#adhd cognizant

[adhdcognizant]

🙂🙃

#adhd #adhdtwitter #living with adhd #adhd cognizant #adhd awareness #neurodivergent #adhd memes #attention deficit hyperactivity disorder #adhd problems #neurodiversity

[allatariel]

That feeling when a quote has been part of your lexicon for so long that you have lost track of its source and spend the better part of the morning trying to unearth it from the depths of your brain to varying degrees of success.

#adhd #i have adhd #referential brain #i have a quote for that #media cross referenced long term memory #in the morning when i'm trying to drag myself out of bed nux is cheering me on from the fury road “get up! you can do it!” #often when greeting people i'll say “how's it going?” in a decent impression of 'old kid' from the first episode of invader zim #during the political debates season i can't get “mrs. robinson” out of my head 'going to the candidates' debate' #one song flows into another seemingly unrelated song because of a perceived similar chord progression or melodic motif or rhythm #that even i'm not always initially cognizant of and have to spend some time analyzing #weirdly wired #and now i can't recall what quote i was trying to place the source for even #i just have a distinct impression of the moment and that recurrent feeling of 'file not found'

[prismatic-bell]

If you have ADHD or any other neurodivergence (including physical brain damage) that causes forgetfulness and disorganized thinking, THIS POST IS FOR YOU. (If this doesn’t describe you, it might still be useful to you, but it’s aimed at my fellow forgetters.)

I cannot urge you enough to try going analog.

Look at this.

Of the six things I needed that aren’t crossed off (the fruit butter was optional and I was only getting it if they had plum): three have to be purchased at an ethnic grocery, two of them this store didn’t carry my brand, and one of them I prefer the onion selection at my regular store (this store had really tiny ones). You’ll notice none of these are “I forgot it.” They’re something I need to go to another store for, and that’s it.

There are four things in this cart that weren’t on my list: kosher chicken broth (which I know I’m out of and is always good to have on hand as a staple), a yahrzeit candle for my grandfather whose yahrzeit is coming up, an extra bag of sugar because I’m about to do my Purim baking, and a bottle of red wine vinegar because I know I’m also out of that and while it’s not technically a staple I do use it A LOT. You can literally look at my cart in this photo and match everything (except the chicken broth and red wine vinegar) to the crossed-off items on the list.

Everything on this list is going into planned meals for which I have the recipes on paper. And the dates they’re needed are written on my very analog calendar, hanging on my cupboard.

Compare this to digital lists, where I tend to forget half of what’s on them and fill my cart with stuff I don’t need, resulting in a ton of snacks and disparate ingredients that don’t actually make anything. During Covid I accidentally hoarded 40 rolls of toilet paper, and if you’re wondering how one accidentally hoards 40 rolls of toilet paper, it’s because every time I went to the store I went “…did I buy toilet paper? Better get one just in case, the shortage is still going.” I DIDN’T NEED TO BUY TOILET PAPER FOR A YEAR AFTER THE VACCINES STARTED ROLLING OUT. I was never sure if I’d bought it or just forgot to put it on the digital list. Analog forces me to stop, slow down, and pay attention instead of typing things in at the speed of light.

There’s actually a scientific explanation for this, and I learned it a long time ago so I’m going to ask forgiveness for being kinda vague on specifics here, but the basic version is that you use different parts of your brain for typing and writing, and the writing part is more closely linked with the memory part, so you’re more likely to remember something you’ve physically written down.

