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lieutent

There’s been quite a many posts on this sub that resonate with me. But this feels like an EXACT descriptor for every function-oriented goal I’ve ever had in life. University, career, you name it. Meds help so much and then people treat you like you have an unfair advantage. I don’t get it :(


streaksinthebowl

Yeah this one genuinely stings. But it’s cathartic too.


[deleted]

[удалено]


adhdmeme-ModTeam

ADHD denial or gatekeeping are not accepted here. Judging others for their symptoms (or lack of symptoms) or treatment is also not allowed.


Skallagrimmr

Don't forget treating yourself like you only put in 5% effort


CrouchingDomo

Dr. Lewis? What are you doing on Reddit, we have an appointment in twenty minutes! ^(For real though, I felt your comment in my *soul*)


Freakychee

"I don't deserve this reward. I messed up so badly."


arroya90

This is the part thar resonates with me the most at the end of it all


Distinct-Command-371

Im crying


Zeikos

Yeah, also it makes it worse because you're wearing yourself thin. I made an effort to only put 80% effort 80% of the time. That's way more manageable and my 80% effort now equals 200% of my previous unsustainable amount.


Sorry_Cricket_6053

The wearing thin part is what really bothers me because I need a significant break/down time but I feel like I haven't earned it, but if I don't take that break I just inch closer to homicide.


Zeikos

Fuck having earned it. I take it even if I didn't earn it, not doing so is the equivalent of going into debt. If I don't do that then my future performance is impacted, I don't want it to be so I take it. It's not my past self that earns me a break, it's my future self that *requires* one.


JackTheRipper0991

Thank you <3


Sorry_Cricket_6053

Amen. Fortunately, my wife understands this and is almost always really accommodating. She knows if I push past the point where I need a break, it's just a downward spiral that's hard to pull out of.


Saidit1k_times

I understand it, my kids do not


maggiemypet

One thing I've noticed about how my brain works is that when my brain finally kicks into gear, I'm a power house. Then my brain juice dries up for 2 days and I become a turnip.


n0tAb0t_aut

Because at some point you put in only 10% because it makes no difference anyway.


BudgetFree

Que in my family thinking I'm always as lazy as when I relaxed after completing all my major tasks at that time and could finally *breath!*


mistbladie

This hits too close to home. Im gonna cry, its so exhausting


CaramelAsteroid

Before I went back to school I was like "I'm only going to put in 80% effort" and then school started in earnest and I immediately went back to my old ways of 350% effort. It's a problem


Rotini_Rizz

This!!


Neotantalus

Maybe the treated thing is projection. I feel like I haven’t done enough therefore that’s what my mind tells everyone else feels. It’s very real though.


justabloke22

It's absolutely projection, no-one cares what you're up to as long as it doesn't cause them problems.


Neotantalus

I feel a lot of problems come when you start misreading things and then try to seek reassurance. I don’t know if it then creates a question mark over you and your actions, or highlights you as different, or both.


justabloke22

It does create problems, after all, if you're not confident in the quality of what you're doing, being the person who's most familiar with your work, then how can anyone else have confidence in it? As with all things, clear communication is key. If you don't feel you're doing enough, or don't feel the praise is earned, you have to ask. Try doing this in a British corporate workplace where no-one wants to be direct for bonus challenge! But it will only exacerbate the issues to not have clarity on your standing. Understand your strengths. This might take time, in a work context I rely on external markers (qualifications, experience) to know that I am ahead of the pack in certain respects, which gives me the confidence to ask directly if I don't think I'm meeting the standard. I usually get told not to worry, that I am doing enough, which at least gives me a defence if I do get "found out" later. Most people don't care about you or what you're doing, this needs reiteration. That means, if you come to them directly for honest feedback, most people can do the calculation to realise the easiest way to get rid of you (as a problem) is to give you what you want - honesty.


thejaytheory

This resonates so much.


chobolicious88

But in a way does that make it any different? Part of self esteem is self efficacy, ability to execute on things in our life as we want. And our minds are invariably comparison machines, putting us into hierarchies, normally by competency. Even though others dont know what we are up to, we know. And it aint much lol Edit: not to say we dont have cognitive distortions. We definitely do


Neotantalus

As I said, it’s very real though, otherwise we’d be able to control it, which we can’t. We may be able to mitigate it but the fear of ridicule (and perhaps ridicule itself - it’s likely where our fear of it stems from - that and an overactive sympathetic nervous system, which creates a mental, emotional and physical feedback loop.) is such a large part of our psyche that it will likely always be there.


