AuDHD Life: Anyone else?

Loving the gold coming from this thread @0ddsidian @Captain24 @Jynx @Meredyth49 !

I'm reading along!

Seeing any changes? @tyme. I’m learning a lot and really proud of myself for what I’m achieving and attempting to put into place.

It's really impressive. I've watching so many ADHD-ers around me and I'm learning to see how they manage their days. I'm learning from them, the way they use their calendars, a million alarms, notifications, etc. I'm getting to slow down my brain this way and not try to remember everything @Captain24

That’s why I write lists @tyme. I don’t have to try and remember. It’s written in front of me and I can cross it off when it’s done. It helps with the whole AuDHD. One likes routine and one doesn’t. The list kinda organises my mind. I also now set alarms after listening to others. I learnt that you can label them so my phone seems to go off all the time! Notifications is a must and has been forever, now I know why. The less I have to continue to remember the easier it is. @0ddsidian @Jynx Have been amazing in helping work these things out.

That's so good to hear that @0ddsidian @Jynx have been helping out. It can be hard to navigate out brain sometimes. It's like a jungle with brambles and weeds!

A jungle, a conflict, a mess of sounds, noises and thoughts. It feels out of control at times. But now knowing what it is and why makes it more obvious I think and that being able to find ways to understand it better @tyme

Never guess my work hours, @Captain24! I'm an unpredictable force of nature! 🤣

Definitely consider RecoveryClub next year, Cap. Like I said; I think the way it operates would actually work really well for you and your schedule. Changes can result in lot of anxiety, and we get that. Obviously, there are some program changes going on (like RecoveryClub), so definitely take a few breaths. SANE absolutely wants to clearly communicate changes with everyone.

Maybe you can start reading the positives to Pix and Jett? Or even just some of the sillier social threads haha

Make sure you're compassionate to yourself after surgery. Give yourself the space to veg and recovery and don't place high expectations on yourself. I really hope you have the time to do some crafts but I think it's SO acceptable to do nothing. Body needs to heal and regulate itself again.

Do you feel like you can say that to your dietician? Like basically explain to her what you just said to me? It's very common for Autistic people to be super thrown by those sorts of comments.

Virtual Picnic went really well. @tyme and I "ran" it. Tyme had the idea of getting people to do this quiz to figure out what their "bird personality" is, and then we had everyone guess what bird others would be. It's the DOPE Bird Personality Types test

It makes me smile to see you say such nice, hopeful things about yourself, Cap! I know you don't feel that way all the time (and no one expects you to btw), but it's nice to see that it's possible ♥️

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@Captain24 wrote:

It’s easier in posts as you have time to think about especially with the way I ‘talk’ In life it’s hard because I don’t even know what’s coming out of my mouth until it’s said and done! I have no control. I’m thinking I know where that comes from…

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Hahaha @Captain24 I have heard this called 'foot in mouth disease' - a play on that old 'put my foot in my mouth' idiom about saying things we shouldn't, and on foot and mouth disease. I think it's pretty common amongst ADHDers to have difficulty with the whole 'think before you speak' thing. We're naturally more impulsive, and our brains don't always know how to prioritise by what is 'important' - or in this case, 'appropriate'. So trust me when I say - been there!!

But even if you're not as well practised at the speech part yet, practising with your writing first is still so so helpful!! Subtly shifting your language here, will slowly help it shift in your mind, more automatically over time with the more you do it.

And I absolutely adore the idea of reading/practising to your doggos. That's actually so cute - great suggestion @0ddsidian! And as someone who used to basically have a meltdown trying to talk to myself in the mirror, I can absolutely relate to how flipping hard it can be to say these things out loud. It is soooo uncomfortable - but remember, all progress takes place outside of our comfort zone, and also there's a difference between uncomfortable, and unsafe. You got dis!

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@Captain24 wrote:

A jungle, a conflict, a mess of sounds, noises and thoughts. It feels out of control at times. But now knowing what it is and why makes it more obvious I think and that being able to find ways to understand it better @tyme

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Love this @Captain24 @tyme - I think being able to understand ourselves better, understand why our minds function the way they do, goes a long, LONG way towards self-acceptance. And in my experience, self-acceptance is one of the stepping stones on the way to self-love. It took me a while, but I LOVE my jungle-brain now! Teehee! 🍃

I definitely suffer with ‘foot in mouth disease’ @Jynx

Maybe one day I’ll be better at it. I am noticing a lot the way I have changed my wording on here. More when I’m thinking about it. When I’m just typing and not thinking it doesn’t go as well.

At this stage I can’t read to my dogs. I tried but I felt silly. It’s just not something I’m able to go yet. I guess it’ll just take some time. Defs not in the mirror!! I don’t even look in it. I despise seeing myself. I despise how I look. It was hard at the hairdresser as there is a big mirror in front of me! I hated it. I sat there for two hours!

Im still hating on my jungle brain but I am learning a lot more about it and the ways I can try and work with it not against it. I’m definitely not succeeding to well in it but it’s another work in progress

In schools, the kids always read to therapy dogs. We have a lot of schools in my area who have therapy dogs and the kids who need it get to read with the dog @Captain24 . Good luck making Jett and Pix sit still for long enough!