For those of you who don't know, ADHD isn't just getting distracted and yelling "SQUIRREL!" in the middle of a conversation. For myself and many others, ADHD is a nuanced affliction that has impacted my entire life. Just when I felt like I was starting to get things under control, the world was flung into an apocalypse, and now I've been forced to cope with so much more than I thought I could handle.
Online school sucks, especially since I don't have the executive function to do it on my own.
Now that I don't have any sort of schedule and I have to work from home, forcing myself to do schoolwork is currently my most daunting task.
I know that may not seem like much to you damn neurotypicals, but to me, it's like gouging out my eyeballs with a rusty spoon.
The worst part of my ADHD is procrastination. It's not your regular, run-of-the-mill procrastination, either. For me, opening my computer and looking at my assignments for the day is like being told that you are now president of the United States and you've been tasked with solving world hunger in two hours. Imagine the anxious feeling of dread you would get. Now imagine that every single day of your life, and you'll understand. I'm not just lazy — I'm clinically lazy, and I fully expect my anxiety (and GPA) to suffer as a result.
Oh, and my chronic boredom is even more boring than usual.
Many people living with ADHD can tell you that they feel bored pretty much all the time. Since I can only pay attention to something for about 25 minutes, finding a way to occupy my time with things other than TikTok is a constant struggle. Now that leaving the house puts society at risk for infection, I have exhausted every single activity I had thought of to keep my boredom at bay. At least right now, everything is too slow or takes too much effort, and I've resorted to drinking coffee for fun. Why am I drinking coffee for fun, you ask?
Well, because there's a worldwide shortage of ADHD meds.
At the time of writing, I have four Adderall pills remaining in the bottle. Four. That amounts to a measly 24 combined hours of focus. Typically, that wouldn't be a problem. I could just call my doctor to send in my prescription, and I could get it filled in a matter of hours. Now though, because the world has bigger problems than my inattention, I have absolutely no idea when I'll be able to get my prescription filled. It is currently 6:32 p.m., and I'm sipping on my eighth cup of coffee for the day. I'll probably make another one in an hour. Coffee is the only thing keeping me semi-productive — but what happens when that stops working? Do I need to start buying Red Bulls by the pallet? Do I start shooting up caffeine? Do I start cooking meth in a Winnebago? We'll find out in the coming days.
That sounds like it sucks pretty hard, Davis. What can I do for you and others with ADHD?
Wash your hands, stay at home, and make sure this whole coronavirus thing doesn't go on for any longer than it has to.
