#adhd inertia

[the-fictive-haven]

I need to do something I need to do something I need to do something I need to do something-

Scrolls Tumblr frantically with mounting anxiety

[brightlotusmoon]

[gaytommykinard]

I'm writing so much fic these days that i can't find the time to read any. when i'm done writing my brain doesn't want to read any more words. but if i stop writing I will lose!!!!

[mischiefmanifold]

what do you mean by “adhd paralysis isn’t real?” like in what way? this is a genuine question and i’m trying not to let my hurt feelings affect this bc i’m trying to learn and i don’t know everything.

if you don’t feel like answering that’s cool too, but can you direct me to who was talking about this?

Hi! Paralysis is a permanent state. When used in terms of bodily functions, it means "loss of [muscle] contraction due to interruption of one or more motor pathways from the brain to the muscle fibers." Paralysis/plegia (e.g., hemiplegia) is used to refer to complete or severe loss of muscle strength, while paresis is used to refer to partial or slight loss of muscle strength. (source)

ADHD does not include loss of muscle strength (paralysis), and if you're attributing paralysis to ADHD it means you really need to see a doctor. What ADHD does include (that many people seem to confuse for paralysis) is executive dysfunction, which can make it difficult to move at times but never causes permanent loss of muscle strength. Another thing that people are confusing for paralysis (which very much isn't) is catatonia, and I've seen people describe catatonic episodes as paralysis. Catatonia is a feature of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (most often schizoaffective, schizophreniform, and schizophrenia) and can occur alongside autism spectrum disorder, but does not occur as part of ADHD.

Claiming that you are experiencing "ADHD paralysis" is offensive to those who actually are paralyzed, especially with what I've been seeing on actual paralyzed people's blogs from people with "ADHD paralysis."

Additionally, if you search "ADHD paralysis" here on Tumblr you'll get a whole bunch of posts about people talking about their executive dysfunction. This is fine, in general, but they're misusing medical terminology and it is harmful.

[motherlarkspur]

As a neurodivergent scientist, I think it is funny that I have executive dysfunction on an atomic level as well.

[thedreadvampy]

my therapist spent today's session making Faces at me about getting an ADHD diagnosis

which

I can honestly say I have never seriously considered the possibility of seeking an ADHD diagnosis but she might not be a billion miles off

I was describing how I get "fizzy bored" where I have no energy or ability to move and nothing holds my attention but I feel like my bones are trying to vibrate out of me with the desire to be Doing Things and she was like 🤔 and I got onto the fact that I often need to be doing 3-4 things at once to ease into focusing on one and she was like 🤨 and then I mentioned how I find it really difficult to start doing things but once I'm in it I'm super focused and she was like 😌 have you considered the possibility of an ADHD diagnosis?

and so I explained that I don't really see the point because even though, unlike EDS and autism, a diagnosis could suggest an actual treatment, I don't really feel like anything I've described is disabling me cause I have the tools to manage it now most of the time and I feel Fizzy Bored WAY less often these days. and she was like 🤨

and I was like yeah to be fair actually I did use to think that about chronic pain, trauma and having shit eyesight and doing something about them did really change my experience. and she was like 😌 and I was like and actually now we mention it the fact that I sometimes for NO REASON AT ALL simply put off doing things even though they would be really easy to do and I want to do them for LITERAL YEARS is maybe. A thing that it might be nice to change if I could. And she was like 🤔 and I was like OH FUCK I'M GOING TO HAVE TO GENUINELY CONSIDER THIS POSSIBILITY AREN'T I?

anyway after talking a mile a minute and overrunning by 15 minutes I then got a quarter of a mile away on foot and realised I'd left my glasses on her table. she opened the door I went HEY SPEAKING OF ADHD

[terribleoldwhitemen]

"Enjoy lyrics on Spotify Premium" congratulations, I'm finally migrating ten years of music off your platform come this weekend

[whensuddenlycats]