And remember: you don’t have to be ~*~*~aesthetic~*~*~ about this. I bought my grocery pad on Etsy because I’d rather give a small business my money than fluff Walmart, but the only reason the pens are two different colors is because the pen I carry in my purse is black and the ones in my mail caddy aren’t. That’s it, that’s literally the only reason. My calendar is color-coded, but it’s not complicated (red is bills going out, green is money coming in, blue is celebrations and events, brown is my work schedule, gray is non-bill deadlines, and turquoise is anything the roommates are doing that I need to be aware of). And it is making a tangible difference in my life. For the last two and a half months—in other words, since I started doing this—my bills haven’t just been paid on time, they’ve been PREPAID. I have the payment in BEFORE IT’S DUE. I’m more cognizant of what I have, what I need to save, and what I need to spend. This coming month is Pesach and my Pesach cleaning is going on there so I can get it all done correctly and timely. The calendar hangs on my tea cupboard so I have to look at it every day and the grocery list is right next to it.

This may not work for you. But pick one thing—a shopping list is an easy one to start with—and try it, just for a month. You might be stunned by how much it changes for you.

I certainly was.

[3hks]

How to Create a Unique Character

As authors, we should want our characters to stand out, to be unique, and to have an everlasting impression on our readers! However, there are simply too many other characters out there to make our creations one-of-a-kind. But in this post, I'll give you some ideas and tips you can use to create a memorable character!

What really sticks out about your character? Appearance wise, it's admittedly easier if your character has some truly unique features, such as heterochromatic eyes, scars, different hair color(s), accessories, etc. If your character doesn't have anything too distinctive about them, then pick out some of their most important traits and embellish them! Notice that I said important, the features that matter to your character should matter to the reader. And finally, if your character is simply just average, then state that. Take time to really describe your characters and the respective parts of them!

What about their backstory? Honestly, a backstory can do a lot! They can change the readers' perspectives on the character and provide reasoning for their actions. With that being said, a backstory can really stick to the audience, so let your imagination run wild with their past! Naturally, you should decide on what influence their background had on them and build a story around that. Does your character live in an orphanage? What type of orphanage is it? What did they learn from it? For quite some writers, their main characters are orphans, but how did they become one? I'm going to be honest here, it's rather common for authors to have their protagonist watch their parents die, and have their motives built around that. Don't just settle for something bland! If they have been through some sort of traumatic experience, depending on the situation, I suggest involving that character, make them a part of what they went through, more than a simple bystander. Maybe they could've helped, but didn't, and that regret was what changed them! If you want your character to have an impression on your audience, the backstory is a part of the foundation for that!

What about their emotions? For a mentally healthy character, this is a pretty obvious answer: they are perfectly cognizant of their feelings and accept them. However, I suspect that most of you won't create a mentally healthy character, and that might work to your advantage! Think about how they would deal with these three feelings: sadness, anger, and stress. Does it differ from a "normal" person? Then at some point, include your character battling one (or more) of the emotions they find it difficult to deal with! How they respond will stick out to the readers!

What about their mental stability? Does your character have some sort of mental health disorder? These don't have to be flat-out depression, but can include OCD, mysophobia, (more commonly known as germophobia) anxiety, ADHD, etc. A disorder or obsession will definitely make your character stand out, but make sure to do some research on the topic! Mental health is no joke; some people may actually have the disorder, and falsified facts could really be offensive.

And lastly, what about their own, private problems? For example, a character's significant other has been distracted with work, and doesn't pay much attention to the former character. Thus, they feel abandoned and not prioritized. How does the character fight to overcome those feelings? How a character feels in specific events can reach out to the reader because they find it relatable!

These are some things to consider when creating a unique character! Every little part counts!

Happy writing~

3hks ^^

#writing #writeblr #writerscommunity #writing tips #writing advice #writing inspo #creative writing #how to create a unique character #unique character #how to make a character stand out

[white-chalk-sapphomet]