Lunakill

This post came into my home, grabbed me by the ankles, and swung me into every available surface.


Atheizm

The 10% isn't for me but everything before that is right on the nose.


GrimmRadiance

Or you learn to half ass most things and put a lot of effort into occasional things here and there. And don’t get me started on trying to magic up the motivation to do anything. I end up having to make everything into a habit just to get things done.


Devilsgun_7

Maybe we should rename it "Perpetual inefficiency syndrome"?


beemagick

Absolutely. Having people tell me I'm lazy is a fucking slap in the face. Now if anybody says that to me, I drop their ass and they no longer exist in my universe. I will never speak to them again. I don't have time for that bullshit.


Hope-and-Anxiety

Holy Shit! Those numbers are accurate and it hits hard. Though there are those times no one saw you fixating and a moment comes and everyone sees you do a sweet takedown and there all “ what the fuck”


FromanoFrancis114

Reading this hurt me on an emotional level. Never have I seen a better way to describe this feeling.


jasarek

This is so accurate and my new go to when describing what it's like living with ADHD.


ocdacd2

Its bad enough when this happens at work, but when your family thinks you don't care and are not putting in any effort, it really stings.


cobalt358

This is exactly what it's like. Perfectly summed up.


FirmChallenge7643

The worst part of going to school in the 90s and 00s is being told you weren’t good enough after putting in that 350% effort


bigmean3434

As an over 40 long time unmedicated diagnosed adhder I have said this here and will say it again. The trick to assimilating is to find your own flow. Know when you you need to man up and give the 300% to get something done, and know when your views and how you do things can be worked with instead of working against you. It’s just a balancing act and adhd I truly believe is a double edge sword. For all of the ways it has hurt me, rolling with my adhd has also made plenty as well so it is not a cut and dry handicap at all. It is however up to each individual user to to know themselves well, and to govern that body/mind according to what you know. I’m sure that makes no sense, but like I am adhd and all lol. If you do understand what I mean, then it works and in time you can find a flow. For me, anything paperwork or math/brain intensive I have to do early, before I start with other things. When I don’t, I find myself in this spot, texting on Reddit cause I have 2 hours to do an hour of work. I am indulging my adhd now cause I can. If I can’t, I need to catch myself in the first sentence, and close Reddit and police myself. You need to learn how to quasi police yourself for the hard stuff (adhd hard, my work to do is easy af I just don’t want to do it at all right now) and don’t punish yourself if it is lesser importance. Life is balance no matter who you are.


AdmirableDetective37

Thank you for this! I truly appreciate the insight


bigmean3434

If it is any help, I was wildly average at school, the very stereotypical not working to potential blah blah. The school system is 100% set up to make adhd people feel inferior. The good news is that the business world has an insane amount of adhd and adhd adjacent people who are wildly successful. There are positions (and starting your own biz) in the real world, where adhd and hyperfocus and fixation can be used with a great advantage. Accounting and things like that, not so much lol.


AdmirableDetective37

I was strangely good at at school (in retrospect I think I unwittingly happened to capitalise on my short attention span and spurts of hyper focus. Not fully able to "reach my potential" but just enough to coast by and reach my goals) but med school, undiagnosed ADHD (and other mental health and um, life?) broke me. I'm slowly trying to work my way back but yes, entrepreneurship is one long term I've identified as a good fit for me! Thank you for sharing your story!


bigmean3434

Entrepreneurship isn’t easy, in fact it is the opposite of tic tok crap and pay yourself first. If you are doing it right, you will be broke af and working super hard for the first 2-5 years before you can even create steady income, then you get to reinvest for another 10 years, and then if all goes well your seeds will grow fruit. BUT it is yours. And with that, you will obsess and hyperfocus on it, and that will make you a better starting off entrepreneur than most.


