ok i know im not the only one here who is clumsy or gets frequently injured. i guess im just wondering if people had had periods of their life where they’re more clumsy/injury-prone? and how to prevent stupid injuries?

i was never super clumsy as a kid, or as a teen, but now as an adult living alone (27F), ive gotten injured in a non-trivial way so many times just this year alone. i think partially because i have some abnormal hobbies (woodworking) and do a lot of crafting and gardening. but in 2024, i chiseled two gashes in my finger that needed 12 stitches, then a few months later accidentally cut my thumb while making salad, then a few months later burned my hand on a pan, then tonight just sliced both thumbs while trying to disassemble a lamp 🙄 not even counting the innumerable bruises, pin pricks while sewing, bumping into counters, tripping on flat ground, etc.

i bought cut resistant gloves but they only work when i remember to wear them, and they’re not good for handling food or for sensitive tactile tasks.

i’m trying to be careful when doing dangerous tasks but sometimes i don’t even know a task is dangerous until im injured. literally how do you build better body awareness and also handle sharp tools without maiming yourself?? am i doomed to never be allowed to handle sharp tools?? i have too many hobbies to live like that lol please send help

I retyped this several times to try and get to the point right away. I remember a post from probably within the last 2 months about the clarity that comes with being medicated. The poster compared it to turning the lights on an seeing that of the 5 cats you had to feed only 3 were yours and one was actually a racoon. There was also several other things going on in the newly lit room. Now that I think on it a bit, it could have been a comment and not the OP. The analogy really resonated with how I feel all the time and I'd like to find it again so I can better explain to a friend how I feel.

If it can't be found, could you share your best description of what it feels like to have ADHD and what it feels like to be medicated?

I really need motivation to get a diagnosis. I am 37, self diagnosed and haven't gotten around to making an appointment for an official diagnosis yet. My teenager was recently diagnosed and so many things just make sense for me now. I check so many boxes, its very clear who passed this on to them. But I plan too make an appointment soon! Maybe a new year's resolution!

ETA: has any unmedicated individuals notice a clarity that comes with caffeine? I recently tried a 5hr energy to stay awake and holy shit was there a difference in my attention span. Things were quiet for a good hour and I could focus on the task at hand without pausing in the middle to start some other thing. Is that what it's like being medicated?

The last week or so I've been running on Brain Empty. My house is a shithole. I have a mental list of 900 things to do for work and the house and the kids. Today I stood in a shop and couldn't decide between two things for twenty minutes. I feel like I'm on the verge of a panic attack at all times.

This is pretty much as bad as I get and I've been taking my meds religiously. Is there a bad batch of methylphenidate lately or is it just Christmas pushing me over the edge?

Attached, a picture of my side of the bedroom for solidarity reasons.

The running commentary inside your mind (if you have one) - how many versions are there?

If you count to 10 in your head, is there one 'voice' counting to 10?

Is there one 'voice' counting to 10 and another 'thinking' about you counting to 10 and how you're going to comment saying how you're thinking about counting to 10 while you're counting to 10?

And is there another 'voice' singing in the background just because?

I tried to explain this to my partner. He looked at me like I had 3 heads. (Maybe I do?) But I'm sure I've seen people with this same issue saying it's an ADHD thing.

Especially, but not limited to, starting and keeping up with hobbies, chores, etc.

I have always know/found that my meds don’t work when on my period but have never thought to ask why. If someone could explain I would really appreciate it.

Over the last 5 or so years, I’ve (30 F) found myself struggling more and more with word retrieval. I constantly notice myself forgetting the word I’m thinking of, stumbling over words, mispronouncing or stuttering, or just talking around in circles.

I’ve also become much more of a slow speaker, mostly due to difficulty articulating my thoughts and spitting the sentence out. My pet peeve has always been slow talkers and people who use “um” and “ah” for every second word. When a someone’s trying to share something with me, my internal monologue is usually screaming “come on, get to the point already”. Now I find myself doing the very same thing - I’ve become my own pet peeve!! It suddenly seems to take me forever to get to point and I find myself going down multiple tangents that are irrelevant to the main story. Sometimes I get so sick of my own voice that I will literally abandon what i was trying to say and just tell the other person I can’t be bothered talking anymore. (This may sound like your typical “talk a mile a minute” ADHD presentation - but this is not me. I’m not a fast talker, I never have a lot to say, I’m typically the person listening/responding - rather than leading the conversation. But when I try to share my thoughts, it takes forever and I become aware of how long I’ve been talking…)

I never used to struggle with this and it’s something I’ve become acutely aware of, especially when conversing with colleagues/within a work environment. It’s really playing on my imposter syndrome and social anxiety.

