#disorders of brain

[bipolarmango]

My doctor and therapist: now with this autism + ADHD diagnosis you need to learn to unmask because masking all the time will make you burn out again and feel like shit

Other people: well it's just interesting how after getting the diagnosis you suddenly start behaving like that I mean I'm not saying you're faking it's just funny how you suddenly cannot be normal like you were before

[professionallyunstable]

the devil couldn’t reach me so he made me feel like i dont belong anywhere.

[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

[caintooth]

seeing people my age talk about how scared they are of memory loss, which they only associate with old age, is so surreal to see as a 24 year old who has actively experienced memory loss for a long time now

there are causes for memory loss besides dementia and alzheimer’s, i hope y’all know that. dissociative disorders, trauma, brain injuries, thyroid problems, even just stress and lack of sleep can fuck up your ability to store, process, and access memory. and that’s just a few of the many causes i can think of off the top of my head right now.

please stop treating disabled people like some scary “other” that you might become only in the distant, decades-away future. we are your age, too. you may become one of us sooner than you know. stop acting like memory loss marks the end of a life, when so many of us have so much living left to do!

[letsventstuff]

No no no no no, you don't understand. I can't keep going on like this. It's draining me and I can't take it anymore. No more, please.

[neurodivergent-brain]

It shocks me how many people don’t realise that the autism spectrum isn’t this:

That is in fact a very outdated and in many ways insulting…

THIS IS WHAT THE SPECTRUM IS:

And it is actually incorrect to say “well everyone is somewhere on the spectrum”

Someone may show traits that are associated with autism but that doesn’t mean they are on the spectrum but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are autistic,

Just like someone who is autistic may show traits of people who are neurotypical.

When I am speaking to friends who may use incorrect language or may have outdated information of what the spectrum is, I explain to them why it is important to change how we view and talk about being neurotypical. None of them are intentionally being offensive and are often happy to get a better understanding. It’s always important to be open to changing how we view something so that everyone is able to feel accepted and understood; therefore if there is any information or something I’ve said that is offensive, incorrect or even if you have a different perspective than me, please let me know as I only want to be respectful of others and am always willing to see other people reasons for their views.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

[totheoneswhostayupallnight]

Sometimes I forget that I have no real friends and go on my phone expecting something; I don’t even know what, maybe them texting me first for once? Someone actually caring? Someone being interested in me or my life at least a little?

[possibly-a-secunit]

[aitadjcrazytimes]

[chaoticautie]

As someone who is somewhat of a “veteran” of the online ND community, I’m disappointed in the lack of positivity and love for lesser known diverse cognitive conditions, and the opposing abundance of posts about “cures” or outdated criteria or treatments for those conditions. So, without further ado, I want to say hello to anyone with any of the disorders I’m listing, and give them the love and support that hardly anyone else in our community has… Shoutout to:

People with Down syndrome

People with Fragile X

People with William’s syndrome

People with dyslexia

People with dyspraxia

People with dyscalculia

People with dysgraphia

People with Prader-Willi syndrome

People with PANS or PANDAS

People with aphasia

People with a TBI (traumatic brain injury)

People with chronic/early onset mental illnesses

People with cerebral palsy

People with FASD or were otherwise disabled via other substances in utero

And many, many more I may have forgotten to list (but still support and love, I will add more to my list)

You are all beautiful and wonderful, and you all deserve so more love, appreciation, acceptance and support. You are just as neurodiverse as the rest of us, and your voices deserve to be heard and amplified.

I love you all ❤️

[toomuchdivergentformyneuro]

can we talk about the shame that comes along with having ADHD?

the shame that hits you when you walk around your messy, cluttered room, knowing you don’t yet have the motivation or hyperfocus to clean it, even though you want to.

the shame that hits you when you retell a story for the thousandth time and the person you’re talking to gets bored or annoyed or confused by it, cuz you couldn’t remember you had told it before.

the shame that hits you when you ask someone to repeat what they’re saying multiple times because you keep forgetting or you just can’t hear them.

the shame that hits you when you forget something super important after you leave for a trip, and you ask to go back for it.

the shame that hits you when you know you’re overanalyzing something someone said to you, but it still hurts.

the shame that hits you when you snap at people who are just talking to you while you’re hyperfocused.

the shame that hits you when you realize you don’t remember jackshit about your life, you don’t have any memories, and you wonder what it was all like.

the shame that hits you when someone asks you to just shut up or sit still after you were just expressing your emotions, your happiness even, but were just a little too loud about it.

all the shame. over everything. we should talk about that all more.

[bipolarmango]

How to explain AuDHD things to NTs, by my therapist

"Imagine you're playing chess all day, every day, on a timer, where any wrong move could result in confusion or awkwardness. You are constantly anticipating, strategizing, and analyzing every move."

"Imagine you’re an actor performing a role for 8-12 hours a day, acting as ‘normal.’ You’re following rules you’ve studied your whole life, but one small slip, like showing your interests or being yourself, might make people question you or treat you differently. It’s exhausting because the role never ends and it feels like I’m always one wrong word away from the audience turning on me.”

“Imagine that your phone battery dies by lunchtime every day and the only way to recharge it is by sitting in complete silence for 12 hours. Even then, it only gets to 50%.”

"Imagine trying to use an old laptop with too many tabs open. It lags, freezes and crashes. That’s my brain on a regular workday. No matter how much I try to "push through", the system just shuts down.”

"It’s like sprinting with a permanently broken ankle: it’s possible but it hurts, and it’s not sustainable forever.”

[professionallyunstable]

kinda tired fighting for a life i don’t even want

[softgothbabe]

Fear of abandonment 🤝🏻 The desire to leave before I'll inevitably be left

[letsventstuff]

This feeling of nothingness is gnawing at my bones again.

[neurodivergent-brain]

Society: be yourself!

Me as a child: *be’s myself*

Society: ewww omg what is wrong with you! We said to be yourself not weird! We’re gonna reject you and make you an outsider!

Me: but I followed your rule of being myself? Why don’t you like me? What’s wrong with me? Why does everyone else get the rules that need to be followed but I don’t?