@carma Yeah, we ADHD people are great at that stuff.
I am finally finally finally getting tested for ADHD. I had the preliminary meeting today where we discussed my background, history, and reasonings for why I want to be tested. We talked about the testing itself, how long it would take, and when I could expect to receive results on it, and when I would hear from the PA again to schedule the next meeting.
So. In a month or two, I may not have to solo self-manage myself and my symptoms, I may finally have some help in that regard... which could mean I can stop being exhausted all the time from exerting so much effort in self-management and coping skills. The light has appeared!
I feel called out.
I finally got my ADHD diagnosis. Along with two other diagnoses. One of which surprised the fuck out of me and one of which everyone who has met me for the last 20 years probably knew before I spoke.
Can't get any medicine yet because the doc wants to figure out WTF is going on with my high blood pressure before we change my meds. BUT SOON. MAYBE. I HOPE.
@shangdi Wrong thread homie?
@wretched Yep
So I got a pair of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018WPOQSG
If I can get used to having them in my ears, this will pretty much be the best thing I ever did. I put them in and it cut a TON of the background sounds out (not everything; I can still hear the air filter a little bit) and I felt an immediate physical difference in my stress level, like it dialed it down two notches. I seem to have no problems hearing things I need to hear, it makes ME sound weird to me but I anticipate getting used to it.
@sunny I so could have used those today. The upstairs neighbor suddenly has a small child running around. ...for 7 hours. It drove me nuts.
@sunny well I know what I need to get.
I have a neighbor who blasts his engine when he goes down the street setting off car alarms when he does it.
I have another neighbor that keeps parking in the same spot with their car alarm on despite this happening multiple times a day.
And yet another neighbor that sits in his driveway with the bass vibrating our windows for hours on end.
I am a tad bit irritable lately.
I have a pair of Vibes from my customer service days. I can tell you they are AWESOME and very comfortable to wear for extended periods. Expect anywhere from 75% to 95% of unnecessary background noise to be filtered out/muted. I used them when we were sent to work from home because at the time I had that asshole neighbor that would cruise through the complex for no damn reason, blaring his music and revving his motor. He would do this for 1-2 hours in the middle of the day in the middle of the pandemic. Calls to the complex management got nowhere, so I finally started calling the cops to report him for excessive noise and speeding.
I envy you folks with dumbass neighbors.
We have a moluccan cockatoo. She's lovely. She's also loud as holy fuck when she's angry, happy or just she's being a bird, and the songs of her people sound like someone's strangling a baby over hot coals.
I have a sound isolation headset. Hahah. She laughs at it. Or I think she does because I can hear her.
@sunny said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):
So I got a pair of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018WPOQSG
I was reading the reviews and most seemed to focus on big noise. Do they help with smaller sounds as well, like chewing? Sounds like that are hard for me, and I would buy these in a heartbeat if they could help process that out even a little bit.
The biggest difference it's made for me is cutting out the low hum of my desktop box / monitors, and the traffic noise of the fairly busy residential street. I can still hear the air purifier. I don't really encounter like, chewing noises, so I couldn't say there.
My ADHD pet peeve of the week/month/year is people who don't get back to you. Like I get that everyone's busy, but man. Now you're making triple the work for me because I have to put in elaborate systems to remember to check in with you to follow up on the simple request I sent. And that's not easy.
I was at the gym yesterday doing some exercises to rebuild my knee. One of them was to just stand on my left leg, right leg as close to my chest as I could get it, and hold the balance for 45 seconds at a time. I lifted my right knee to my chest, grabbed it because something about the countertension or maybe the posture helps my balance, and I stared at the dumbbell rack in front of me, focusing on the 40-pounders. I tried not to let my gaze wander to the right to the ones that are five pounds heavier than that, because I dislike that number these days. Just focus. Focus on the 40. Think about how it's been used so much the white stenciled numbers are kind of fading.*
Think about your foot. Feel how your weight is shifting from blade to arch. You aren't seeing anything any more, you're just feeling now. Pivot on your heel just a little bit to point your toes more outward. There. It's better balanced but also uncomfortable. You were born with your feet badly turned inward.** You think you remember the leg braces you had to wear as a baby but you don't, you're just confusing your memories with scenes from Forrest Gump. It's weird that you do that. Remember how you're sure you almost fell off Niagara Falls because you saw that happen to a kid in a movie?***
Am I still holding onto my right knee? I am. Ugh, I hate how squidgy it is. At least it's shaven. I can't wait to be able to shave my left leg again with something more precise than hair clippers. If someone could read my thoughts, they'd probably be grossed out that I'd even mention my hairy leg. You can't even show a hairy leg on a commercial for women's razors--
"You can put your foot down," said my trainer. I snapped out of it and put my foot down.
"Where do you go when you're doing that? Do you focus on one thing, or try to take your mind off of it?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.
"Sort of," I said, because it's sort of both and sometimes I just talk like a meme. "The only way I know how to focus is to distract myself from focusing, then distract myself from my distractions. Does that make any sense?"
"Have you ever been diagnosed with ADD?" he asked.
"No, but it wouldn't surprise me," I said.
*I'm wobbling. Stop thinking about vision. Start thinking about another sense. Change your inner monologue.
**You've stopped wobbling. Don't notice that you noticed it, or you'll draw attention and start wobbling again. Keep free associating.
***You're wobbling. Change tracks.[1]
[1] Shit, I shouldn't have thought about falling while trying to keep my balance. That was dumb.
@greenflashlight Yeah, that is a familiar thought rhythm...
@faraday said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):
My ADHD pet peeve of the week/month/year is people who don't get back to you. Like I get that everyone's busy, but man. Now you're making triple the work for me because I have to put in elaborate systems to remember to check in with you to follow up on the simple request I sent. And that's not easy.
Worse if it is your doctor, you know, the one treating your ADHD... who should be aware of the inherent scheduling issues of their patients.
@greenflashlight that seemed coherent and reasonable to me.
