#adhd hack??

[lesbian-disaster-academic]

i used to be so good at writing strong, thoroughly-researched, thoroughly-edited essays.

as a kid in hs, my teacher literally came up to me, holding my 40 page essay on the intersection of the European witch hunts and capitalism/exploitation/gender roles (it was supposed to be 7 pages...whoops) and went like "this is literally a master's-degree level thesis. what are you doing?? you could literally use this as your final dissertation in a master's program, what the fuck."

NOW??? NOW?? you'd think I'd be oh so skilled. but alas. i can barely piece together two ideas. adhd skill-regression is so so real. im SOBBING

[itsaspectrumcomic]

Behold, my new favourite item

[kowabungadoodles]

There's an adhd hack which I wanna describe but it's going to sound sort of fake and sort of like I'm saying "just do the thing" which I'm not.

Basically it can be impossible to start doing the thing, but once you've started it, it's actually fine right? It's just FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE to start it, especially because you don't want to do it.

So I've got this way where I start it "without meaning to" a bit like if you were standing on the edge of the cliff and unable to make yourself jump off but... but you can jerk your body violently-- then you're falling and you don't really get a say in the matter any more.

A good example of this is not wanting to make a call. So you'd sit there and plan what you want to rehearse and hit the button when you're ready... or not, because actually you'd put the phone down and run off to do literally anything else.

So instead, I just hit call really fast, with no actual intention to make the call. Oh shit I really don't want to but now it's ringing and oh shit someone picked up and now we're already rolling and it'd be worse to hang up than to just talk--

I do the same thing with timers and work tasks where I've trained my brain to only be 'winning' the 'game' when the 15m timer is running so now if I hit the timer I'm like 'oh shit work started and I'm LOSING' and I'll jump up to do exactly 15 minutes of work... Only now I've already started and I might as well keep going, right?

Turning tasks into "reactions" not "actions"-- And reacting is way easier.

It's kind of setting the "poor impulse control" part of ADHD against the "Procrastination" part and making them fight.

[chaoticbuggybitchboy]

I highly recommend that everyone (especially nd people who struggle w self esteem) have a collection of “proof people don’t hate me” and go look at it whenever they’re sad. I’ve compiled report card comments, stuff my friends say, all sorts of things that made me feel cared about and appreciated. And anytime I get that feeling that I’m worthless and unloved, I go through that file folder and feel better.

[danidoodels]

no Tim it wont go away- no, its not just pollen you gotta tell someone-TIM NOO-

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

6 Phone Hacks for Autistics and ADHDers

Neurodivergent_lou

[squirrelbee]

Study tipps that work for me as an autistic ADHDer

(who massively struggled with any school related studying for years)

Finding out when I can focus best. I can't think by daylight. I need it to be dark outside to study. Therefore I study at night. If you can study at the time of the day you can focus best, do that. It doesn't matter if everyone else gets up at 5 am to do their ✨perfect productive morning routine✨. There's no one right time to be productive.

Stimming or moving while studying if I feel like it I can't focus (especially when I have to listen to recorded lectures for hours) when I don't move. I need to sit in my rocking chair and rock back and forth to take in any information at all. Pay attention to if you feel like moving when studying. If you're used to suppressing your stims, try to relearn stimming in a safe space if possible. The better regulated you are, the easier it will be to focus.

Nice distractions. Ali Abdaal once mentioned that he always studied with his door open so friends who passed by would come in for a little chat. You need to take breaks anyway, so think about somethings like that to make them more enjoyable. If you study at home or live alone, text your friends before you start studying, so replies will drift in while you're studying. TL;DR: 1. Study when you can focus best, you don't need to be productive in the morning if you're not a morning person. 2. Listen to your body and move if you need to move to focus. 3. Make your breaks nice, I like chatting with friends in between studying. Feel free to add what works for you : )

[nyancrimew]

tricked myself into actually focusing on writing by doing a timelapse video of myself working so now i feel shamed into doing work by my own camera + my phone is now out of reach i am a productivity mega genius

[greentrickster]

Fun fact: people with ADHD actually love sitting around with absolutely nothing to occupy them, they've just been taught to think that they hate it. No really, I'm saying this as someone who has rampant ADHD myself, sitting down and doing nothing actually rocks so hard.

The issue is, it's something that we have to do ourselves, on our own terms. Because yes, I would absolutely rather start chewing off a random limb rather than sit and wait for someone or take a trip longer than two minutes without my MP3 player or a book. That is torture, and it should be banned.

