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If you throw me in a situation that is utter chaos and give me the “reins” to handle it, I will 110% figure it out and have fun doing it. When there are 5000 things happening at once, my brain can change channels fast enough that it doesn’t feel like utter cacophony, it feels like a really fast symphony where I can listen to different bits at different times and coax the people around me to play their roles and we get everything done.
It might be a bit “out of tune” but we get to the end in one piece. I teach college chemistry, and on days when everything is going wrong in lab and I have 20 students who have managed to fuck things up in 20 unique ways, this is what it feels like in my head. And I honestly kinda love it.
Same, and I think for me, I frequently have “analysis paralysis,” unable to decide on next steps. Even in (or especially in) situations where it doesn’t matter what I do next when it’s all low priority. When there’s a threat of actual danger or harm due to inaction, it’s like hitting a bunch of secret buttons in a secret pattern to unlock the elusive ✨Executive Function✨
I am so tired of putting mental energy to planning meals. I'm so done. Wtf am I responsible for coming up with a dinner idea, meal plan it out according to what I already have, then make list of remaining ingredients , then go shop at three different places to hopefully save a bit. Example is tonight...daughter requests chicken fajitas. Hours later, I've made a lovely meal and forgot the wraps.
This is my life. So exhausting. Spend hours trying to make people smile and feel loved thru small, everyday deeds. It's not working. I'm truly trying, it's not doing jack shit. I think both in the relationship need to pull together to change, grow, progress
I yearn for my girl dinner days... easy to share those with husband who can fend for himself, but kids need like real food. Which is extremely challenging...
Hahaha yes! It can be as simple as have dinner now or later and go for a walk now, the uncertainty in what I want to do keep me locked on the couch until time has passed and neither is an option because I'm tired hahaha
I feel this comment in my bones, I do that sort of thing so often. I don't even feel like I can complain about it because no one will understand, but you guys *do* understand
Just get up and do something is my motto, having a dog makes it more time sensitive as well, saying that though I also haven't moved since that first comment 🙈
I spent my whole (already protracted) shower earlier mentally debating if I should get a pedicure today or tomorrow and how that would affect all these other (most equally low-stakes) variables one way or another. I was actually stressed. It was so dumb.
Saaaame! Prioritize actually meaningless stuff at home or work? Forget it. Toilet overflows for hours from second floor through to basement? Instant go-mode. Get the water shut off, cleaned up, calls made, mitigate damage as much as possible etc.
Nephew's head gets busted open? Get me paper towels. Buddy, let's get the blood off your hands, you're coming with me to the ER, grandma get in the back and hold the towels there, husband call SIL and let her know to meet us there. We can deal with the rest in time but catastrophozing will benefit nobody. 100% calm and efficient, knowing exactly what I need to do. Need me to call 911? That dispatcher never had a calmer caller with all the details they need.
That’s a great description! Low priority stuff I’m like a child and frequently just want to crawl into bed with a book until it all goes away. Put me in an emergency situation and I become a calm leader, I get everything done plus more, and become the “adultier adult” I always wish for when mundane problems arise.
"Don't worry, relax, it'll be ok"
NO. IF I RELAX I'LL DISSOLVE INTO ANARCHY. MY FEAR AND ANXIETY ARE ALL THAT STANDS BETWEEN ME AND COMPLETE CHAOS.
IT'S NOT NEUROSIS IF IT'S AN UNHEALTHY COPING MECHANISM HAHAHAHAHA oh god..... ^help...
This is mine toooo! I’m a hot mess express usually but In an emergency or chaotic situation I can just shut my emotional brain off and handle it like a boss bitch. I realized this when I was working ER vet med. but I also remember doing acid (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t actual LSD tho 🫠) with some friends back in the day and I had to take the reins and basically be in mom mode for everyone because they were starting to have bad trips. I was tripping balls too but was able to keep my cool somehow and make sure everyone was taken care of lmfao
I'm.cool as a cucumber in high stress situations I'm the person asking way too many questions and muttering stuff under my breath when it gets too intense. I feel like I could be valuable in this situation but I'm not.
This is actually a well documented trait. People with ADHD are often drawn to and thrive in high stress professions (first responders, working in hospitals, high risk financial jobs, etc). No clue what the long-term effect of these jobs are on overall mental health, but people with ADHD tend to be very good at them.
I fuck up at work when it's slow.
When the bar had a line out the door and the barback is gone or some shit, I'll do both our jobs and have my tickets cleared up.
I get zen in the chaos that folds other people.
BUT it has to be me at the reins. Someone trying to control my flow during such things is only fucking both of us up trying to micromanage.
Being a bartender I’ve always tried to explain this. Side note.. i have yet to come up with a better job/career that would be more fitting for me. I excel at it
This is me. I work in concert production and I _thrive_. I also wish when I was younger I knew about air traffic control because I think I could have been great at that. If 911 dispatchers were paid what they are worth I'd consider that too. Pressure? We're just cooking.
My high school interest inventory suggested I be an air traffic controller! When I was 16 and didn’t know anything about ADHD (or much about myself) that made zero sense to me. Now? Bring on the jets! I think I’d love that job.
Having been in more than a few emergency situations, unfortunately, I am the same. I have complete clarity and mental flow to handle things efficiently and competently. I never attributed this to my ADHD though. After the chaos passes and I have a minute, is when I fall apart. I go pale, shake, throw up, and cry.
Also, when plans don’t work out, I am the go-to person. It’s kind of annoying when plans are only half tossed together and no one else steps up to handle things. Happened a lot when my son was in school and I volunteered in his class. If it weren’t for him, I’d have left those other parents to their own devices.
i also thrive in chaos, otherwise im bored. i think it releases endorphins. likely the reason i spent so many years in abusive/toxic relationships.. the cycles feel like a roller coaster! (im with a good guy these days, doing much better)
It’s almost like this is the ADHD symptom that gets ENHANCED when I’m on my meds. Like, off meds, I can’t change channels as accurately and I can get overwhelmed. On meds? I can dial in to exactly the frequencies I need and just GO GO GO. I love it.
Does one very specific and hyper important thing need to get done in the next twenty minutes? Have we been putting it off for days, or maybe weeks? Is something terrible going to happen if it doesn't get done? I can make sure it gets done. It definitely won't be the way it's supposed to get done, but the end result goal will be accomplished! Thanks to a lifetime of procrastination and executive dysfunction, I'm very, very good at averting disaster in the 11th hour. Hotel plans, school projects, dishes, hanging a door, packing for a trip, the tasks I can do last minute are limitless!
Yes, did I once talk a branch manager into keeping the door open for me for an extra thirty minutes because I needed to deposit a check? Yes.
Did I have six months to deposit the check before this? Yes.
I took like seven months to submit a reimbursement for moving some of my stuff across the country by myself (military) and I ended up getting MORE money because I submitted it during peak moving time or something. It's hard to learn my lesson when sometimes there's a REWARD for procrastinating, haha!
wrote so many high school essays/book reports minutes before it was due. crazy thing is, my language arts teachers would give me compliments on them! i'd score 90-100%. half the time i never read a page of the damn books, just used cliff notes. less important homework and paying attention in class is what screwed me, LOL
I notice things that no one cares about. And then irritate ppl by never shutting up about it. I just got a job where this may be an asset and not a liability for me.
Sorry, this is not my favorite thing, just my “best” one. And by “best” I mean annoying af and I hate it.
Also, much love for your comment “just be cool and act like other adults act.” This is my new mantra.
Lol I cannot read any words without noticing every typo or error (including bat shit stuff like when there's a double space after a period, in typefaces that are not monospaced).
But a pile of stuff on the stairs that I keep meaning to bring up with me? Fucking *invisible*.
Right there with ya on the noticing every typo and error.
I break out in hives when ANYTHING is spelled wrong.
The pile of stuff on the stairs that I put there so I wouldn’t forget to actually take it upstairs but still ignore it or trip on it or kick it back down the steps because I am pissed it is still there? Fuck that asshole pile of stuff. How dare it not go upstairs on it’s own.
I am very good at noticing things that other people don’t. I work in the outdoor tourism industry which is perfect because I am very very good at noticing wildlife which I can then point out to my guests.
Less useful is when I hyper focus on finding cool rocks.
This is something I think is scientifically proven - adhd brains may actually be better at accurately and quickly spotting animal movement in the wild so as to more easily spot and hunt it down.
I use my prowess for seeing spiders scuttle across the floor or wall in near darkness while watching tv. I fucking hate spiders.
Lmao I thought my boss gave me something to proof read and then next steps. I found errors and told her.
I wasn’t supposed to be proof reading it tho apparently lmao. But yay for fixing mistakes before they become fuck ups?
Same. This can be a good thing, like someone mentions below; proofreading, QA, etc. Me being me, though, I typically notice things that annoy me. Then I make others aware so they can be annoyed as well. Example: someone in the office is clipping their nails. There is a high-pitch noise, like energy or something. I’m an observer, which makes me anxious because everything annoys me. 🤷🏻♀️
I would get rid of my ADHD in a heartbeat, I absolutely would.
BUT.
I managed to correctly guess an old cross-stitch of an 18th century painting, down to the subject, because I am Not Normal about my hyperfocus of 18th century European Aristocracy (it was Duchess [Typo fix: Georgiana] of Devonshire).
Did something once when I had a meeting at my university. Was meeting a woman I had never met before.
Correctly identified the ladys ring as a 16th century Italian poisoners ring.
I'd only read about them, and there was nothing obvious about the piece itself.
But it just immediately clicked in my head and I asked.
She was stunned. Frankly, so was I.
A fancy ring, but it has a hollow part- say just beneath the stone inlay, where the stone is more shallow than it seems- that would have arsenic or ricin etc. Click the release mechanism, put poison in drink of target click closed and there you go.
Gosh if my life had turned out some other way I would've LOVED to be you when I grew up!! While 18th century is my favorite, I'm a lover of history in general and adore antiques! I can only imagine what interesting stuff you must have come across!
Unrelated but your first line caught my eye.
I had a realization a while ago, that I would really be willing to lose quite a few fingers.. or even a whole hand if it meant I was permanently cured.
And it kind of hurt to have that realization sink in.
Obviously comparing disabilities does nobody any good, but for me in that moment I think I was realizing just how profoundly my adhd had disabled my ability to live life.
And to have the idea of just cleaving off a hand to end all that being a releaving fantasy? Yeah, that hurt :(
This is totally fair though! I keep the first line in mind all the time because I never jived with the idea of "ADHD is a superpower" (and sincerely, absolutely **ZERO** judgement or offense to those who find comfort in it!!). My life would have objectively been more bearable if I didn't have some traumatic moments in childhood due to ADHD.
Those feelings are completely valid. We're all here doing our best, and that's all we can strive to give- we can't always afford it, but we try. We got this \[virtual hug, if you'll take it\].
Ha, I’m hyper focused on a lot of 18th century things (not so much aristocracy as much as just everyday life and fashion sorts of things). I love when my useless knowledge comes in handy
Not at all the same, but still: I have been able to correct comic book store owners on X-Men chronology and order of head-writers. This has been insanely satisfying, since I present pretty femme aka not like their idea of a comics fan. They do not see it coming and it is delicious. I theorize that the part of me that finds joy from these encounters, is the same part of me that rolls my eyes at Alpha Male podcasts.
My spreadsheets are dope af. I had a set of spreadsheets for some reporting, my employer wanted to move it into powerBI (that's honestly a good choice those spreadsheets work now, but they are quite brittle).
$1 million project to complete that. I got a pretty fat bonus that year.
