adhd humor

Not Recommended For ADHD Use

Just a little “humor” for your Monday. I mean, seriously, guys, I break a lot of stuff…including, on a regular basis, myself. If you’re ADD / ADHD and you’re thinking about buying something and it warns that it’s fragile? You should just stop right there and take it as a sign that you shouldn’t buy it.

No reason in particular for this friendly reminder. Just been inventorying my past and have come across way too many broken things…phones, computers, cars, sunglasses…and everything in between.

Okay, okay…so some of the stuff that we need is going to be fragile. Despite our accident prone selves, we’re going to have to suck it up and buy some of these fragile, breakable things. Maybe I should say, “Fragile = ADHDers proceed with caution, ” instead of, “Fragile = Not recommended for ADHD use.”

Both fit…just, when you have to buy that fragile thing, I guess be as careful as possible. I know, I know…because these aren’t lessons you’ve learned all on your own already. And like it helps to be “cautious.” I feel like sometimes when I’m cautious, things end up even more broken than if I’d just treated them like I regularly do.

Can’t win for losing sometimes, which is why I recommend buying sturdy things instead. But, guys…I mean, I’ve managed to kill an OtterBox…so I got nothin’.

Of course, all this talk about “Fragile,” makes me think of A Christmas Story.

“Fra-GEE-leh!” It must be Italian!

That’s Just How ADHD Bloggers Roll(ercoaster)

Sorry for the recent silence, guys. I’m trying not to fall victim to the all-or-nothing tendencies that are so common with us ADHDers. God knows it’s hard for us to find balance in our lives…and there’s a lot of other stuff going on (personally and professionally) right now that’s currently sucking up my energy.

I want to post frequently, but I don’t want to post just to post. The content needs to have some value. I don’t want to just spam you guys, you know?

Still, even if I can’t compose an epic post, because of whatever it is I’m struggling with at the moment, I guess that’s kind of what I’m supposed to be sharing, too. While I try to take the positive approach to my own ADHD (and other) issues, it’s not all sunshine and roses. It would be silly of me to pretend that it is. Honestly, it would be condescending of me to even think that I could convince you that life with ADHD is always awesome. Nobody’s life is awesome all the time.

You know better than that; I don’t take you guys for fools. A lot of you are living the ADHD life, too, so you totally get it. If I pranced around here all the time only talking about the benefits of having ADHD, I would probably lose my credit as an ADHDer. There are good days and there are bad days. (Good/bad weeks, good/bad months, good/bad years…you get the picture.) And I won’t pretend otherwise.

I have plenty of content ideas, but I just haven’t had the energy to put a post together lately. Life is all about priorities, though. You need to do what makes you happy and you need to spend time on the things you value most. We all have limited time – both on a daily basis and in the grand scheme of things. You (I) have to be smart about how you (I) spend that time and energy.

Thing is…this blog (and all you guys reading it) are a priority. It makes me happy to know that people are getting something from my posts. Be it a good laugh, the ability to relate and know you’re not alone, some kind of inspiration…whatever it is that you get from my blog, I owe it to you to not drop the ball on this.

Hell, I owe it to myself.

After all, my whole life I’ve just wanted to make a difference. If this is that chance, I better not screw it up.

So, yeah, adding pressure to a situation? “…always encourages an ADHDer to stick to something,” said no person with ADHD ever.

Oh well…here goes nothing. Who’s with me?

Look a Squirrel! …When People Joke About A.D.H.D.

Okay, guys, I’ve been busy creating social media accounts for the blog and I wanted a picture that could kind of stand by itself, without having to have an actual blog post…and I came up with this.

I was hiking with a friend a few months ago, just as the leaves were changing colors. I had my camera with me because nature is awesome and leaves (changing colors, especially) are amazing. In just over an hour’s time, I took 163 pictures. Truth is, I’m kind of obsessed with photography and being outside.

After a while, the trail started getting crowded, which I totally hate. I like the solitude of hiking and having other people on “my trail” stresses me out. So, I was wrapping up the picture taking because I was ready to be away from all the people.

Anyway, I was in total book-it-and-get-the-hell-out mode when we came across this squirrel. He was just sitting there, hangin’ out, eating a nut. Just like a squirrel…so stereotypical, right?

Intrigued by the noshing squirrel, I started snapping away with my camera. I crept closer…a little afraid he might lunge psychotically from the tree and latch his tiny claws into my face.

But he didn’t. He let us get so close; it was pretty cool. I spent quite a few minutes completely absorbed by this squirrel and all his awesomeness. I tried to break away a few times, but then he’d do something cute. My friend and I joked that I was being so typically A.D.H.D., “Oh, look! A Squirrel!” But, seriously, guys, they are pretty awesome.

