This text was written by a Swedish girl. I translated it because I have rarely seen such good explanation of ADHD/ADD.
Now, I do not have either of them, but I live with a man that does. And I grew up with someone who has it.
It is tough, VERY tough even, to share life with someone with ADHD/ADD. I believe this text is great at helping us understand how they think, feel and act BUT I have to say that although I will, of course, be understanding to kids that have this, I feel that adults should be aware of their flaws - as all of us need to - and work on how to maybe be a better listener, or how to control your feelings better.
Enjoy the read:
I am just like you, yet so very different.
I feel the same emotions as you do, I experience the same things. Just a little bit more. When I am happy, I am ecstatic. When I am angry, I am pisses off. When I am sad, I am devastated. When somebody hurts me I feel as if though the world is collapsing. When I get a hug everything is better again, however bad everything just was.
Sometimes I take everything personal. Everything that happens seems to be against me. But since is am missing that vent in my brain then everything needs to come out another way, through the mouth.
I might sound angry. You maybe feel I am exaggerating. But since I am missing that vent that you have, everything that happens becomes very big to me.
I don't get a chance at sorting my thoughts out, weeding out the bad ones.
I am not a bad listener, if sometimes I have troubles concentrating. The dripping from the sink, a car passing by, a couple on a bench, everything that you can weed out thanks to your vent stays in my head.
I see your lips move, but, I am sorry, sometimes I cannot hear what you are saying, even if I am really trying. I am not doing it to ignore you, but because there are so many other things to listen to. And if we are in a completly quiet room I would listen to the silence and how it mixes with the thoughts in my head.
Because in there, it is never completely quiet.
Sometimes you get tired of my asking about something only to ask you again almost immediately.
No, I am not stupid, slow or an idiot. Only that the answer you gave me already disappeared among all the thoughts in my head. I, thus, need to ask again. And maybe another time so that it really gets stuck. So that I can remember.
To lay down on the couch and watch a movie doesn't often work for me. After a while it starts to crawl in my body and I loose concentration and look at everything but what is happenning on the TV screen.
It is my body telling me that I need a change. My patience is over, however good I thought the movie was.
Give my tired brain a break for 10 min and then we can continue again. My mind doesn't have the same ability as yours to process impressions and gets tired easily.
Do you get tired of my constant fiddleing with my phone, the sheets, clothes and everything else that can fit in between my fingers? It is only my way to use some of the energy I have so that I can stay focused on you.
Sometimes it might feel as if though I don't understand you and your emotions. But I understand more than I show. Because when I am feeling strong emotions my brains is taken over by them and I cannot put them into words. I am fully concentrating on keeping my body in place not to do something unwanted towards myself or others.
Do I throw things everywhere? Chaos is my way of keeping things neat. Since there is chaos in my mind all the time that is how I feel safe. That is when I feel in control.
Are you surprised that I can be mad one second and in the next one be happy? Don't, my mood is completely decided by whatever emotion is in power. And that can change fast. In my brain, everything is constantly moving. Sometimes I can't keep up.
Do I often start conflicts with others? That's because I hate inequalities and I refuse to see other people getting hurt. To butt in is my speciality. I don't do it to be a pain in your a**, but because I miss that cowardly stop button that humans usually have. I miss the ability to consider consequences and often put myself in dangerous situations to save people I like or feel for.
You might feel that I am the expert at making a fool out of myself. But, you see, I don't feel that laughing out loud, jumping in water puddles or speaking loudly is embarrasing. I do what I feel like doing in a specific moment. I don't have time to think about what other people think of me. There are too many other things that distract me.
I don't understand instructions as fast as you do. Sometimes someone can explain the same thing 10 times to me without me understanding anything. Then someone else comes along and all of a sudden I understand.
To me, it is not about what you say, but about how you say it.
Tired of me loosing my keys every time we are about to do something only to find them in my pocket?
Get used to it. My brain is so busy with the surroundings that it doesn't have time to remember where I put things. I put them away without thinking.
People with ADHD/ADD are intense. We feel more. We hate more. We are sadder. But we also love more. For when we love someone we don't only do it with our hear, but with our whole body.
When you feel that you do not have the energy to be understanding anymore - go outside. Take a break. Take a break from us, becuse we can be a handful. Something is always up with us. We are in constant motion. We are not only hyperactive and intense. We are also intelligent and creative. We think differently than you, since we do not have that vent. In order to survive we have a different way to be and act.
You need to let us.
If you give us that chance, the opportunity to be exactly who we are, let us take all the positive in our disorder, and you will see how much we can give you. You will understand. Be proud that YOU can join us on our journey and discover the world from perspective.
Translated from: http://uppskattat.se/den-har-texten-om-adhd-ar-bland-det-basta-vi-nagonsin-last-detta-borde-alla-lasa/
