Well the thread question realy asked it all.

What is the biggest thing about your ad/hd that has the most profound negative impact on your life?



and just so this thread isnt completely negative, we'll also discuss


What is the biggest thing about your adhd which has the most profound POSITIVE impact on your life?



OK... the thing about my adhd that has the most profound impact on my daily life.. there's a few major things

Things by myself..

- procrastinating
- taking so long to get stuff done

Things with other people..

- not knowing when ive said enough, especially with kids, so i'll take 10 minutes to tell them something i should have taken 2 mins to say.


sleeping doesnt worry me too much. hyperactivity is ok (although the talking is part of that.. but general H doenst worry me too much, its just me).


The biggest positive things for me

- that 'im able to understand people intrinsically, from where they are coming from, because somehting in me bothers to take the time to do this
- that i can relate to kids so well, and i can joke with them, and i can have them on a level which isnt entirely below me (a good thing to have if im a primary school teacher in training)

creativitiy is good, but it doesnt impact me every single day.

this main tenent of this thread is..... your every day stuff.

Ummmm the biggest thing is that I am sometimes really rude becuase I have Impulsivity so I can say really rude things without relising.

Negative....not being able to do ANYTHING right-literally. Taking so long to do things. Interrupting people because I'm afraid I'll forget what I'm going to say if I wait. Brain fog. Jumping from one thing to the next. Not being able to multitask, or even do more than one thing at a time. Noises and smells drive me crazy. Positive....um...I can honestly not think of one good thing about this condition at all-at least in my case.

Ummmm the biggest thing is that I am sometimes really rude becuase I have Impulsivity so I can say really rude things without relising.i can definately relate to this one! i say rude stuff al the time without realising! :foot:

:foot: Six months ago I would have to say.. Saying the first thing that came to mind.


Now it's getting distracted and having my mind go completely blank. Quit imbaressing since I work in a cafe and am expected to take food orders.:confused:

another thing that affects daily life, is that its difficult to express myself in words... and i keep forgetting what to say mid-sentence. i stop and try to figure out the word i need.
my tutor teacher looks at me strangely when i do that!

What she said. Well, socially. The main, biggest, worst thing is the memory impairment, for certain.
Interrupting people because I'm afraid I'll forget what I'm going to say if I wait.

What she said. Well, socially. The main, biggest, worst thing is the memory impairment, for certain.
i can relate to both of those things, very definately.

although, it doesnt affect my daily life, it still is a big thing.

bad:
sounding rude without meaning too, not having the right reaction to things, being easily distracted, getting angry easily, not thinking first.

good:
i can always get people to smile when they are upset, i entertain people when theyr bored in class and if people are scared to do something im never afraid to, catching on quickly in new sports.

bad:
sounding rude without meaning too, not having the right reaction to things, being easily distracted, getting angry easily, not thinking first.

good:
i can always get people to smile when they are upset, i entertain people when theyr bored in class and if people are scared to do something im never afraid to, catching on quickly in new sports.
very random: i can relate to all of your bad things, expecially the sounding rude without meaning to, and the not having the right reaction to things

and let me add to that, being misinterpreted (which is actually a big part of both of those things... its a 2 way thing - i have the wrong movement/facial expression, and other people percieve this as something that its not... i'm sure you can understand?)

1.The repetitive certainty of social ostracism; the inability to get close to anyone or appear attractive as a friend.

2.Little or no self esteem; meaning I bottle any idea of asserting my own will, till it all vents out at the worst possible moment.

3.Inconsistencies in how I feel and how I seem to be;

4.Lacking the skills to cope with even the most basic and mundane aspects of life; General emotional immaturity.

5.Repetitive trains of thought, mainly centred around over-focusing on the negative.

6.Poor conversational ability

Before Ritalin:
Interrupting, overly abrupt, branching off on conversational ideas and not being able to find my way back to the original subject. After Ritalin- none of those things. But still, organizing and following a plan of completion. Getting out of a rut. High focus when I'm on a mission of interest (also positive).

