#adhd-is

@adhd-is Selfie time!!

For me, ADHD is people disbelieving me because I’m “too smart” to have the disorder.

ADHD is losing friendships because I say things without a filter.

ADHD is forgetting everything from homework to birthdays, and people telling you to write stuff down but then you forget to write it down.

ADHD is extreme sensory issues, and people thinking I’m being dramatic when something as simple as looking at a certain texture or music being a smidge too loud triggers me.

ADHD is constant disassociation and out-of-body experiences.

ADHD is not being able to sit still, annoying everyone around me by constantly playing with pencils, chewing gum, and especially bouncing my leg.

ADHD is the urge to talk constantly mixed with social anxiety, to the point where if I’m alone I feel I have no choice but to talk to myself, but when I’m with other people I feel exhausted.

ADHD selfie day? In.

@adhd-is being on medication for ten years in grade school because you needed to graduate ADHD is believing you can make it without the medication ADHD is spending 4 years undoing the damage you did to yourself hating your own personality ADHD is failing one class a semester and barely scraping by in the rest ADHD is forgetting what it feels like to be focused ADHD is trying medication again because you are tired of feeling like a failure. ADHD is trying new medications ADHD is remembering what it feels like to have more than one day of success a month ADHD is picking your goddamn laundry up off the floor. ADHD is finally passing all your classes in a semester ADHD is getting into the class you need to get into the field you want ADHD is cleaning the bathroom fully for the first time in six months. ADHD is learning to be gentle with yourself ADHD is learning to love yourself ADHD is not the end of my story.

For @adhd-is‘s ADHD Selfie Day.

ADHD is having too many ideas and too little motivation.

ADHD is not being able to focus on the things I love to do.

ADHD is being shy until my meds wear out, when I become unbearably talkative.

ADHD is running around the house because motion stimulates my brain.

ADHD is running into walls and knocking stuff down while doing the above.

ADHD is singing songs about my cat.

ADHD is annoying even myself.

ADHD is questioning if others think I have worth when I’m off my meds.

ADHD is being a gifted underachiever because I can’t remember to do my homework or turn it in.

ADHD is creativity, and doing multiple kinds of art.

ADHD is not being able to hyperfocus on the things I need to.

ADHD is brightening other peoples’ days with my compassion, energy, thoughtfulness, and enthusiasm.

ADHD is passion.

ADHD is not being able to sleep sometimes because my mind won’t stop thinking.

ADHD is having no brain-to-mouth filter.

ADHD is not knowing the line between inattention and laziness, and how often I cross it.

ADHD is really loving what I love.

ADHD is persistence.

ADHD is endless trains of all the things I’d have to focus on to accomplish one task.

ADHD is being funny, sometimes simply because I like it, and sometimes because i’d rather make people laugh than just annoy them.

ADHD is self-doubt, low self-esteem, excuses.

ADHD is strength.

So apparently today is ADHD selfie day so here

@adhd-is

For me ADHD is

-restarting an episode because you got distracted

-doing bad in math because it’s your last period and that’s when your meds wear off

-tbh only being really social when your meds aren’t in effect

-being creative (most of the time)

-only occasionally coming up with topics about yourself in a presentation

-being anti-social (with meds)

-not knowing anyone so you can’t be social (without meds)

Happy ADHD Selfie Day!

I’m not very vocal about ADHD because it’s really just such a fixed thing in my life that I hardly notice the difference between the ADHD and my personality. By now they kinda just blend. I was diagnosed as a kid, and have been medicated for it since. I went through the hell that was Ritalin, but now Vyvanse is my hero!

I realize these aren’t selfies but they are important to what ADHD is to me: • that hyperactivity sparked a creativity in me that led to me being an art major! • the attention deficit, however, makes it hard to complete projects on time • I also tend to start several projects at once, then scramble to try and get them done • ADHD isn’t something to downplay, it’s a very real mental health issue, and it’s sometimes made communicating with my parents incredibly difficult • but it runs in my family so I have two siblings and a cousin to complain about it with! • we can do amazing things when we try our best, and your best doesn’t have to mean going all out, most of the time it’s just doing what you can without hurting yourself. Know your limits and respect them. • and be proud of who you are!