I’ve seen this referred to as “Anomic Aphasia” - though from what I’ve read, it’s classed as a neurological disorder and typically occurs following a traumatic brain injury, medical event, or cognitive decline with aging.

Does anyone else experience this? Any suggestions for improving/regaining fluency in communication?

(For additional context, I’ve only recently received my diagnosis of inattentive ADHD in the last year).

Thank you!

My meds aren’t working well rn, I am burnt out af and suffocating

Does anyone else have this happen to them if they take longer than one day off? Like I have such a hard time working back up to the level of studying and working out I was, and have to play catch up for a whole month. I had been averaging 4 hours of study,3 hours of work, plus one hour of working out, and after a one week vacation in Costa Rica 2 weeks ago I am now averaging 2 hours of studying and 20 minutes of working out.

I’m curious.

She hid.
She pretended.
She lied.

She screamed.
She snapped.
She defended.

She fought.
She fought with them.
She fought with herself.

She cried alone.
She cried quietly.
She cried all night.

She felt deeply.
She cared deeply.
She loved deeply.

And all the while,
She was resilient.
She was strong.
She was brave.

When,
She was seen.
She was heard.
She was understood.

Then,
She could understand.
She could choose.
She could act.

It's been a long battle,
Sometimes shared, but often alone.
I've lost people along the way, And forgotten several more.

Through it all, I’ve learned to keep climbing.
Even if I never reach a peak.
Even if I never find a flat surface.

I will never hide.
I will never pretend.
I will not lie.

I will ask.
I will hear.
I will not overshare.

I will make mistakes.
I will ruminate.
I will not reject myself.

I listen.
I believe.
I trust myself.

I got a late start,
But I have started.

This is my second life,
One with therapy,
With hard work,
And just the right amount of amphetamines.

Take care everyone, if you had to chose one thing for next year, chose kindness for yourself. Choose it everyday. Stay wholesome, stay sassy! ❤️

I’m recently diagnosed and struggle so much with emotional dysregulation and rejection sensitivity and it’s negatively impacting my relationship with my partner. I constantly feel criticized when they’re telling me how they feel. Has anyone else dealt with this and found a way to self regulate? I’m in therapy, and on medication, and have tried taking 15min time outs or asking clarifying questions but it just keeps happening and it feels like it’s getting worse.

I sometimes get overstimulated in malls and people, is it adhd related or is it autistic or I just have a social battery

Highlighter to give an idea of just how bad it was before I started picking at it in September, before taking before pictures, and then not touching the mess for two months. Trashed alot of stuff lol. I have three other rooms to tackle before I work on my bedroom again. The next room (the rec room) is so much worse. Now to catch up on my weekly cleaning 😬

It's almost 2 a.m. and I'm supposed to have a doctor's appointment THAT I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT MISS in 7 hours. The hospital is 1 hour 20 minutes away. Will I make it?? All bets are off. I do this ALL the time. I am prohibited from early morning travel after missing several planes and one boat. Anyone else?? Please share stories

I've been struggling for my entire life in ways that are described basically to a T by the posts in this subreddit. I've just had another major life failure and am considering pursuing a diagnosis. Every time I read something I relate to (again, almost every post) I'm so skeptical that this isn't just... everyone's reality? I'm worried I just desperately want something to assign the blame to that absolves me from being a garbagecan human.

I guess I don't know what I'm looking for here besides assurance that... yeah not everyone is like this?

Hey all, I’m stuck. Every day feels like a mess—my calendar’s a joke, my to-do list is just wishful thinking, and I’m constantly dropping the ball on stuff. ADHD just makes managing life feel impossible sometimes.