I think the worst part abt the whole like. transfeminine predator mythology, is having to contend with the fact that it's not just like some online shitheads. I have to watch my back. I worry about getting followed. I don't feel good about situations where I have to talk to kids for one reason or another because there are adults and parents that are convinced the only reason for a grown trans woman to speak to their kids is to either be a predator or corrupt them or some shit. That makes it harder for me to ever imagine being a parent or being involved in a child's life. I have the same fears over nanny jobs, teaching, camp counselor jobs, etc. I worry if I worked in healthcare I would be accused of doing it to peek and prey on people. I also worry about the difference in how transmisogyny feels in professions where I don't have to take a loan or attend a school, versus taking up that debt and doing the work to get credentials and still getting treated like some kind of basket case at best, predator at worst, whether it's patients/clients or coworkers. I feel like a few years ago, I felt like I could be less cognizant of these things, it felt easier to be confident and talk about self love and stuff. idk not that those fields are things I necessarily had in mind for myself. But it's like I still feel the ways my options are skewed differently and what risks could be associated. I've become more and more just like. demure. I do my best not to talk over others and I try to keep myself on a short leash. Less outspoken overall. I become more isolated. I hesitate over complimenting people's fashion or bangs or tattoos. I don't feel comfortable like I used to about flirting with people or expressing sexual interest. sometimes I feel like when I was a kid and I'd cover my eyes around the victoria secret mannequins.

It's probably not all just the transmisogyny or transphobia. some of it's dealing with adhd or ocd or whatever. The short term memory and the mental word salad stream of consciousness. dealing with growing up isolated and moving a lot, getting a subpar education, and just feeling too stupid or out of touch to talk or engage with anybody in a way that's meaningful. some of that's made me more of an avoidance recluse too idk. I just feel like I have to keep reinventing myself until I feel safe again somewhere someday, but its easier said than done.

[adhdanalogbrain]

so, question: adhd and dyscalculia are pretty well linked; was reading an additude mag article that about 20% of adhd folks also have dyscalculia. one of the listed things that could be dyscalculia is "difficulty reading an analog clock". does dyscalculia -- can it be a grab bag of stuff?? like I just tested into an advanced math class, but 10 years ago I got a nice analog watch to force me to learn to read it. still not very good at it. any of y'all have trouble with analog clocks?

Analog clocks are the WORST.

Yes, you're exactly right that dyscalculia is very much a grab bag of stuff. Importantly, dyscalculia =/= bad at math. I have terrible dyscalculia and I'm a successful professional statistician.

Here's a short list of the grab bag of symptoms that indicate dyscalculia [source: wikipedia]:

Difficulty reading analog clocks

Difficulty stating which of two numbers is larger

Inability to comprehend financial planning or budgeting

Difficulty with mental arithmetic

When writing, reading and recalling numbers, mistakes may occur in the areas such as: number additions, substitutions, transpositions, omissions, and reversals

Poor memory of math concepts

Ability to grasp math on a conceptual level, but an inability to put those concepts into practice

Problems with differentiating between left and right

Difficulty with time, directions, recalling schedules, sequences of events, keeping track of time, frequently late or early

Difficulty reading maps

Difficulty working backwards in time (e.g. What time to leave if needing to be somewhere at 'X' time)

Difficulty reading musical notation

Difficulty with choreographed dance steps

People with dyscalculia aren't necessarily bad at math. My personal take is that it's more that we have trouble perceiving time the way neurotypicals do. And that gives us trouble with sequencing, i.e. what comes before or after something else. This can affect us in weird ways, that can seem really uneven or unexpected.

As a statistician, I don't do math by hand; I write computer code to do the math for me. I've managed to figure out a lot of workarounds for when my dyscalculia interferes with my work. Instead of looking at two numbers and trying to figure out in my brain which one is bigger, I write code that will flag the bigger number for me. I also write code that will do any arithmetic I need done automatically (because hey, even neurotypicals mess up manual steps sometimes too).

In general, I've stopped trying to force myself to be not bad at sequencing, and instead just accept that it's a part of my life that I need to be cognizant of. When I look up directions on G maps, I use the "arrive by time" feature that will tell me when I need to leave the house in order to arrive on time. I stopped trying to force myself to read analog clocks, and just switched everything to digital. Etc etc.

tl;dr - yes dyscalculia is a common thing. It doesn't involve your ability to math so much as your ability to comprehend time. As such, it can feel like a random grab-bag of symptoms, and the analog clock thing is definitely one of those.