In contrast, realizing that my brain's spinning a bit too hard and fast, taking a step back, turning off my computer/tablet/phone, getting myself all comfy-cozy in a nice chair or on my bed and letting my brain just spin for awhile? That's great! It gives me a chance to properly process everything that's going on in my head without any extra stimulus vying for attention until everything slows down enough that I can go back to what I was doing.

It's not about trying to 'become still' or 'let my head empty' or an 'I have nothing to do' situation. It's an active choice that allows my brain to regain a level of equilibrium and what is, for me, a normal speed of thought and mental activity while in a comfortable setting. 10/10, highly recommended, your brain wants to go so this is how you let it safely run around off the leash for a bit!

[adhd-chaos-queen]

Okay, so i have an ADHD hack, and usually these don't work for me, but this one did.

So, i saw this on TikTok. If you have multiple chores, and don't know where to start, just write them all down, and then number them.

Then roll a dice, and whatever chore that number is, do it. (And if you don't have a dice, there are thousands of apps for that.)

It makes the chores approachable.

You don't see the mountain of all chores anymore, it's just one thing. Also you don't have to think about the next thing, because you don't know what it is.

And then it's done, and you can move to the next thing the dice tells you

I just did this to clean up my room.

I put bed, couch, nightstand, desk, chair, floor etc. And hell it worked. My room is actually clean now...

Like, try this, i swear, this is amazing!

[thesnadger]

If you live in the US and can't get generic Adderall because of the shortage, this might help.

I don't know how much this will vary across insurance plans/states, but it worked for me:

Step 1: If you haven't already, call other pharmacies in the area. Find out if they have the generic and if they have brand name Adderall.

(In my experience, it's mostly the generic that's out everywhere. Fewer people get brand name because it's $300 for 30 pills and not all insurance plans cover it.)

Step 2: Call your insurance company. Ask them if they cover brand name Adderall. If they don't, tell them the generic isn't available in your area because of the shortage (mention that you've called multiple pharmacies) and ask if they can give you a temporary brand override.

(If they do cover it, you may still need your doctor to call in a new prescription for the brand version, but then you should be all set.)

Step 3: If they can do an override, call your doctor next. Have them send a new prescription for your usual dosage to one of the pharmacies that has Adderall. Make sure that the prescription is for brand name Adderall and says "brand only."

(I had to explain why I needed this new prescription to my doctor's team a couple of times, but they put the request through.)

Step 4: When the prescription goes through, call your insurance company back. Explain the situation to them again, and ask them for a temporary brand override.

Step 5: Go pick up your damn pills.

Sincerely, the tired bitch who got her meds.

[lachiennearoo]

How to Make Friends

A more-or-less clear guide on social interactions

Growing up with heavy ADHD and generalized anxiety, it was always a bit hard for me to make friends and socialize. Despite my yearning for friendship, I was always "the quiet one" and "a loner", simply because I didn't know how to approach certain social situations, and it made any friendship I had extremely unstable (except for my sister @vive-le-quebec-flouffi, who was so extroverted and friendly it was literally impossible to escape her clutches of socialization)

As I grew older, I learned through a lot of trial and error what makes a good friendship.

Or, rather... what's the best way for someone to WANT to be your friend (without being superficial or hypocritical.)

Now, obviously, this doesn't work for everyone. But this is what I found helped me the most in social circles (especially online) and I hope it can help others too

LET'S BEGIN!

1 - Be yourself

Now that sounds very cliche and cringe, I know, but hear me out, because my opinion on this is not the same as all those feelgood inspirational movies and ads.

"Being yourself" isn't as simple as it seems. Because after all, what does "self" imply? If someone is, say, a criminal, would "be yourself" mean that they should embrace their sinful side?

No, obviously not.

"Be yourself" is a bit more nuanced, but I'll try to boil it down for you.

It just means "be unashamed of your qualities which you think are flaws". For example, "be yourself" would apply to someone who sees themselves as ugly, or maybe someone with an odd yet unharmful hobby, or a weird sense of fashion, or someone with say a handicap, a speech impediment. "Be yourself" is a sentence for the specific people who have genuine good in them, but are afraid to show it to others because they have been persecuted in the past, or are scared to be. It does NOT mean to accept genuine flaws. "Be yourself" does not include say violent anger issues, an addiction, a recent crime committed, or a generally unpleasant personality. Those are obviously not things to encourage. You can understand they may be a thing that happen to you, and accept it in your life, but that's different from being proud of it or encouraging it.

Speaking of personalities... let's talk about that

2 - Be kind

Now when some people hear that, they think it means "always smile no matter what, always look happy and positive, always agree with everyone just so you don't hurt their feelings, and never cause any drama", like you're Deku in My Hero Academia or Steven Universe in his titular show.