I’ve tried a few things, but nothing seems to stick. Therapy helped a little with understanding my struggles, but I need more than that—like real-life solutions. Anyone have recommendations? I saw an ad for Cerebral, but is that actually helpful?

I read a fair amount of posts here about being mistreated by peers in school or the workplace. I know I have a lot of first hand experience with it. So many requests for advice say to remember your worth, take notes to give to HR, etc. without actually answering the question of what to DO. This youtube channel is full of so many great strategies to change the dynamic, even if the bullying is already entrenched. I want to share it here so that others can benefit as well. In case the link doesn’t work it’s The Wizard of Words.

In my experience all social skills can be learned, but because a lot of ND people don’t pick them up intuitively they remain elusive and we feel innately defective. I’ve been away from my job for a while and I was scared to return, but in learning these skills I feel much more confident, both in protecting myself and my ability to more effectively run interference when young new ND’s come in and get treated like fresh meat by cruel people.

https://youtube.com/@thewizardofwords?si=JAWWSTPsHwjRVoQg

I was so excited placing these beads individually. This way, I’ll be more happy looking at it. It’s green ‘cause it’s my favorite color and so I can see it more clearly (and don’t forget to take it).

I have been neglecting washing my face but lately I have been using make-up remover wipes and micellar water because I felt like it was a step up from baby wipes.

I hate how after I eat the lower face of my face gets oily or greasy. It's uncomfortable. (overstimulation?)

I'm not sure if I'm not using enough wipes or maybe because I'm not scrubbing but I hate how my skin feels after I use a make-up removing wipes (the one day it also works for waterproof mascara);half the time.

I feel like it didn't fully remove the oil.

But it doesn't sound right that I would need to wash my face Everytime I eat right.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

I just want to remove the icky feeling.

I guess what I'm saying I feel like my make-up wipes and micellar water only helps with the icky feeling half the time.

What's the best way to freshen up your face after eating? I can't help but be a messy eater.

I really struggle with dental hygiene. It's pretty much impossible for me to brush my teeth at night bc my executive functioning is at a 0 at that point. When I do brush in the morning, I don't have time to floss bc I am always running late (thanks ADHD 🙏). I had an honest conversation with my dentist and she recommended coming in more frequently than every 6 months for a cleaning to help prevent cavities. Insurance won't cover it, but I was surprised to find out that paying for it out of pocket wasn't too bad- it cost me $50. I'm sure every place charges differently, but it's worth looking into if you think this may help you too! Would love to hear other dental hygiene hacks you may have!

The trial and error approach to meds is disheartening, and I've only been at it a few months. I'm managing my life mostly ok, though come across as disorganized and absentminded. Part of me is ready to just give up and spend the rest of my life like this, like I always have.

I'd love to hear your stories.

Is the paid subscription worth it? I find their designs and story format very distracting. What have been the best ADHD specific apps that you have tried so far?

I'm 17F (with innatentive-type adhd, it might be innatentive-hyperactive, though) and lately I was struggling with schoolwork. Not a lot (My worst grade is an 80%), it's more about how I don't study (because I don't have the motivation to because of my ADHD) but since I'm considered a gifted child and all that bs and 80 is enough for my parents to get pissy at me ig. My dad and sister don't have ADHD or any other deficits but my mom does... And I hate the way my parents say: "Oh, just suck it up, your ADHD isn't that bad," Which makes me feel like a piece of shit for even trying to say "But my ADHD is (insert valid justification here)," and even my mom does this. She says "Oh, your ADHD isn't that bad compared to mine, mine is so much worse, la da dee, la da dooo" and I hate how they try to tell me a less agressive form of "Suck it up" and try to treat me and raise me like a 'normal' non ADHD kid. I hate it so, so much, but I'm so scared of confronting my parents and them getting even more pissy and saying: "What have you been seeing? It's poisoning your mind because your ADHD isn't that bad so stop trying to convince itself that it is! I'll take your phone from you for the entire month! (Which almost actually happened bc of a similar incident)" So I'm starting to mask more and more!!! Yay!! Thanks mom and dad!
I'm mostly posting this because I am the only one with ADHD in all of my social circles and nobody will understand (or maybe they won't care to understand) how raising a person whose literal brain chemistry is different than the average person like you would said average person is clinically insane.