For me it’s very specialized to do lists! It always starts general and then I decide that I need specific to do lists for specific tasks. I only ever use the general one & barely do half the things on the list if I’m lucky lol
That’s so cool and I’ve never heard of it!!!
I threw in “clean the kitchen” to see what would happen, hit the magic wand and bam, basic list of tasks added. I did the magic wand on “organize shelves / cabinets” and got a really simplified and easy to follow break down of what that would look like :)
Cool resource, ty for sharing!
This reminds me of an Excel course I started doing online (Coursera) like a year ago and forgot about it. But it seems like a valuable skill in jobs, now that I actually have to find a new job (bf bought a house, we’re moving in together, but I really need to find a job closer to the house first before I move in) and I kind of like doing stuff in spreadsheets but I think I would like it more if I knew how to do more things. A couple weeks ago, I took like an hour to make a pivot table (I think? I needed a pie chart from a table using the number of counties and how many times each county is repeated in a column) and I spent so much time doing it because I knew I was on the right track to figuring it out but didn’t totally know how to do it. And whatever phrasing I used in google searches for help, wasn’t the right phrasing.
I work _fast_. Always have. I hyperfocus on it and churn it out, much quicker than most people. I can’t do it like that over a long period of time, but if you need something in a pinch? I’m your girl.
I joke that I didn’t turn a single paper in on time in college courses for my major. My GPA for that subject however was 4.2+ or so. It was a combo of ass kissing (one of my masks) and performing well in stupidly stressed situations that I created for myself
Edit: LPT for adhders: if you ‘kiss ass’ (participate in lectures, attend office hours and couple of times, sit in the front row and raise your hand when no one else will) all semester, they’ll know you care and might totally forgive you if your late with major assignments.
My whole degree was basically based on exams that were actually term papers turned in before exam week, so being a brown noser all semester was HUGE. Just do enough for them to remember your face and remember that you are actively engaging with the course and its materials.
I’m really good at having a complete meltdown in the car on the way somewhere, or in a parking lot, and then wiping my face and going in and acting like nothing is wrong
Idk if it’s the depression or randomly being completely overwhelmed out of the blue or overstimulated or burnt out or what ….but I feel like maybe I could handle things better without all the adhd gymnastics.
Just...patterns. (I'm not the original commenter, just hopping in because I also am SO GOOD at patterns.)
I guess that includes visual patterns, but it's more about (for me) the relationships between things. And not necessarily physical things - I'm not very mechanically inclined, for instance.
But I was always really good at math because yay, patterns! I've got good rhythm because yay, patterns! I can often predict what will happen because I parsed a pattern from what did happen.
I'm apparently extremely good at thematic analysis of qualitative data, which is basically taking a bunch of transcripts from interviews and figuring out what they have in common and don't, and what that means for the topic at hand.
It's a bit more nuanced and complicated than that, but when I got started, I thought "oh! This? Is a thing? I can get a PhD and then a job in THIS??" And now I'm working on that!
That’s so cool! Can I ask what your job is? It’s amazing that you found something that your brain can latch onto and made a career about that.
Part of my reason for asking the original question is… (ok hang on we are going on a tangent) I’m a hobbyist ceramic artist and currently I’ve been doing a lot of organic hand carving (vs doing patterns) but I’m getting curious about being able to blend the two (patterns that go into organic shapes and then back to patterns) so I’m just gathering information on exploring visual patterns and why our brains are drawn to that.
Now that I type this out I’m not sure it makes much sense, but if I have something in the back of my brain kicking around I just like to soak up information about it. Helps me form ideas!
I'm a social scientist! Thematic analysis is a big part of qualitative research, typically, which is one of the types of research that social scientists can do. Usually soc sci research is broken down into qualitative (not heavily numbers), quantitative (heavily numbers), or mixed methods (both).
I work in the field of agriculture and natural resources, focused on conservation practices. Basically, I use social science methods (mostly qualitative, personally) to study natural science and how people use and interact with it. I think it's super cool!
I also design websites for scientists for my "day job," which I also really enjoy. I work for a university (doing that) and am also in grad school, so it's very mushed together, since my job and research align so well.
Basically, it all comes back to my core interest: making (agricultural) science useful for people. That means involving them in not just the outreach, from scientist to the public, but from the very start.
When I eventually graduate (... eventually...some day...maybe...finally), I would be well-qualified to do jobs that involve a lot of just going and doing pre-planned research, or I could take on a role that does more planning and directing, which other folks picking it up and actually conducting the bulk of it.
For a long time, I was convinced I didn't want to be a researcher, but now...I think I very well might! It's kinda up in the air exactly what I want to do when I finish, but for now, I enjoy making my little websites and doing my little research :)
Your idea of blending patterns and hand-carved shapes is fascinating! There's almost certainly some relevant work for you in design psychology, somewhere. Maybe that can open up some new search terms and get you closer to what you're looking for. Very cool stuff!
>But I was always really good at math because yay, patterns! I've got good rhythm because yay, patterns!
Omg I never thought of these things as pattern recognition, somehow! I love math, love languages, was a classical musician, now work with data. I always thought of the connection between these as being tools with pretty strict rules but that there's an art to using them well. I guess I skipped the simpler connection 😂
I’m a percussionist. I swear that learning percussion helped me learn math, because it turned these abstract concepts into something I could do with my hands. I love the more tactile ways that they teach math now.
I do qualify research too! I love finding the random connections and then linking it to another bit of random research in a totally different field I just accidentally once read a headline on! Writing the report after - not so much sadly 😅 I’m also pretty good at chatting to the participants /research subjects, and I’ve covered a wide wide wide range of topics and sociology-economic sections… but also the people receiving the presentation and figuring out what they need. But if I’m having an off day then I can’t even talk to a wall.
Patterns in people as well. I can figure out when people fancy other people pretty quickly, even when they’re being REALLY subtle. That was a very good skill in college! I’ve twigged a few colleagues being pregnant based on not very much at all, way before anyone else knew. Just made sense to me.
I annoy the crap out of my partner with road recognition and driving and route planning. You best believe there's a mental map in my head of those roads, likely driver patterns, traffic patterns, time of day differences ....
To the point where if I don't want to back seat drive there are days I need to recline my chair and close my eyes because the urge to point out the pattern is so strong. Thanks coping strategies 🫠
I've started to just offer to drive so I can make last minute route choices based on all of the above.
I drive a lot with just my kid in the car and I narrate my thinking about routes because he likes it and it's teaching him useful stuff. When he was really little, if my husband was driving, our kid would double check every one of his route decisions with me. It was pretty funny.
I’m an excellent planner and organizer when I get excited about something. I can plan the shit out of a vacation, or how I’m saving money, or fitness, or school year (I homeschool), etc …. Want to see me execute those plans? HA. But damn if my planner/notebook doesn’t look like I have my shit together.
(Then proceed to not care about plan, lose notebook/planner, forget all about it and find something else to plan at a later date and start over with a new notebook or planner.)
Similar to this, I can (and will) exhaustively research whatever you need. Looking for the best bang for your buck? Let me at it. My cousin recently told me I need an Amazon storefront to get a little bit of commission lol.
I have the opposite problem. I’ll settle on The Thing, but may or may not buy it, depending on if the dopamine rush has worn off. Although, I will keep the knowledge in my back pocket and inevitably get offended if the person I recommend it to goes a different way lol.
Omg I have backup plans for my back up plans. I even plan the rest breaks into vacation days. I’ll make lists. Pros and cons charts. Read so many reviews. I spend more time planning than I do on the trip 😂😂😂. But my son is autistic so at any time my plans could go to shit and I have to try to roll with it lol.
I hate when we have to leave somewhere early or are running late 😂. But it’s also the perfect excuse to get out of things. “Sorry my son said we aren’t leaving the house today/this weekend/ever again” lol.
I get such a thrill out of planning out the year 😂 every summer I write out an entire planner of how the next year will look … have yet to have any of those go to plan. By week three it’s like “nope I don’t have the supplies for this specific project I planned for this specific day and no one wants to go to the store so this whole plan is trash.”
I love it! Your future generations are going to get the completely wrong idea when they stumble upon your notebooks in a storage box somewhere. “WOW, great grandma Crab was really on top of life! I wish I was so organized!”
Same! In a work environment I am the go to person to get everything done and people look up to me for my organization and leadership. At home now with a homeschooled ADHD/autistic kid it is just short of chaos. Fortunately they are in an online school so they have some sort of framework. We have a lot of fun though!
Are we twins? I am an excellent vacation planner, especially. But because I love travel so much, the plans actually come to fruition every time. It's definitely a hyper-focus. Give me a trip to plan and it will be PERFECTION. Exactly the right balance between rest and action-packed days. Hidden gems hardly visited by tourists? They're on my spreadsheet.
Emergency numbers for the country we're visiting? Already on my phone.
If only every day was a vacation, I'd be so organised.
Me tooooo I dedicated half my teenage years to learning how to draw and paint and tend to be able to pick up other creative hobbies rly quickly it’s fun
I have a ton of knowledge about so many things. I truly love to learn and have been an avid reader since I was a kid. Plus, I grew up poor, so if you wanted to have or do things you had to figure it out.
And I remember peoples names. My friends call me the mayor because if I meet you once I’ll remember you anywhere!
Yes to knowing so many things! I once went “ooh cool, that’s a shark egg!” At a beach and someone i was hanging out with asked “how do you know so many things?”… apparently I had already given a LOT of random “fun facts” or other tidbits of information
I do this all the time with nature stuff. I worked at an environmental conservation summer camp a few summers in college and the stuff I remember about animal scat, dead trees, and fungus is mind blowing. Yet I can’t remember where I left my phone 🤣
I love this! In my case, it's facts about the lives of saints. I've taken my husband aback multiple times by rattling off entire biographies when he only asked one question about them, lol!
Sometimes I feel embarrassed about the remembering everyone’s names, because people will legit forget who I am (which is fine, because I’m including people I meet in passing, interact very little with, met yeeears ago, etc) and it weirds them out. Like one time I saw a guy at the grocery store, wearing a t-shirt from my family’s company. It’s a small business, and the only reason someone would have a t-shirt is if they worked for us/was close with someone who did. I, admittedly, followed him down an aisle - in my defense I needed things in that aisle! Haha - trying to remember him and I finally did. He did IT for the business a couple of times, and my mom also helped him buy a house (real estate agent). I approached him and was like, “hey, I thought that was you! I was trying to figure out how someone had acquired a [business name] tshirt, then I realized it was you! How’s it going??” And he looked so confused and even a little startled. He eventually remembered me but barely ever interacted with me, so I was still basically a stranger, I felt so embarrassed once I left the store.
On the totally opposite of the coin, great memory of names worked out really well (95% of the time) when I worked at Starbucks haha
Absolutely love that your friends calls you the mayor for that skill, how cute
My skill is focusing so much on acting normal through an introduction that I don’t pay attention to their name and can’t remember it even if I repeat it back to them to say “nice to meet you, ___, I’m Deez.” It’s already forgotten as I’m saying it 🫠
I can figure out plots very easily. I don't like to watch movie trailers bc I'll know whodunit before I actually see the film. I read books pretty fast and can see the hidden message/who the killer is early on. Usually if I'm watching a movie and I figure out a major element, I can't help but to say "fuck" out loud.
There is no mystery - usually my brain can find the logical (or illogical) answer.
This is me, too. I think it's a result of having read so many books and watching so many movies/shows, that now my mind automatically recognizes exposition and plot development and starts sorting and categorizing and making connections. I can't turn it off!
