Thank you to Our Sensory Life

“I spent to many years thinking it was normal to be trapped like this and I was just 'lazy'.

If you relate to this, please hear me, you're not lazy. I know how bad it feels.”

Photo credit: Dani Donovan

the autistic urge to google something when you're just about to fall asleep + the ADHD frustration of not being able to remember what it was the next day

PSA: Yes, ADHD can be silly funny goofy. It can also be a debilitating anxiety inducing hellhole. Both these can be true at once. Whenever you reduce it to one or the other you’re doing a disservice to ADHDers or people trying to understand ADHD.

i dont really feel like an adult. i know i am one, but a lot of the time i feel like a child in an adults body. it's why i don't like the terms man or woman for myself. they feel too mature. and i know i'm still young, but i see my peers and realize how immature i am in comparison.

also i hate categorizing people as mature or immature bc a lot of the time it's just ableism. i dont think it's a bad thing i dont behave like a neurotypical person my age, but what people think about me gets to me. it doesn't make me less important or less worthy than others. it shouldn't, at least.

If I have to read one more "I hate picky eaters, they have the taste palette of a 5-year-old" post, I WILL actually start killing people. You don't want to be around "picky eaters?" Fine, then get the fuck away from us. We're better off without your judgment.

"But wahhhh why won't they just try something new" Shut. Up. Look up how things like adhd, autism, depression, and many more affect eating. Look up food allergies, intolerances, and general sensitivities. FUCKING LOOK UP ARFID. Seriously I am so damn tired of people not knowing shit about arfid, refusing to research even when I tell them about it (most of my doctors don't even know anything about it even though they've known about my struggles for over two years!) And then you have the nerve to shame us for dealing with an eating disorder that is fuck all hard to work through cuz, again, no one knows fucking shit about it and they don't want to learn! My therapist reached out to an eating disorder clinic to find help for me, and the only goddamn one who even knew it existed was the director.

Stay the hell away from so-called "picky eaters" if you're gonna make post after post complaining about how annoying you find us, or how you just so badly want to go to restaurants with your friend but they eat like a child! Go alone, asshole.

If You Have ADHD Why Are You So Quiet?

I forget what I’m going to say (even while I’m saying it)

I speak very quickly (I get embarrassed, misheard, and often told to “just slow down”

I forget words, names, and sentence structure

I’m exhausted

I’m concentrating on listening and processing

I don’t want to interrupt (when/how am I meant to join in)

I have thousands of thoughts occupying my brain

I’m concentrating on my body language (whilst tying to read yours)

I struggle to speak about things I have no experience or interest in

I’m afraid of rejection (RSD)

I CAN Network Ltd

im trapped in adhd paralysis right now. shoutout to anyone else in the same boat!!

wait,,,let me try something real quick. I TRIPLE DOG DARE U TO GET UP AND GO DO YOUR SHIT. I fucking DARE you (did it work??)

"i'm so hyperfixated on this!/this is a huge special interest of mine!" "*we start talking about our actual hyperfixations and special interests*" "thats a really unhealthy obsession, are you mentally ill?"

Sometimes I feel like a burden for being disabled and trans...

Thank you @theautiaticteacher

Everyone is individual and this information may not apply to everyone.

ADHD culture is only realizing as an adult that caffeinated drinks really do have caffeine in them, but it's your body metabolizing them differently than a neurotypical person's that's not allowing the caffeine to work as intended.

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Question for neurodivergent people?

Is focusing too much a thing? Sometimes I have the feeling that I can't control my ability to focus and that I can only choose between don't doing the thing and doing the thing but with so much focus that afterwards I feel sick (I usually am nauseous, lightheaded, exhausted).

It's like my brain thinks that I have to do the thing fast and at the best of my abilities, like it's a matter of life and death. I don't know how to explain it better, has anybody experienced something similar?

not that the phrase stim/fidget toy is bad, but i think it'd be a good idea to call them "sensory aids" more often. they're tools neurodivergent people use to help ourselves function and enhance our wellbeing. they comfort us, help us focus, and safely give us the sensory stimulation our brains need. that's a lot more than a toy. and while anyone can have toys no matter how old they are, i think the fact they're overwhelmingly called toys instead of aids is related to the infantilization of (some) neurodivergent people, and the idea that we can "grow out" of our sensory needs - since they're also overwhelming seen as something for children to use, not adults.

Adhders be like I don’t remember something you told me 5 seconds ago but I’ve memorized the entire lyrical soundtrack of 5 different musicals all of which are atleast 2 hours long

*immediately loses all interest and never uses new system*