>>11972427First of all, I am not a teenager or even a twenty-something. I am *ahem* significantly older than that, and was diagnosed well into my adult years, and was told I'd developed "remarkable coping skills" for it.
OP's pic is correct but doesn't cover all of it.
If you're not aware you have it, you really think something is broken in you -- and that depresses you, which makes it worse.
Conversely, if you're interested in something, you're temporarily smarter because of that interest. The more interested you are, the smarter you are with regards to it (up to a point at least). This is called 'hyperfocus' and it's a double-edged sword if there ever was one!
Hyperfocus can be leveraged if you understand it, by the way. That's one of my 'coping skills'.
If you can find a way to make boring, repetitive tasks into a game, interest yourself in the game, you can do well at it (or at least get it done!).
But basically, your brain is wired differently. You don't think or react the same way as non ADD/ADHD people do in many cases.
I forget names and dates very easily. I even forget *words* sometimes. It's annoying as hell.
Problems making simple decisions? Especially when I'm tired. Imagine being hungry but standing there virtually paralized by your own indecision as to what sounds good to eat! I catch myself doing this and make an arbitrary decision to break the mental deadlock.
It's hard to get into the habit but regular physical activity helps immensely. I ride bikes, train for road racing, am on a road race team even. Helps me focus and stay centered the rest of the time.
You get bored easily. Boredom can get you in trouble.
If you don't know what ADD/ADHD is you might think you're bipolar. That's dangerous because the meds for that don't help your ADD/ADHD.
Adderall helps but it makes you feel like you're Superman. That's dangerous too.
Too many things off the top of my head. Ask specific questions.