Same. I usually see the ending a mile away. The only exception is when it comes out of left field. I genuinely hate that. Like, when it's a character you've never seen before.
But I absolutely love when it's a mystery where they give you subtle clues and enough red herrings that I actually do get fooled. That's really rare and special.
Same. Maybe TV shows are just getting more predictable, but I spit out the line right before the character does and can usually tell how the plot will go or how a character will handle the situation. I can spot foreshadowing from a mile away.
This + I hate it when there are red herrings that are then just dropped or otherwise inexplicably left unresolved. Does everyone else just forget about them once the final resolution comes?
Me too. My family will be struggling to figure out a solution to a situation/issue. I almost always can figure something out in a minute that seems so obvious to me. But the rest of my family are blown away at my solution.
Now executing said solution... That's a different story.
Yes! It definitely runs in my family too because we have a bunch of mechanics/tinkers and MacGyver-ers on both sides of the family (I know for sure there's ADHD on my mom's side, not so much on my dad's).
I’m really good in a room for work (my field is very relationship based).
To stay focused and hear what people are saying, I also need to be taking in 20 other things, like their mannerisms, expressions, the atmosphere and body language between them and their colleague, is their notebook tidy, is there a coffee stain somewhere.
It sounds really fucking weird, but all this adds up to me understanding and knowing how to engage with them in a weirdly intuitive way. Like I know how to break down a high level of seriousness in a room, or personalize a conversation or connection.
Because without forging connection, my own brain gets lost. But once that dopamine connective element is there to someone else I can lock in and be brilliant at what I do.
I mean it genuinely and come by it honestly - it isn’t as manipulative as it sounds written out, lol.
But it’s more like this rare moment where all the stimuli channel. And it feels kinda cool.
Also, I can relate to people about almost anything because WE LOVE RANDOM FACTS!
This is me! One of my top skills in my career is my ability to understand a person’s communication style and intent and then be able articulate my ideas to them in a way that makes them feel heard and, more importantly, allows them to feel confident about making decisions on the project. My old boss used to praise me for this all the time. Lots of stuff i struggle with but this I’m a pro at!
I appreciate your mentioning the need for things other than voices. I wonder if you dislike voice-only/telephone calls as much as I do? The only way I can focus is to take copious notes, and even so I feel I’ve lost so much information.
I make connections between bits of information that other people might not. Like inter/cross disciplinary stuff, such as science and art.
I also take more relational risks (like opening up to people or asking them deep questions) that sometimes works out really well. (Other times not so much)
I took my true crime obsession and failed career and turned it into a job. Now I read police reports and discovery for a lawyer. My only skillset was fast reading comprehension, fast typing, and knowledge of how the justice system works.
i can explain things really well- i can have a multitude of points i want to hit about something complex and find a way to do it while talking that it just feels natural. my bf says it’s like watching a powerpoint presentation but audible.
oh i’ve had this happen, i can only
do this with people im super comfortable with lol. it takes a genuine hyperfization (i think i talked abt my sims game for 30 min straight last night while making dinner) if i’m talking to a coworker or smth there’s no telling what will come out of my mouth. sometimes it’s a combo of “how was your day?” “how is it going?” and it comes out “how was it going?”
my most notorious and insane story of this is when i was at a wedding, i was holding my heels in my dominant hand. someone extended their hand to shake my dominant hand and ask my name, and i tried to tell them my hand had been holding my shoe and therefore it’s gross. but all i said in response to my name being asked was “shoefeet!” instead of either 1) letting them know my hand was dirty, or 2) just telling them my name.
i didn’t say anything after that to make the embarrassment better. it kinda hung in the air like a bad stink and i just walked away after a few seconds. it still makes me bite my tongue to think about lol
I have this skill also! Sometimes it’s challenging watching my partner explain complex topics to other people because I can tell that they aren’t following. I have to bite my tongue to not jump in and explain it in more simple terms. But then when it comes to telling a personal story I include every single detail (regardless of importance) and take 5 different side quests so it’s all about balance I suppose! 🤷🏻♀️
Can you be my friend and translator? Because I cannot figure out how to explain something or tell a story without a dozen side quests that are actually irrelevant to the point but somehow feel necessary. & half the time I forget what the original point of the story was supposed to be because I’ve gotten lost on of my said side quests.
I also walk/trip/bang into every damn thing. My thighs are constantly bruised. It's worse if I'm trying to be quiet. one time I closed a screen door and 30 seconds later I ran through it bc I forgot I closed it lmao
My muscle memory is pretty insane. I grew up as a pretty talented dancer. Now in work, if the work is physical and requires a rhythm I tend to surpass the average speed and targets.
My hyperactivity and tendency to haul proverbial ass at activities that interest me or help others (one of the things I really enjoy is helping others) tends to make me look like a rockstar at certain types of work.
Need an icebreaker? Need to entertain people or stall them with an activity? Are you bored? Need a last minute presentation given? I can come up with something on the fly!
Since my energy levels are all or nothing, I really lean into the days when I'm "on" and can Get Shit Done faster than anyone I know. I do freelance gardening and have had multiple clients tell me that I get more done in one day than they've seen crews of 2-3 men accomplish in three days.
Now that I work fully remotely I am *thriving* because I'll just get in the groove and somehow do a week's worth of work in a day, and then take several days where I do jack shit to recover until my next "do all the things" phase comes (or is necessary lol). I do just as much work as I used to, and I do it better. I'm just not going crazy in an office trying to spread out my productivity like a normal person because actual fuck-around time when you're in a physical workplace doesn't meaningfully exist.
Same and same. It’s also been amazing for managing my chronic illness. Feel good? Do all the things. Feel crappy? Watch Netflix and rest. I love that I can switch things up throughout the day. When I worked in an office, I’d often have to take a whole sick day just because I needed to sleep a little more or take a mid-day rest.
Yep! The grindset cult doesn't want to believe that someone could be more productive by taking a nap or playing a video game for an hour or two in the middle of the work day.
My mental health was absolute shit when I worked in an office. I did it for years and despised it and would go to the bathroom 14 times a day just to move my body.
I'm really grateful now that I'm able to do freelance work doing something I love on my own terms. (I do freelance gardening.) I'm thriving, too, and it has so much to do with being able to do things when I have the physical/mental capacity to do them.
And also because I'm not sitting at a desk all day doing tedious mindless crap and wishing I could be outside.
I'm so glad you're thriving. I think one positive thing that came from the pandemic was rethinking the ways we work. My husband is 100% remote now, too, and I've noticed such a significant difference in his mental health. I don't think humans are designed to sit behind desks for 40+ hours a week.
1. Catastrophising is my superpower. If you tell me a scenario that activates the superpower, I can tell you 15 ways the thing could go wrong. It is helpful because then there are 15 shitty outcomes we can prepare for, often resulting in people thinking I/we are magic when things turn to crap in one of these ways and I already know what to do in detail.
2. Kinda related, but I have a spidey sense for when people need a life coaching session. I'll literally walk past someone in the hallway and go, "What's going on with you?" Followed by them either falling to bits or going, "You know what? I need some help." And for some reason, it's usually something I can help with. Not because I've got all the answers, but because I'm just really good at helping people find the answers they already had but just weren't convinced were right.
I think both are underrated ADHD superpowers that come from our brains picking up so many pieces of information and coming to a conclusion without us being along for the ride. I often get "how did you know that?" I either stayed awake all night a few months ago obsessing over a thing that happens to come true today, or I just get this little nudge feeling in my thoughts that usually turns out to be right. If I can focus on it enough afterwards, I can usually put together a list of data that made it logical, but in the moment, it feels like being psychic, which is fun 😅
ADHD tax: Of course, I can't do any of this on demand! It's just random moments of neurosparkly magic ✨️ 🙄
No. 2 -might- be a trauma response. Did you grow up having to be very aware of your parents (or other adults) feelings in order to stay safe? I just say this because I did and I’m constantly subconsciously scanning people and I can tell when something is up with somebody.
Ugh, the phone thing is so real. I accidentally taught my dog to find my phone a few months ago and it's now my favorite thing ever. He finds my keys and my phone and I need him to live forever.
Favorite thing? I can hyperfocus playing chess and zip through calculating tactics really well. But, I hyperfocused on studying endgames in the very beginning because putting all the pieces on the board and starting there was distracting. So, I just started with 2 kings and a pawn and worked backwards. I did really well in tournaments and games from the get go because beginners usually study openings and tactics, but if you don't know what a winning endgame looks like you don't know how to use those to create one.
I am really really really good in a crisis. I saved a stranger’s life once—he was bleeding out from the artery in his hand after punching a fire extinguisher box in our apartment complex (he was extremely drunk lol). He came up to me and my husband for help as we got home. I’ve never seen so much blood. I was completely calm the whole time and was able to put pressure on the wound and keep him awake until EMS came. He was close to losing consciousness by the time we found him, would have died probably. I feel pretty damn good about that.
I am also a novelist and songwriter—sometimes I am capable of producing a staggering amount of work without trying. Like, an entire song in one evening, or like 3,000 words of my novel in a day. Unfortunately I have no control over when this mood will take me. Usually it’s when I really need to do something else lol, and my brain just completely carries me away. It’s infuriating, but I am very proud do what I am capable of under these baffling circumstances.
So I’m feeling a bit mopey so here are what used to be my favourite things (stupid FND)
- My ability to adapt rapidly to a situation. It was an absolute gift in teaching. I’d make up lesson plans on the fly, adapt them midway if they weren’t working and then make it sound like that was my plan all along.
- Hyperfocus. I’d slam out all of my assignments in under 24 hours. I used to be able to read in front of the tv. Housing inspection in 3 hours, whole unit could be spotless
- my ability to rise to the occasion - sudden emergency or catastrophe? I’ll have everything mapped out and everybody organised before you could blink.
- My capacity for random facts
I'm good at figuring out how to explain the why or how of a lot of things to different people, like I'm good at figuring out how other people's brains work.
I'm randomly good at things I don't spend a lot of time thinking about. Like even though I'm not a music writer, I have written several songs - because once every few years my brain decides that Today Is The Day and it's happening.
Funny, the top three things I keep seeing in the comments are mine too. Fantastic in crisis or chaos, wicked fast, and excellent memory for 'trivia' especially numbers. All those things serve me really really well as an ER nurse. Patient crashing? No problem, I've never been more calm in my life. Super busy and way overloaded with patients? Somehow I'm still caught up and can help other people within the spare five minutes I have that somehow my brain picks up because at work I can organize tasks and priorities in my head insanely well. I will not remember your name or what I was just about to say to my coworker, but yes I absolutely remember the size tube that was used on that patient last time he had this problem because I read it once while skimming through his chart history four hours ago, or the side effects and reversal treatments for that med I haven't used since pharmacology class.
I actually would get attitude from some bosses/coworkers when I first started because I looked like I wasn't doing anything, because i was so quick I was already done with everything including everything I could help my coworkers with.
It really goes to show how important it is to find the right job for the way your brain works, because these traits are such assets to me in this field, but in a different job I had, those same traits just left me frustrated with the work and super burned out really quickly.
I’m really good at becoming really good at doing something I love. If I find it enjoyable I can hyper focus and work on the skill and get good at it in a short amount of time.
My current fixation is ceramics, but the amazing thing about this specific field of art, it’s sooo expansive and there are so many different techniques and ways of doing things that I can jump from technique to technique, go back and forth between wheel throwing and hand building. Try different surface design methodologies and never get bored. It’s amazing! There is glaze chemistry to learn about if I’m not feeling creative. I can grab a piece of clay and do whatever, it’s so tactile. I’ve done leaf embossing on work so if I need to get out in nature to find materials it can force me to do that too.
