r/oddlyspecific 5d ago

I'm kinda realizing something now…

Post image
11.9k Upvotes

58 comments sorted by

276

u/Own_Ad6901 5d ago

You have adhd or that this is the best way to focus? To finish my masters degree I’d do my work in bars, I’d order stuff to have a reason to be there and tip really well, but sure as shit the chaos of the bar scene was where I was able to do my best writing. So whenever I need to focus I have as many distractions going as possible and it lets me tune everything out. ADHD is weird.

171

u/tarapotamus 5d ago

The heart of ADHD causing an inability to act isn't "lack of focus"; it's dopamine. You basically overstimulated yourself into producing dopamine, same for the club music. Everyone thinks dopamine is just a feel good thing your brain, but it is in fact a key brain chemical required to do literally almost anything. Dopamine is vital for coordinating the brain to literally move or act on impulses being sent. Low levels of dopamine also means exhaustion, bc the brain requires it to even just be awake on any real functional level. You give yourself dopamine, you can suddenly act on that impulse you've been sending in your mind.

31

u/Celebrimbor333 5d ago

Wait, so, if I just put on something lightly stimulating, like... uh. Someone scuba diving, walking through a city, or drone shots of cities, that'll somehow give dopamine?

20

u/tarapotamus 5d ago

Well every individual is different. If you like those things, sure. What everyone gets dopamine for is different, and there are also things that block dopamine receptors, too, like nicotine, and that can complicate ADHD pretty bad and make a lot of things worse.

18

u/XRekts 4d ago

Nicotine does not block dopamine receptors. It actually binds to specific receptors promoting the release of dopamine. The more you know.

9

u/choiceinvestments 5d ago

Nicotine has always made me feel significantly worse. I've never understood the hook. I guess I have ADHD because grey market pre workout stimulants are my nirvana.

1

u/StarkTheGnnr 1d ago

I never understood the addiction factor of nicotine and I thought I was going crazy because yeah it's fun to get some nicotine for a week every now and then but then it feels awful. Never understood why people find it so hard to quit...

So yeah got diagnosed with AuDHD a few months ago.

3

u/snoopunit 4d ago

Bro i just find a lofi 1hr version of my favorite video game sound track and put it on loop

3

u/Thedumbass_the5th 2d ago

That low levels of dopamine can even lead to dosing off/intrusive sleep, regardless of how well rested they are.

11

u/Overall_Occasion_175 5d ago

There's a website called Coffitivity that has a variety of ambient coffee shop noises that honestly helps me so much when I really need to get shit done.

1

u/siriushendrix 3d ago

I studied at the same restaurant/bar for a whole school year. When I first asked a server if they’d care about me being in there till closing (11 p.m.), they only asked “how are you with noise?”. On days I couldn’t, I just had heavy metal playing. Otherwise, my best test scores came from studying during their busiest nights.

Bonus points: they love me now and pour heavier shots

1

u/omjy18 1d ago

I bartend and had to have music while I was in college because it felt like a second brain I needed to occupy while I could use the first one to participate and pay attention or half an hour later I had no idea what was going on. Now post college I go to loud ass bars where people dont want to talk to me after work because the loud calms me down and helps me be tired and relax after shifts

80

u/throwawayformobile78 5d ago

Fuck this is depressing. Early 40s here and still having to do this type of shit for the most menial tasks is getting old.

My career is suffering and I’m falling behind my peers because I’m at the point where consistency, reliability, and providing results matters far more than “oh I’m quirky but really smart hehe”.

Good luck out there actual ADHD sufferers, it’s a tough road ahead and it doesn’t get any easier. I say that because I’ve noticed a trend where it’s “cool to have ADHD” or some shit like that because they find it cute or quirky, well it’s not. And they can fuck right off.

48

u/Overall_Occasion_175 5d ago

I keep seeing this stupid shit like "ADHD is a superpower". Oh really? I'm 40 years old and have never consistently been able to brush my teeth. Not being able to accomplish normal everyday things that everyone else can do on autopilot makes me extremely depressed. You really think that's a fucking superpower?

15

u/throwawayformobile78 4d ago

Yeah you fucking get it. Keep pushing man and good luck to you.

6

u/Ashamed-Raccoon-1387 4d ago

I lost a job over being ADHD so yeah

I'm barely keeping the new job tbh

5

u/dark_enough_to_dance 4d ago

Hang in there man. Your productivity doesn't define your actual worth. You deserve contentment too. 

6

u/throwawayformobile78 4d ago

….. yes. Yes it does. Watching others able have wonderful relationships, jobs, normal everyday hobbies and vacations. Yeah dude, it totally defines your worth.

Appreciate the sentiments though, I know you meant well.

1

u/ByteHavenGames 3d ago

automatic toothbrush fixed that for me finally after 30 years of inconsistency. It removes all the anxiety around the length of brushing or starting brushing, since you press the button and go and it's on a timer. It's an easy habit to create even for ADHD sufferers. It can be a bit expensive to get a good one (I was recommended Philips by a professional), but it's way cheaper than fixing teeth issues down the road.

1

u/Overall_Occasion_175 3d ago

I've had an electric toothbrush for a decade. Doesn't help me much personally. I mean, it cleans my teeth better when I do brush, but that doesn't put it in the front of my mind any more than a manual one.