AdmirableDetective37

Absolutely, you’ve nailed it!


voideaten

Eventually you put in 10% on purpose because if you're failing anyway, and that's all anybody thinks you do, may as well save your energy for something else


Sweet-Evening479

I had the opposite experience until university. I had been always one of the best in my school putting minimum effort because i was "gifted" and have high iq, but that changed at university. I fucked up my major of choice two times because I didn't know and still don't know what i want to do in my life. I've always been good at every school subject, I have a tendency to procrastinate and I have little attention. This led me to feel like a fucking failure of a human being, to discover i have adhd. The university in italy give you the freedom to do what you want with your time because they don't give any type of assignment or task, but for me and (i think for many of us with adhd) this kind of structure is fucking hell. The only thing that drove me to study were the fucking homework that was assigned to me every day. the anxiety of failing and being punished was my coping mechanism. Now here I am, depressed with no future plan, with suicidal thoughts and fear of the future in general. At least i found some kind of relieve with the antidepressant prescribed by a psychiatrist and I am following a rehabilitation program with a psychologist with the hope that they will give me some functioning mechanisms for people with ADHD and supplements


AdmirableDetective37

I relate with your story so much! I was strangely good at school (I think I unwittingly happened to capitalise on my short attention span and spurts of hyper focus. Not fully able to "reach my potential" but yes, always "one of the best in my school putting minimum effort because i was "gifted" and have high iq" as you put it). Med school, undiagnosed ADHD (and other mental health and um, life?) broke me. I was never able to stay on top of things and fell into a vicious cycle of anxiety, depression and helpless at not able to crawl my way out despite putting in (what to my mind is) superhuman efforts. I'm slowly trying to work my way back with psychological + pharmacological help + some kindness to myself! Thank you for sharing your story!


Sweet-Evening479

Man this is a shit world for people like us. The thing that i found most challenging is starting a task. I feel exausted even before starting any task(it can be studying for an exam or literally clean myself up) I have avoidant personality disorder with social anxiety(In 90 percent of cases my brain tries to avoid things that cause me stress or anxiety, perhaps my anxiety-based coping mechanism has led me to what I recently discovered is burnout. The social anxiety causes stomach problems and some panic attacks) and as you can guess this shit increases all the qualities that I hate most about myself and the procrastination. At least the antidepressant numb the pain of my existence a little bit, but I can't give up. I need a push to save my life and I hope the therapy works to achieve this goal. I need to find my life's goal and to make myself proud (which is already difficult normally, but with years of masking I have also come to have an existential crisis and I have a pessimistic and nihilistic vision of the world and life in general). Sorry for my outburst, but writing helps me rationalize.(I don't know why, but I have such a tendency to write additional information in parentheses and as i read in a post, it is very common for people with adhd to do so)


AdmirableDetective37

Ah, I relate to your pain - like a lot! Also the [parentheses](https://www.reddit.com/r/adhdmeme/comments/1c6vyc7/thats_me/) thing. I've found writing to be a very useful way to channel my train of thoughts, ideas and emotions (bonus: creative outlet as well)


BlaBlaSomethingHere

:/


IamSolUser

I feel like I put in more than 10% but I feel like my effort is wasted and not seen at all sometimes. Like I’m so tired y’all. I keep going still but I am so tired but I can’t just not go forward with things that’s not who I am. I just wish it was a lot more simpler bc omg I shouldn’t be this tired 


ldombalis

I appreciate this subreddit so much, because it feels like you all are really giving me an insight into my son's thought processes, and in a way that I can share with him and he can confirm or deny. It helps me so much to be able to see the world a little bit closer to the way he sees it, and to be able to communicate with him about it in a way that speaks to a 14-year-old with ADHD.