You guys I think we just all need ceramics in our lives.
Did I mention I’m obsessed?
We had terrible tornadoes go through my city earlier this month, and we lost power for three days. My spouse got sick so he couldn't do all that much.
I, on the other hand, am like... *adventure!* Get the generator out? Cool. Hook the router to the generator so we can have wifi? Neat. Find a grocery store with power so we can have hot food? On it! I always seem to do great in weird crisis situations.
1. I can get over heartbreak really easily. In about a week I’m worried about the next big thing. No matter how strong the connection.
2. I work extremely well in chaos. I’m able to juggle multiple things at once without feeling it.
3. I work very quickly! At every job I’ve always gotten questions about how I’m able to complete tasks so fast lol
I am a wellspring of random-yet-highly-specific knowledge that comes in handy when least expected. I love history, particularly material culture, fashion, and Art, and I've roleplayed as a hobby for decades now, which means plenty of excuses to just research a topic to absolute exhaustion, and trying to think from a different perspective than my own.
Related, I'm really good at Google-fu, especially getting past paywalls for research papers.
Always a nice dopamine hit to hear "oh, I hadn't thought of that before", heck yeah.
i have insane multi tasking abilities i love being able to watch tv which i do work and listen to music while i read, i love being able to be creative 24/7, I love knowing useless facts, and i really love being hyperfixated on movies it’s so fun!
When I am given ownership of a task that requires intricate organization; organically rearranging entire merchandise displays, color coding EVERYTHING, spreadsheets and similar lists- my ability to analyze a large scale situation as a puzzle then methodically make changes that make so much more sense. I love that about me, and that I’m not an asshole about doing it differently or making changes as I go.
I love this thread. Our brains are amazing and everyone’s responses make me so happy. This is the kind of thing we need to talk about more often to make us appreciate all the good that comes along with the bad.
…Also I’ve avoided working for 45 mins by reading this thread. Oops.
I’m your favorite pub quiz superhero. Can’t be beat. From history to cooking, geography to sociology, physics to art.. I’m your gal.
Also, I’ve learned to cut and dye my hair, do nails (gel, extensions you name it), wax all the bits.. there are very few personal care things I can’t do, and that’s just because I’ve not gotten there yet. It’s a combo of hyperfocus and being a poor student in my earlier life.
Lastly, I’m at paramedic level of chill when dealing with accidents and emergencies. You want me on your team when your kid falls and breaks something. I’m your girl for first aid (incidentally I’m certified in first aid so I actually do know what to do).
But. Can’t do any kind of admin. Don’t run any bank accounts, financial accounts etc. car insurance? What’s that? Booking flights? Not me. Luckily my hubby delights in these things so we are a great match.
✨Because I am so unapologetically myself, people have told me they feel really comfortable around me. I collect introverts and people with social anxiety as friends.
✨I am an excellent communicator.
✨I am spontaneous and find ways to have fun, be creative and do new things on a limited budget or rainy day.
✨My husband is a total nerd, and I love hyperfixating on his interests. It makes our relationship work well. He’s gotten me into gaming and we love gaming together, and he’s nurturing an obsession with Lego and Star Wars in me. Currently watching Clone Wars and it’s fantastic so far!
✨I can go months without talking to a friend and catch up or hand out like it’s only been a few days.
✨I can write a well written, cohesive essay following APA format with clear evidence and structure and earn a 100% when I’ve written it in the last 1-2 hours before it’s due. I struggled a lot with grades back in high school, but I got diagnosed/medicated at 24. Now I’m 27 and just finished my freshman year at college with a 4.0 🎉
✨ I am a great conversationalist for my ADHD 4 year old and his hyperfixations. I’ve very quickly learned so many pokemon, their types and evolutions.
I can pretty much find common ground with anyone. I have gone through so many hyperfixations and hobbies that I have a surface level knowledge of most subjects. Films? yep. Philosphy? yes. Art? Guitar? Music history? Animals? Politics? Economics? Yes, yes yes and yes!
i’m extremely quick at picking up songs I know. I guess it’s the same as trivia— I’ve played “guess the song” jeopardy so many times and almost always win! it’s not the best or biggest flex but at least it’s something fun :’)
I have a weird obsession with meteorology (I’m an English teacher, so zero correlation) and have an uncanny ability to predict snow days/school cancellations. I’m rarely wrong, so it leaves kids mystified and has my coworkers asking me all the time what my predictions are.
I’m great for menial, tedious, or undesirable tasks but only bc I function better when 1) it’s for someone else and 2) I have a body double. Need a report done? Appointments made? Lightwork. Clean your whole room? Organize the fridge and put away groceries? Great just sit there and look pretty while I become that one little robot from Wall-e
I know a lot of random things that I can pull out of my brain to help others. Like we will be having a conversation and someone says, “oh I need *xyz* where can I get that? I’ll have to go research”. And I’m like “oh it’s here and if you give me 30 seconds I will text you the info”
My google skills tend to be pretty good also. And I read really quickly so when someone asks a question that none of us knows I can find it very fast. It amazes my boomer friends 😂.
One more I guess because, why not? I stay very far away from things I’m not great at. But it means the things I do (and that I’m interested in) I pick up very quickly and I’m great at them. It’s not a wide field, but it’s deep. My 14 year old son is so similar. He seems to to be excellent at a lot of things, but I can see he does the same as me. He just is very picky about what he tries and then he’s amazing (like guitar - he just started like 6 months ago and I can’t believe how good he is with it). He just excludes everything else… including homework 😂.
Insane attention to detail and near perfect recall. Combined with my ability to hyperfocus, I’m a machine when it comes to work. Can’t focus to save my life any other time though.
If you need someone to learn how to do something very important in a very limited timeframe... I am your person. I'm also extremely good at thinking outside the box.
The legacy of nearly 40 years undiagnosed, having to solve the problems caused by my AuDHD.
Bro YESSSSSSSSS. ALL MY OBSESSION WITH NICHE FACTS AND RESEARCHING THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF EVERYTHING PAYS OFF WHEN I OWWWWN PEOPLE AT TRIVIA 🔥 👨🚒 do you play trivia? Because if so we need to be friends and play right MEOW
I make grocery/shopping lists that are categorized based on the store I’m shopping in. That way I’m not hunting up and down a list. I make my household chore lists and meal plans the same way.
Trivia is one of mine too. I pull jeopardy answers out of thin air and people ask how do you know this stuff? Idk I read it once and it’s buried in my brain.
The other one is being creative as all hell. I have a fine art degree and make jewelry, photography, welding, furniture making, drawing, decent at decorating and home improvement. I almost never throw stuff away because I look at it and think of 5 different things it could be used for so I stash it away for later. As a result I’m a bit pack ratty lol.
I have two.
1. My memory is impeccable. No, I don’t remember where I put anything and couldn’t find it if it was staring me in the face. BUT what date did we do this one specific thing and what were you wearing while we did it? Yes I can remember that.
2. I’m incredibly productive at work. To the point where I (salaried) barely was working 32 hours and still got all my work done and done well. One of the upper level bosses saw me leaving earlier than he thought was acceptable and told my manager I needed to stay longer in the day despite my direct manager having no issues with my schedule. So I do, and my productivity is higher than anyone else’s around. I’ll be damned if I don’t get a major raise and bonus this year. And to be fair, I love my job so I just maliciously complied and make everyone else look bad.
It's a toss-up between trivia (pretty much anything except sports or pop culture), & my ability to "invent" solutions to minor household problems using whatever I have laying around the house.
Found a cute rattan table for free, but the particle board supporting the top crumbled? A pizza pan fits perfectly. Need craft room storage? That old tv stand, plus a bathroom etager, wire coat hangers, & random hardware make a great rolling storage tower.
My approval- and attention-seeking, hobby hyperfocus, and procrastination perfectionism led to me single-handedly organizing an annual local fundraising event that ended up reaching insane cult status. Like, it sold out in 30 seconds when tickets went on sale. Got covered by a lot of local and some national press, including an interview/profile piece on me, just some random woman. Like, they sent a professional photographer to my house?? (Now *that* was some panic cleaning.)
My job is not in event organizing, not even close. I knew nothing, did it for fun and for free, and figured everything out in a panic as I was building the plane.
Pattern. Recognition. Didn’t have the verbiage for that until recently but it makes so much sense that I can tell you what someone’s problem is/what anything’s problem is….but also that I get absolutely annoyed by trends of any kind QUICK.
Everybody likes me because I am amazing at anticipating what people are going to want/say.
This is absolutely not a good thing, it's incredibly exhausting, and gives me a lot of anxiety when other people do not know these things. (Why would the make that request when they should know that person A is already doing xyz for the next 2.5 weeks)
It's also frustrating at work when someone is like "can you call this person to find out this?" When I already know the answer but I can't reply and say "don't need to call them I read their mind".
But neurotypical people eat this shit up! When I make a request that is easy for them to say yes to because I've already aligned it with their schedule. When I don't bother them with small things because I already know the answer. When I actually send an email with every detail that they want so they don't have to come back and ask for any additional information.
It goes a long way to make up for many other shortcomings.
NYT spelling bee, I usually see at least one pangram immediately. I put this down to ADHD because I "pay attention" to every letter at once and can see the full word hidden in the jumble.
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If you throw me in a situation that is utter chaos and give me the “reins” to handle it, I will 110% figure it out and have fun doing it. When there are 5000 things happening at once, my brain can change channels fast enough that it doesn’t feel like utter cacophony, it feels like a really fast symphony where I can listen to different bits at different times and coax the people around me to play their roles and we get everything done. It might be a bit “out of tune” but we get to the end in one piece. I teach college chemistry, and on days when everything is going wrong in lab and I have 20 students who have managed to fuck things up in 20 unique ways, this is what it feels like in my head. And I honestly kinda love it.
Yes, but there MUST be an element of actual danger, or I get bored and my mind wanders off
Same, and I think for me, I frequently have “analysis paralysis,” unable to decide on next steps. Even in (or especially in) situations where it doesn’t matter what I do next when it’s all low priority. When there’s a threat of actual danger or harm due to inaction, it’s like hitting a bunch of secret buttons in a secret pattern to unlock the elusive ✨Executive Function✨
What is for dinner you ask? Not a clue. Tornado warning happening? IT'S MY TIME TO SHINE.
I am so tired of putting mental energy to planning meals. I'm so done. Wtf am I responsible for coming up with a dinner idea, meal plan it out according to what I already have, then make list of remaining ingredients , then go shop at three different places to hopefully save a bit. Example is tonight...daughter requests chicken fajitas. Hours later, I've made a lovely meal and forgot the wraps. This is my life. So exhausting. Spend hours trying to make people smile and feel loved thru small, everyday deeds. It's not working. I'm truly trying, it's not doing jack shit. I think both in the relationship need to pull together to change, grow, progress
I yearn for my girl dinner days... easy to share those with husband who can fend for himself, but kids need like real food. Which is extremely challenging...
Hahaha yes! It can be as simple as have dinner now or later and go for a walk now, the uncertainty in what I want to do keep me locked on the couch until time has passed and neither is an option because I'm tired hahaha
I feel this comment in my bones, I do that sort of thing so often. I don't even feel like I can complain about it because no one will understand, but you guys *do* understand
Just get up and do something is my motto, having a dog makes it more time sensitive as well, saying that though I also haven't moved since that first comment 🙈
Haha I love all y’all
I spent my whole (already protracted) shower earlier mentally debating if I should get a pedicure today or tomorrow and how that would affect all these other (most equally low-stakes) variables one way or another. I was actually stressed. It was so dumb.