But that's... not quite that.

Obviously, kindness is something you use to help people feel better, to cheer up, and feel happy, and obviously to be kind, you need to have compassion, heart, empathy, and always put yourself in other people's shoes regardless of who they are. But it is not necessarily all-encompassing.

There's a rule that I think anyone learning kindness must learn. It's that sometimes, kindness means to be firm.

Not mean, of course. Not judgmental, not insensitive. Don't insult anyone, don't belittle or patronize anyone or make them feel inferior to you. That's still very rude and that's not what you want.

But what I mean is that sometimes, if you know that a person's actions towards something are wrong, especially if it's towards someone else, you must be able to point it out, and act accordingly. Don't just stand there and agree with them just because you don't want to hurt their feelings. You must still be able to know right from wrong. Kindness just means you won't be an ass about it, it doesn't mean to stay silent.

Hey, that brings me to point three!

3 - Show your own opinions

If there's one thing people hate just as much as meanness, it's those who stand by and do nothing about it.

Regardless of if you agree with them or not, if you say absolutely nothing when genuinely bad behaviour is happening, out of fear of "starting a fight", you are actively making the person who is being attacked feel alone.

I remember myself, when I was bullied in the first two grades of secondary school (11-13 years old for those who don't know) for "being ugly", I was told by my mother (who was friends with other kid's parents) that some of the kids "didn't hate me" and "didn't agree with the bullying". And I asked her "if they don't hate me, why won't they talk to me?" She never managed to answer that one. And it broke my heart, because outside of my sister, I had no one else.

Don't be like that. You may be scared of acting, but you know who would be grateful if you did act? The victims. And isn't their opinion of you much more important than the opinion of someone who acts with hatred and bigotry?

If you see someone suffering injustice, or even just hear someone who has a rather harmful opinion, don't be scared to tell them that you disagree. Obviously don't be an asshole about it, stay civil, but if you voice out your opinion, you will be seen as someone who stays true to their beliefs and is brave enough to stand up for them if the opportunity comes.

There's obviously much more that comes with social life (nonverbal cues, sense of humor, timing and mood), and I don't know everything (I'm just some random québécois girl on the internet). But I hope this was a bit more helpful. I did have fun writing this, at least. So I guess that's better than nothing!

[twinknote]

i just stumbled upon this video and it feels life changing enough that i'm not only going to try it out myself, but i'm also going to share a written summary here!

PROBLEM: routines are especially difficult for anyone who has fluctuating energy and motivation levels from day to day (this often includes people with ADHD, autism, mental illness, and disabilities)

SOLUTION: having three options for a routine according to your energy and motivation levels makes it easier to be consistent, even if you're not doing the exact same thing every day

THE METHOD:

(the video and this post uses a morning routine as an example, but this technique can be used for any kind of routine)

list all the things you would ideally like to accomplish on a perfect day. this is the list she includes in the video:

(imo this is a lot of things! your list might look different and that's ok!)

this is your IDEAL ROUTINE. personally, i'm going to call mine the two spoon routine because 1. 'ideal' sounds a bit moralistic to me and 2. she specifically says that this is NOT the routine you'll be doing the most often. this is the routine you'll do when you wake up feeling the most energized and motivated.

next, you're going to make a second version of this routine. think of how you feel on an average day and get rid of the things that you don't generally have the energy or motivation to do. this is her list:

this is your MOST-LIKELY ROUTINE. i'm going to call this my one spoon routine. this is the routine you'll probably do the most often. it's for days when you're not incredibly energetic or motivated, but you feel relatively decent.

next, you're going to make one last version of this routine. think of how you feel on a bad day and get rid of the things that you don't generally have the energy or motivation to do. this is her list:

this is your MINIMUM ROUTINE. i'm going to call this my no spoon routine. this is what you'll do when you wake up with no energy or motivation. she also says in the video that if your minimum routine is simply having a bowl of cereal to fuel yourself, that's perfectly okay and so much better than not getting out of bed for hours and/or leaving the house without eating.

remember to be realistic about what you'll have the ability to accomplish for each of these! you can always add more things in the future, but starting off with too intimidating/strenuous of a routine will prevent you from being successful.

[zenithsys]

Do you feel, like, constantly overwhelmed? Unable to focus on tasks and self-care like showering? Have I got the tip for you

I recently got put on this method through a YouTube video recommended to me called the Sharp Ax method. Name doesn't matter, I'm gonna skip right to telling you what to do.