#adhd #dyscalculia

[phoenixyfriend]

A discord was discussing how modern AUs are always so... normal. And I got distracted, because my favorite "we are SO normal [is not normal at all]" ship is Anidala.

I feel like Anakin and Padme can pretend at normal in a modern AU but it's all a Mr. And Mrs. Smith kind of playacting where they are both pretending to be So Normal they are like 1950s ready-to-be-a-nuclear-family newlyweds they are SO NORMAL and then you take one wrong look and WHOOPS their basement is full of spy tech and like. Grenades.

"I'm going to get a good grade in being a suburban housewife, something that is both normal to want and possible to achieve."

- hitman Padme, probably

And then @bytebun said "i have no seen wandavision but based solely on the trailer. vaderkin play-acting that kinda normal"

and I lost my mind for a little because. Yes.

I just love unfathomably weird child celebrity Padme and slave-turned-warrior-monk Anakin and their attempts to be Suburbanite Young Parents.

For this to work for me, I need to insist that Padme is completely cognizant and has her free will, she's just really weird. None of that "Anakin mind-controlled her into loving him" shit here, she's just as weird as he is.

Padme means her smile she is so chill she is so excited to be invited to the neighborhood potluck she made her SPECIALTY BREAD.

She is going to have NORMAL PERSON CONVERSATIONS about things that are NOT GUNS or HOW TO TRACK DOWN TAX EVASION IN THE MAFIA.

Byte:

"Oh, Mrs. Amidala, what does your husband do for work?"

"…security."

They are. So normal. They promise.

i am also thinking abt non-vader au this playing out on like tatooine. or just no-order66 and they are politely asked to move out of the penthouse because there have been an uptick in attempted assassinations & it's making the other senators rlly nervous

anakin gets a Reputation as the guy you go to if your engine won't turn over or if you have a Plumbing Incident

he's out here talking to all the middle-aged guys building their patios & he's soooooo excited about it. he wants to help choose the colours. he's ALSO extremely in with the auntie gossip abt marriages

he's like very well-loved actually maybe padme is even a little jealous ajsdlkfds;flk but sometimes he gets this... look. and he seems to know too much, about things you've never mentioned

They get a reputation for being weird and odd but like in a nice and fun way. They are absolutely not normal but it's a different kind of not normal than the truth.

One of the local moms tries to armchair psychiatry them.

Is it a modern au? Does Anakin have superpowers or is he just a spy with ADHD? Is it just Witness Protection: Naboo? Who knows! They are SO normal.

what's that my boy has autism but he sure can grill post. kinda like that. except it's my boy is a bit eldritch sometime but he sure can home depot

i think padme is like almost a little too put-together to get along with the other moms…. they get like nervous

(she remedies this by making mistakes on purpose & follows up by talking abt luke & leia)

Padme lives her life like an instagram mom.

There's a Major Attack of some sort and suddenly Padme is shooting things and Anakin is shepherding people into his basement because It's The Only One That Can Withstand A Bomb and everyone is just like. Oh. Okay. What the fuck.

SO normal. different story abt the prosthetic hand each time, also.

when people are too perfect. ur like. [sweats]

Anakin accidentally manages to convince everyone that he escaped a cult. This is not true. But he can't explain the truth so he just asks them not to talk about it.

I just

I need them to be weird but in a way where they are CONVINCED they are so normal, guys.

They are doing so well at pretending to be Regular Citizens. (They are not.)

The fandom is just lacking in Anidala fics that let them be weird as fuck for comedy purposes.