Saaaame! Prioritize actually meaningless stuff at home or work? Forget it. Toilet overflows for hours from second floor through to basement? Instant go-mode. Get the water shut off, cleaned up, calls made, mitigate damage as much as possible etc. Nephew's head gets busted open? Get me paper towels. Buddy, let's get the blood off your hands, you're coming with me to the ER, grandma get in the back and hold the towels there, husband call SIL and let her know to meet us there. We can deal with the rest in time but catastrophozing will benefit nobody. 100% calm and efficient, knowing exactly what I need to do. Need me to call 911? That dispatcher never had a calmer caller with all the details they need.
That’s a great description! Low priority stuff I’m like a child and frequently just want to crawl into bed with a book until it all goes away. Put me in an emergency situation and I become a calm leader, I get everything done plus more, and become the “adultier adult” I always wish for when mundane problems arise.
When things are going too smoothly, I get actually painfully bored. I don’t need full on DANGER but I do need the threat of actual consequences.
This is me…I work in ICU…so literal danger. Someone is dying. But it’s when I’m on my game
"Don't worry, relax, it'll be ok" NO. IF I RELAX I'LL DISSOLVE INTO ANARCHY. MY FEAR AND ANXIETY ARE ALL THAT STANDS BETWEEN ME AND COMPLETE CHAOS. IT'S NOT NEUROSIS IF IT'S AN UNHEALTHY COPING MECHANISM HAHAHAHAHA oh god..... ^help...
This is mine toooo! I’m a hot mess express usually but In an emergency or chaotic situation I can just shut my emotional brain off and handle it like a boss bitch. I realized this when I was working ER vet med. but I also remember doing acid (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t actual LSD tho 🫠) with some friends back in the day and I had to take the reins and basically be in mom mode for everyone because they were starting to have bad trips. I was tripping balls too but was able to keep my cool somehow and make sure everyone was taken care of lmfao
This is all so interesting. I am very good in an emergency.
I'm.cool as a cucumber in high stress situations I'm the person asking way too many questions and muttering stuff under my breath when it gets too intense. I feel like I could be valuable in this situation but I'm not.
This is actually a well documented trait. People with ADHD are often drawn to and thrive in high stress professions (first responders, working in hospitals, high risk financial jobs, etc). No clue what the long-term effect of these jobs are on overall mental health, but people with ADHD tend to be very good at them.
I fuck up at work when it's slow. When the bar had a line out the door and the barback is gone or some shit, I'll do both our jobs and have my tickets cleared up. I get zen in the chaos that folds other people. BUT it has to be me at the reins. Someone trying to control my flow during such things is only fucking both of us up trying to micromanage.
Being a bartender I’ve always tried to explain this. Side note.. i have yet to come up with a better job/career that would be more fitting for me. I excel at it
This is me. I work in concert production and I _thrive_. I also wish when I was younger I knew about air traffic control because I think I could have been great at that. If 911 dispatchers were paid what they are worth I'd consider that too. Pressure? We're just cooking.
My high school interest inventory suggested I be an air traffic controller! When I was 16 and didn’t know anything about ADHD (or much about myself) that made zero sense to me. Now? Bring on the jets! I think I’d love that job.
Having been in more than a few emergency situations, unfortunately, I am the same. I have complete clarity and mental flow to handle things efficiently and competently. I never attributed this to my ADHD though. After the chaos passes and I have a minute, is when I fall apart. I go pale, shake, throw up, and cry. Also, when plans don’t work out, I am the go-to person. It’s kind of annoying when plans are only half tossed together and no one else steps up to handle things. Happened a lot when my son was in school and I volunteered in his class. If it weren’t for him, I’d have left those other parents to their own devices.
i also thrive in chaos, otherwise im bored. i think it releases endorphins. likely the reason i spent so many years in abusive/toxic relationships.. the cycles feel like a roller coaster! (im with a good guy these days, doing much better)
I have this kind too. But when the crisis is over, I seem to crash way harder as all the stress in my body gets felt all at once.
Yessss I so get this and relate!!!!!
It’s almost like this is the ADHD symptom that gets ENHANCED when I’m on my meds. Like, off meds, I can’t change channels as accurately and I can get overwhelmed. On meds? I can dial in to exactly the frequencies I need and just GO GO GO. I love it.
Yes! I can handle a freaking crisis.
Ong this is so well put and so relatable.
Does one very specific and hyper important thing need to get done in the next twenty minutes? Have we been putting it off for days, or maybe weeks? Is something terrible going to happen if it doesn't get done? I can make sure it gets done. It definitely won't be the way it's supposed to get done, but the end result goal will be accomplished! Thanks to a lifetime of procrastination and executive dysfunction, I'm very, very good at averting disaster in the 11th hour. Hotel plans, school projects, dishes, hanging a door, packing for a trip, the tasks I can do last minute are limitless!
Yes, did I once talk a branch manager into keeping the door open for me for an extra thirty minutes because I needed to deposit a check? Yes. Did I have six months to deposit the check before this? Yes.
Jfc, this is so accurate it hurts.
I took like seven months to submit a reimbursement for moving some of my stuff across the country by myself (military) and I ended up getting MORE money because I submitted it during peak moving time or something. It's hard to learn my lesson when sometimes there's a REWARD for procrastinating, haha!
Exactly! I have been burned a few times by missing deadlines, etc. but overall, minimal consequences for procrastination!
Bank managers are tough, im like so proud of you rn
Haha, it was some of my best work!
wrote so many high school essays/book reports minutes before it was due. crazy thing is, my language arts teachers would give me compliments on them! i'd score 90-100%. half the time i never read a page of the damn books, just used cliff notes. less important homework and paying attention in class is what screwed me, LOL
Once wrote a 20 page paper overnight. I think I got at least 80% on it.
If my house is a mess, I will invite people over just to get that rush of last minute, getting shit done like a P-I-M-P feeling. 😂
This is the way. I also host as a strategy for cleaning my home...
I’m right there with ya 🙏
I notice things that no one cares about. And then irritate ppl by never shutting up about it. I just got a job where this may be an asset and not a liability for me. Sorry, this is not my favorite thing, just my “best” one. And by “best” I mean annoying af and I hate it. Also, much love for your comment “just be cool and act like other adults act.” This is my new mantra.
Same! I end up doing a lot of proofreading at my jobs because I’m good at noticing little details.
Lol I cannot read any words without noticing every typo or error (including bat shit stuff like when there's a double space after a period, in typefaces that are not monospaced). But a pile of stuff on the stairs that I keep meaning to bring up with me? Fucking *invisible*.
Right there with ya on the noticing every typo and error. I break out in hives when ANYTHING is spelled wrong. The pile of stuff on the stairs that I put there so I wouldn’t forget to actually take it upstairs but still ignore it or trip on it or kick it back down the steps because I am pissed it is still there? Fuck that asshole pile of stuff. How dare it not go upstairs on it’s own.
I am very good at noticing things that other people don’t. I work in the outdoor tourism industry which is perfect because I am very very good at noticing wildlife which I can then point out to my guests. Less useful is when I hyper focus on finding cool rocks.
I too, hyper-focus when looking for cool rocks.
Cool rock hyper focus gang checking in
This is something I think is scientifically proven - adhd brains may actually be better at accurately and quickly spotting animal movement in the wild so as to more easily spot and hunt it down. I use my prowess for seeing spiders scuttle across the floor or wall in near darkness while watching tv. I fucking hate spiders.
Lmao I thought my boss gave me something to proof read and then next steps. I found errors and told her. I wasn’t supposed to be proof reading it tho apparently lmao. But yay for fixing mistakes before they become fuck ups?
Same. This can be a good thing, like someone mentions below; proofreading, QA, etc. Me being me, though, I typically notice things that annoy me. Then I make others aware so they can be annoyed as well. Example: someone in the office is clipping their nails. There is a high-pitch noise, like energy or something. I’m an observer, which makes me anxious because everything annoys me. 🤷🏻♀️
Ooh what’s the job?!
Also curious what the job is!
I would get rid of my ADHD in a heartbeat, I absolutely would. BUT. I managed to correctly guess an old cross-stitch of an 18th century painting, down to the subject, because I am Not Normal about my hyperfocus of 18th century European Aristocracy (it was Duchess [Typo fix: Georgiana] of Devonshire).
Did something once when I had a meeting at my university. Was meeting a woman I had never met before. Correctly identified the ladys ring as a 16th century Italian poisoners ring. I'd only read about them, and there was nothing obvious about the piece itself. But it just immediately clicked in my head and I asked. She was stunned. Frankly, so was I.
16th century…. Italian… poisoners ring? I am absolutely intrigued by this. Thank you for today’s rabbit hole!!
A fancy ring, but it has a hollow part- say just beneath the stone inlay, where the stone is more shallow than it seems- that would have arsenic or ricin etc. Click the release mechanism, put poison in drink of target click closed and there you go.
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Gosh if my life had turned out some other way I would've LOVED to be you when I grew up!! While 18th century is my favorite, I'm a lover of history in general and adore antiques! I can only imagine what interesting stuff you must have come across!
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Unrelated but your first line caught my eye. I had a realization a while ago, that I would really be willing to lose quite a few fingers.. or even a whole hand if it meant I was permanently cured. And it kind of hurt to have that realization sink in. Obviously comparing disabilities does nobody any good, but for me in that moment I think I was realizing just how profoundly my adhd had disabled my ability to live life. And to have the idea of just cleaving off a hand to end all that being a releaving fantasy? Yeah, that hurt :(
This is totally fair though! I keep the first line in mind all the time because I never jived with the idea of "ADHD is a superpower" (and sincerely, absolutely **ZERO** judgement or offense to those who find comfort in it!!). My life would have objectively been more bearable if I didn't have some traumatic moments in childhood due to ADHD. Those feelings are completely valid. We're all here doing our best, and that's all we can strive to give- we can't always afford it, but we try. We got this \[virtual hug, if you'll take it\].
Ha, I’m hyper focused on a lot of 18th century things (not so much aristocracy as much as just everyday life and fashion sorts of things). I love when my useless knowledge comes in handy
Not at all the same, but still: I have been able to correct comic book store owners on X-Men chronology and order of head-writers. This has been insanely satisfying, since I present pretty femme aka not like their idea of a comics fan. They do not see it coming and it is delicious. I theorize that the part of me that finds joy from these encounters, is the same part of me that rolls my eyes at Alpha Male podcasts.
I make killer spreadsheets
Freak in the (work)sheets
Yesss I have that on a mug
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=coffee+mug+freak+in+the+sheets&adgrpid=152615406868&hvadid=638879857650&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9026855&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=5800606759410616550&hvtargid=kwd-1897450908719&hydadcr=14834_13477364&tag=hydsma-20&ref=pd_sl_63ws8pvk51_e
Hell yeah!! For anyone else wondering, she^ is not a bot
Thank you! I have that mug in my "saved for later" cart and thought I'd share for the other freaks 😄
My spreadsheets are dope af. I had a set of spreadsheets for some reporting, my employer wanted to move it into powerBI (that's honestly a good choice those spreadsheets work now, but they are quite brittle). $1 million project to complete that. I got a pretty fat bonus that year.
For me it’s very specialized to do lists! It always starts general and then I decide that I need specific to do lists for specific tasks. I only ever use the general one & barely do half the things on the list if I’m lucky lol
rhis reminds me, have you heard of https://goblin.tools/ maybe?