Positive: Thinking outside the box. Being able to "see" so many different directions at once. Mental alacrity. High focus when I'm on a mission of interest. intuition and perception.

Positive: I can think about 2 sides of the story

Negative: I can never figure out which one is right

T-Bass

The fact that i cant figure out my thaughts and end up getting distracted. Like 'wonder what the time is' will, 10 mins later, lead me to something totaly unrelated like 'where was the cat sick again' or 'what color is the car up the road' or something pointless. I can go on like that for hours.

For me,;

#1 sensory issues. Sensory overload sometimes can make me feel rather miserable.
#2 social problems. ADD causes me to feel socially isolated sometimes.

Me

speedo: #1 sensory issues. sensory overload sometimes can make me feel rather miserable.

i have the same problem, i get really overwhelmed by every little thing, like i go to the mall and its too overwhelming being there becasue theres too many people moving around distracting me. or ill walk into my room and just forget everything i was doing becasue its so messy i get confused and lose what i was doing. (this might be becasue i have a ld that i cant process things right, it might not be the adhd, not sure)

#2 social problems. ADD causes me to feel socially isolated sometimes.

yup, people dont understand me and i dont understand them, they dont understand how i can get so hyper and not be noticing at all what im doing until theyr laughing at how random or stupid it is whatever im doing that i didnt even know i was doing until they laugh. i also get accused of being on drugs a lot because i laugh at everything and do such random things. and kids in my class always ask why do you have to get up and move? how can you not know your doing that? they just cant understand.


additives: i have the wrong movement/facial expression, and other people percieve this as something that its not... i'm sure you can understand?)

yeah ill be thinking about something else i guess and have like an angry expression on my face and someone will be telling me how happy they are they got a cute shirt at the mall and ill be glaring at them without realizing it. even though i understand what theyr saying and i might say the right thing but i forget to change my expression!! or walking in the halls people smile at me or say hi and i dont react, i keep walking until later i realize what happened. or someone tells me their dad just died and ill be similing and be like oh im sorry in a happy voice. until it hits me 10 seconds later what they just said and i feel bad, but its too late to fix, what do i say "oh sorry i was just happy, i forgot to be sad when you said that"??? they would look at me weird.....

speedo: #1 sensory issues. sensory overload sometimes can make me feel rather miserable.

i have the same problem, i get really overwhelmed by every little thing, like i go to the mall and its too overwhelming being there becasue theres too many people moving around distracting me. or ill walk into my room and just forget everything i was doing becasue its so messy i get confused and lose what i was doing. (this might be becasue i have a ld that i cant process things right, it might not be the adhd, not sure)

#2 social problems. ADD causes me to feel socially isolated sometimes.

yup, people dont understand me and i dont understand them, they dont understand how i can get so hyper and not be noticing at all what im doing until theyr laughing at how random or stupid it is whatever im doing that i didnt even know i was doing until they laugh. i also get accused of being on drugs a lot because i laugh at everything and do such random things. and kids in my class always ask why do you have to get up and move? how can you not know your doing that? they just cant understand.


additives: i have the wrong movement/facial expression, and other people percieve this as something that its not... i'm sure you can understand?)

yeah ill be thinking about something else i guess and have like an angry expression on my face and someone will be telling me how happy they are they got a cute shirt at the mall and ill be glaring at them without realizing it. even though i understand what theyr saying and i might say the right thing but i forget to change my expression!! or walking in the halls people smile at me or say hi and i dont react, i keep walking until later i realize what happened. or someone tells me their dad just died and ill be similing and be like oh im sorry in a happy voice. until it hits me 10 seconds later what they just said and i feel bad, but its too late to fix, what do i say "oh sorry i was just happy, i forgot to be sad when you said that"??? they would look at me weird.....

that part made me laugh. :)


anyway... i can also relate to the sensory issues, eg. being in a shopping center (mall) with lots of people around and i cant focus. i get very stressed.

i hate going onto a supermarket is the aisles arent just straight up and down.
i get confused also by the packagings and i want everything... it just all looks so appealing! (oooooh, shinyyyyyy.........)

umm... and also, another big thing related to sensory issues..