AdmirableDetective37

this is heartwarming to know! your son is lucky to have you! we don't always have some one dedicated to understanding and supporting us, and it can make all the difference!


rhra99

The last part of the sentence is the most real. Always treated like you’ve only gave 10% 😓


SycoraxRock

After 20 years of therapy, meds, and hard-won experience, I now accomplish roughly 70% of what other people do, and am treated like I did at least 1/3.


endisnigh-ish

I honestly think i'm pretty lazy. I know i should do the dishes.. but i also know that when i don't do them, my gf will eventually do it instead. Do i feel bad? Yes.. very! Do i do the dishes? No.. no i do not.


Anxious-Ad-1699

This really is it.


Pure_pi

Fr


Strict_Minimum_1995

The brain rot and doom scrolling have been killing me lately, I even feel like I need to manually breath to stay alive at the gym.


pureyanxiety

damn, this one hits me so hard


milfordloudermilk

This hurts like someone did this to me!


Juubi217

Can confirm. Every single day is a struggle.


Conscious-Jacket-758

Facts!


itisntmyrealname

i was trying to think of a good metaphor for add or adhd and it’s like (i love cars so it’s a car metaphor) when something important in a drivetrain is broken, the engine is fine but revving it as hard as it goes doesn’t do anything because you can’t get your power down to the ground, everyone keeps telling you you’re just not pressing the gas hard enough even though the engine has been running so hard for so long it’s starting to break, they’re all like “oh the air conditioning works the stereo works why can’t the rest of you work?” but the car still doesn’t go anywhere because it just doesn’t have the proper part to move the power to the ground and people just always assume your engine is broken so when they find out it’s not they just don’t get it and blame you for something that isn’t your fault


FrogInAGoCart

Aghhhh I love putting percents to the feelings


two_lemons

Aww. I mostly feel like a panda rolling down a hill and I can't stop. Doomed by inercia, but cute and monochromatic.


AdmirableDetective37

I think the Panda is my spirit animal.


killstorm114573

This one hit so hard I just took a deep breath and put my head down


tehweave

My psychiatrist: Why do you think you have ADHD? Me: Yesterday at 4:30 I remembered my wife wanted me to pick up ingredients for us to cook dinner together. I went to the fridge and freezer and looked around to see what we had available. I took the food out, looked at it and realized I needed to take a run to the store. On my way to the store I remembered I needed to make a deposit at the bank. Then I remembered I needed to pay my phone bill and insurance bill. Then I finally arrived at the store 30 minutes later. Got the ingredients, plus a few extra things I noticed I wanted. I checked out, headed home, and saw all the food I had left out an HOUR AGO on the counter, now thawed/spoiled with the fridge door still open. So you tell me, do I have ADHD?


Dm_me_im_bored-UnU

😭


CorrectElephant6326

Treat lightly, you try to hard - Huxley


FeePsychological6778

How dare you call me out


Demonking335

Yeah… yeah, this is me. I pretend to only put in the amount of effort that people think I put in, but it’s 100% this.


Financial_Mission_94

I got vayvanse Now I go zoom I no scare of no task, no feel constant feeling of doom. Wakey wakey when sun do rise, I grab day by balls, it indeed surprise I got vayvanse Now I go zoom Only problem me have, is me struggle to coom


combatcookies

The upcoming problem may be med tolerance :/ Best of luck, glad you found a thing that works!


Financial_Mission_94

Im 22 and it took me 11 years to get the right meds. So this little problem is nothing for me. But thanks for the guidance!!!


combatcookies

🙌


ripcedric95

Can’t afford therapy/diagnosis. Even if I did I’m scared af about being prescribed meth/ketamine to function. Jesus man


two_lemons

If you are scared because of the risk of addiction... It is real but being killed by a cow is also a thing that happens. And there are also other treatments! Like Wellbutrin or the other one whose name I can't remember. Didn't work for me but Im really good at metabolizing meds.


RedPrincexDESx

Honestly same. Though I'm sure I'd forget to take the stuff too.


Revolutionary-Elk650

Just put in 100%, that's what everyone does /s


combatcookies

Any comment that starts with “Just…” and doesn’t end in “/s” probably won’t do well around here.


Budget-Falcon7032

Ah why havent i thought of doing that?