Part of #ExplainAdultADHD. A campaign to reduce the ignorance, misinformation, and stigma against adults with ADHD.
ADHD Is Real And It’s A Lot Worse Than You May Think
“Most people think of ADHD as only having attention problems, but it’s more than just that.
People seem to get frustrated at those with ADHD as if the person with ADHD can control their illness or that they’re doing things on purpose.
I’m here to tell you that those with ADHD are not ignoring you, they’re not forgetting things on purpose, and they’re not slow at things because they don’t care.
These are just a few of the issues that people with ADHD face every day and would otherwise choose to live free of those issues.
When I was at my most recent job, my boss would be frustrated with me almost every day. I worked in an office and had to review, file, and work on the computer most of the time. I would try my best to stay organized by writing down a list of things to do.
All of this wasn’t enough and I was a mess with organization, having my computer screen filled with multiple things at once and clutter on my desk. I would have to flip from one page to another on the computer screen and forget what page I was looking for.
I would accidentally add the wrong files together or lose pages that I needed. It was a disaster and caused me to be extremely inefficient at my job.
My boss thought I was slacking off because I wouldn’t get much done, sometimes barely anything at all. This was definitely not the case and not the only problem I had to deal with.
The worst issue of all is my attention span. When my boss or others were speaking, I tried my best at paying attention to what they were telling me but seemed to fail most of the time.
My boss would tell me things like, ” I told you ten times already, I shouldn’t have to tell you again” or ‘Were you even paying attention?”.
My lack of attention was not only an issue in conversations but in doing tasks as well. This would cause me to take a lot longer on things causing my boss to say things like, “You’re not done yet? What were you doing all day?” or “what’s the hold up?”.
Feeling embarrassed of my condition, I would just apologize as if I did something wrong, as if I were a terrible person who didn’t care. Again, this wasn’t the truth.
It’s difficult to explain these things to people who don’t understand. When most people hear the term ADHD, they think of it as a little attention issue and don’t know the full extent of the problems.
They might have a friend or relative that has the condition and only remember the small lack of attention from their own perspective.
This is understandable because how can anyone know what’s going on in someone else’s head.
They are not cognizant of what issues people with ADHD truly face. It’s very difficult to make people understand the issues others have to deal with.
The main reason why people are bothered by others with ADHD is that they think it’s not that bad or that people with ADHD can control these issues that they, unfortunately, face every day.
I’m here to tell you that ADHD is very real and that it’s a huge burden that some people have to deal with every day throughout their lives.”
By Keith.
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