#anidala #anakin skywalker #padme amidala #modern au #sorta #wandavision #crossovers #also kinda #phoenix posts #star wars

[desceros]

assumption - you were an angry child growing up, but you learnt to see the light in the world as you entered adulthood? possibly were the black sheep of the family (comrade grip if you were)

also, you hate melons.

false! i was actually an incredibly cheery child, very bright and bouncy and energetic. very whimsical and chatty. the poster child for unmedicated, liberated adhd in a good environment. happy as a clam! it was quite rare that i'd cry or be upset at anything, and it would take a lot for me to do so.

as for black sheep of the family, that's quite true. but my weirdness was always celebrated, so while i have always been cognizant of being different, to me that was a badge of honor.

aaaand false on the meme answer!!! i LOVE melons!! ESPECIALLY HONEYDEW!!! plot twist!!!!

#ask tag #tag game #that's my secret captain. i DESTROY THE THINGS I LOVE HARDER THAN ANYTHING!!!

[saltminerising]

Probably beating a dead horse atp but I’m not over it so fuck it bc what they did infuriates me. S from arcane, you are immature and refuse to be cognizant of how your words and actions hurt others. You CANNOT use autism and adhd as an excuse to be a shitty person (i.e. that fucking terrorist “joke” you made) and then never be ACCOUNTABLE for your actions. “I don’t have enough spoons to not be a racist/make bad jokes/correct my past bad actions” Yet you had the spoons to double down when your actions are called out? Only to resort to sticking your head in the sand and acting like you aren’t even old enough to play FR yet? For the love of god PLEASE fucking learn how to act on the internet. I’m saying this as someone who is physically disabled and who is ALSO AuDHD, your disabilities are not fucking excuses to toss out because you don’t want to act like a fucking adult. It fucking disgusts me that you do so.

#racism #racism mention

[first-empire-fancy-boys]

Your Ideal Napoleonic Era Movie

If someone gave you like Insane James Cameron Avatar money to make a Napoleonic film and every perfect actor, choreographer, screenwriter, and other logistics you needed was available to you, what you would do?

I'm just curious. I was discussing with a friend about how it was physically impossible to do the entirety of Naps' career in one movie in a satisfactory manner due to the absolute length of his military career.

But I had nothing cognizant to suggest for a movie about Napoleon.

The only thing I want is having the Napster sitting on his secretary's lap for no reason ever provided.

The guy was like a cat with ADHD from what I figure.

Maybe I just want guys chilling in an explicitly not 20th-21st century "we gotta No Homo everything" way.

And obviously, if I had more money on my hands than I knew what to do with for a Napoleonic film, I would hire the prettiest man for a Louis-Francois Lejeune biopic. xD

#napoleonic #napoleonic era #napoleonic wars

[zeravmeta]

it's incredible how much it breaks my parents/other coworkers/adults brains when they learn that I am simply neutral about kids. "oh but you work with kids you must absolutely adore them and want one you must think about them all the time theyre so cute!!!" uh. no. no im fairly certain I dont. "what so you just hate kids why do you have this job then?" no i didnt say that either. and also I have this job because we live under capitalism. like I am literally just 100% neutral on kids and this opinion blows people away in large part because I suspect I am the only guy in the room who recognizes them as separate cognizant individuals and not dolls to be fawned over or like, tragic victims of circumstance because they have autism/adhd/whatever. that is a smaller guy over there doing his own thing and im just helping him find his footing for later in life and i will be as professional about it as possible. i already gave my giant speech about Oh How I Wish To Change The World And Make A Difference in my college application and interview already its not really all that deep

#incessant whining about irl #sigh. oh well in like 3 years ill probs have enough money to switch tracks anyways but man. #whatever. human experience built on suffering and it wont break me but man is it tiring

[adhdcognizant]

🙂🙃

#adhd #adhd cognizant #adhd Twitter #living with adhd #neurodivergent #adhd awareness #attention deficit hyperactivity disorder #adult adhd #adhd problems

[ghostcrows]