USUALLY i'm really good at crossign the road etc, and judging cars, and just being sensible. this is when i'm by myself or with other certain people.

but when 'im with james, my add boyfriend, i'm so focues on walking along the street with him there, and listenign to him etc, that i dont do it very well, and i rely on hijm to stop me walking across at the wrong time etc.
i dont know how to describe it... but it just results in him thinking im bad at crossing the road.

my symptoms seem to accentuate when i'm with him, sometimes. but a lot fo the time its because tis nigt time and im tires so i cant concentrate on what he's saying.. but sometimes he ramlbes about nothing. last night i said to him "you know i havent been listening, dont you?"
and he said "yeah i know.." and continued. hahaha
anyway... otehr times im' very hyperactive. i dont know.. maybe he catches me at these moment, and i think last night my hyperactivity was sparked by muse and over tiredness (i was very happy to see him, and ver tired).

im going to bed now bye.

i like the way this thread is going with everyone talkikn about tis sutff... we can really see how we have the same problems.. and maybe we find out that some problems we have are the add, if we didnt think of them that way before.
i'm realising new things all the time, eg "ohh so THATS because of the ad(h)d too? riiiight.. of course it is!"

ok bye. goodnight.

sorry about my terrile typing its just my body is so tired... my brain is hyperactive and overall im restless and counlt care any less about the bad tping in ehre.

moderators/adimin.. feel FREE to fix up stuff you deem undreadable.

- additives 25/5/2005

You sound like me, and I never even realized I was doing that, but I do! Kind of a "delayed reaction" thing I think-slow processing or something maybe. I do it too. You know who I envy? Actors and actresses with quick thinking wit, like Jim Carrey or Jack Black. I think to myself-Good God, look at how QUICK they come up with their words/reactions-how nice that must be! lol



speedo: #1 sensory issues. sensory overload sometimes can make me feel rather miserable.

i have the same problem, i get really overwhelmed by every little thing, like i go to the mall and its too overwhelming being there becasue theres too many people moving around distracting me. or ill walk into my room and just forget everything i was doing becasue its so messy i get confused and lose what i was doing. (this might be becasue i have a ld that i cant process things right, it might not be the adhd, not sure)

#2 social problems. ADD causes me to feel socially isolated sometimes.

yup, people dont understand me and i dont understand them, they dont understand how i can get so hyper and not be noticing at all what im doing until theyr laughing at how random or stupid it is whatever im doing that i didnt even know i was doing until they laugh. i also get accused of being on drugs a lot because i laugh at everything and do such random things. and kids in my class always ask why do you have to get up and move? how can you not know your doing that? they just cant understand.


additives: i have the wrong movement/facial expression, and other people percieve this as something that its not... i'm sure you can understand?)

yeah ill be thinking about something else i guess and have like an angry expression on my face and someone will be telling me how happy they are they got a cute shirt at the mall and ill be glaring at them without realizing it. even though i understand what theyr saying and i might say the right thing but i forget to change my expression!! or walking in the halls people smile at me or say hi and i dont react, i keep walking until later i realize what happened. or someone tells me their dad just died and ill be similing and be like oh im sorry in a happy voice. until it hits me 10 seconds later what they just said and i feel bad, but its too late to fix, what do i say "oh sorry i was just happy, i forgot to be sad when you said that"??? they would look at me weird.....

ok i dont know if this will work, im not sure how to put quotes in the blue box thing....

but when 'im with james, my add boyfriend, i'm so focues on walking along the street with him there, and listenign to him etc, that i dont do it very well, and i rely on hijm to stop me walking across at the wrong time etc.
i dont know how to describe it... but it just results in him thinking im bad at crossing the road.


i know!! its the same in the halls ill be talking to someone (probably talking too mcuh) and i keep running into everything doorways, people, tripping over stuff, tripping on the stairs, its too much to concentrate on talking and walking at the smae time and everyone jus laughes at me becasue they dont understand how i could do that. either way if im wound up hyper or just completly zoning out im not really seeing everything like other people do, im not realy noticing stuff i guess, its like im always in my own world, and i cant do anything about it. like im aware people are laughing at me amused by me or w/e, but its like im at a distance and dont react on time. i dont think this is making any sense.... hopefully someone can understand???