It’s not just my A.D.H.D., you know this squirrel is awesome.

And just to be clear, I did take pictures of the awesome view and other stuff, too, but I didn’t want to bombard you guys with a million different pictures (I’ll save that for another post).

ADHD and the outdoors – we get along.

Happy Single Tasking Day from an ADHD-er

Found out that today (February 19th) is Single Tasking Day…and this was my first thought:

Let’s be honest, most people with ADHD function better (or at least feel more comfortable) when their mind is racing in a million directions. It’s just the way our minds work.

Multitasking gets a bad rap. We’ve all read the articles that claim multitasking has been scientifically proven to hinder productivity. And while that may very well be true for most people, let’s keep in mind that the ADHD brain functions quite differently. The ADHD brain works better in situations that are often disregarded or frowned upon for the common brain.

There are mixed opinions about multitasking and ADHD. Some say our jumping from task to task (multitasking) is a flaw. However, some say our brains work better when doing two things at once. Take, for instance, this quote from an ADDitude mag article:

“…an activity that uses a sense other than that required for the primary task — listening to music while reading a social studies textbook — can enhance performance in children with ADHD. Doing two things at once, she found, focuses the brain on the primary task.”

I imagine, like all things, it’s a matter of figuring out what works best for you. For me, it depends on the activity and the environment, but I have definitely found that listening to music and/or fidgeting (or pedaling my DeskCycle) , while trying to concentrate on something else, usually helps me focus better.

The general consensus from my fellow ADHD / ADD people is that multitasking works for them, too. So, you know, if it works for you, who cares what society says? You have to be true to your ADHD brain, my friends. It’s an awesome tool…you just have to understand what makes it run.

(I’m still trying to understand my own ADHD brain. Just trying to encourage the rest of you guys.)

I’ll leave you with this little bit of humor:

…or is it both? It is for me.

Another ADHD Life Lesson: Irons are Hot – Don’t Palm Them

So, this post has been rather difficult to write…my left hand is excessively wrapped in gauze protecting my most recent injury.

Let’s start at the beginning…the date was November 16. The year? 2011. The cat got out of the bag at work about my t-shirt making hobby. (I use iron-ons…and yeah, I’m a real dork.) One of my coworkers asked me if I could make one for her.

Now, I take t-shirt design very seriously, folks, so making one can be a very time consuming project. Because, yeah, here are some examples.

Thing is, this t-shirt project should have been really easy. My coworker even sent me the graphic she wanted me to use. It can take a lot of energy (because I’m crazy) to get the design situated perfectly on the t-shirt, but usually the hardest part is getting the design perfect. This time, the design came ready-to-go (AND, my coworker gave me the t-shirt she wanted me to use, eliminating a whole ‘nother level of potential drama), so what the heck was my problem?

Honestly? I’m not even sure. A few things: 1. I knew I was running out of ink. 2. I knew some of the ink was expired. 3. I had forgotten which transfer paper worked the best. 4. My printer was SO hidden under piles of crap. 5. I hate imperfection.

Be that as it may…3.5 years to make a t-shirt is pretty ridiculous. Unfinished projects loom over me, killing me a little each day. Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but they really do bug the crap out of me.

Anyway, I recently bought brand new ink and printed off another design for a friend. I decided it was time to crap or get off the pot. I mean, I felt guilty every single time I saw this coworker, like I had somehow failed her. So, I printed off the design (after resending it to myself because I couldn’t find it anywhere).

That was weeks (or at least days) ago. This Saturday I decided it was time. I had the house to myself, so I set up shop. I followed the directions on the iron-on package explicitly. I put a pillowcase down on the counter, taped it in place, ironed it and proceeded to position the t-shirt.

I centered the t-shirt the best I could and then taped that down as well. I started ironing the t-shirt, focusing mainly on the area where I was going to put the design. Then I noticed the sleeves were a little wrinkled, so I focused on them a little bit. I couldn’t quite position myself correctly, to get all the wrinkles out without creating permanent wrinkles in places that should have just been left alone.

And here’s where the climax should be…except that I’m not entirely sure what happened next because I wasn’t paying full attention. I went to put the iron down, to reassess the positioning of the sleeves. It’s not that I was going to put the hot part of the iron down on the counter…because I wasn’t. Regardless, I put the hot part of the iron down on my hand.

Took about 20 seconds before I realized I was in excruciating pain. My entire index finger (the one side of it, anyway) was busy getting branded. I immediately ran it under cold water and then put Neosporin on it. It was throbbing in pain, so I put an ice pack on it. It wasn’t until I started taking pictures for this post that I realized my middle finger was wounded as well…

But you know, Another ADHD Life Lesson learned: Irons are hot – don’t palm them.

…well, duh.