I have a report where the actual project work done is not exactly what was planned, so that's triggering some avoidance. It was hard to start with directly writing the report.

So what I did is the classic 'break it down' but with a pinch of artificial compartmentalization from the part triggering the avoidance:

I tried to focus only on what was actually done (significant in volume of work) switched to itemizing everything that was done first, not directly working into the report template.

I report on each of these items in isolation first, without reference to the plan, which gives me momentum since the pages fill up fast.

The last part is sorting the pages into the report template, according to the work items they fit best with.

Edit: The idea being that the momentum from the documenting of the work in isolation, will carry me through producing relatively little text referring to the plan.

It's not honorable work but it needs doing.

> This is why, when you explain it to a more neurotypical person, they will most often say, "oh yeah me too!". But it's like an Olympic sprinter saying that they can sprint, and an average joe saying, "oh yeah me too!". It's a matter of degrees.

You excellently summed up something I've struggled a lot with since being diagnosed a couple of years ago.

This thing (ADHD) has permeated every aspect of my life in incredibly significant ways since I was a kid, and life made much more sense post diagnosis. Much much more. But, one of the hardest things to deal with - which I didn't expect - is that everyone I told would just respond, "yeah me too" (relating to the "symptoms", not saying they had a diagnosis) - essentially (without them intending to) invalidating my diagnosis. Or at least that's what it felt like - to the point that I've just stopped bringing it up. (Apart from in random HN threads... :)

And I totally get it, because I would probably have said the same thing if a friend told me they had OCD. I now know that my "OCD" tendancies are very clearly "not OCD" and to describe them as such risks trivialising the challenges for people who genuinely have this condition.

So I don't blame anyone really, but it does add to the "invisibility" of dealing with what from the inside feels like a very real and challenging condition and from the outside often just makes you look and act like a "bad impression of a human".

:)

A difference of degree can turn into a difference of kind.

Lose 5% of your leg strength? You might not even notice. Lose 95%? You can't walk.

This is what it's like for ADHD people. The impairment is enough to make it difficult to keep a job, difficult to maintain relationships and difficult to keep up with pretty much any complex aspect of adult life.

Really well said. It's really hard to describe to neurotypicals because while they experience avoidant behavior and lack of motivation, doing the dishes doesn't feel like being tasked with penetrating a foot thick tungsten wall using only your teeth. They just think you should be able to do waves hands something involving bootstraps so therefore you're just stupid and lazy.

At the worst of times, when I had a university assignment I would sit at my desk to do the assignment and physically feel a repulsive force from my work. Like a really strong gust of wind.

And now I have unlocked middle school memories of staying up all night, alternating between lying down from exhaustion to forcing myself to sit and write a few words each round for my English essays that day.

Yes and it often be a physical response too like my arms will start to have phantom aches when forcing myself to do something my adhd is screaming against.

Weird.

It was surprisingly easy for me - I went to adhdonline, took a long questionnaire, next day got a diagnosis back from a doctor who reviewed my responses, and the day after that I had a 30 minute zoom call and a prescription to pick up the same day. Not sure where you are but this service is available in almost every state in the US.

A low dose stimulant like the methylphenidate I got isn't the same as getting high on meth. For someone with ADHD it just brings them up to feeling normal. I have a family history of drug abuse too but I don't think it's a good reason to avoid legitimate medical treatment.