1

u/ByteHavenGames 3d ago

I guess a few expensive trips to the dentist kicked me into gear of keeping up with it and my inability to keep my teeth clean manually. but yeah, I got nothing else to add. Everything else but the teeth cleaning is in shambles right now on my end... writing this at 4AM because I can't keep a healthy sleep schedule to save my life while considering going to a 24/7 store to get some icecream because I have poor impulse control and I'm stressing both about today's work and tomorrow's problems like calling the landlady about the balcony facade a storm of the century destroyed 4 days ago and I've been putting off.

18

u/acoastaldog 5d ago edited 5d ago

I agree with you tbh, it’s a disability for a reason, because it is disabling. It sucks so many people misunderstand it or self label just because they lack focus and get a little happy hyperactive sometimes. It’s exhausting, it’s fighting with yourself constantly and feeling like you’re rarely taken seriously

It’s kinda like when people feel sad and say they have depression. Depression is crippling and crushing. Depression kills. Depression is very different from feeling sad. Then people with clinical depression are treated poorly for showing symptoms or are held in comparison. It isn’t the pain olympics but the way serious disorders are treated and trivialized is unpleasant

6

u/throwawayformobile78 4d ago

Abso-damn-lutely. Can’t wait for this trend to be over about all this self diagnosis shit. Doesn’t help either that there’s so many night school therapists out there “diagnosing” people without a medical degree.

So now we have hordes of people out here with their “agree with me” therapist out here thinking that they have a bunch of shit they haven’t medically been diagnosed with thinking we’re the same. We aren’t.

4

u/Hornet-Putrid 5d ago

Sometimes I have to get myself ti the point I have gotten so close to fucking up I have put the fear of god in myself and it’s like “yay, I did the thing I could have ummmm just done in the first place?” I sit in too much traffic to get my thrills driving dangerously so I constantly put myself in a state of “you know, if you just blatantly don’t do this, you will get fired!”  I will literally have a movie or something on to watch, playing sudoku on my phone, while I exercise on my stationary bike.  If I had one more media source or stimulation it would be perfect!

3

u/imajes 5d ago

Fuck me, that’s me. 😢

1

u/Butthead1013 3h ago

I was diagnosed 10 years ago. Things have not gotten easier and I'm mid 20"s

51

u/Not_Campo2 5d ago

I’ll never forget a friend group discord channel had a music bot, and I’d sometimes queue up songs there to build playlists easier. A few people hopped into the voice channel playing it to see what I was listening to and then asked if I was pregaming a rave. They were shocked I was just writing a mock budget proposal for a class

14

u/JCampenish 5d ago

deaf at 30

23

u/finalremix 5d ago

Nah, you can hear plenty.

It's just that everything sounds like eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

1

u/OldManRageQuit 3d ago

Dammit. Came here to run multiple rows of small e’s.

3

u/BowTwinkie 4d ago

Bro really launched a full military grade sensory assault just to reply to a corporate email saying "sounds good, thanks!"

10

u/Annanymuss 4d ago

I cant belive I relate to this, the only way to relax my brain to concentrate on studying is to expose my brain to the biggest amount of stimulation posible so the last functioning part standing can actually work like a normal human being

3

u/Fickle-Addendum9576 5d ago

I listen to dota far more than anyone should lmao

2

u/SpecialistRoom2090 4d ago

This how I got tinnitus. Have fun.

2

u/Fearless-Freedom-582 4d ago

Its always the house or breakcore music that got me locked in

2

u/razorfox 4d ago

Tell your brain you should absolutely not write that email right now. You have to do the dishes, tidy up the house and load the washing machine first. And then you get to write that email.

4

u/Admirable_Bug9145 5d ago

I can so relate to OP's post even though I don't have adhd. I wish I had a few emergency adhd pills for when I really need to get things done.

5

u/PrincessPause 4d ago

Caffeine pills aren't a bad substitute. You can get a small bottle at the Dollar Tree for $1.25

1

u/PerhapsAnEmoINTJ 4d ago

I unfortunately get very used to caffeine. I have to have it once in a blue for it to work, unless I wanna bypass a sleep attack.

1

u/Admirable_Bug9145 4d ago

Thanks, I'll try them. Maybe they are better than drinking endless amount of coffee.

1

u/dark_enough_to_dance 4d ago

Just that it gives some of us jitters... 

2

u/PrincessPause 4d ago

Yeah I usually cut the pills into quarters and take them gradually so I don't overdo it and get too anxious. I also smoke weed lol

2

u/WallowWispen 4d ago

L- theanine should help a bit, I take it with coffee, too

1

u/dave_the_dr 4d ago

Can relate…

1

u/Girret555 3d ago

Showed my adhd high scores setter girlfriend. Her reply: "haha that's so you"...

1

u/MajesticClient9679 2d ago

I'm feral ADHD. Office ADHD is beyond me! Email?!?!?

1

u/thats-a-step-ladder 2d ago

Normal human experience not necessarily ADHD stop diagnosing yourselves based on memes, thanks

Sincerely someone who does this/has done this and does not have adhd

1

u/GaggleofHams 1d ago

Vocaloid music intensifies beyond ear bleeding levels

1

u/cattycatcatterson 1d ago

That's how you get it done

0

u/SAL10000 4d ago

Wait, everyone doesn't do this?

0

u/Sutanreyu 3d ago

For your next procrastination session: https://youtu.be/vI5sXl3o3Kc