Uhg this is maybe gonna sound patronizing but sometimes people on here spend to much time making sociological theories and forget that evidence based practice >>>>> theories that tie things together and explain everything. Every time. Every time they trump it. So it’s like the current state of mental healthcare and disability accommodations being so bad leads to the theory of how pathology is a structural validation to stigmatization of neurodiversity esp things like schizophrenia. And that coupled with the hater mindset around how “popular” and “lol quirky” adhd and autism are being portrayed on social media (this sounds deeply unserious but it’s the best way I can put it) leads to people who are adhd and autistic which can be materially physically seen and is real dismissing themselves in favor of the theory. Like idk. People love to do lots of thinking and I am not at all trying to disparage it but even when you’re a radial anti establishment politically extreme leftist if you’re theorizing then you’re theorizing and venerable to the pitfalls of theories. Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer won a nobel prize semi recently for doing the most water-is-wet thing and conducting experiments and looking at the results to determine policy change instead of basing policy on theory. It really opened my eyes to read about. The theory is just a tool to talk about the world. The world comes first always. Adhd being a physical condition of the brain does not fit into certain theories and so proponents of the theory will consciously or not, willfully or not, brush aside certain things that do not fit into the worldview supported by the theory or would be complicated or made worse by implementing the policy proposed by the theory. But it’s all just smoke. Does this make any sense. I saw someone say bipolar wasnt harmful outside of the stigmatization because they prescribe to the theory and I was so shocked. Manic episodes can lead to the bipolar person becoming physically violent and thank god for medication. Bipolar can ruin a life because of the things you do while in a manic episode and it can end a life in a depressive episode it’s like. Circling back around to denial of mental illness.

definitely does make sense i agree with this, we can speculate all day long but at the end of the day people are struggling, and they would likely struggle regardless of society's response towards their conditions

it really does loop back around in the end and its just frustrating

i understand not wanting to be pathologized, i understand not trusting the psychs, i understand that the system is as broken as it ever was with maybe a shinier coat of paint over it now and slightly less medieval torture methods deployed...but regardless how you classify mental illness or how you rename it, its a fairly consistent set of symptoms and experiences

its like when people have this idea that mental illness will cease to exist in the utopian post-capitalist world the revolution will bring

but the way i really know people still dont get it even within these circles is the way they cant seem to agree on how much of mental illness is even in the control of the sufferer. like theres always a point at which its simply an excuse, because, well i suffer from this and i wouldnt do that...in the fight against the stigma we throw so many people under the bus and end up only advocating for the people who can speak for themselves in the first place, the 'high functioning' people (who subsequently are not really allowed to show symptoms either because, you're too functional, you're too cognizant of your own actions, you must be doing it on purpose too)

and the anti-med stance is another i cant really get behind even knowing that yeah...you can go through everything they got and never find one that works for you, you can get meds that fuck you all the way up, even when youre on them you might still struggle, you might hate the side effects more than the illness...i get all that and i recognize all that and people totally have the right not to take shit they dont want to...but also i know people who need their medication...big pharma or not doesnt fucking matter cause its obviously something that tangibly helps enough people that we cant just not have it. same with therapy its totally understandable to lose all faith in that avenue of help but there will always be people who need that kind of service even in its imperfect state

reminds me a lot of a book i read called 'no one cares about crazy people' , every few decades we have a new dominating theory of mental illness and the people who are labeled mentally ill continue to struggle through every iteration of it

[sharlmbracta]

comment excerpt:

ADHD is a boon to creativity the challenge is consistency… or seemingly so. I think in general living, you need to impose structure to survive as an adult with ADHD, especially if you go no-meds like I have. I don't think that's nearly the case with creative activities though creativity is our domain, man. It's more about trusting your mind to do good exploration when you let it run free.

Everything that ever really stuck for me about music theory, stuck AFTER doing that. Not from reading and practicing but inadvertently actualizing it in my noodling, which I've come to realize is my mind's way of sorting out the information.