You know who I envy? Actors and actresses with quick thinking wit, like Jim Carrey or Jack Black. I think to myself-Good God, look at how QUICK they come up with their words/reactions-how nice that must be! lol
i envy them too, i can come up with quick stuff but not on topic, i get too far ahead of the convo in like a second and say something thats funny to me but its not related to what everyone else was talking about. but when someone else has a random thought and says it outloud and everyone else is like "omg so random!!" i dont think its random becasue i can get to their off topic thoughts easily. its annoying how other people cant think off topic!! im glad i dont think linerarly it would be so boring!!

last night i said to him "you know i havent been listening, dont you?"
and he said "yeah i know.." and continued. hahaha
anyway... otehr times im' very hyperactive. i dont know.. maybe he catches me at these moment, and i think last night my hyperactivity was sparked by muse and over tiredness (i was very happy to see him, and ver tired).
haha my last bf had add too and we never listened to eachother, and we both knew it. we would just switch off just talking not really saying anything just words. do you ever talk and not realize your talking out loud. i do this a lot, when i dont think im listening but catch like a few words. ex: last week my spanish teacher was saying how our final exam would be after school and if anyone was working or had a sport they would be excused. and for some reason i said "no everyone go to work, your not excused" and then the teacher got mad and started correcting me and thats when i realize i said it outloud, i had thought it outloud, even though i had nothign to do on the day of the exam and dont have any problem with it, its not something i would think, but i said it! wait i got off track i boxed that becasue i was wondering if it seems like when your happy your more hyper and when your upset your more spacy??? lik when your being yourself your more adhd? i think that might be how it i with me, but im not sure... im not good at self monitoring

my longest relaitionships have been with guys who have add, lomgest 4 months and 2nd longest 1 month, all the rest have been less than 2 days. most guys cant tolerate how goofy i get when im really bored, although i mostly have guy friends.

wow this is really lomng! sorry!! i wouldnt have got this far if i was reading it.

You sound a lot like me-I space out too, and everyone laughs at me. And I really tripped out when you said that about walking and talking...that's been my Motto saying for a LONG time when I'm trrying to laugh and explain how clumsy I am-I say "Oh,I'm one of those people who can't walk and talk at the same time" haha So it was funny when you said that too! :)

I don't LOOK like I'm hyper, or even talk too much all the time, but it comes in spurts when I do, and I can't shut up talking-usually about myself, or just unimportant things. It's like I'm trying to get everything out before I forget it, you know?

Someone here mentioned something about how you can carry a notepad around with you,and write stuff down instead of blurting it out-comes in handy if you are in a place you really don't want to blurt out stuff, like some business meeting I guess.

I thought that was a cool idea-but I keep forgetting to do it! haha

It's like I'm trying to get everything out before I forget it, you know?
thats exactly it! i have to talk fast to say everything or ill forget mid sentence what i was saying. my friends always let me interupt them becasue they say they know theyll remember what they had to say but they know i wont be able to remember.

the idea to write stuff down first is good except i cant really do that becasue im still in school thoug

veryrandom:

i run into stuff too, and i udnerstand the delayed reaction thing. i could think of examples, (i know you ment social but still) where it was as if i was far away and couldnt stop myelf from doing things.
often when i'm at home i will bump into walls and doors, and i can see them and i know i'm about to bump into it but i cant stop myself.
its not a "full frontal bumping" its more of a, tip over to the side as i walk around a corner sort of bump.


oh and, james and i do listen to each other sometimes. but when we're just rambling, neither listens.

writing down ideas is a good idea. in any circumstance!

For me the best part of being add is that I have an understanding of children who are add and how to teach them....