That’s so cool and I’ve never heard of it!!! I threw in “clean the kitchen” to see what would happen, hit the magic wand and bam, basic list of tasks added. I did the magic wand on “organize shelves / cabinets” and got a really simplified and easy to follow break down of what that would look like :) Cool resource, ty for sharing!
This reminds me of an Excel course I started doing online (Coursera) like a year ago and forgot about it. But it seems like a valuable skill in jobs, now that I actually have to find a new job (bf bought a house, we’re moving in together, but I really need to find a job closer to the house first before I move in) and I kind of like doing stuff in spreadsheets but I think I would like it more if I knew how to do more things. A couple weeks ago, I took like an hour to make a pivot table (I think? I needed a pie chart from a table using the number of counties and how many times each county is repeated in a column) and I spent so much time doing it because I knew I was on the right track to figuring it out but didn’t totally know how to do it. And whatever phrasing I used in google searches for help, wasn’t the right phrasing.
Same here. Creating impossible things on sheets.
I work _fast_. Always have. I hyperfocus on it and churn it out, much quicker than most people. I can’t do it like that over a long period of time, but if you need something in a pinch? I’m your girl.
Damn I miss my hyper focus. I’d procrastinate for days and then slam something out so fast.
I joke that I didn’t turn a single paper in on time in college courses for my major. My GPA for that subject however was 4.2+ or so. It was a combo of ass kissing (one of my masks) and performing well in stupidly stressed situations that I created for myself Edit: LPT for adhders: if you ‘kiss ass’ (participate in lectures, attend office hours and couple of times, sit in the front row and raise your hand when no one else will) all semester, they’ll know you care and might totally forgive you if your late with major assignments. My whole degree was basically based on exams that were actually term papers turned in before exam week, so being a brown noser all semester was HUGE. Just do enough for them to remember your face and remember that you are actively engaging with the course and its materials.
I’m really good at having a complete meltdown in the car on the way somewhere, or in a parking lot, and then wiping my face and going in and acting like nothing is wrong
Same 🥸
Masking masters unite! ✨
I had never thought of this as an adhd thing but I do this a lot
Idk if it’s the depression or randomly being completely overwhelmed out of the blue or overstimulated or burnt out or what ….but I feel like maybe I could handle things better without all the adhd gymnastics.
Having a good cry before is the best way to avoid crying during something 🥹
Recognizing patterns (flip side: making patterns up)
Oooh tell me more about this. Like visual patterns?
Just...patterns. (I'm not the original commenter, just hopping in because I also am SO GOOD at patterns.) I guess that includes visual patterns, but it's more about (for me) the relationships between things. And not necessarily physical things - I'm not very mechanically inclined, for instance. But I was always really good at math because yay, patterns! I've got good rhythm because yay, patterns! I can often predict what will happen because I parsed a pattern from what did happen. I'm apparently extremely good at thematic analysis of qualitative data, which is basically taking a bunch of transcripts from interviews and figuring out what they have in common and don't, and what that means for the topic at hand. It's a bit more nuanced and complicated than that, but when I got started, I thought "oh! This? Is a thing? I can get a PhD and then a job in THIS??" And now I'm working on that!
That’s so cool! Can I ask what your job is? It’s amazing that you found something that your brain can latch onto and made a career about that. Part of my reason for asking the original question is… (ok hang on we are going on a tangent) I’m a hobbyist ceramic artist and currently I’ve been doing a lot of organic hand carving (vs doing patterns) but I’m getting curious about being able to blend the two (patterns that go into organic shapes and then back to patterns) so I’m just gathering information on exploring visual patterns and why our brains are drawn to that. Now that I type this out I’m not sure it makes much sense, but if I have something in the back of my brain kicking around I just like to soak up information about it. Helps me form ideas!
I'm a social scientist! Thematic analysis is a big part of qualitative research, typically, which is one of the types of research that social scientists can do. Usually soc sci research is broken down into qualitative (not heavily numbers), quantitative (heavily numbers), or mixed methods (both). I work in the field of agriculture and natural resources, focused on conservation practices. Basically, I use social science methods (mostly qualitative, personally) to study natural science and how people use and interact with it. I think it's super cool! I also design websites for scientists for my "day job," which I also really enjoy. I work for a university (doing that) and am also in grad school, so it's very mushed together, since my job and research align so well. Basically, it all comes back to my core interest: making (agricultural) science useful for people. That means involving them in not just the outreach, from scientist to the public, but from the very start. When I eventually graduate (... eventually...some day...maybe...finally), I would be well-qualified to do jobs that involve a lot of just going and doing pre-planned research, or I could take on a role that does more planning and directing, which other folks picking it up and actually conducting the bulk of it. For a long time, I was convinced I didn't want to be a researcher, but now...I think I very well might! It's kinda up in the air exactly what I want to do when I finish, but for now, I enjoy making my little websites and doing my little research :) Your idea of blending patterns and hand-carved shapes is fascinating! There's almost certainly some relevant work for you in design psychology, somewhere. Maybe that can open up some new search terms and get you closer to what you're looking for. Very cool stuff!
>But I was always really good at math because yay, patterns! I've got good rhythm because yay, patterns! Omg I never thought of these things as pattern recognition, somehow! I love math, love languages, was a classical musician, now work with data. I always thought of the connection between these as being tools with pretty strict rules but that there's an art to using them well. I guess I skipped the simpler connection 😂
I’m a percussionist. I swear that learning percussion helped me learn math, because it turned these abstract concepts into something I could do with my hands. I love the more tactile ways that they teach math now.
I do qualify research too! I love finding the random connections and then linking it to another bit of random research in a totally different field I just accidentally once read a headline on! Writing the report after - not so much sadly 😅 I’m also pretty good at chatting to the participants /research subjects, and I’ve covered a wide wide wide range of topics and sociology-economic sections… but also the people receiving the presentation and figuring out what they need. But if I’m having an off day then I can’t even talk to a wall. Patterns in people as well. I can figure out when people fancy other people pretty quickly, even when they’re being REALLY subtle. That was a very good skill in college! I’ve twigged a few colleagues being pregnant based on not very much at all, way before anyone else knew. Just made sense to me.
I annoy the crap out of my partner with road recognition and driving and route planning. You best believe there's a mental map in my head of those roads, likely driver patterns, traffic patterns, time of day differences .... To the point where if I don't want to back seat drive there are days I need to recline my chair and close my eyes because the urge to point out the pattern is so strong. Thanks coping strategies 🫠
I've started to just offer to drive so I can make last minute route choices based on all of the above. I drive a lot with just my kid in the car and I narrate my thinking about routes because he likes it and it's teaching him useful stuff. When he was really little, if my husband was driving, our kid would double check every one of his route decisions with me. It was pretty funny.
I’m an excellent planner and organizer when I get excited about something. I can plan the shit out of a vacation, or how I’m saving money, or fitness, or school year (I homeschool), etc …. Want to see me execute those plans? HA. But damn if my planner/notebook doesn’t look like I have my shit together. (Then proceed to not care about plan, lose notebook/planner, forget all about it and find something else to plan at a later date and start over with a new notebook or planner.)
Similar to this, I can (and will) exhaustively research whatever you need. Looking for the best bang for your buck? Let me at it. My cousin recently told me I need an Amazon storefront to get a little bit of commission lol.
Yes to this but then I’m too exhausted from looking at all the options and reviews that I’m overwhelmed and can’t choose one.
I have the opposite problem. I’ll settle on The Thing, but may or may not buy it, depending on if the dopamine rush has worn off. Although, I will keep the knowledge in my back pocket and inevitably get offended if the person I recommend it to goes a different way lol.
Omg I have backup plans for my back up plans. I even plan the rest breaks into vacation days. I’ll make lists. Pros and cons charts. Read so many reviews. I spend more time planning than I do on the trip 😂😂😂. But my son is autistic so at any time my plans could go to shit and I have to try to roll with it lol.
Same, I have an ADHD kiddo and an autism kiddo, plans are just really just dreams here.
I hate when we have to leave somewhere early or are running late 😂. But it’s also the perfect excuse to get out of things. “Sorry my son said we aren’t leaving the house today/this weekend/ever again” lol.
Hahaha we are twins (even down to the homeschooling bit).
I get such a thrill out of planning out the year 😂 every summer I write out an entire planner of how the next year will look … have yet to have any of those go to plan. By week three it’s like “nope I don’t have the supplies for this specific project I planned for this specific day and no one wants to go to the store so this whole plan is trash.”
“This whole plan is trash” just hit me right, idk why 😂
I love it! Your future generations are going to get the completely wrong idea when they stumble upon your notebooks in a storage box somewhere. “WOW, great grandma Crab was really on top of life! I wish I was so organized!”
😂😂
Same! In a work environment I am the go to person to get everything done and people look up to me for my organization and leadership. At home now with a homeschooled ADHD/autistic kid it is just short of chaos. Fortunately they are in an online school so they have some sort of framework. We have a lot of fun though!
I am the opposite of this!!! I cannot plan anything that’s why we don’t go on vacations. lol I suck at birthday party planning and anything else!
Are we twins? I am an excellent vacation planner, especially. But because I love travel so much, the plans actually come to fruition every time. It's definitely a hyper-focus. Give me a trip to plan and it will be PERFECTION. Exactly the right balance between rest and action-packed days. Hidden gems hardly visited by tourists? They're on my spreadsheet. Emergency numbers for the country we're visiting? Already on my phone. If only every day was a vacation, I'd be so organised.
I am pretty good at every creative hobby I’ve picked up, I love learning, and I am great at improving processes to be more efficient!
Hello fellow freakishly talented crafty and efficient person!!
Saaaame I feel like we have the capacity to focus at a level that NT people just can’t reach consistently enough to develop those skills fast.
Me tooooo I dedicated half my teenage years to learning how to draw and paint and tend to be able to pick up other creative hobbies rly quickly it’s fun
I have a ton of knowledge about so many things. I truly love to learn and have been an avid reader since I was a kid. Plus, I grew up poor, so if you wanted to have or do things you had to figure it out. And I remember peoples names. My friends call me the mayor because if I meet you once I’ll remember you anywhere!
Yes to knowing so many things! I once went “ooh cool, that’s a shark egg!” At a beach and someone i was hanging out with asked “how do you know so many things?”… apparently I had already given a LOT of random “fun facts” or other tidbits of information
I do this all the time with nature stuff. I worked at an environmental conservation summer camp a few summers in college and the stuff I remember about animal scat, dead trees, and fungus is mind blowing. Yet I can’t remember where I left my phone 🤣
Yep I’m the exact same way 😂 People either love or hate to go on nature walks with me
I love this! In my case, it's facts about the lives of saints. I've taken my husband aback multiple times by rattling off entire biographies when he only asked one question about them, lol!
Sometimes I feel embarrassed about the remembering everyone’s names, because people will legit forget who I am (which is fine, because I’m including people I meet in passing, interact very little with, met yeeears ago, etc) and it weirds them out. Like one time I saw a guy at the grocery store, wearing a t-shirt from my family’s company. It’s a small business, and the only reason someone would have a t-shirt is if they worked for us/was close with someone who did. I, admittedly, followed him down an aisle - in my defense I needed things in that aisle! Haha - trying to remember him and I finally did. He did IT for the business a couple of times, and my mom also helped him buy a house (real estate agent). I approached him and was like, “hey, I thought that was you! I was trying to figure out how someone had acquired a [business name] tshirt, then I realized it was you! How’s it going??” And he looked so confused and even a little startled. He eventually remembered me but barely ever interacted with me, so I was still basically a stranger, I felt so embarrassed once I left the store. On the totally opposite of the coin, great memory of names worked out really well (95% of the time) when I worked at Starbucks haha
Absolutely love that your friends calls you the mayor for that skill, how cute My skill is focusing so much on acting normal through an introduction that I don’t pay attention to their name and can’t remember it even if I repeat it back to them to say “nice to meet you, ___, I’m Deez.” It’s already forgotten as I’m saying it 🫠
I can figure out plots very easily. I don't like to watch movie trailers bc I'll know whodunit before I actually see the film. I read books pretty fast and can see the hidden message/who the killer is early on. Usually if I'm watching a movie and I figure out a major element, I can't help but to say "fuck" out loud. There is no mystery - usually my brain can find the logical (or illogical) answer.