You have a notebook? Maybe one that you've horded and used once or twice before abandoning? Grab that shit. Get your favorite pen. At the top of the page you're going to write "Brain Dump". For like, 10-15 minutes, just sit there and write down every thought that comes to mind. Does your back hurt? Write it. Do you have to make breakfast? Write it.

But here's the thing: if there's something you need to do (paperwork, showering, shopping, etc) you're gonna write it like this.

"I want to shower." "I want to check the mailbox." "I want to do my laundry today."

For whatever reason, reframing things you need to do as things you want to do has helped me so immensely, and even when I can't finish all the things I want to finish, I still feel good for finishing the ones I was able to.

This stupidly simple journaling technique (which doesn't even feel like journalling to me) has caused me to go from being chronically overwhelmed to feeling like, even just for a little bit, everything is going to be okay.

[natt-writes]

~7 tips for stay focused while writing.~

1. Make sure to drink lots of water/tea and have a healthy meal shortly before. This will help to nourish your brain, which in turn will help you to write and stay focused.

2. Find a calm, comfortable location. Stay away from places with lots of sounds and distractions, instead try to find somewhere that you can relax and enjoy the writing process. It’s even better when the location has dim lights.

3. Exercise shorty before. just going on a walk down your street and back or going on the treadmill for five minutes can help to get rid of excess energy and make you less restless and distracted.

4. Set up a reward system. Maybe have a small piece of candy after every two sentences, watch an episode of tv every time you finish a paragraph, or do a fun activity after every chapter. This will help motivate you to finish up your work for the day.

5. Set a daily word count. Setting a daily word count can help you to feel like you’ve achieved your goals, even if they are small. Start with a couple hundred words each day and then work your way up to your desired amount. Checking how close you are to achieving your daily word count can help you to feel more more motivated and productive. (I use nanowrimo.org but you can use whatever work tracker you want!)

6. Listen to music. I like to listen to music that suits the tone of the chapter I’m writing, as it can help you to feel more immersed and focused. It’s best to listen to the music on a lower volume so that it doesn’t overwhelm you and just blends into the background.

7. Be gentle with yourself. Not every day is going to be amazingly productive. Everyone has days where they are distracted or don’t get much work done. Don’t beat yourself up about it and instead try to relax, have a nice day and get a good nights sleep. You’re doing really great, You deserve to take a self care day!

[audhd-space]

Hi. Do you have any tips on how to be productive and how to stick to a routine? I create routines but can barely stick to them, and it's stressful trying to stay on top of schoolwork and other extracurricular activities. Thanks!

Hello, been away to focus on my health.

I’ll try to keep it simple: so a lot of the times people with ADHD fail to stick to routine or have difficulty forming habits is mostly due to our object impermanence.

So taking account object impermanence when forming a routine means :

1. Creating ADHD friendly space at home.

• some people with ADHD have struggles with teeth cleaning / brushing teeth, so what you can do is place it near your bed

• some people with ADHD have problems with misplacing items, so what you need is not to be more vigilant, BUT YOU NEED VISUAL CUES, and place the items where it is EASY TO SEE AND REACH. If putting it in the middle of hallway is easy for you to take it every morning (even if it is odd place), then that’s the routine that works for you!

• same as eating, if you have problems forgetting to eat, having a few snacks/ready to eat food placed in front of you will reduce the amount of energy/spoon you need to take in order to get food.

• some adjustment I made to make my home ADHD-friendly is to have a lot of label stickers (at door, at switches, at kitchen). I also switched to transparent container so my items can be seen and easily found.

2. Your body already has its own routine, you just need to tune in and listen to it.

• What is automatic for you? Observe your one week and track the pattern. What is the best task you have ever completed and why is it so engaging? This is not going to be straightforward, but it shouldn’t be because everyone is different and unique.

• If you have ever felt guilty for playing games while eating, then that’s also how your ADHD brain trying to keep you engaged and focus doing your routine (eating).

• same as if you need to do your homework while watching a documentary or listening to podcast, sometimes adding more distractions can help people with ADHD concentrate better.

• if your body relies and thrives on novelty, then you have to find ways to keep improvising your daily tasks. Don’t feel bad for not being able to stick to routine, you probably thrive more from sticking to your routine from variety of places or working with different people.

3. Always gamify your task and keep it fun.

• this is how I try to keep daily tasks and routine less daunting.

• it sounds weird but do your routine/daily task with the craziest approach you have right now.

• just like in games, it works better if you have a buddy or enemy you need to squash in order to tackle the tasks!

Most important lesson, for me with ADHD, is ACCEPTING THAT I HAVE AN EVER CHANGING ROUTINE.

It is part of how I move, it is part of how I get things done.