It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart filled with RAGE and HATRED that I must bow once more beneath the spiky egg yolk of Endless Evil Chores and Other Nasty Responsibilities. I would like to thank Mindless Scrolling for enabling me to push off this momentous occasion for as long as humanly possible. You will be missed. Until the next short break that ends up stretching on till 3 AM. A moment of silence to respect the aforementioned Mindless Scrolling. And another. And another moment of silence for steadying, mindful breaths to ground myself. Wait what do you mean I have to actually finish writing this post to get started?? Do I barge into YOUR little corner of Tumblrington Dorothy Communism to tell YOU how to be productive?? Let me cook! I have a Process!! I'm not going to keep writing this post forever but I damn well WILL contribute to the Sacred Wall Of Text until I judge it to be the correct size! And girth! And shape! And color and whatever other adjectives I deem appropriate!! You cannot stop me!! You can push and shove at the inertia but you cannot make it roll!! I defy thee! I shake my thumb in defiance!! Of thee!! Begone, Wicked Voice of Reason!! I will stay on my bed hunched over in this uncomfortable position until- oh damn my joints are stiff and painful actually imma take care of that but WE ARE NOT DONE HERE I WILL FIND YOU later

[sassycyborgninja]

meet the artist + sketch concept art of my avatar

ive made meet the artists every year so i had to make one this year as well but i added a new thing being my avatar, the sassycyborgninja from my username (the username itself is inspired by genji hence why the antennas and lowkey resemblance)

[abandoned-as-mustard]

The neurodivergent self diagnosis journey is just one day thinking 'I wonder if X health thing is connected to this' and then it certainly heckin is

Why do we get the jackpot of side effects

[the-fictive-haven]

Want to do art, can't do art.

Want to watch shows, can't watch shows.

Want to play games, can't play games.

Ends up on Tumblr endlessly scrolling, watching the notifications like a hawk and desperately searching for social interaction all day.

And my sysmates can't even really do anything about it because my anxious ass keeps coming back to front every five minutes 😭

[brightlotusmoon]

Eat something eat something eat something eat something eat something eat something

[harmonic-psyche]

I didn't realize that this kind of executive dysfunction had a specific name in autism. In the psychiatric literature I usually see it called low/poor/impaired “task-switching,” “attentional switching,” or more broadly “cognitive flexibility.” But I do like the name “inertia” because IME that is often how it feels.

Autistic inertia is probably just as common in ADHD, and probably experienced in basically the same way. “No differences in EF [executive functioning] were found between individuals diagnosed with ASD and ADHD” in a meta-analysis study trying to tease out differences between them, including on tests of cognitive flexibility.

50%–70% of autistic people have ADHD, making the conditions very frequently comorbid. Both are also highly (genetically) heritable, and both involve (itself extremely heritable) executive dysfunction.

Improving your task-switching and overcoming inertia is probably best accomplished the same way that we treat other kinds of executive dysfunction: stimulants like Adderall, caffeine (especially taken with L-theanine), and Ritalin. After all, unmedicated kids with ADHD are worse at task-switching than neurotypical kids, but ADHD medication makes their task-switching equivalent. Ritalin “selectively enhanced the children's ability to rapidly and accurately switch between tasks.”

IIRC exercise, nutrition, and (especially) getting enough/consistent sleep also help to improve task-switching.

…and yes, I did write this post while struggling to switch to a different task. Namely, my actual job. Heh. Hooray for autistic inertia…

Autistic Inertia is an autism experience that makes it hard to start, stop, and switch tasks.

It somehow doesn't get talked about enough - so I made this comic!

YouTube • Instagram • Twitter

Also, if you want to read the research study I based this comic on, it’s right here!

[magpie-sherlock]

my mom: you know, youve gotten a lot better at doing multiple things in one day without shutting down, good job!

me: thanks! im gonna go take a nap now

[corvidlore]

Had to stop taking my adderall because of some complications from other health issues and let me tell you.

Raw dogging the adhd for the first extended period of time since 2016 really fucking sucks.

I left my keys in my front door all night last night.

I’ve started falling asleep at work the second I get bored.

And despite being sleepy all day long I can no longer fall asleep at night.

Not to mention the persistent feeling that I’m forgetting something, with no functional way to relieve it.

0/10 would not recommend.

[cesium-sheep]

yeah no her executive is dysfunctioning pretty hard today even though she said she felt fine. so today will probably be worse for both of us than if she'd just had work like normal. yippee.