#adhd ref

My neurologist has been helping me get a handle on some of my health problems, including mental ones and the fact that I’m so tired all the time. So far we haven’t found a solution to that, but he sent me to a neuropsychologist and a pulmonologist for tests. A sleep study showed I don’t have sleep apnea, so that’s good, but the test didn’t measure my brain waves during sleep, so I have no idea what it gets up to when I shut down. Though given the sheer amount of nightmares I have it’s probably a lot. 

The neuropsychologist on the other hand determined that, as I suspected, I have a strong case of ADHD, inattentive type. I am also autistic. Well, she said that I have indicators for being mildly on the autism spectrum, especially as it relates to sensory issues and socialization, and that other symptoms I have are comorbid with other issues I have, like ADHD and depression. She did say that I have clinical depression and general anxiety disorder. So...nest of vipers in my head. Good to know. 

Actually I finally got around to reading her diagnostic report on me and man...it’s like 6 pages long and after a while it starts to feel like a roast lol. “K is inattentive, pessimistic, socially tense, and passive aggressive.” Like, geez doc what’d I do to you? I mean, she’s not wrong, but geez. 

The report did also say that I’m in 99th percentile in intelligence and that I have strong character traits, including an extensive and expressive vocabulary, and that I really just need some help. Including better sleep hygiene lol no shit. 

But I’m not sure where to go from here. She gave me some recommendations, but I’m not sure what to do. My insurance isn’t great, so if anyone has some self help type literature, preferably geared toward adults (a lot of autism/adhd literature is geared toward neurotypical parents of neurodivergent kids and it is 1. Not helpful, and 2. Annoying) I would be very grateful. 

It’s odd because I’ve long suspected all of this and now that I have an official professional saying, yes, you have these things and then some feels kind of weird. Validating but weird. Like part of me thought this was sort of the end goal, but it’s not. Of course it’s not. I feel like Frodo when he finally gets the Ring to Rivendell and is ready to go home but then it’s like PSYCH you have to go to Mordor now. I’ve barely started. I want to piece myself together. I strongly suspect I also have C-PTSD but I’d need a different doctor for that. I don’t know where to start with the ADHD. We started me on a low dose of adderall but it’s not doing much. And I haven’t been able to get into my neurologist’s office for a long time. 

That one app that locks u out of ur phone while it "plants" a little virtual tree. It's called Forest but I'm pretty sure there are a lot of similar apps. There are similar extensions and programs for computers.

Literally just putting ur phone in another room is helpful.

Pomodoro method (working on 25 minute intervals with short breaks in between)

Literally putting on a funny hat or headband on that signals to the people around me that I am Very Busy and cannot be interrupted unless it is an emergency

Having someone else tell you to do things immediately. External pressure is always more effective than trying to force myself to do things because I don't want to disappoint others.

"body doubling" where u work quietly alongside someone. This is unfortunately difficult for me when u don't have friends!!!! But I find just being in a library or cafe helps. There are apparently body doubling online "services" which I'm sure can be very helpful but it feels a little too dystopian for me to pay just to work from home and have strangers hang out with me via zoom.

Breaking tasks up into smaller tasks. For example, I'm writing a book for a client right now until I remember that literally even writing titles and chapter names counts as writing it. Writing little chapter summaries also counts. Researching counts. Writing notes counts. Anything that moves u closer to ur goal counts. Writing in general is made up of several moving parts.

Remember that a messy or subpar attempt is better than no attempts at all. By extension, a shitty first draft or even a terrible early outline for a draft is better than not having anything.

STOP PANICKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

im genuinely not trying to flex but i was diagnosed and treated extremely young so i dont struggle as much as lot of people do. these are some things that help me. ADHD/ADD is a venn diagram of hyperactive/inattentive and some people have both. if you are primarily inattentive (as 92% of AFAB people are) some of this may not apply to you 

Color, literally break it up by color. When I was in school I had to color code everything. it’s the only way I could separate things. Highlighters are your best friends, so are colored pens. 

On top of that, break everything up into chunks to make it more manageable. Read for a block of time then give yourself a timed break. And try your best not to procrastinate. 

Get a planner and write down all your assignments/quizzes/tests in it. And make sure the about one week before is when the majority of your studying is taking place, so that way you’re not crunching. Obviously this doesn’t always work since teachers sometimes teach all the material you need to know up until the day of the test, but it will give you an edge and help ease the studying.

Also a little bit of caffiene can actually help you focus. Not too much, so you don’t get jittery, but a cup of coffee or tea before a study sesh or test can help you zero in on what you need to do.

One last thing, putting on some instrumental music, low volume, in the background can help with the whole white noise thing. I was partial to the hobbit/lotr and celtic music channels on pandora.

Of course everyone responds differently so of course, build and alter these tips so they work for you!

Hopefully this helps! I know it helped me.