It's really interesting how the knowledge comes sometimes. I have been playing guitar for 20 years, largely self-taught. l've spent a lot of time pouring over different techniques and studying theory, never really feeling like I got where I was supposed to with it. I certainly enjoy what I play, but it's always felt like the understanding that other people have, escaped me.

But now, I tend to think I just never actually realized how much theory I had picked up over the years of scattershot study. Maybe I don't have the most well-rounded foundation, but my actual output on the instrument conveys to other, more learned people, an understanding that they always seem to want to know more about, like somehow I have figured out something they haven't.

My answer has always been "Well, I never practice, but I always play." Most other players l've met, are far more 'on-grid' than me, more predictable and consistent in their decisions and application of technique. You never know what I'll play, or why it actually works. One of my best friends is an incredibly talented and dedicated musician, with high mastery of guitar, piano, and especially trumpet. HE does not understand what I do half of the time, puts all of this analysis into it, trying to crack the code. He wants ME, to teach HIM what I know.

And yet, I don't even know the code. It's all impulse from my perspective. I don't know why things come together like they do. I just know that they do the majority of the time. I know enough theory to point out what worked about them — I do that sometimes, get into a mode of reverse-engineering what I play under the lens of modern theory and it helps me internalize — feed that intuition I'll need later. It's still terrifying for me to improvise in front of people, but every time I do, people tend to presume I am much more serious and studious than I have ever been — like I meant for things to work out this way, when I probably had little clue what I was going to play before I began.

It's like I am fully present when I play, just not cognizant. Maybe it's just that the strain on memory in those times doesn't permit my brain to consciously process it all, but it seems like it still does SOME kind of recall that is almost absolute. I can do anything a normal musician can do, it's just not accessed in quite the same way. I just put in the time and it worked out.

I WILL however say. It was not always that way. For the first 5-7 years I had a hyperfocus for it that just would not let go, so I would in fact practice for hours every day. Now, I worry less about it because 'm more focused on learning new stuff and being exposed to different music that inspires me to play and write more music. At some point, I found I just had the skill-born freedom wanted on tap and it just became about discovery for me.

A lot of my best skills are like that. I don't know how or why l'm good at them, or why I can randomly rattle off in-depth information I otherwise don't ever consider. I think our ADHD brains internalize things differently. It's not that we forget things, it's more as though much of the information stored in memory comes out somewhere outside of consciousness, more in the space of intuition. The problem with ADHD isn't as much one of storage as it is recall mechanisms. The better relationship I have with my intuition, the more my skills in things I want to do just seem to come to me by just following my own impulses to engage and letting my brain get whatever it thinks it needs… and just accept that I might never know that directly.

Learning with ADHD is often akin to tending to a garden and watching as the flowers bloom.

- differentbutsimilar7893

#adhd #brains #study #stuff #forwarding #life #《 Learning with ADHD is often akin to tending to a garden and watching as the flowers bloom 》 #adhd music #adhd musicality #adhd creativity #tags for me to remember

[feelstuck]

Combatting Dehydration

Dehydration is not fun. It can cause dizziness, nausea, fever, headaches, constipation, and a multitude of other health concerns. Not to mention deprivation of your cells of what they need to regenerate. Avoid dehydration by drinking 7-16 ounces of water for every pound of sweat you lose during exercise, incorporating water and/or water based drinks throughout the day when not exercising, and being cognizant of when your body tells you it needs water - dry mouth, thirst, twitching, etc.

If you do become dehydrated, please remember it may take two to three days to fully recover. You will have lost electrolytes, so be mindful to increase intake of sources of electrolytes such a Pedialyte, sports drinks, coconut water, and some milks.

A fun way to maintain hydration is infused waters. A Vitamix AER Disc can infuse water in 45 seconds and still provide the full, rich flavor one would experience from leaving the water mix to marinate in the fridge for a week. Forty-five seconds versus seven days is instant gratification and satisfaction.