For me the best part of being add is that I have an understanding of children who are add and how to teach them....

meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee too!

although im still trying to figure them out really - about 6 - 8 kids i suspect have ad(h)d where i am in my placement right now.... about 5 in my class.
i wouldnt have expected such a high numer.. but its a single sex girls' primary school.... and if it was co-educational, you would less likely notice the ad(h)d girls. so i guess in reality, while the statiscit is '2 per class', its likely to be '4 per class' because you have to factor in those girls you dont notice who have add, .... but the hyperactive ones, you notice!

not long to go until my dr appointment... and yes, im going. (i think! eep..)

does it ever seem to anyone else (kinda related to being far away and not stoping yourself) but do you ever just test things, like you know if you do something you know something will happen becasue of it but you do it anyway. ex: (dont ask why im using this example its the first thing that came to mind) i was sledding and i was going straight for the tree, but for some reason i didnt do anything!!! so obviously i hit into the tree, and it hurt, when it was happening its like, i cant think its real, i cant think that far ahead to know if i hit it it will hurt. but i hit it and jammed my shoulder and bruised my arm and neck up. (i was also going head first) and i kept thiking why cant i just be less fearless, or something, its liike i just like challenging things, even though its obvious its going to happen but i dont stop my self, and its like being far away and i cant do anything, but a small part of me sees it but i dont react. i do stupid things like that all the time. i dont know if it made sense how i explained it........

veryrandom, i know exactly what you mean. i cant think of any examples though!!!


Anyway, i came in here to note another thing, because of today..


I do so much, and yet nothing gets done!

sorry about my terrile typing its just my body is so tired... my brain is hyperactive and overall im restless and counlt care any less about the bad tping in ehre.

moderators/adimin.. feel FREE to fix up stuff you deem undreadable.

- additives 25/5/2005

For future reference--as moderator of this section I do not make it a practice to edit posts for one very simple reason I feel it robs you of your voice, your input and your story should be told in your words and no one elses IMHO. I have and will continue to edit offensive language but never would I rob you of your individuality or your emotions for me its a matter of respect and far more important then improper use of grammar or misspellings (unless otherwise asked I will leave your posts as they are--easily read and understandable).

Respectfully yours,
Cherity

I do so much, and yet nothing gets done!

Last week my husband came home to a very messy house and an exhausted wife after work and he got the "look" on his face, the one that asks "and what have you done all day?"

Well, I'm now working 3 jobs until the end of the week when I will be down to one job that matches the pay of the other 3 and he will be responsible for the housework and kids during the day. He's already decided that I have a much better grasp on things then he originally thought. lmbo He's failing miserably. :p

But, it seems I've always spent my life running only to find that I haven't actually gotten anywere. I could never figure out why it took me so much longer to do what my friends were able to do in a few minutes or a few hours. But, then I wasn't diagnosed until my late 20's I can't tell you how nice it was to know the answer to my life's question. lol

i know!!! i cant sit down and do my work but im not allowed to do anything until "my work is done" so i just wander around doing nothiing. and soon its been hours and ive just wandered around and gotten nothing done!!! i hate that, im either getting nothing done or i get it done in like a second, when im hyperfocusing. and i also cant do anything unless i have someone contsantly helping me, ex: my science teacher tells me i catch on so much quicker than everyone else when she helps me one on one. but i seriously cant learn it at all unless shes right there showing it to just me with no other distractions. does this happen to anyone else? i i just need someone to keep me on track or i start doing other things and my mind drifts without me even realizing it.

veryrandom,

Have you been fully tested? It almost sounds like you could have a slight learning disorder.

ummm i still have to do more testing, they think i have a hearing processing thing wrong with adhd.

Negative:
1) People get tired of talking to me because I can't keep a conversation serious
2) I can't follow through on an idea even if I really enjoy it. This is really bad for when I'm trying to program, because I'll think of this awesome game or program I want to design, and I know it's possible, and I'll plan it all out and work on it for 30 minutes or an hour, and then never touch it again and start over on something new the next time :(

Positive:
Kinda related to Negative#1, I can almost always cheer people up or make them laugh by turning things into a joke.

Even as an adult I still have trouble with number 1. I can be so down and really need to think about an issue in a serious light and I will crack jokes about it instead. But, its also a coping mechanism if life gets too hairy I shut down.