trivial” things?

Do you have a hard time remembering the past or your childhood?

Stimulation and Stimming

Does listening to music help you get things done?

Do you need to watch something while you’re eating and get distracted if you don’t?

Do you feel dissociated or distracted when you can’t listen to music or have your phone out?

Do you constantly fidget, shake your legs, play with parts of things?

Do you feel like if you try to stop fidgeting, you’ll feel an urge to do it more?

Do you have a million phone games?

Do you feel like some games aren’t enough to play on their own but some are too much that you can’t focus on anything else?

"Money Blindness" and Impulsivity

Do you have trouble with money when given control over it?

Do you spend money on things other people find pointless or useless?

Do you have trouble with microtransactions?

Do you feel like when you buy something that you’ll have enough money left for things you need?

Are you often broke? Especially if you claimed that you would save money?

Do you often feel like the consequences of buying something aren't that serious?

Time Blindness

Do you have a hard time keeping track of time?

Do you feel like you’re often late to things?

If not, do you have anxiety, and often panic about the time?

Do you often have a hard time keeping a schedule?

Do people say you have poor time management skills, but no matter what you do, you can’t fix it?

Habits, Executive Dysfunction and Disorganization

Do you have poor hygiene?

Do you struggle to remember to brush your teeth?

Is it hard taking a bath/shower? If so, does it take a long time to get into the bath or shower?

If left to your own devices do you wear the same outfit for days?

Do you often look disheveled despite trying to be organized and clean?

Do you often rub off makeup or have messy hair?

Do you try to be organized but no matter what, you can’t?

Boundaries, RSD, and Volume Control

Do you struggle with boundaries?

Do you have a hard time controlling your volume (either too loud or too quiet)?

Do you feel like you’ve ruined everything when someone tells you that you did something wrong?

Do you think you’ve offended people when you haven't?

Do you have a hard time judging reality correctly (like you think you’ve offended or hurt someone and you feel awful but it didn’t bother them that much)?

I got diagnosed fairly recently and am struggling badly in University - the content is easy but sitting down and doing work feels impossible.

Sword making

Armor crafting

Clothes making

Embroidery

Knitting

Sword fighting

Hand to hand fighting

Small game hunting

Archery

Gardening/growing

Puzzle solving

I am definitely team "I'm just a variant" of normal and societal context explains many of my issues. Of course, it doesn't explain everything, but I can't help but wonder that if we were raised to follow our our impulses - say in a system like democratic education or unschooling - if we would have developed into a healthier version of that variant. Sometimes it feels like I am the most functional if I let go, but I don't know how to find that feeling all the time, because there is so much unnecessary shame and anxiety that has built over the years, giving in to those thoughts is just a difficult habit to kick.

But it has happened several times, where I surrender to the moment, don't overplan, and I arrive exactly in the right moment. Where I allow myself to organize and clean non-linearly and I get so much more done than if I ever tried to streamline it.

Is this what we are supposed to be like? Is this the potential that we have? To ride the wave of impulses and to arrive at where we are driven to be? How can we raise our children to experience this? How can we keep from fucking them up? I am convinced the dysfunctional aspect of this very real set of personality traits that make life in this society challenging, is reactive and adaptive, but how do we heal our brains?

I don't often write completely personal posts, but I think I wanted to find some... answers... some connection tonight. Am I crazy to feel like there is a spiritual component to this? Like there is more and if we figure out how to connect to it, this will be a strength, not a weakness. That feels like we are wired to catch the waves of life and the thing between us and these waves is learned helplessness?