ADHD from a Personal Perspective

We all know that ADHD is a mental illness.

I certainly know this because I have it.

So from a personal perspective I can tell you honestly that having ADHD sucks.

Often times when I tell people I have ADHD they're surprised and ask "You have that? But I've never seen you fidget when you sit? Are you sure you have it? Aren't you a little old to have that?"

Surprise, surprise. Just because you haven't seen me fidget doesn't mean I don't. Just because I'm an adult doesn't mean I outgrew my illness. I know I have it because my doctor tested me for it, and now I have prescription meds to help me deal with it.

Now those who have ADHD or ADD can tell you that it's different for everyone. Just as any other illness it affects people differently.

For me, I'm constantly thinking and overthinking. My thoughts are racing by faster than I know how to articulate them. My mind is constantly linking what I absorb in the day with something I've seen of heard before.

My best friend knows that I can recall pretty much every movie I've ever watched, every song I listen to and every video I watch on YouTube with near perfect clarity.

What did I eat that day? I don't know.

This is how my brain functions differently from yours.

So how does ADHD change someone's daily life?

Well instead of waking up and thinking of making breakfast, or getting dressed, my thoughts are already racing through my head.

'The bed's so warm. Blanket is comfy. Is this what a cocoon is like on the inside? Do butterfly's and moths know what's going to happen when they make their cocoon/chrysalis? Why is it called a chrysalis? What's the difference between the two? Are they just bigger? Could they become Xenomorphs? They retreat into a warm cocoon and then burst out when they're done developing too. Could they evolve into Xenomorphs? Unlikely, but could they? Why is the Predator considered to be an apex hunter when at the end of Alien Vs. Predator they let a Xenomorph onto their ship. There's a sequel movie because they were stupid enough to let it on their ship.'

This is typically what my thought process can become if I let it wander or if I get invested in the thought process.

I know not everyone with ADHD thinks the same. No one on the earth thinks the same, which is a good thing.

But often times if I think out loud around my family they think I'm crazy.

I was talking to myself when my grandma was over about how the word crepe could technically be considered a fancy way of saying crap but because it was french the only way you could use it as a fancy way of saying crap was if you were talking to someone who didn't know the french language. And both my mom and my grandma are confused as to why I'm thinking about that at all.

I was thinking about it because I stubbed my toe and said crepe instead of crap.

So as someone with ADHD, I'd just like to say that yes I do hear what you're saying, but my thoughts are racing to link what you're saying to something I've already seen or heard. It's not that I don't care what you're saying, I'm just trying to find ways of making your words stick out in my thoughts.

ADHD from a medical perspective is someone who has trouble focusing and is restless.

From my personal perspective, ADHD is racing thoughts connected by something to have them string together. It's wanting to clean but not knowing where to start because I know I'll get distracted by cleaning something else halfway through the first thing. It's wanting to write out a story in my head but being unable to articulate the thought into words on paper. It's looking at a blank canvas and thinking I want to draw that but not knowing where to start.

ADHD for me is being a little air-headed but knowing how to make connections between obscure thoughts.

Question: Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Answer: They both hoard treasures.

Ravens hoard shiny objects they find as treasures and gifts.

A writing desk hoards poetry and stories within it's drawers that the author wants to treasure forever.

I never would have figured it out without my ADHD. But my answer could still be wrong. I don't know what other answers people have come up with. Or if there even is a right answer.

I know this all sounds confusing, but this is my normal.

And I wouldn't change it for the world.