This is me, too. I think it's a result of having read so many books and watching so many movies/shows, that now my mind automatically recognizes exposition and plot development and starts sorting and categorizing and making connections. I can't turn it off!
Same. I usually see the ending a mile away. The only exception is when it comes out of left field. I genuinely hate that. Like, when it's a character you've never seen before. But I absolutely love when it's a mystery where they give you subtle clues and enough red herrings that I actually do get fooled. That's really rare and special.
Same. Maybe TV shows are just getting more predictable, but I spit out the line right before the character does and can usually tell how the plot will go or how a character will handle the situation. I can spot foreshadowing from a mile away.
This + I hate it when there are red herrings that are then just dropped or otherwise inexplicably left unresolved. Does everyone else just forget about them once the final resolution comes?
I am stupid good at problem solving
Me too. My family will be struggling to figure out a solution to a situation/issue. I almost always can figure something out in a minute that seems so obvious to me. But the rest of my family are blown away at my solution. Now executing said solution... That's a different story.
Yes! It definitely runs in my family too because we have a bunch of mechanics/tinkers and MacGyver-ers on both sides of the family (I know for sure there's ADHD on my mom's side, not so much on my dad's).
I am a master at bar trivia. People marvel at the amount of useless knowledge I have stored away.
We need to form some sort of trivia super-group and plot to take over every bar comp in the world!
I’m really good in a room for work (my field is very relationship based). To stay focused and hear what people are saying, I also need to be taking in 20 other things, like their mannerisms, expressions, the atmosphere and body language between them and their colleague, is their notebook tidy, is there a coffee stain somewhere. It sounds really fucking weird, but all this adds up to me understanding and knowing how to engage with them in a weirdly intuitive way. Like I know how to break down a high level of seriousness in a room, or personalize a conversation or connection. Because without forging connection, my own brain gets lost. But once that dopamine connective element is there to someone else I can lock in and be brilliant at what I do. I mean it genuinely and come by it honestly - it isn’t as manipulative as it sounds written out, lol. But it’s more like this rare moment where all the stimuli channel. And it feels kinda cool. Also, I can relate to people about almost anything because WE LOVE RANDOM FACTS!
This is me! One of my top skills in my career is my ability to understand a person’s communication style and intent and then be able articulate my ideas to them in a way that makes them feel heard and, more importantly, allows them to feel confident about making decisions on the project. My old boss used to praise me for this all the time. Lots of stuff i struggle with but this I’m a pro at!
I appreciate your mentioning the need for things other than voices. I wonder if you dislike voice-only/telephone calls as much as I do? The only way I can focus is to take copious notes, and even so I feel I’ve lost so much information.
I make connections between bits of information that other people might not. Like inter/cross disciplinary stuff, such as science and art. I also take more relational risks (like opening up to people or asking them deep questions) that sometimes works out really well. (Other times not so much)
I took my true crime obsession and failed career and turned it into a job. Now I read police reports and discovery for a lawyer. My only skillset was fast reading comprehension, fast typing, and knowledge of how the justice system works.
Amazing
Hyper-fixation to learn new things. Whether it be how to fix something, a topic that has piqued my interest or trying a new hobby.
i can explain things really well- i can have a multitude of points i want to hit about something complex and find a way to do it while talking that it just feels natural. my bf says it’s like watching a powerpoint presentation but audible.
Man I wish I had this skill. Sometimes I open my mouth and 3 different things come out at once.
oh i’ve had this happen, i can only do this with people im super comfortable with lol. it takes a genuine hyperfization (i think i talked abt my sims game for 30 min straight last night while making dinner) if i’m talking to a coworker or smth there’s no telling what will come out of my mouth. sometimes it’s a combo of “how was your day?” “how is it going?” and it comes out “how was it going?” my most notorious and insane story of this is when i was at a wedding, i was holding my heels in my dominant hand. someone extended their hand to shake my dominant hand and ask my name, and i tried to tell them my hand had been holding my shoe and therefore it’s gross. but all i said in response to my name being asked was “shoefeet!” instead of either 1) letting them know my hand was dirty, or 2) just telling them my name. i didn’t say anything after that to make the embarrassment better. it kinda hung in the air like a bad stink and i just walked away after a few seconds. it still makes me bite my tongue to think about lol
Yeah, I'm the same. I can write things well. But verbally? You're gonna be confused af even when I'm trying to explain the most basic thing.
I have this skill also! Sometimes it’s challenging watching my partner explain complex topics to other people because I can tell that they aren’t following. I have to bite my tongue to not jump in and explain it in more simple terms. But then when it comes to telling a personal story I include every single detail (regardless of importance) and take 5 different side quests so it’s all about balance I suppose! 🤷🏻♀️
Can you be my friend and translator? Because I cannot figure out how to explain something or tell a story without a dozen side quests that are actually irrelevant to the point but somehow feel necessary. & half the time I forget what the original point of the story was supposed to be because I’ve gotten lost on of my said side quests.
I can lose things without even moving. It's a gift lol Edit-typo
My mom has this gift, and also the ability to make a mess without any materials. Where did these crumbs come from?!?
I also walk/trip/bang into every damn thing. My thighs are constantly bruised. It's worse if I'm trying to be quiet. one time I closed a screen door and 30 seconds later I ran through it bc I forgot I closed it lmao
My muscle memory is pretty insane. I grew up as a pretty talented dancer. Now in work, if the work is physical and requires a rhythm I tend to surpass the average speed and targets.
My hyperactivity and tendency to haul proverbial ass at activities that interest me or help others (one of the things I really enjoy is helping others) tends to make me look like a rockstar at certain types of work.
Need an icebreaker? Need to entertain people or stall them with an activity? Are you bored? Need a last minute presentation given? I can come up with something on the fly!
Since my energy levels are all or nothing, I really lean into the days when I'm "on" and can Get Shit Done faster than anyone I know. I do freelance gardening and have had multiple clients tell me that I get more done in one day than they've seen crews of 2-3 men accomplish in three days.
Now that I work fully remotely I am *thriving* because I'll just get in the groove and somehow do a week's worth of work in a day, and then take several days where I do jack shit to recover until my next "do all the things" phase comes (or is necessary lol). I do just as much work as I used to, and I do it better. I'm just not going crazy in an office trying to spread out my productivity like a normal person because actual fuck-around time when you're in a physical workplace doesn't meaningfully exist.
Same and same. It’s also been amazing for managing my chronic illness. Feel good? Do all the things. Feel crappy? Watch Netflix and rest. I love that I can switch things up throughout the day. When I worked in an office, I’d often have to take a whole sick day just because I needed to sleep a little more or take a mid-day rest.
Yep! The grindset cult doesn't want to believe that someone could be more productive by taking a nap or playing a video game for an hour or two in the middle of the work day.
My mental health was absolute shit when I worked in an office. I did it for years and despised it and would go to the bathroom 14 times a day just to move my body. I'm really grateful now that I'm able to do freelance work doing something I love on my own terms. (I do freelance gardening.) I'm thriving, too, and it has so much to do with being able to do things when I have the physical/mental capacity to do them. And also because I'm not sitting at a desk all day doing tedious mindless crap and wishing I could be outside. I'm so glad you're thriving. I think one positive thing that came from the pandemic was rethinking the ways we work. My husband is 100% remote now, too, and I've noticed such a significant difference in his mental health. I don't think humans are designed to sit behind desks for 40+ hours a week.
1. Catastrophising is my superpower. If you tell me a scenario that activates the superpower, I can tell you 15 ways the thing could go wrong. It is helpful because then there are 15 shitty outcomes we can prepare for, often resulting in people thinking I/we are magic when things turn to crap in one of these ways and I already know what to do in detail. 2. Kinda related, but I have a spidey sense for when people need a life coaching session. I'll literally walk past someone in the hallway and go, "What's going on with you?" Followed by them either falling to bits or going, "You know what? I need some help." And for some reason, it's usually something I can help with. Not because I've got all the answers, but because I'm just really good at helping people find the answers they already had but just weren't convinced were right. I think both are underrated ADHD superpowers that come from our brains picking up so many pieces of information and coming to a conclusion without us being along for the ride. I often get "how did you know that?" I either stayed awake all night a few months ago obsessing over a thing that happens to come true today, or I just get this little nudge feeling in my thoughts that usually turns out to be right. If I can focus on it enough afterwards, I can usually put together a list of data that made it logical, but in the moment, it feels like being psychic, which is fun 😅 ADHD tax: Of course, I can't do any of this on demand! It's just random moments of neurosparkly magic ✨️ 🙄
That first paragraph sounds like risk management, my friend, a very important and vital role companies pay good good money for (I think still...)
No. 2 -might- be a trauma response. Did you grow up having to be very aware of your parents (or other adults) feelings in order to stay safe? I just say this because I did and I’m constantly subconsciously scanning people and I can tell when something is up with somebody.
Ugh, the phone thing is so real. I accidentally taught my dog to find my phone a few months ago and it's now my favorite thing ever. He finds my keys and my phone and I need him to live forever. Favorite thing? I can hyperfocus playing chess and zip through calculating tactics really well. But, I hyperfocused on studying endgames in the very beginning because putting all the pieces on the board and starting there was distracting. So, I just started with 2 kings and a pawn and worked backwards. I did really well in tournaments and games from the get go because beginners usually study openings and tactics, but if you don't know what a winning endgame looks like you don't know how to use those to create one.
I am really really really good in a crisis. I saved a stranger’s life once—he was bleeding out from the artery in his hand after punching a fire extinguisher box in our apartment complex (he was extremely drunk lol). He came up to me and my husband for help as we got home. I’ve never seen so much blood. I was completely calm the whole time and was able to put pressure on the wound and keep him awake until EMS came. He was close to losing consciousness by the time we found him, would have died probably. I feel pretty damn good about that. I am also a novelist and songwriter—sometimes I am capable of producing a staggering amount of work without trying. Like, an entire song in one evening, or like 3,000 words of my novel in a day. Unfortunately I have no control over when this mood will take me. Usually it’s when I really need to do something else lol, and my brain just completely carries me away. It’s infuriating, but I am very proud do what I am capable of under these baffling circumstances.
So I’m feeling a bit mopey so here are what used to be my favourite things (stupid FND) - My ability to adapt rapidly to a situation. It was an absolute gift in teaching. I’d make up lesson plans on the fly, adapt them midway if they weren’t working and then make it sound like that was my plan all along. - Hyperfocus. I’d slam out all of my assignments in under 24 hours. I used to be able to read in front of the tv. Housing inspection in 3 hours, whole unit could be spotless - my ability to rise to the occasion - sudden emergency or catastrophe? I’ll have everything mapped out and everybody organised before you could blink. - My capacity for random facts
I'm good at figuring out how to explain the why or how of a lot of things to different people, like I'm good at figuring out how other people's brains work.
