So when you have ADD/ADHD you hear a lot of things about your choices and about your disorder. You hear a lot of false things and a lot of things that are not okay to say. So here are 12 things people with ADD/ADHD want you to know.
1. ADD and ADHD are treated with the same medications
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The are both treated with stimulants. They are both treated with the same stimulants.
2. ADD and ADHD are different disorders.
ADD is Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD is Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. So when it comes to medications they are treated the same but some people are more hyperactive than others which is what sets them apart.
3. The jokes are not based on facts.
You all have heard the jokes about someone being ADD/ADHD because they get distracted by things. Then people use squirrel as the joke. Well that can happen but a lot of the times it isn't that random. Someone will say something or something around us made us remember something else and that is when we get distracted.
4. The medications do not make me focus better than anyone.
The medications aren't to help me focus better than people with out it. It is to level out the playing field. So I can still get distracted but like a person with out ADD/ ADHD.
5. Stop asking to have one my pills.
I have personally never had this happen to me but I have heard stories about it. My pills are for me to be at the same level as you. So if you are asking for a pill because you need to study for an exam or do an essay, it is insulting. Because you want to you use what makes my brain function like yours to make your self better than where I am with the meds.
6. The medications are not a life long addiction.
I have seen this argument on other kinds of medications as well. I could live a totally normal life with out my meds but a lot of things would be made much harder with out them.
7. This one comes from my friend Haley B. "I feel like I need to be doing something constantly even when I'm trying to avoid things."
I didn't know that this was an ADD/ ADHD thing till she said this to me. If you are avoiding doing homework you will clean your room or start writing an essay for the class you love. You will do something that inserts you just so you aren't sitting there even if that is what you want to do.
8. We underestimate how much time we have.
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If I have 5ish minute walk to class I usually leave with two minutes to get to class because I didn't realize how long I was taking to get ready. This is usually why I am late to class and meetings.
9. We are impulsive not stupid.
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Sometimes we doing that we probably shouldn't have. We have all things we shouldn't have because in our brains everything going rapid fire so things just come out of our mouths without thinking them through fully.
10. The medications side effects are strange at first.
The medications are great and help so many people but the good comes with a few bad things. The side effects can freak you out at first. Your heart can beat really fast and feel like you are going to have a heart attack. You also can't have caffeine while it is in your system.
Because the stimulant is trying to calm your brain down and help you focus while the caffeine is trying to make you hyper and keep your brain alert. If you mix too much caffeine with the meds you could end up in the hospital. I know from personal experience. But it is also different for everyone.
11. We can be disorganized so be understanding with us, please.
This is something that a lot of us deal with. It is because wear that is how our brain works. Things are all over the place so the mess we keep is a representation of our brains.
12. Yes this is a real disorder.
No, I am not faking it. No the child who got diagnosed won't grow out of it. It is a real psychiatric disorder.
