>>12302199I got officially diagnosed as an adult, but had a pretty good idea I had it when the teachers tried to put me on Ritalin at age 5 (parents completely rejected). It's definitely real, but I do think there was a period when it was over-diagnosed and I think the solution of throwing pills at the problem is complete bogus.
It sucks as an adult because maintaining habits is extremely difficult without conscious effort to stay on track. I've had to give myself daily rituals in order to keep some rigidity in my behavior patterns. Starting tasks is extremely difficult, even if it's something I usually enjoy. There's a shit ton of extra mental inertia to do things, and if I don't maintain my regular intake of caffeine, then it's hard to stay on track once I get going.
Managing stimuli is a bit of of a task too. Caffeine helps increase my tolerance for the amount of stimuli I can process at once. Every moment feels like I'm taking in my surroundings at once with my focus bouncing rapidly between things. It's useful at work because if there's a safety issue or something isn't working properly, I'm going to notice. However, there are days when it gets overwhelming and my mind just shits the bed when I get overstimulated. Kinda like how a computer bogs down when you open up a massive HD image.
All that being said, I don't hate having it. It does sabotage a lot of my ambition, but I think I'm generally happier than the average person so I think it's a fair trade.
Pic related is a good explanation I found in another thread