There are powder alternatives, which require adding water. By finding flavors and flavor combinations you enjoy, water becomes more palatable. Fruit juices, teas, and coffee count, but sodas and alcohol do not. However, be mindful of caffeine content with coffees and teas. For some with ADHD, caffeine may have a bad side effect. Additionally, caffeine is a diarrhetic, which may cause frequent urination and bowel movements.

Photo Credits:

📸 Angeline Low

Backboards in first two photos are V-Flat Duo Boards in Coral Wash and Terrazzo. Backboards in third photo are Replica Surfaces Lush View and Jade Tile.

#dehydration #stay hydrated #drink more water #electrolytes #coconut water #Pedialyte #milk #sports drinks #sweat #exercise #self care #self love #self healing #vflat world #vflat duo boards #replica surfaces #product photography

[a-bit-too-much-of-a-zelda-fan]

For autism awareness month, I’ll be talking about my autism. I have a complicated relationship with it. I’ll readily admit that it’s my autism that makes me a bit too much of a Zelda fan, a bit too much of a Pokémon fan, etc.. Whenever I get into a new thing, I go in neck deep and it consumes my thoughts. On the one hand, I get to micro analyze the thing and appreciate it for all its worth. On the other, I sometimes wish I could just like multiple things at once and give me other things to talk about when I’m with my friends, instead of turning to the internet and ranting into the void. I created this blog almost six years ago because at the time I only had one friend who also liked Zelda, and I knew it would be cruel to unload all my autistic Zelda ramblings on him. Same reason I made the Pokémon side blog.

Effective communication does not come easily for me. I’m sometimes unaware of the tone I’m speaking in, and I have very poor control over my facial expressions. Basically I can’t hide my emotions for shit, which can be bad in some scenarios. I miss some nonverbal cues. On the flip side, this has made me work incredibly hard to become an effective communicator. I know that if things are left unsaid, they may go uncommunicated. I know to say what I mean and clarify everything that needs to be. I hate that I over analyze everything I say and hear said to me, but oh well.

As a white, cishet man, I need to be aware of the power dynamics in my relationships. I need to be cognizant of the ways my words and actions can be perceived differently by women, minorities, and other people with whom there is some imbalance of power. I think this is how all people in my position should approach things, but for me and my autism, this is especially difficult. So I verbally acknowledge it with the person so they know I’m trying.

For example, a good friend of mine used to only know me as the author of Oops! All Links. He looked up to me as a writer and put me on a pedestal, which I understand and is completely natural as a parasocial relationship. He is also seven whole years younger than me. At the time, I was 21 and he was 14. When we started to DM and actually become friends, I told him explicitly that I recognized the power imbalance in our friendship, and he should feel absolutely no obligation to do anything that I say or ask of him, and to also tell me immediately if something I say or do makes him uncomfortable. I never had and still never do have any ill intent in this friendship, but the last thing I want is to unintentionally take advantage of him.

Sometimes, I wish things could be different. Compounded with my bipolar disorder and ADHD, my autism makes my life harder. My brain is crosswired and I need to work harder to achieve the things that I want than do neurotypical people. Getting through college has been an ordeal and it’s honestly a miracle that I’m almost finished with it. If I could do away with just the ways my autism my life worse, I would in a heartbeat.

My autism also makes me who I am, though. It defines my personality and the way I interact with the world. I wouldn’t be such an effective verbal communicator, I wouldn’t have the same passions, and I wouldn’t have the same relationships. It’s part of what makes me,,, me. And ya know what? I like me.

I still hate some things about myself. I hate the ways that my disabilities and disorders make my life harder. I sometimes wish I could just whisk it all away so I don’t have to struggle like I do. But there are some good things that come along with it. If I got to choose whether to get rid of the autism and everything it entails… I don’t know. I just don’t know if I would. But I don’t have that choice. For better or for worse, reality has already made the decision for me.

#autism #offtheme #my life