Reading the web and watching the YouTube’s yields a plethora of little attention hacks that apparently really help people with their ADHD, but leave me feeling completely alienated because absolutely none of them work for me. In fact, I just don’t even implement them, just sort of eye them suspisciously from a distance.

It feels a little reminscent of the advice I’d get for depression in that the bulk of advice seems targetted towards people with less severe forms, and both writers and readers can say, “Wow! Thanks! This really worked for me!”

The feeling that I had earlier that, “OK, now I have a diagnosis, I can start treating the problem” is evaporating away I’m left with a despair that comes from having a version of ADHD that is seemingly not treatable and not work-aroundable and is actually and irrevocably debilitating.

Getting an eval in a week

Edit: If anyone has resources for severe ADHD instead of this Stephen Covery organizational bullshit, please drop it in the comments.

  • Zarobi@aussie.zoneEnglish
    7·
    8 days ago

    I have severe ADHD. I take guanfacine now. It helps a tiny bit, like just enough so I can barely grasp the faint edges of a memory. But even just that tiny thing helped a lot. Now if someone tells me something, I can remember they spoke to me and it was important, and go annoy them again. Before I would just completely forget everything immediately.

    I found stimulants didn’t help in the “correct direction”, if that makes sense. Like they almost made my ADHD worse in a way.

    I take a lot of notes. So many notes. My notes app on my phone has over 10,000 entries in it. If I didn’t write it down, it didn’t happen. If it’s not in the calendar, it won’t happen. Simple as that. I just let them pile up, and pin the ones I actively need. Then search when I need to reference them.

    Oh yeah and put things where you can see them or have to walk past them. All apps on the home screen in folders or they don’t exist. Meds on the counter not a drawer (if no kids safety considerations). Important letters on the desk, the junk ones on the floor. Reminders scheduled immediately when you’re told, don’t even wait for a good moment just pause the conversation and write it down.

    I dunno if this will help you. It still sucks of course, but these tips helped a lot. My doctor called them compensations rather than treatment