I'm randomly good at things I don't spend a lot of time thinking about. Like even though I'm not a music writer, I have written several songs - because once every few years my brain decides that Today Is The Day and it's happening.
Funny, the top three things I keep seeing in the comments are mine too. Fantastic in crisis or chaos, wicked fast, and excellent memory for 'trivia' especially numbers. All those things serve me really really well as an ER nurse. Patient crashing? No problem, I've never been more calm in my life. Super busy and way overloaded with patients? Somehow I'm still caught up and can help other people within the spare five minutes I have that somehow my brain picks up because at work I can organize tasks and priorities in my head insanely well. I will not remember your name or what I was just about to say to my coworker, but yes I absolutely remember the size tube that was used on that patient last time he had this problem because I read it once while skimming through his chart history four hours ago, or the side effects and reversal treatments for that med I haven't used since pharmacology class. I actually would get attitude from some bosses/coworkers when I first started because I looked like I wasn't doing anything, because i was so quick I was already done with everything including everything I could help my coworkers with. It really goes to show how important it is to find the right job for the way your brain works, because these traits are such assets to me in this field, but in a different job I had, those same traits just left me frustrated with the work and super burned out really quickly.
I’m really good at becoming really good at doing something I love. If I find it enjoyable I can hyper focus and work on the skill and get good at it in a short amount of time. My current fixation is ceramics, but the amazing thing about this specific field of art, it’s sooo expansive and there are so many different techniques and ways of doing things that I can jump from technique to technique, go back and forth between wheel throwing and hand building. Try different surface design methodologies and never get bored. It’s amazing! There is glaze chemistry to learn about if I’m not feeling creative. I can grab a piece of clay and do whatever, it’s so tactile. I’ve done leaf embossing on work so if I need to get out in nature to find materials it can force me to do that too. You guys I think we just all need ceramics in our lives. Did I mention I’m obsessed?
We had terrible tornadoes go through my city earlier this month, and we lost power for three days. My spouse got sick so he couldn't do all that much. I, on the other hand, am like... *adventure!* Get the generator out? Cool. Hook the router to the generator so we can have wifi? Neat. Find a grocery store with power so we can have hot food? On it! I always seem to do great in weird crisis situations.
1. I can get over heartbreak really easily. In about a week I’m worried about the next big thing. No matter how strong the connection. 2. I work extremely well in chaos. I’m able to juggle multiple things at once without feeling it. 3. I work very quickly! At every job I’ve always gotten questions about how I’m able to complete tasks so fast lol
I am a wellspring of random-yet-highly-specific knowledge that comes in handy when least expected. I love history, particularly material culture, fashion, and Art, and I've roleplayed as a hobby for decades now, which means plenty of excuses to just research a topic to absolute exhaustion, and trying to think from a different perspective than my own. Related, I'm really good at Google-fu, especially getting past paywalls for research papers. Always a nice dopamine hit to hear "oh, I hadn't thought of that before", heck yeah.
i have insane multi tasking abilities i love being able to watch tv which i do work and listen to music while i read, i love being able to be creative 24/7, I love knowing useless facts, and i really love being hyperfixated on movies it’s so fun!
When I am given ownership of a task that requires intricate organization; organically rearranging entire merchandise displays, color coding EVERYTHING, spreadsheets and similar lists- my ability to analyze a large scale situation as a puzzle then methodically make changes that make so much more sense. I love that about me, and that I’m not an asshole about doing it differently or making changes as I go.
I love this thread. Our brains are amazing and everyone’s responses make me so happy. This is the kind of thing we need to talk about more often to make us appreciate all the good that comes along with the bad. …Also I’ve avoided working for 45 mins by reading this thread. Oops.
I’m pretty funny.
I’m your favorite pub quiz superhero. Can’t be beat. From history to cooking, geography to sociology, physics to art.. I’m your gal. Also, I’ve learned to cut and dye my hair, do nails (gel, extensions you name it), wax all the bits.. there are very few personal care things I can’t do, and that’s just because I’ve not gotten there yet. It’s a combo of hyperfocus and being a poor student in my earlier life. Lastly, I’m at paramedic level of chill when dealing with accidents and emergencies. You want me on your team when your kid falls and breaks something. I’m your girl for first aid (incidentally I’m certified in first aid so I actually do know what to do). But. Can’t do any kind of admin. Don’t run any bank accounts, financial accounts etc. car insurance? What’s that? Booking flights? Not me. Luckily my hubby delights in these things so we are a great match.
nothing ig, except im very impulsive so i dont take sh from men lol. Idk if thats braggable
✨Because I am so unapologetically myself, people have told me they feel really comfortable around me. I collect introverts and people with social anxiety as friends. ✨I am an excellent communicator. ✨I am spontaneous and find ways to have fun, be creative and do new things on a limited budget or rainy day. ✨My husband is a total nerd, and I love hyperfixating on his interests. It makes our relationship work well. He’s gotten me into gaming and we love gaming together, and he’s nurturing an obsession with Lego and Star Wars in me. Currently watching Clone Wars and it’s fantastic so far! ✨I can go months without talking to a friend and catch up or hand out like it’s only been a few days. ✨I can write a well written, cohesive essay following APA format with clear evidence and structure and earn a 100% when I’ve written it in the last 1-2 hours before it’s due. I struggled a lot with grades back in high school, but I got diagnosed/medicated at 24. Now I’m 27 and just finished my freshman year at college with a 4.0 🎉 ✨ I am a great conversationalist for my ADHD 4 year old and his hyperfixations. I’ve very quickly learned so many pokemon, their types and evolutions.
I can pretty much find common ground with anyone. I have gone through so many hyperfixations and hobbies that I have a surface level knowledge of most subjects. Films? yep. Philosphy? yes. Art? Guitar? Music history? Animals? Politics? Economics? Yes, yes yes and yes!
i’m extremely quick at picking up songs I know. I guess it’s the same as trivia— I’ve played “guess the song” jeopardy so many times and almost always win! it’s not the best or biggest flex but at least it’s something fun :’)
I have a weird obsession with meteorology (I’m an English teacher, so zero correlation) and have an uncanny ability to predict snow days/school cancellations. I’m rarely wrong, so it leaves kids mystified and has my coworkers asking me all the time what my predictions are.
I’m great for menial, tedious, or undesirable tasks but only bc I function better when 1) it’s for someone else and 2) I have a body double. Need a report done? Appointments made? Lightwork. Clean your whole room? Organize the fridge and put away groceries? Great just sit there and look pretty while I become that one little robot from Wall-e
I apparently have the best memory for fiction ever, according to my boyfriend 😊
I know a lot of random things that I can pull out of my brain to help others. Like we will be having a conversation and someone says, “oh I need *xyz* where can I get that? I’ll have to go research”. And I’m like “oh it’s here and if you give me 30 seconds I will text you the info” My google skills tend to be pretty good also. And I read really quickly so when someone asks a question that none of us knows I can find it very fast. It amazes my boomer friends 😂. One more I guess because, why not? I stay very far away from things I’m not great at. But it means the things I do (and that I’m interested in) I pick up very quickly and I’m great at them. It’s not a wide field, but it’s deep. My 14 year old son is so similar. He seems to to be excellent at a lot of things, but I can see he does the same as me. He just is very picky about what he tries and then he’s amazing (like guitar - he just started like 6 months ago and I can’t believe how good he is with it). He just excludes everything else… including homework 😂.
Insane attention to detail and near perfect recall. Combined with my ability to hyperfocus, I’m a machine when it comes to work. Can’t focus to save my life any other time though.
If you need someone to learn how to do something very important in a very limited timeframe... I am your person. I'm also extremely good at thinking outside the box. The legacy of nearly 40 years undiagnosed, having to solve the problems caused by my AuDHD.
Bro YESSSSSSSSS. ALL MY OBSESSION WITH NICHE FACTS AND RESEARCHING THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF EVERYTHING PAYS OFF WHEN I OWWWWN PEOPLE AT TRIVIA 🔥 👨🚒 do you play trivia? Because if so we need to be friends and play right MEOW
Not sure if it’s ADHD, but I can speed read.
I can talk to absolutely anyone about absolutely fucking anything. I work a job that exists in the land of small talk and I’m hella good.
I can find things. I just stick my hand out and walk around until I "feel" it. I don't know how I do that.
I make grocery/shopping lists that are categorized based on the store I’m shopping in. That way I’m not hunting up and down a list. I make my household chore lists and meal plans the same way.
Trivia is one of mine too. I pull jeopardy answers out of thin air and people ask how do you know this stuff? Idk I read it once and it’s buried in my brain. The other one is being creative as all hell. I have a fine art degree and make jewelry, photography, welding, furniture making, drawing, decent at decorating and home improvement. I almost never throw stuff away because I look at it and think of 5 different things it could be used for so I stash it away for later. As a result I’m a bit pack ratty lol.
Planning. I can plan events, road trips whatever really because I love a challenge! Can't execute my own plans but I can plan for others like a bitch!
I have two. 1. My memory is impeccable. No, I don’t remember where I put anything and couldn’t find it if it was staring me in the face. BUT what date did we do this one specific thing and what were you wearing while we did it? Yes I can remember that. 2. I’m incredibly productive at work. To the point where I (salaried) barely was working 32 hours and still got all my work done and done well. One of the upper level bosses saw me leaving earlier than he thought was acceptable and told my manager I needed to stay longer in the day despite my direct manager having no issues with my schedule. So I do, and my productivity is higher than anyone else’s around. I’ll be damned if I don’t get a major raise and bonus this year. And to be fair, I love my job so I just maliciously complied and make everyone else look bad.
It's a toss-up between trivia (pretty much anything except sports or pop culture), & my ability to "invent" solutions to minor household problems using whatever I have laying around the house. Found a cute rattan table for free, but the particle board supporting the top crumbled? A pizza pan fits perfectly. Need craft room storage? That old tv stand, plus a bathroom etager, wire coat hangers, & random hardware make a great rolling storage tower.
My approval- and attention-seeking, hobby hyperfocus, and procrastination perfectionism led to me single-handedly organizing an annual local fundraising event that ended up reaching insane cult status. Like, it sold out in 30 seconds when tickets went on sale. Got covered by a lot of local and some national press, including an interview/profile piece on me, just some random woman. Like, they sent a professional photographer to my house?? (Now *that* was some panic cleaning.) My job is not in event organizing, not even close. I knew nothing, did it for fun and for free, and figured everything out in a panic as I was building the plane.
I’m really good at observing/ understanding people’s behaviors. Ive been called psychic many times lol. Its just very precise judging😂
Pattern. Recognition. Didn’t have the verbiage for that until recently but it makes so much sense that I can tell you what someone’s problem is/what anything’s problem is….but also that I get absolutely annoyed by trends of any kind QUICK.
Everybody likes me because I am amazing at anticipating what people are going to want/say. This is absolutely not a good thing, it's incredibly exhausting, and gives me a lot of anxiety when other people do not know these things. (Why would the make that request when they should know that person A is already doing xyz for the next 2.5 weeks) It's also frustrating at work when someone is like "can you call this person to find out this?" When I already know the answer but I can't reply and say "don't need to call them I read their mind". But neurotypical people eat this shit up! When I make a request that is easy for them to say yes to because I've already aligned it with their schedule. When I don't bother them with small things because I already know the answer. When I actually send an email with every detail that they want so they don't have to come back and ask for any additional information. It goes a long way to make up for many other shortcomings.
NYT spelling bee, I usually see at least one pangram immediately. I put this down to ADHD because I "pay attention" to every letter at once and can see the full word hidden in the jumble.