🌵 astro |🚦🦀 APE

On the topic of ADHD, I just want to put down some thoughts because it feels like more and more people these days keep doing the "look at me, I'm so ADHD, I'm so quirky!" but they don't have ADHD and don't understand the real negative impact it has on your own life. ADHD is a disability. Period. It can be incredibly debilitating, where you can barely function "normally". With my type of ADHD, yes, there are many times where I have a short attention span, can't stay focused, can't sit still, forgetfulness (short term, working memory), etc. All of the "typical" symptoms of ADHD that people use to label themselves with. And I'm not saying that if you have ADHD and these are your main symptoms, that you're experience is invalid. No no, there's a reason the main symptoms are so common among people with ADHD. What I'm saying is that: ADHD is so much more than this. Example of one of my biggest ADHD struggles: There are days I can't take care of myself. I can't make myself shower, I can't brush my teeth, I can't make food for myself, I can't get up to refill my water, I can't clean or do chores, I procrastinate important adulting things, I can't respond to text messages, etc. And you might be thinking, "that's so gross" or "you're so irresponsible for an adult" or maybe "you lack discipline" YEAH: it is gross, it does come across as irresponsible. I'm not proud of it. But the main point here is that: it's not that I DON'T want to take care of myself/do important life stuff. It's that I CAN'T. This is what is called "executive brain dysfunction". No amount of willpower, discipline, or typical self-motivating techniques will get your brain to do what you want, when you want. Even if you know it's important or urgent. Remember, this is just the tip of the ADHD ice burg. There's so many aspects of ADHD and things I probably forgot to mention. But again, this is just me posting my own life experiences with ADHD on the internet, not an informational book. I'm all for spreading awareness and CORRECT information about my disability, to help teach others who might not know much about ADHD. The more who are aware and educated about ADHD, the more people will become more understanding of our struggles (or at least that's the hope) But please, enough with the internet trend of "having ADHD makes you so quirky and unique" And since this is Twitter dot X dot com: yes, I do have an official ADHD diagnosis. If you have any type of ADHD, feel free to share your own experiences in the comments. One of my special interests is learning about ADHD/neurodivergence by reading about other peoples experiences! 🤗