This list started out as "10 Things I Hate About ADHD", but then I lost interest in what I was doing.

I’m always thinking about what I hate and love about having ADHD. Here is my "Top 5 Things I Hate" list. Stay tuned; tomorrow will be the "Top 5 Things I Love" list. 1) Losing things. I’m always misplacing everything and as soon as I proclaim that it’s officially gone forever, it turns up. I go around saying "I can’t find my _" (insert any of...
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When I grow up I want to be a hairdresser, no, a dental hygienist, no, an architect . . . such is the career path of an ADHDer.

When I grow up, I wanna be a… When I was little, the answer was always "A pediatric dental hygienist." Now, I have no idea why I ever said that. Just the thought of touching other people’s teeth all day makes me cringe. Nope, not for me. Maybe I just liked the big words; I don’t ever remember playing dentist. One thing I do remember...
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Mom was only trying to help us stay organized while she went on vacation; but with two ADHD kids alone in the house, it’s hard to keep up with her list!

This week my family is on vacation, relaxing on a beautiful lake in Maine. And I’m here; at home, working my butt off. Yup, life stinks. Actually my brother’s home too, because he couldn’t take the week off either. And when the parents are away… all semblance of healthy, clean, neat and organized goes out the window. My mom left a list of things to...
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I’ve discovered that chewing gum is a great way to help me combat my ADHD fidgeting and it helps me stay focused at work.

One thing I’ve found that really helps me to keep my focus is chewing gum. You’ll almost never find me without a piece, it’s one of my tricks to combat the small attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) annoyances I face. If I’m at work, I’m chewing gum. If I’m in a lecture, I’m chewing gum. Often, when I’m driving, I’m chewing gum. The mindless chewing...
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ADHD is not only a daily struggle, it’s a morning fight.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is not only a daily struggle, it’s a morning struggle. Especially for me, because I wait to take my meds until just before I leave for work so I can get the most use out of them during my nine-hour day. Getting out of bed, showered, dressed, and making it to work without forgetting something at home is almost a...
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Learning to maintain balance in group conversations is an everyday challenge for a person with ADHD.

Those of us with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often have trouble with group conversations. It’s frustrating when you’re constantly worrying if you’re talking too much, or too loud, or the conversation shifted five minutes ago and you haven’t caught up yet. All of these things have happened to me at one time or another and I understand the stress it causes within the group...
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I often wonder whether my ADHD medication is really helping. Recently, I suffered through an entire day without it before realizing they do help - a lot!

I often wonder if my ADHD medication is really helping me, or if I could do things just as efficiently without it. Now I know, it helps! Unfortunately, I had to suffer through an entire day without it before coming to this conclusion. An hour at work without my meds would have convinced me I had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) if there’s ever been...
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One of the standard symptoms used for ADHD diagnosis is "Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly."

"Huh?"; "Were you talking to me?"; "What did you say?" These are probably the three most common phrases in my vocabulary. The DSM-IV lists one criterion for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as: Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly. My younger brother (who also has ADHD) and I like to repeat this to each other when one of us is...
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My poor sister has to tolerate my ADHD sleep struggles. All I want to do is fall asleep. Sorry sis!

During the summer, I sleep on an air mattress in my sister’s room, because her room has air-conditioning and my room doesn’t. I love the cool air, but we don’t exactly have the same sleep habits (you know how us ADHDers tend to be), so she doesn’t always love having me in her room. Problem #1: She goes to bed early; I’m usually not tired until...
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I tend to be very self-conscience about my ADHD behavior.

I know that I have ADHD. I know that I can get really hyper, and silly, and basically act like a four-year-old who just downed a two-liter bottle of Mountain Dew. I realize that this may be slightly annoying to some people (OK, MOST people). I am aware that I sometimes get on people’s nerves, so I always get self-conscious when I feel myself getting hyper...
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A tip from one ADHDer to the next: even if you think something is a really good idea at the time, it might not be.

This Saturday I decided to take a break from my ADHD meds. I woke up and just didn’t feel like taking them, and it was just about the only day of the week when I didn’t need them to function at work, or doing homework. ADHD med-free, I was silly, hyper, and carefree all day. I skipped around the house, started 10 things, like cleaning...
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I try not to get too worked up over these silly little ADHD lost-and-found, forgotten-and-remembered antics that happen on a daily basis.

This is a perfect story for one of those "You Know You Have ADHD When…" This weekend my favorite shoe store, DSW, was having a big sale. Conveniently enough, I was on the hunt for some new heels for work. If you’ve ever been to DSW you know that they probably have something like 500 different styles of shoes, all in one big store. And...
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Any suggestions for places to study, tips to work faster, or advice on staying focused on homework? The library doesn't work.

Well, I tried to do homework at the library; turns out I hate the library and homework. Right after work today I gathered my books and papers, which were scattered around my room, and went to the library. I found the silent reading room, thinking that would be the perfect place to focus on my homework. Looking back, I have no idea why I thought the...
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I've decided that I need to go to the library to study. Hopefully the peace and quiet will help me focus.

Lately I’ve been dreading something. It’s called homework. Now, you may be thinking homework… but it’s the summer! Let me explain: Last semester was a little more than I bargained for and one of my teachers agreed to let me take an incomplete for the semester. Basically, this means I have to re-do 10 assignments over the summer, and take the final exam when I get back...
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I start to get fidgety around 3 pm and the last few hours at work seem tortuously long.

I start to get fidgety around 3 pm everyday. Any guesses why? Yup, I take my ADHD meds at 7am and, like clockwork, at 3pm I feel tired, annoyed, and I start checking the clock every 3 minutes, feeling like I’ll surely die before I get to go home. No one at my work knows I have ADHD, and I don’t really want to explain why...
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There is so much I want to do, but there aren't enough hours in the day.

One of my bad habits is really catching up with me lately. It’s called sleep deprivation. I always stay up late because there are so many things to do that I don’t have the time for during the day. I go to work. With the commute I can forget the hours between 7am and 5pm. Then I try to go to the gym, but if...
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I get so distracted in stores that there’s no such thing as shopping for one quick thing.

I’m not sure if it’s an ADHD thing, or just a me thing, but I really love shopping. I know some people who hate the mall; complaining that the dry air makes their eyes water, and the crowds make them claustrophobic. Not me! I walk into the mall, take a deep breath of the recirculated oxygen, and breathe a sigh of relaxation. I love clothes, shoes,...
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Exercise routine: One day down, the whole summer to go.

This week, I decided I need to get some exercise. So, I coaxed my brother and sister into joining a gym for the summer. Last summer I joined a gym, and was determined to go every morning. That lasted for about a week. But this summer everything is going to be different. My sister, who is more motivated than I am, actually wants to go...
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Alarm? What alarm? You could try to wake me with a firecracker and I'd still stay in bed.

I’m not exactly what you’d call a morning person. Not even close. I’ve tried just about everything to wake myself up, but I always fall back to sleep unless someone else wakes me up. Right now I use two alarms on my cell phone set 10 minutes apart, and then my iPod alarm goes off 5 minutes later. And after all that, my mom or brother...
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I just finished my most-hated chore: cleaning this disaster area I call a room.

No, no, we weren’t hit by a tornado, earthquake, or other terribly messy natural disaster. That’s just my bedroom. There’s a hardwood floor under there somewhere. And it’s about time I found it. I just finished my most-hated chore; cleaning this bomb site I call a room. Even though I’m perfectly content to leave it as is and find things I need when I need them,...
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